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God Is In The Details

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: April 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Do you have what it takes to enjoy the most realistic WWII flight simulator ever? Do you have the patience to learn how to execute the Hammerhead without stalling in mid air; do you really want to control the propeller pitch while trying to shake off a FW-190 in a desperate dogfight? You will have to answer these questions, because IL2 delivers the most realistic simulation of the flying procedures of WWII.

The flight models are superb. Tremendous attention is given to visual and audio details. Machinegun and canon fire telegraph the recoil to the fuselage, subtle audio cues define the angle of attack in your wings, cross winds pull the plane off course, a sudden change of throttle generates torque in the opposite direction of the frame... if God is in the details, this game will certainly bring you to heaven.

The graphics of the game are unmatched. The planes are beautifully modeled, every moving surface on the machines is realistically depicted. The movement is clearly visible in both the cockpit and exterior views. In third person, the pilots track with their heads the movement of enemy planes during a dogfight. In first person, all gauges accurately reflect the flight data available to the pilot, from air speed and horizon to manifold pressure and oil temperature, allowing you to play the game with no extra cues if absolute realism is what you desire.

You can choose to play either as a Luftwaffe or Soviet Air Force pilot flying missions over the skies of Eastern Europe in WWII. Flight tactics are crucial for accomplishing the objectives of the sorties. The game requires true military discipline and team work to achieve air superiority. The tactics are different for the Germans and the Russians, each using their own formations and military hierarchy of command. In a German Bf109 be prepared to fly in a "scharm" formation or in "echelon" if you choose a Russian Yak.

The maps and the missions are historically accurate. Whenever I had the opportunity to cross-reference the objectives and the circumstances of the missions, they always checked out. Besides being the best simulation ever, IL2 Sturmovik is an invaluable source of actual historical data.

The only unexceptional feature is the manual that comes with the game. It does the job, but games like Combat Flight Simulator 2 come with much better booklets.

In conclusion, I must say that this game has completely kidnapped my free time for months. It offers a time portal to the air combat during the brutal battles of WWII. You can walk through this portal if you have a powerful enough PC. Be careful and watch your six!

The Great Patriotic Sim!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 11
Date: September 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Comrades!! After a glut of western Europe WWII sims, you now have the opportunity to fly over Russia, where Mustangs and Thunderbolts DO NOT roam. Instead, in addition to planes like the Me-109 and FW-190, you get to fly the Stormavik - a sort of do-it-all heavy bomber, strike fighter and (if you're lucky and very good) an interceptor. The Stormavik is sort of like a tank with wings, a WWII version of the A-10 Warthog. But you'll also fly even more obscure planes - those you may have heard of (I-16) and even many you haven't. And you'll learn more about the differences between different versions of the same planes ("You mean the Me-109E and Me-109G don't fly and fight exactly the same? Who'd a thunk it?) than you'd imagine existed. I've already played Jane's WWII, but Il-2 is far more immersive. Some people hate the small, hard to read gauges, but readable instrumentation and a comprehensive, and ergonomic panel was a dream to Soviet fliers even years after the war. I thought the cockpit was conveniently claustrophobic and, when lined up on the runway, prior to a mision on a cold rainy day, waiting to get the cue to start the engine, I had the sensation of being trapped in a freezing car in December waiting for the radiator to get its act together. Though packed with planes, the complex flight characteristics make each plane the star (why not just call it the "Lend-Lease P-39 Simulation"?). Besides the convincing feel that you're inside of an airplane (and you don't have to be a Hero of the Soviet Union to know what it feels like to be inside of something other than your den) the flight characteristics are uncharacteristically hardcore - just getting off the ground is a feat of aviation prowess equal to shooting down a dozen planes on the original CFS.

One word about dynamic campaigns - some criticized Il-2's less-than-entirely dynamic campaigns, but when you're trying to be historically accurate, you've got to portray certain historical events without regard to your ability to change history. A WWII Pacific sim with a truly dynamic campaign would in theory allow you the chance to find and destroy IJN aircraft carriers on 12-7-41 - thus obviating future battles in the Coral Sea and at Midway. Would that sim be more realistic because it was dynamic or less it monkeyed around with history? Ubi Soft chose the latter, knowing that a truly realistic sim would require a fog of war and the element of surprise (i.e., requiring the player to forget that on 12/7, an armada of enemy planes was about to strike Pearl).

One word about systems - as much as the game tests your flying, the software that it runs on will test your hardware. I originally ran this game on a Windows XP P4 - 2Ghz rig with 512 MB of RAM and an S3 Savage 4 card (which is like buying a Lexus with an 8-Track). Video performance was abysmal - like watching a slide show, and that was before take-off. After personally conducting an investigation of the suspects for this criminal and counter-revolutionary deficiency, and submitting my findings to the general commisariat of people's simulations (at the Central Presidium of Aviation Verisimilitude) I have determined that the Savage 4 video card was responsible for committing these crimes against the State of my Pentium, and have directed its removal and exile to the AGP port on my 5 year old's Celeron. After installing a Geforce 3 (64 MB DDR) in its place, performance improved markedly. In short comrades - to exploit this addition to your hard drive, don't skimp on the hardware. Instead, lavish your machine with the highest grade of components and defray the costs by shifting assets from where they won't be missed - housing, education, agriculture, infrastructure and environmental protection. Long Live the Revolution!!

A Game the Casual Gamer can enjoy too

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: June 21, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Sturmovik has managed, in many ways, to bridge the gap between hard core flight sims and casual games.

The flight model is so thoroughly detailed that they have even modeled in how forgiving planes can be. All to many of the pilots on the Russian front were send their with only a few hours of stick time under their belt. Many of the great Russian planes were made with the 'underqualified' pilot in mind. The flight engine shows that with beautiful realism.

The small number of controls also makes the game easier for the casual game to approch. A decent 4 button joystick with rudder is all that is really needed to enjoy the game. There is no need to memorise fifteen different targeting commands, a complex power managment system, or any of the many other things most hard core games required.

A robust and flexible instant action system allows a casual gamer to jump quickly into battle. When combined with the game's reasonably fast start-up time, and the ability to make simple, short missions, a casual gamer can snagg a ten minute session, and walk away satisfied.

To top it off, Sturmovik has tremendous depth. Every flight is different. You can run the same mission a hundred times over, and never have it go exactly the same way. There are so many ways for things to go different. And you're always learning new things about the planes. There's always a new way to push your plane to it's limits. Even the Flying Tank can pull some acrobatic stunts in the hands of a master.

Il-2 is a game that is simple to learn, yet takes time to master, and it has the replay value to keep you with it once you have mastered it. If you enjoy flight sims, this is the game to buy.

Awesome Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: April 21, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Damn, this game is incredible. Even if you rev your engine, the plane will rotate a bit from the torque. Try to learn how to recover from stalls on all the different models, then learn to recover the ME-109. It ain't easy but once you recognize how your plane of choice acts when it's about to stall, you can pull aerial maneuvers that really ride the edge of the aircraft's ability. I guess that's where 'flying by the seat of your pants' comes from. This game is just overall unbelievable. It's hard to imagine how people used to actually fly and fight in these things considering the difficulty of just getting up and landing, nevermind combat.

IL2 beats the lot

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: December 08, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I bought this sim after been seriously disapointed by CFS3, but i can honestly say this is a product that blows micro$oft out of the water. upon first installation I found out you need to update two new patches of 30mb and 70mb but once they were done it worked a dream and the product web site gives you all the tech support you could ever need if you are having any probs with it. I also fly FS2002 pro which up until now i thought was unbeatable but this comes close in its own way. the graphics are smooth and the clouds and sun are amazing. Sometimes when the artificial intelligence is shooting at you I flinch it is that realistic. The sound and flight models are incredible and the range of aircraft and missions will not let you get bored too easily. I even sometimes just fly it without armament because its that enjoyable. A lot of thought and hard work went into making this sim and if you love flying be it real or sim then this is the one I recommend over all others, along with FS2002 to which i am still loyal :) because this is a battle sim and doesnt have the same choice of airports and peacetime planes but its flyability is second to none.

Its almost real.....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: February 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is a true combat flight sim. If you have the ram and the video card for this game it will feel and look real. This has some fantasic weather too. I have a very fast computer with the top Gforce card and I run it on XP home. It is a great game to play.

Most Detailed WWII Flight Sim Yet

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: March 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I've been a serious flight simulator enthusiast for almost twenty years and have seen many titles come and go. But IL-2 is the best offering that I've seen to date! The graphics for both inside and outside of the aircraft are supurb... the atmospheric conditions of clouds, ambient lighting, sun and glare are so realistic I think that I'm looking at a piece of aviation art instead of a computer game!! The imersion factor of being at the Eastern Front during World War II is very convincing. The authors of this program have done an imense amount of research to come up with all the fine details that are present in the simulator. I can't say enough about the hours of enjoyment I've received from playing and participating in this outstanding product!! If a person wanted to get the best flight simulator out on the market at this time, they need not look any further than IL-2!!!

This flight simulator has open up a new era....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: October 29, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Being one of those who has played almost all flight sims that have been published (even those programmed in basic back in the early eighties). I have to say that IL-2 is way ahead of its time. Even one year after its release it beats everything hands on. It is just the whole imersion of the details in flight model, graphic, sound and gameplay that makes the "whole greater than the sum of its parts" (Unfortunatly, CFS3 does not manage that). There are many difficult levels you can play. You can play arcadish, or in full realism and if so, prepare for a steep learning curve. Once you have mastered flying a bf-109, you will feel proud of even being able to land it..(it was hard in real life)

Offcourse the game has its disadvantages but they are really minor and not really affecting the game play as such. Ok dynamic campain system would be nice, but that is scheduled in the add-on release. You still have hundreds of mission you can fly in offline mode, plus the community has created many battle theaters you can download. if you have internet connection, the online game will make you addicted.

What is enjoyable is that you learn the advantages and disadvantages of each airplanes while learning to fly them. And learn how to use tactics in dogfights. In the early stages of the WW2 the german pilots had much more experience than the soviet pilots. This resulted in such a high scoring rates by the german aces, even if some of the soviet planes were infact better. Up to 1942, the soviet planes were inferiour to the german ones, but in the later stages this started to turn around in favour to the russians. THIS FACTOR HAS BEEN BEUTIFULLY MODELLED!! to say at least.

This sim is essential for everyone who enjoyes ww2 sims and flight sims in general. Furthermore the planned addon "Forgotten Battles" will address many of the suggestions the sim community has emphasized during the existentse of IL-2. Only to make this game even better.

Astounding

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

One of the greatest flight simulators ever produced. While it is true that some people experience some trouble with the game and you do need a cutting edge system to run it optimally, once you get your system configured properly, it is an extremely stable and smooth game. The atmospheric effects are the best ever produced in a simulator.
As far as tech requirements: I recommend as much RAM as you can afford -- 256 Megs is not enough -- I run it smoothly with all graphics options turned up at the highest resolution and color depth on a P4 1.5GHz with a Kyro II graphics chipset with 64 Megs and 768 Megs of PC133 RAM. Also -- get the patch as soon as you get the game from UBISoft.
The game gets every tiny detail exactly right -- example: the aerodynamically actuated leading edge slats on the Bf-109 deploy correctly at high angles of attack. When you fly over a city that is being bombed, you can actually hear air raid sirens! The feeling of immersion in combat is uncanny. You almost don't have to suspend disbelief. And while I've never flown an FW-190, the flight models appear extremely accurate. Departed flight is modeled in great detail. Also, taking off and landing on the Bf-109's narrow-track landing gear is a high pucker-factor experience the first few times!
All of these high realism features can be turned down for those with less experience -- so don't be intimidated.
This game is a true classic -- it equals every one of the great sims over the past several years (Falcon 4.0, EAW, Janes F-15) in terms of detail, accuracy and comprehensiveness, but raises the "immersion factor" to new heights! If you like planes -- BUY IT!

Outstanding game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Hi,

This is the best combat flight simulation game available; the flight mechanics and artificial intelligence outstrip any other combat flight simulator I have played so far (including CFS3) and that is before we even get to how good the graphics are/attention to detail.

I don't consider that I have a particularly high-end system (AMD1600XP+, GeForce2MX400 graphics) and this game plays excellently with no slowdown - more than can be said for 'similar' games touting similar graphics.

Just do to the UBI forum to see the following this has.

Any flight simmer liking combat should buy this.

Cheers,
Juice

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