Game writes: "There's nothing quite like World War II to conjure up images of heroism under extreme conditions. Over the past few years, much of videogaming WWII combat has been ground-based. This time, however, it's the flyboys who are going to grab the glory.
Sturmovik is a game that has been impressing PC owners for many years now and is, by many players' reckoning, the best and most challenging combat flight simulation ever made. The great news for console owners is that they too can now enjoy all the thrills of aerial combat in IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey.
The Real Deal
Just in case you're wondering what the heck that title is all about, this game is created by Russian developers and the IL-2 Sturmovik was a Russian fighter plane used extensively during WWII. Now, we've already mentioned that Birds of Prey is a flight simulation, but we really need to stress that point. This is not just some arcade thrill ride like Ace Combat, it is to all intents and purposes the real deal..."
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."
