Some of the aircraft models have been redone for the sequel and look absolutely gorgeous, which is saying something, since IL-2 already had some of the best WWII aircraft models ever. Ground attack, night bombing, antishipping strikes-it's all here. The range of missions is truly staggering, with the ability to do almost anything, including dropping torpedoes from your He-111. If you miss the old US aircraft, you can hop into a P-47 Thunderbolt or a P-40 Warhawk in Russian colors, as these aircraft were delivered to the USSR as part of the US Lend-Lease Act and were flown by Soviet pilots. There's no shortage of antishipping missions, though. Aircraft that are more familiar to combat sim fans and that are now flyable in Forgotten Battles include the Me-262 jet fighter, various Hurricane models (Finnish and Russian), and new versions of the Me-109 and FW-190 (the latter being the high-altitude "Dora" model).
(You can fly as a Finnish or even a Hungarian pilot now). The Finnish B-239 makes an appearance, and aviation fans will immediately recognize this as the diminutive F2A Brewster Buffalo, which was hopelessly outclassed in the Pacific air war but which served the Finns quite well over Karelia. There are bombers galore, including several Stuka models (including the "tank buster" G-version), the He-111, and the Russian TB-3 monstrosity. The main attraction of Forgotten Battles is all the new planes to fly, and there are plenty. In a way, experienced gamers may almost envy you for it: There's no feeling quite like the one of first realizing you're playing a classic. So if you missed IL-2 the first time around, here's your chance to make up for it. Forgotten Battles-a title that almost sounds like a reproach-was originally going to be an expansion pack, but it's now set to be released as a full-featured sequel next month. While MiG Alley has unfortunately fallen off the flight sim radar as far as longevity goes, IL-2 is still going strong, thanks to a fanatic user community and a dedicated developer that just keeps making the game better and better. The eastern front was the biggest land war in history, and there's plenty of emphasis on ground attack. With flight and aircraft models that put previous prop sims to shame, IL-2 made flying a Messerschmidt a revelation once again. Likewise, fans of German aircraft who thought they knew everything about the Me-109 found out that the Russian aircraft weren't the pushovers they might have thought. Even if you didn't know a Polikarpov from a Lavochkin when you went in, serious flight sim fans came away with respect for the challenges faced by the pilots of the aircraft that ultimately stopped Hitler in his tracks. Similarly, GameSpot's 2001 Flight Sim of the Year, IL-2 Sturmovik from Russian developer Maddox Games, tackled the little-known air war over the eastern front of World War II. It was truly a unique flying experience in a number of ways.
GameSpot's 1999 Flight Sim of the Year, MiG Alley, modeled the fascinating but underappreciated Korean War, with its mix of propeller aircraft and early jets, and featured a tremendous dynamic campaign. The great flight sims of recent years have had a decidedly esoteric bent.