Wings of Prey is a pretty robust PC combat sim, with more than 50 missions, 40 planes, and extensive online multiplayer set across six different theaters - The Battle of Britain, Stalingrad, Ardennes, Berlin, Sicily and Korsun. Gaijin released a 1.46GB today, giving players a small taste of the game's tutorial and a couple missions above the skies of London. You can snag the demo by clicking on some text within this post, or visit the game's official website for the latest trailers, screenshots, and wallpapers.

Order of War is only the first of three Western-developed titles coming to North America via Square Enix and its new global agenda, along with Gas Powered Games' Supreme Commander 2 and Double Helix's Front Mission Evolved. Order of War promises large-scale battles in which players take control of the Germans or the Americans as they battle in occupied France and Poland.

Yes, it's another World War II game, but I can't see Square Enix jumping on the World War II bandwagon unless they thought they had something pretty damn special on their hands. Players can judge for themselves by downloading the single-player demo, available right now at http://www.orderofwar.com.

We historians are a little protective of our respective domains — but a constant (and well-deserved) criticism we lob at each other in general is that through various means, we deliberately make ourselves inaccessible to the average, interest layperson. Over at Terra Nova, Nate Combs takes up the question of historical video games, referencing a great 2006 New York article by Niall Ferguson (Harvard professor and historian) on the 'state of play.' The answer? Pretty damn bad, at least when looking on from the Ivory Tower:

So why do I hate Medal of Honor? The trouble is—and the same could be said of nearly all its competitors—it’s profoundly unhistorical. It’s what’s known in the games trade as a first-person shooter (FPS) game. As a player, you take on the role of Lieutenant Mike Powell of the U.S. Army Rangers. You see the battlefield—a Normandy beach, for instance—from his vantage point. As Lieutenant Powell, you do pretty much what you feel like—which is to bag as many Germans as you can. In reality, an officer’s principal concern on Omaha Beach was somehow to maintain the cohesion of his unit in the face of a lethal storm of steel.

He does go on to have some slightly more positive things to say, but Combs' takes up the issue — the boardgames that generally do a better job of 'playing with history' frequently provide a lot more 'meat' for the historical stew:

Where I think these board games triumphed was in their ability to communicate history as a coherent model: history as a system of rules. History as an interlocking LEGO set of measured hypotheticals and realities. Players moved the pieces around to see what happens. If it was only an amateur's recollection, it was a rich one.

(This historian would offer that when you actually see history as a system of rules, you wind up with modernization theory, but for the purposes of play — it's useful. Let's just stay away from a Reischauer's Making of Modern Japan when thinking up new titles)

So where's the difference between board games and console or PC games?

... historical simulation games were never big business, not in the way mass entertainment console gaming (for example) is. Another way of saying this is, perhaps, to say that these games were largely developed for and by amateurs.

One could only suppose that if more video game product were developed by amateurs that we might see more history, more playing with history, and - to cite Niall Ferguson's claim - a greater appreciation in society of the lessons of history.

Considering the relative popularity of ahistorical FPS that use the trappings and 'hardware' of historical settings, I can't imagine 'real' history will ever be big business — but maybe someday. A historian can dream.

Playing with history [Terra Nova]; How to Win a War [New York]

Personally, I think this is absurd. As a kid, I was fascinated by the Holocaust, and I think making this material more accessible for children is more than a good idea, it's downright essential. If this is the only way some people will learn about something so important as the Holocaust, then this game should absolutely see the light of day. Not to mention I find it incredibly hard to stomach that a game educating people about the events of the Holocaust is under fire, when there are so many games glorifying the violent aspects of the war.

UPDATE: Bernard has contacted us, and said that he's explained the remarks to Kagan, who now wishes him the best of luck and agrees with the idea. He says he has also been contacted to move the title from the DS to the Wii, and Alten8 remains the only company that appears willing to take on the risky game. Bernard says they'll distribute the title on their own if need be.

Survivor outraged by Nintendo game [The Jewish Chronicle]

Call of Duty 4 was Infinity Ward's third Call of Duty game, and as such we approached it knowing we needed to do something fresh. We don't want to pigeonhole ourselves any more than we have to, and many members of the team came off Call of Duty 2 promising never to work on another WWII game....We don't agree with some critics who say that WWII as a genre is dead, but we couldn't muster the same passion for the subject that we had in our first three WWII games

We pay a lot of attention to the historical authenticity in the project. We involved a historical consultant to keep an eye on the authenticity of events and various features of the game. Thus we're specific to many interesting facts relevant to that epoch: Hitler's security system that applied multiple gadgets - sensitive microphones to detect timing devices and a great number of impersonators, as well as schemes and layouts of Hitler's private bunker.

That picture above is Akella's highly publicized digital rendition of Hitler's office. And details like this seem to matter more in a spy story full of real world secrets largely based upon real world people—especially when that's basically what the whole game is about. We're trying to quell our excitement and manage our expectations for the title. But honestly, we can't wait to infiltrate the Nazi regime and teabag the bejesus out of Hitler.

Hit the link for a full Q&A with Akella's Boris Chuprin, the owner of that quotation above.

Gaming Today Q&A: Boris Chuprin on "A Stroke of Fate" [gamingtoday]

President Gearbox Randy Pitchford stated, "Almost every developer can point to comic books as an influence and inspiration in making games. To say we're delighted to be working with Dynamite Entertainment would be an understatement...I expect that the Brothers in Arms comic series will be an extremely high quality book."

Details of the writers and artists are secret as of right now, but seeing some of the talent Dynamite has drawn in (mmm, Frank Cho) I expect it to be a top-notch book that hearkens back to the golden days of war comics. Then again I am just a big old comic geek so what do I know? I'll just wait for the details. Michael Fahey

Dynamite Entertainment to Produce Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway Comic Series

June 14, 2007 Runnemede, NJ - Gearbox Software, Inc. and Dynamite Entertainment are proud to announce the signing of an agreement that will allow for Dynamite to create a new comic book series based on the characters and story of the upcoming Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway video game! The agreement allows Dynamite to draw upon any and all previous Brothers in Arms franchise video games' story lines to develop story lines for the comic series.

Brothers In Arms is based on the true story of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment of the famed 101st Airborne Division who were dropped behind German Lines on D-day. Players assume the role of Sergeant Matt Baker, a paratrooper (based on Harrison C. Summers and various other people), and the leader of an airborne squad from Fox Company. The Brothers In Arms games are a tactically accurate, "first-person shooter" style of game that combine meticulously researched and historically accurate weapons, weather, and environments with the excitement of first-person, "squad level" command in the European Theater during World War II. The missions range from dropping into France on June 6th to the final defense of Hill 30 eight days later.

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway is the third entry in the Brothers in Arms series of video games. Once again players can reprise the heroic role of Sergeant Matt Baker, a soldier of the 101st Airborne Division, during Operation Market Garden in the late stages of World War II. The game has many new features, including the ability to command a further squad, from a selection of new specialized units (Bazooka Teams, Machine Gun teams, Mortar Teams, as well as Radio Teams with which to call in artillery support).

Although exact details of the comic book series are in development now with creative and cover artists being kept a closely guarded secret, Dynamite plans for the series to incorporate all the intensity and accuracy of the Brothers in Arms video games. Information on the creative team and scheduling for the series will be released in the coming weeks.

Dynamite stated, "Brothers in Arms is one of the most popular video games in the market today. This should open up new doors for Dynamite, as well as for comic and gaming retailers. We're going to launch this with a unique initiative! This should lead to existing comic fans who have not played the game to sample it, and fans who do play the game can come in to purchase the original comic at the same time. This is a whole new adventure for us on so many levels, and we're really excited to have this opportunity to add another genre to our list of growing titles. Creative details are still in the preliminary stages, but based on the overwhelming response and praise we've had regarding our titles to date, we're positive that comics fans, fans of the game, as well as military enthusiast and action seekers will be blown away by this new addition to our 'dynamite' line up! We're showcasing images from the game to let fans know we're going after the cannon of the game, but with the 'dynamite' ability to execute Dynamite has shown!"

President Gearbox Randy Pitchford stated, "Almost every developer can point to comic books as an influence and inspiration in making games. To say we're delighted to be working with Dynamite Entertainment would be an understatement. I'm excited by Dynamite's dedication to quality comics through art, story telling, and collaboration with the game makers here at Gearbox Software. I expect that the Brothers in Arms comic series will be an extremely high quality book."

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"We're thrilled to engage in an exclusive partnership with Activision and bring a new Call of Duty title to mobile gamers worldwide," said Greg Ballard, chief executive officer and president, Glu. "The Call of Duty franchise has brought new meaning and innovation to the first person action category and is a great addition to Glu's portfolio of award-winning games."

Update - Aspyr dropped us a line to make sure we knew that they made the Call of Duty 2 Pocket PC Edition, which was an FPS version for mobile devices as well. Sorry about that guys.

Glu and Activision Announce Exclusive Worldwide Partnership to Bring Next Call of Duty Title to Mobile Phones

Leading Mobile Publisher Adds Title from Critically-Acclaimed Franchise

San Mateo, Calif. - May 1, 2007 - Glu Mobile Inc. (Nasdaq: GLUU), a leading global publisher of mobile games, today announced a strategic worldwide partnership with Activision, Inc., to develop an upcoming Call of Duty title for mobile phones. Through this exclusive agreement, Glu will create a future title in the critically-acclaimed Call of Duty franchise, giving gamers around the world a way to experience Call of Duty directly on their mobile phones.

"We're thrilled to engage in an exclusive partnership with Activision and bring a new Call of Duty title to mobile gamers worldwide," said Greg Ballard, chief executive officer and president, Glu. "The Call of Duty franchise has brought new meaning and innovation to the first person action category and is a great addition to Glu's portfolio of award-winning games."

Today's announcement highlights Glu's superior studio capabilities and solid relationships with wireless carriers around the world that enable the company to deploy titles to a vast audience of consumers worldwide.

"Glu's well-earned reputation for publishing award-winning quality mobile games, and their proven ability to deploy titles globally made them a clear choice as our partner to bring the next Call of Duty to mobile gamers," said David Anderson, senior director of business development at Activision. "The mobile launch will give fans the ability to experience the thrilling action and heart-pounding intensity of Call of Duty, whenever and wherever they are."

The critically-acclaimed, blockbuster Call of Duty series is known for its cinematic intensity, epic battlefield moments and intense multiplayer action. The Glu mobile version will be available to consumers on major wireless carriers around the world later this year.

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And if you're really in the mood for a bit more WWII action, don't forget those lovely themes you can pay for! Even more pin-up girls are ready for historically accurate gawking as of right now. The highly anticipated follow up to the Battlestations: Midway girlie theme released mere days ago can be yours for the extremely fair price of 150 Microsoft points.

You know you want to flush money on this sort of thing, so just do it! Michael McWhertor

Battlestations: Midway demo touches down Thursday [Gamespot]
Cheesecake Pin-Ups For Your Xbox 360 [Kotaku]

A tipper by the catchy handle of Jwalestrom went apeshit in our inbox this morning (in a nice way), and among the 6 enthusiastic bombs he dropped between 4:45AM and 5:33AM was this collection of Xbox casemods.

The mods were harvested by news site CyberNet from various xbox fora. My favorite is the one picture at right, which looks "as if the beleagured 360 just barely made it's way out of a minefield." Well said, Jwales.

Eliza Gauger

Complete gallery here [CyberNet]

If you've yet to pick up Day of Defeat: Source, Valve's throwing a slightly belated Independence Day bone your way with the upcoming free DoD: Source weekend.

Three days straight is about all I ever seem to play these team-based World War 2 games for, so this free weekend will completely obviate any need for me to ever buy the title. Thanks, Valve! For those of you with less fickle tastes, you'll have three days between July 7th and July 10th to once again appraise whether or not this mod-gone-retail is worth 20 clams to you. Florian Eckhardt

Day of Defeat: Source - Free Weekend [Steam]

Thanks to Cathode Tan for pointing out this great gallery of vintage World War II posters remixed with Battlefield 1942.

Warning: If you're the type of person who gets offended by sixty-five year old relics of racial insensitivity, this is not the gallery for you! A couple of the posters being remixed are quite racist, featuring the squinty, buck-toothed stereotype of 'Tojo' favored by the Warner Brothers cartoons of that era. If you can deal with that by putting it in the context of a massive world-wide conflagration decades ago that resulted in the loss of millions of lives, you're probably safe to click. Otherwise, you should probably move on.

On the other hand, if you find yourself rolling around in the floor in an expanding puddle of urine anytime you read the word 'smacktard', this gallery is going to leave you a desiccated husk of a gamer by the end of the day. Florian Eckhardt

Battlefield 1942 Posters (via Cathode Tan)

Huh. Not sure how I'd feel walking around with a big Adolf Hitler head on my chest, especially if I had to tell people the tee was an Advanced Dai Sen Ryaku promo item. I suppose the inclusion of Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill, and Mussolini gives it a bit more context, softening the potential neo-Nazi implication, but it's really the hardcore nerdery that puts it over the top.

The shirt is one of three (others include Gunstar Heroes and Dynamite Deka) released by Mars 16 to promote the recent Sega Ages budget remakes for the PlayStation 2 in Japan and is available via the Sega Direct online store.

Sega Mars 16 Tees