Some images and screenshots are very large so appear hidden using the spoiler tags. To view the images click the black spoiler area and the images will appear.IL2: SturmovikIndividual Games1946
Forgotten Battles
Ace Expansion Pack
Pacific Fighters
Pe-2
Manchuria
Birds of Prey
Storm of War
PlatformsWindows PC
PSP
Nintendo DS
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
Other ReviewsGameSpot 9.2/10
Editors Choice1up.com 10/10
COMBATSIM Best Air Combat Simulation 2001
IGN 8.3/10
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IntroductionIL2: Sturmovik is one of the leading combat flight simulators that focuses on the years of World War II. The series is one of the most popular and realistic simulators available to any PC owner.
IL2 was first created by 1C: Maddox Games and released in Russia by IC and the rest of the world by Ubisoft on the 18th of November 2001. It features 256 flyable aircraft out of 347 included in the series. Most of the aircraft have been flown during WWII with some still in the prototype stages. The first episode in the series featured 31 flyable planes and 40 non-flyable.
The team at IC: Maddox Games discussed the wars in the skies with actual pilots that could add extra realism and their own experiences to this air combat simulator.
With such a large fan base, the game has a large online and LAN multiplayer system that can house 64 players using the online tool Hyperlobby with over 1,500 people still playing in April, 2007.
In-Depth ReviewFirst I would like to state that I've played the first installment
IL2: Sturmovik many times and I have recently purchased the latest in the series of 4
Il2: Sturmovik 1946. When playing the game, I focused on the multiplayer, quick mission builder, full mission builder and training areas instead of the historical missions.
Instead of buying the game personally - that I do for most of my games -
IL2: Sturmovik was given to me a couple of months ago. After recieving the game I placed the game disc into my PC and began the installation...
I was very impressed with the first training mission (how to take-off) that I started with. Although my PC isn't a high-end supercomputer that dedicated gamers use I was highly satisfied with the low graphics that I had to use to make the game run smoothly. The attention to detail is how should I say...perfect. Yes perfect. I know that sounds a little too much for a game but
IL2: Sturmovik really goes that extra mile with details. During flights using my basic USB joystick I really enjoyed (but got really annoyed when I actually realised) the large bullet-holes in my wings that cause my plane to change in flight.
A couple of months after recieving the stable platform for the series, I purchased their latest game in the IL2 series
IL2: Sturmovik 1946 that packs
Pacific Fighters,
Forgotten Battles and the
Ace Expansion Pack into the one DVD - providing over 300 planes. Only a few minor changes were revealed once I got it up and running. Since then, I have flown a prototype German jet fighter that catches fire if it isn't flown correctly, a large bomber that I can use the turrets to destroy anyone on my 6 o'clock and numerous fighter planes that were available in the first and second world wars.
With
IL2 Sturmovik 1946 came two discs - one game disc and the other is an actually DVD movie. The 50 minutes on the second disc gave me a sense of the hard work that the team at Maddox Games gave for me and the players that have bought the game aswell as amazing virtual stunt plane performances by real people behind the joystick.
I give this game a 5 out of 5 stars for excellent graphics, effects, gameplay and realism.
Other NotesIL2: Birds of Prey will be released on the PSP, Nintendo DS, PS3 and the Xbox 360 in 2009. The game has been released on CD and DVD depending on the version.
References for this review:
Wikipedia
IL2: Sturmovik Official Website
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