PlayStation3 owners can now join the more than 625,000 Xbox LIVE Arcade demo players already taking over the skies of Dover. The IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds Of Prey demo gives players a taste of two of the game’s memorable conflict scenarios: The Battle of Britain and The Battle of the Bulge. Gaijin Entertainment’s eagerly anticipated WWII aerial combat will be available September 8, 2009 for Xbox 360, PS3, Nintendo DS and PSP.

In Battle of Britain: Red Skies Over Dover, players are given the role of a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot commanding the legendary Mk. II Spitfire with B wing armament (two canons, four machine guns). What starts off as a routine ‘mopping up’ mission on a few stray He-111 German bombers soon develops into an all-out battle in which the RAF faced their finest hour. The mission demonstrates the skills required to intercept larger bombers as well as the more nimble Stuka bombers. The need to use wingmen effectively will become apparent as the mission unfolds and survivors will have the opportunity to land on a home airstrip.

In Battle of the Bulge: Tiger Hunt, the US Air Force P-51D Mustang is the weapon of choice, as players are tasked with taking out Germans ripping through the Ardennes. Defending FW-190 fighters will also have to be dispatched to help overcome the Tigers as US forces aim to stem the German advance and defend the front line. The mission will allow players to try rocket attacks on ground targets as well as sample the snow-capped vistas of the Belgian landscape in December.

Based around large-scale aerial combat over the ground-based military operations of World War II, variety is at the heart of the action in IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey. Players participate in the most famous confrontations of the era piloting fighters, battle planes or heavy bombers across a range of missions. There are six theatres of war in which to engage – The Battle of Britain, Stalingrad, Berlin, Sicily, the Battle of the Bulge and Korsun – representing the main airborne battles of World War II in Europe.

As well as taking environmental and landscape visuals to new heights by incorporating satellite technology, IL-2 boasts a tangible damage effects engine. Players will see real-time damage to the aircraft that includes holes on the wings and trail lines during dogfights. IL-2 will support up to 16 players in multiplayer aerial combat set across four scenarios - Dogfight, Team Battle, Strike and Capture the Airfield.