IL 2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey

IL 2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is an aerial combat simulator much like the recently reviewed HAWX. Unlike HAWX, however, Sturmovik takes place during the Second World War making it a slightly unique game.

I should mention this game was slated terribly, in my opinion, review-wise. I don’t share that feeling however. Sturmovik was a great game to pick up.

As mentioned the game takes place during WW2 and you’ll find yourself flying through 6 different theatre’s during the main campaign. These include: The Battle of Britain over the English Channel, The Battle of Stalingrad in Russia, Italy, The Korsun Pocket over Ukraine, The Battle of the Bulge in Central Europe and finally over the skies of Berlin. Seems pretty busy right? Well that’s just the main campaign. The game also comes with a long list of single player missions in the same theatres that are different from the campaign entirely, there is a lot in this game.

The realism in Sturmovik is pretty well developed. Since this is WW2 there’s no such thing as guided missiles, you’ll be shooting down enemy aircraft with guns alone. During ground attack missions you might get lucky and be gifted with free fall bombs or rockets. This might seem a little daunting at first but let me assure you it only adds to the fun. There’s nothing like lining up behind a bomber, dodging the fire from its tailgun and then releasing a relentless firestorm upon it.

Damage effects upon planes are the superb; the more fire you take the more holes punch through your wings. Accidentally fly to close to another aircraft and you’ll clip your own wing sending yourself spiraling to a fiery end. Fly into the smoke trail of a damaged aircraft and your cockpit window coats over with leaking oil. It’s all very well thought out and rendered very beautifully. Furthermore, the more damage done to your plane the harder it’ll be to fly it. Flight is already a little difficult to begin with… at least it is if you go straight to it from HAWX. It’s quite realistic in that it limits you from performing totally insane combat maneuvers. This, again, only adds to the fun and it makes sense too. After all many aircraft during WW2 had mostly wooden bodies.

It’s worth mentioning the different gameplay modes on offer with Sturmovik. The first is called Arcade and this is the most easy going too. Arcade mode gives you a targeting reticule to assist you in dogfighting opponents, it also makes flight and damage effects a little easier. Realistic mode is next and this will take away your reticule and make flight much more difficult. Simulator is insane though, not only are damage effects severe but flight is super sensitive and you can only fly from within the cockpit. I avoided trying that more than once. 

So, lets take about the gameplay a little. You’ll start off doing a little tutorial and then you’re thrust into the main campaign as a British pilot operating around Dover. As the game progresses you’ll also fly as an American and Russian pilot too. Throughout the campaign, and the single player missions, you’ll be facing the Nazi war machine but also the Italians to a lesser extent. I thought this was a nice tough because the Italian theatre during WW2 is often overlooked by gaming companies. Another nice feature of the campaign, and single player missions, is that you’ll be flying a different variety of aircraft including bombers. After each campaign mission the narrator will read an extract from an the actual diary of various pilots during the war, another nice touch. Want another nice touch? The Russian and German pilots in the game do speak authentic Russian and German. This game has a whole lotta nice touch’s if you ask me.

Moving onto graphics and wow… The landscape is rendered beautifully around you, the aircraft are rendered beautifully and the damage effects are great too. I seriously can’t find a fault here, even the music is great if not a little somber.

So are there any faults with this game, only a small few. At times gameplay can seem a little slow. It’s not as intense or dramatic as HAWX but that might be because of historical nature of the game. Also, because flight is a little difficult due to the nature of the planes you might find yourself mentally or physically ( your hands) exhausted after a mission or two. Then again my right hands last two fingers are a little damaged…

Either way I’d recommend picking up Sturmovik if you’re into flight simulators, WW2 or just aircraft in general. It’s a nice game with loads of well thought out detail and loads of gameplay.