This is just a friendly reminder from your good friends here at Gamervision that the demo for IL2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, the upcoming WWII flight simulator, is now available on Xbox Live. The demo will give gamers a taste of two of the game's conflict scenarios: The Battle of Britain and The Battle of the Bulge.

In the "Battle of Britain: Red Skies Over Dover", players will assume the role of an RAF pilot at the helm of a Mk. II Spitfire with B wing armament (two canons, four machine guns). The mission begins as a simple "mop up" of a few stray German bombers, but quickly becomes an aerial battle to be remembered throughout the ages. Players must use their wingmen in order to intercept German bombers large and small.

For the "Battle of the Bulge: Tiger Hunt", you'll be flying a P-51D Mustang in order to strafe German armor that is moving through the Ardennes. During this encounter, the Luftwaffe will also let loose a squadron of FW-190 fighters to protect their tanks, and players must deal with these flying pests while trying to destroy the Tigers.

I have to admit that IL2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey has managed to stay under my radar for this fall (see what I did there?), but reading the description of the missions, I'm going to have to give this one a try. If nothing else, it'll give me an excuse to try out my flight stick again.