It runs great on my system with everything maxed out (2.8 GHz, 1.0 GB Ram, 9800 Pro), so you shouldn't have a problem. It's not as demanding as FS9, but you'd never guess by looking at it because the graphics are great. As others have said, the Ace Expansion Pack really adds a lot.Ken

IL-2

IL-2 is revolutionary to say the least. The flight models are on par with the best payware FS planes... There is really no combat experience that even comes close -- the AI pilots are so human-like it's spooky... Emphasis is on realism. I've been simming for over 20 years and can say with all honesty that the IL-2 series has no match.Check out some screenshots from the upcoming sequel to IL-2 Forgotten Battles that uses a teaked version of the same graphical engine that IL-2 uses to simulate the Pacific theatre of ops during WWII... Comes out in November.Battle of Britain will be an entirely new sim using a new graphical engine. The detail is amazing. Checkout the cockpit shot on the attachment. Now remember that this shot is out of AEP (the IL-2 Add-on) and is modeled with half the polygons that the BOB cockpit model will be.It will look like a photograph...

Il2 is still on my hard drive and CFS3 isn't! IL 2, packed with the AEP expansion pack is one of the best on the market!

That Bf-110 cockpit is amazing is it not?!?! The best in the game IMO.See you in the fence...CYYZ

CFS3 was full of bugs. I couldn't get bombs or rockets to work, no matter what I assigned the key commands to. the graphics were average with horrible frames even on a fast computer.IL2 and the expansions are great. well made games, very fun to play. the ai acts a little weird sometimes, but thats excused being so hard to program Ai to begin with.Just flying over massive battles going on and trying to help your buddies down there as much as possible is extremely fun. so close to real lifeI'd definately recommend IL2. CF3 had an interesting campaign mode but it seemed full of bugs, like every other game mode

>I cant tell what all I neet to get for IL-2>>There is a "IL-2 Forgotten Battles Gold Pack" that claims to>be a stand alone with the Ace Expansion included. Do I also>need the original IL-2 Sturmovik to go with this?>>http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/241057.asp >It looks like this would be all I need. Correct?>>YES! You are correct; you don't need the original IL2 at all since the advent of Forgotten Battles. It installs as a complete stand-alone sim, and the Aces Expansion Pack installs as an expansion to Forgotten Battles. It can get a little confusing if you weren't following it at first. I'd hate to see you buy both Forgotten Battles AND the original IL2, as FB has everything the original IL2 had and more. And you won't be sorry, either! I agree with everyone else, it's a top-notch sim.

I also bought CFS3 and it costed nearly 60$ at the time of release here in Finland. I played abit but removed it after few weeks of use. There are hardly any add-ons for it unlike CFS2 had tons. I was really dissapointed in the arcade style CFS3 had and the flight modelling and planes sucked big time. Also it was very heavy on my computer.Then I bought IL2-FB as it also has Finnish airplanes of WWII :D :D and have enjoyed alot of it. Microsoft should take a good look at the weather engine and smoothness of IL-2 series. In my opinion it is one of the best combat sims ever released.Jani

Make sure you have CFS3 upgraded to current version and get Firepower. The additional aircraft, enhanced graphics and special effects are amazing. Check it out here: http://www.gmxmedia.net/firepower/I didn't care much for CFS3 at first until getting the tweaking right, now it's my favorite WWII flying sim.Just my two cents worth.Zane

I tried and tried with CFS-3 but it never really gave me the smoothness that I like to see in a combat sim. After trying IL-2 I never looked back. My main use for combat sims is for the weekly on-line battles I have with my buddies over at Digital-Flight. IL-2 is absolutely amazing for this with excellent frames rates and more importantly, excellent smoothness. The graphics and effects are terrific and the AI isn't half bad. The MSFS design team could learn a lot about simulating water and 3D clouds from IL-2. CFS-2 was usable and when combined with the 1% aircraft from AvHistory.org it had a lot to offer. With CFS-3, even the 1% flight models couldn't save it for me. GIve IL-2 a try, you'll love it.TonyDigital-Flight

oh I forgot.... IL-2 FB has AWESOME force feedback effect for FFB joystic owners ;) You can really feel it if someone hits your plane with guns. Also you can take out the enemy plane by shooting the pilot in the cockpit :( though it requires pretty impressive sniper skills lol. Jani

Even the recoil of the guns has a real effect on the aircraft. If you fire a burst on the ground with the brakes off you'll roll back slightly.TonyDigital-Flight

If you get really hooked you can pick up the Battle Over Europe dynamic campaign add-on from Just Flight. Among other things it has a dynamic UASF campaign and witht he AEP it now add's a dynamic RAF campaign. Very cool to say the least.I was inlisted to fight in "Operation overlord" and took to the air June 10th. I got hit by some flak (I was strafing a railyard) and was injured. I flew my stricken plane over my own lines and bailed.My next mission was on December 16th! During the battle of the buldge! I looked at my pilot notes and seen I was in the hospital for 5 months and was returned to active duty in December.The regular game also has the dynamic campaign system too. It models enemy lines. What you do in the battle has an effect on the out come. Your flying squad stays the same and the AI pilots get better as you go along. Lose one of your aces and he gets replaced with a rookie (that will teach you to look after your wingman!)Talk about realistic.See you in the fence...CYYZ