In my opinion, I am alright with games set in WW2 Europe, but only as long as they stay away from the "Saving Private Ryan" American bravado in Europe. I think the best new direction for WW2 games are in one of two categories.
Firstly it is the focus on different fronts. Sure the Western Front was big, but nothing is in comparison to the sheer scale of the Eastern Front. Whereas in the west the Allies and Axis fought with a semblance of decency, the East was a brutal fight to the death. A game that could capture the feeling of the desperate battles that took place in Russia and Eastern Europe, from Moscow to Berlin and from Leningrad to Stalingrad, without making it needlessly complex, like with Red October, then that could be an interesting way forward.
The second option is to try different gameplay styles. I remember the Escapist doing an article on the Nazi's in gaming and the need for the gaming industry to mature from seeing the Nazi's as cannon fodder that can be disposed of at will because of their historic villainy. The example that the author gave was a modification of the zombie survival mode in Call of Duty: World at War, but instead setting it in Warsaw during the Warsaw Uprising, playing Polish resistance fighters defending a house against the seemingly limitless flood of German soldiers. Another example is where actually play German soldiers and armed civilians defending Berlin against the Soviet juggernaut.
Sadly, I know that the vast majority of the American gaming community greatly prefer their "America #1" style of WW2 games instead of the more desirable (IMHO) games. I also understand that not all American gamers agree with that, but there are a huge amount that would rather fight in Normandy than in the Ukraine. A shame.
