IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles - Ace Expansion Pack

Good old IL-2: singlehandedly keeping the flight simulation market alive in the face of all rational logic. It's amazing how the groans fly around the office when I announce a LAN server is up -groans from the same folk who'll happily run around in black catsuits pretending to be gymnastic secret agents from the future. I ask you, who has the unhealthier fantasy life? At least my pretend planes have an actual basis in reality...

The Ace Expansion Pack, aside from its presumptupus nomenclature, offers the happy IL-2 pilot much: over 30 new planes, a handful of new missions and campaigns in all new territories, some updated coding in Al areas and, er, that's about it. Everything is of the traditionally high IL-2 standards and is comparable qualitywise to what was in Forgotten Battles, even if there isn't all that much of it. Having said that, it is only 15 nicker. Some may argue that games should cost that much anyway, but that's an argument for another time. For the price, what's here is adequate enough.

AEP fulfils the expansion pack remit to the letter. New units, new maps, a bit of under-the-hood tinkering and no major alteration of the fundamental structure of the original. Because of that last factor, it's hard to recommend this to anyone other than the avid completist. Then again, if there's one genre that attracts more of that ilk than any other, this is it.