IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey has almost all the bases covered. It can be an accessible, forgiving flight combat game for novices, a challenge for veterans, and a true test of will for the ultra hardcore. With some sharp plane models, a number of gigantic and realistic settings, and a flurry of effects onscreen, the game manages to look and sound just as good as it plays. Throughout its campaign and single missions you'll take on huge swarms of fighters in World War II-style dogfights, using your machine guns and tactical knowledge to fly away victorious. It draws you in with its strongly realized setting, gives you plenty of planes to play around with across numerous missions, and offers up four multiplayer modes in which you can test the limits of your piloting talent. This isn't a game that seeks to amaze with some kind of gimmick or flash. Birds of Prey is more subtle and sturdy, where the strength of its play mechanics and attention to detail make it one of the best choices for console-based flight combat.
Presentation - 7.0
Graphics - 8.0
Sound - 8.5
Gameplay - 9.0
Lasting Appeal - 8.5
Overall -
VGChartz;s Adam Cartwright: "For a console that can only really be seen as a commercial failure, the PlayStation Vita did extremely well for itself in terms of software – more than 1500 games are available for it and that figure is surprisingly still growing each week, despite the hardware being discontinued earlier this year and despite the rhetoric suggesting it’s only a good machine for indie 2D platformers and niche Japanese RPGs.
Unfortunately certain genres didn't receive any representation at all and act as glaring holes in the Vita’s software library. Some of these just aren’t particularly popular on consoles in general, such as city builders, which have been niche for years. It’s these genres I’m aiming to look at in this article – what they are (including examples of some modern entries in the genres), why they weren't represented on the Vita, as well as some suggestions about what alternatives are available to scratch that itch."
The Publisher of GoozerNation recently had the opportunity to play IL-2 Sturmovik, not because he wanted to, but because his 5-year old son accidentally purchased the game for him through XBL. And because of Microsoft's draconian law of No Refunds, he settled in to play the combat flight simulator that released a little over two years ago. As a result, he was pleasantly surprised at how fun, yet frustrating, this value bin game could be.
GamingTrend writes: "Let's start this review with a big, fat, huge disclaimer right up front: I don't play flying games. In fact, I'm pretty sure the last time I stepped into a virtual cockpit was playing Afterburner in arcades 20 years ago. I know nothing about speed stalls, flaps, props, flat-spins, ailerons, Immelman turns (even after playing this for nearly 20 hours, I had to Google those last two), or any other kind of aerial maneuvering. So if you're looking to find out if IL-2 Sturmovik accurately recreated the altimeter on the interior cockpit of a WWII fighter, or if they correctly mapped the position of every ship during the Battle of Britain, you should probably check out some other reviews, 'cause this one ain't going to help you."
