Product Description

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds Of Prey is based around large-scale aerial combat over the ground-based military operations of World War II. Participate in the war's most famous confrontations piloting fighters, battle planes or heavy bombers through a range of thrilling missions set over stunning landscapes - from the patchwork fields of Southern England to the smoking ruins of Stalingrad, all recreated with amazing detail.

As well as advanced environmental visuals IL-2 also boasts an all-new damage effects engine. Players can see real-time damage to the aircraft such as holes in the wings and trail lines during dog fights.

• Engage in more 50 thrilling missions from famous historical battles over Eastern and Western Europe and fly historically accurate aircraft including the iconic Spitfire
• Choose a difficulty level to match your experience, from adrenaline-fuelled arcade action to realistic simulations
• Battle hundreds of enemy aces for control of the skies in intense multiplayer dogfights and bombing sorties
• Enjoy detailed visuals including revolutionary real-time damage effects and an atmospheric audio experience featuring a stunning soundtrack by Jeremy Soule

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1008 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: 505 Games
• Released on: 2009-09-04
• Platform: PLAYSTATION 3
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds Of Prey is based around large-scale aerial combat over the ground-based military operations of World War II. Participate in the war's most famous confrontations piloting fighters, battle planes or heavy bombers through a range of thrilling missions set over stunning landscapes - from the patchwork fields of Southern England to the smoking ruins of Stalingrad, all recreated with amazing detail.

As well as advanced environmental visuals IL-2 also boasts an all-new damage effects engine. Players can see real-time damage to the aircraft such as holes in the wings and trail lines during dog fights.

Customer Reviews

IL2- Birds of Prey
Been waiting months for this, finally got it two days ago. I'd played the original IL2 on the PC and found it felt very realistic (as much as an armchair pilot of the 21st century can decree what does and does not feel realistic about a WWII aircraft). The arcade mode is quite fun, while the simulator mode seems a bit too sensitive. Indeed if it was that easy to get your Spitfire into a flat spin during a turn I'm not sure if we would've won the Battle of Britain! There's no real feel of an impending stall, one second you're pursuing Johnny Foreigner in his 109, the next you're plummeting earthwards.
The controls cannot be moved around, an unforgiveable omission. You are stuck with a left hand controlling the pitch & roll stick while the right hand controls the throttle stick (fwd and back) and the rudder (left and right). This is might be a nod toward flying an airliner game as a captain, but the vast majority of single seaters were designed with the more natural Left hand on the throttle and right hand on the stick. And we have triggers on the PS3 controller! The ergonomic ideal for rudders! The lack of ability to map controls to your personal preference in my opinion marrs the game considerably. Pushing the right stick allows your to look around, but I found this to be a bit of a pain.

Great graphics but this game just didn't grab me the way the original IL2 did, however I'll keep playing it!

Best flight sim on a next gen console!.. Period
I have to say that this is the best flight simulator currently on PS3.

The single player is extremely fun being able to fly a whole host of world war 2 aircraft in a variety of locations. The graphics are simply stunning on PS3 totally wiping the floor with Hawx or any other flight sims on PS3.

There are three difficulty settings which are arcade, realistic and simulator. Arcade is instantly playable and very fun with full Head Up Display and driver aids. The other two are much harder and will take a lot of practice before you are any good at it.

The online system leaves quite a lot to be desired as it is quite difficult to get into games successfully and i often find that games sessions suddenly just end randomly. Hopefully the online system will improve with time. Online multiplayer also lacks some of the excitement that you get with other game genres such as first person shooters so don't expect too much.

It is very disappointing to see that sixaxis has not been utilized at all in this game as a flight sim is the ideal game to use this feature... oh well.

Overall, for £30 this game is worth it for the single player alone but the online feature does have its flaws and it does lack a certain charm that you get with other games. If you want a flight sim, this is it!

A Very Nice Addition for PS3 Aviation Fans!
I have only played in arcade mode so far - but it is great fun and I suppose if I get bored I know I could make it harder...?

Anyway - I am thoroughly impressed with the graphics - very high standard, like a Bluray movie and I loved the sound track with Joss Ackland (I think?) doing his best Churchill impression - great atmosphere!

As a fan of Airshows and somebody who made every Airfix kit at least twice as a boy - this is like a dream come true! But I have tried to make my score a bit more objective although it's hard to temper the old enthusiasm Ginger!!

You really feel like one of "our boys" taking the planes up and protecting jolly old Blighty! I love the genuine "Englishness" of it when most games are Japanese or American in feel..?

So - as I was saying for me it would be 5/5 all the way , but I can sense that the subject matter and slow pace as its starts will not please everybody - but for WWII aviation nuts - you just have to buy it!!

Very authentic detail and the early, stately pace allows you time to look at the planes and the lovingly-rendered tableau of Wartime England.

The gameplay is quite repetitive - but I just liked flying around and marvelling at how realistic it all is.....it will be a favourite for me - but I can see how it might not be everyone's cup of tea...what!