I have somewhat mixed feelings as I wait for SOW BOB. As opposed to the Il2 series, which has been around for ever, still looks really good on mid-range machines, and has been patched, revised, and modded so much that you can simulate virtually any aerial war from the mid-1930's to Korea, SOW BOB will be limited (initially at least) to a very small theatre and a very small plane set.
I agree with others who have said this game will succeed or fail, not on its graphics, flight models, or accuracy (which I expect will be excellent), but on its ability to put players into a personally engaging dynamic campaign that really makes them want to spend six hours each day in front of a computer taking Hurricanes up against Do-17s over and over and over again (or if you play the Germans, piloting that Do-17 over England over and over and over again). The absence of this element, frankly, was the only failing of Il2, which from the beginning presented the player with a dry, soulless introduction, clunky music, repetitive missions, and poor presentation that did very little to make one really care about your avatar in the game...when you earned a promotion or medal you just got a dry message on a mission status screen. When you died you just got ..."player killed". The fact that Il-2 was so much better than any possible competitor and started with a huge series of theatres involving German, Soviet, Finnish, Italian, Hungarian, and Romanian airplanes from the beginning (not to mention a good set of lend-lease US and British types) sort of hid this failing. Here's hoping we get a personalized game character with a personal history we care about, dynamic campaign structures, exciting setup screens, cinematic music, and a powerful personal narrative that will develop as the game goes along.
The Battle of Britain is the ideal campaign in which to do this: almost mythic for western Europeans and Americans; the plucky RAF against the mighty Luftwaffe, Mrs Miniver with her tea towels watching contrails in the sky, the sweet green hills of England, Churchill's rhetoric, Goering's fuming, London in flames, and all the rest. Here's hoping Oleg and Co put as much effort into constructing a game as they obviosuly do when developing a simulation. If they do, I might upgrade my computer. Otherwise, I'll probably stick with Il-2 and its hundreds of planes, maps, and wars to choose from.