IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey For PSP

As snappy titles goes, IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey isn’t really onto a winner. For a start, it sounds like a sequel to IL-1 Sturmovik, which it isn’t (although there are other games in the series on the PC), and the name Sturmovik means absolutely naff all to anyone without an active interest in World War 2 aircraft.

If you do have such an interest, you might know that the Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovik, or Flying Tank as it was dubbed, was a great big bastard aircraft that dominated the skies at the hands of the Russian pilots. You might surmise, therefore, that Birds of Prey is some sort of World War 2 flight sim, and you’d be right. But before that ‘sim’ word has the less hardcore of you scampering for the close button, wait. Birds of Prey has a trick or two up its sleeve.

For starters, it takes a few cues from Tom Clancy’s HAWX. No, come back, it’s not that bad. It takes some of the better parts- the stylish visuals, the loving attention to detail, and the concessions to casual players. Thanks to the inclusion of not one, but two flight mechanics, Il-2 Sturmovik intends to cater to the less elite crowd without alienating its traditional audience. By incorporating both arcade and realistic modes, you can pick your style of play freely, and still enjoy the entire experience.

Arcade mode is simple enough; your aircraft controls as you’d expect from any modern console flight sim. The analogue sticks control pitch, yaw, and acceleration, with the shoulder buttons firing weapons and locking on to targets with a smart camera. Much like HAWX, the camera adjusts to follow your target, rather than your own aircraft, so whilst this can be disorientating when the two are moving in very different directions, it can also be a helpful aide to navigation and, more importantly, produce some really dramatic action shots. In arcade mode you won’t have to worry about ammo or anything so mundane as navigation since you’ll have an onscreen map, though you’ll still need to get to grips with the handling of the early aircraft engines: it’s imperative that you maintain a speed appropriate to your pitch, otherwise your plane could end up plummeting downward, though it won’t stall unless you’re playing on realistic. The game does give you plenty of warnings when this is going to happen, and a robust- if perhaps overly long- tutorial mode gives you the full rundown, but it’s something to bear in mind for those used to the HAWX and Ace Combat games.

Switch the flight mode to realistic, and the game changes dramatically. All concessions are gone; you’re now fighting your plane for control, not just flying it. Friction and turbulence buffet you, the engine whines at every move, ammo is strictly limited, the radar is gone, aiming assists lost, fuel suddenly matters, and every shot you fire causes so much kickback it feels like your aircraft is going to fall out of the sky. It’s a sobering, yet breathtaking change, and an intensely challenging- yet rewarding- mode to master.

Handle that, and you can try our Simulation- the most terrifying option of all- which removes all HUD aspects completely, strictly limits you to the smudgey in-cockpit view, and forces you to rely solely on your own vision and judgement to get the job done. Its hardcore to the extreme, almost unplayably difficult, but obscenely rewarding if you can master it.

Whichever control system you opt for, the game at least remains the same. You’ll participate in a number of famous aerial battles throughout World War 2, beginning with the Battle of Britain. You’ll control various aircraft throughout the game, with upgrades and enhancements to unlock along the way, but you’ll still spend your time doing that most entertaining of flight passtimes- dogfighting against enemy aircraft. Since such high-tech tomfoolery as missiles and chaff are not around, you’re down to the barebones here: high calibre machine guns are your only means of assault, which can result in some lengthy- and tense- duels. A real-time damage system is also in force, which can result in your aircraft being literally shredded by enemy fire, but when you can do the same to them, its intensely satisfying. Combined with the lock-on camera, you get some truly cinematic effects; soaring upward to tear through the undercarriage of an enemy Messerschmitt in a Spitfire is a particular favourite, as the camera follows my victorious ascent and, in the background, the resultant fireball of Nazi aircraft spirals out of control.

But for all its thrill and cinematic glory, Birds of Prey doesn’t forget its core game. There are dozens of missions available, split amongst chapters set during major conflicts, as well as 50 jump-in free play missions and multiplayer dogfights to participate in as well. Both of these offer their own satisfaction; dogfighting is always better when it’s against a real opponent, after all, and with plenty of aircraft and pilots to unlock there’s a certain draw to playing through everything the game has to offer.

Stellar production values certainly help maintain the feeling of quality. Jeremy Soule’s orchestral soundtrack might be par for the course, and sounds typically Jeremy Soule, but it fits the mood perfectly, and whilst the visual engine might not always be the smoothest or the most detailed, it packs veritable panache. Landscapes are broad and carefully crafted, 1940’s renditions of familiar sights like the White Cliffs of Dover instil a sense of connection to the game. The aircraft are, of course, meticulously detailed, especially when it comes to the flexible and visually impressive damage model, and a constrained palette and subtle darkening at the corners of the screen lend a cinematic flair to the graphics that really enhance the mood.

Despite Gaijin’s efforts, though, there are some niggles that will frustrate over the long term. For a start, it’s hard to see why hardcore flight sim players would pick this up- the Sturmovik series has been popular on the PC for a long time, and whilst the controls are mapped admirably to the console, and the realistic and simulation modes might attract players who enjoy the arcade mode, no gamepad could ever offer the precision and authenticity of a dedicated flight stick. Some of the missions can be a little stretched, with gaps between action sometimes feeling a little forced. The sluggish visuals can also be a bit of a hindrance in the more densely populated firefights, though on balance none of these are severe failings.

Source:http://www.gameshard.net