actually on the subject of first time playing, when i got the game we were about to go to singapore. I was so eager to play the damn thing i smuggled it in and installed it on the computer belonging to the people we were staying with. I played a mission where you fly in a fw190 i believe and take out some ground targets, then a bunch of il2s come in and you have to shoot them down.
I was just simply amazed, the dust flinging up off the ground as i swooped over the forests, peering over out of my canopy as i tried to spot the burning rocket launching vehicle things (imagine a GRADS system but WW2, i dont know what they are called) and tanks. One of the il2s hit the ground without exploding as it tried to get away from me and skidded along on fire as i emptied my guns and pulled away watching the crew sprinting away from the burning aircraft.
What a way to start eh?