Forgotten gem of a game

This is the updated IL2 Sturmovik game by Maddox Games and distributed by Ubisoft. The game is designed around the Russian fighter-bomber of the title, which mimics a realistic flight model in a World War 2 environment.
My game came in a DVD case with two discs, there is a small inlay for instructions to the manual, which is in electronic format on disc. The game is rated for players 7+, which in my opinion is low even though there is no blood, only the ragdoll effects of dead bodies, it does require patience and is probably best for teenagers or older.

There are several options for game play and these include a Multiplay mode, a single mission mode, a career campaign mode. I tended to only use the single missions or the career mode. Single missions allow quick access to the planes and you generally start flying in the sky. For the career you start by you selecting the side (Allied/Axis) and a type of career. Multiplay mode requires an Internet connection to play with others online.

There are four types of difficulty level in the game and these are set in menu screen before play. The four are Easy, Normal, Realistic and Custom, the first three are set by the game, whilst the fourth is set by you on a difficulty setting screen. The easy level gives you unlimited ammo and fuel, which is not always an advantage. You will also be given marker tags to air targets to allow you to tell the difference between friend or foe and how far away they are and you start missions in the air. At the opposite end the realistic level is so named as you get no external views and a map with no marker on it so you have no idea where you are unless you can read a map properly. Realistic yes, Easy no way!

The game basically consists of flying a plane to a destination and attacking a ground or air target and getting back. A standard mission lasts up to 60 minutes, there is however a time control that allows you to speed up the game up to 8 times normal or slow it down to a 1/4 of normal time. Speeding up is good if you want to reduce the flying time and slowing down is best for when you get something in your gun sights.

Flying the plane is relatively simple on Easy, but there is a steep learning curve trying to find all the controls and getting used to flying the plane in a formation. Controls can be through the keyboard, but I use a joystick with a 'twist' rudder capability and a keyboard for all the additional functions.

For attacking targets there are four weapon groups available, they are main guns, secondary guns, rockets and bombs. Additionally in the heavy bombers you can rotate through the views of the other crew members and fire defensive machine guns from these locations.

Ending the game is easy, you can hit 'escape', die, bail-out or land safely in friendly territory. Only a landing alive in friendly territory will allow you to progress to the next mission, but in all cases you get an end mission statistic screen.

There are now two types of planes available, single engine planes or multiple engine bombers. The planes are too numerous to mention here, but include the standard planes of the era available on the Eastern front including Lend-Lease planes such as the Hurricaine. There are many more AI planes that you cannot fly, these planes range from small fragile spotter bi-planes through to multiple engine transports and bombers. Other AI items on the ground include artillery guns, cars, trucks, trains, tanks and ships.

The graphics for IL2 FB have been upgraded and improved from the original game, with better rendering to the planes interior and exterior. The detail is so great that there is sometimes even a fully functioning clock. Externally there are puffs of smoke when an engine starts up, vapour trails at altitude and smoke or flames if you get terminal damage. One of the best aspects graphically is the damage model. Any damage to the plane is quickly felt in the way the plane flies. The damage model will even show bullet holes exactly where you got hit, panels falling away and missing dials internally. In IL2 FB there are so many ways to die that it is nearly a pleasure to get shot up, as invariably you will never get damaged the same way twice.

The engine running sound is one of the most realistic parts of game package as the various different planes are given totally different engine noises. Sounds during combat are good with realistic sounds of bullets as they race past your cockpit or 'thud' as they make impact. Another well-done aspect is the radio chatter as you get to hear actors talking Russian or German radio chatter as you fly and see it instantly translated for you as text at the top of your screen.

Luckily there is a link that allows you to communicate back in any language when you hit the 'tab' key to call up a list of commands. From here you can hit the number key that references the command you want to give and select who you want to give the command to. This adds an extra dimension to the game, but also increases the complexity as it is not easy to control your plane and issue commands in a dogfight.

For me the replay value is huge, as a World War 2 plane enthusiast I love it and have spent hours playing the game. As for other people all I can say is you will either love it or hate it. The learning curve is steep, but by customising the settings you can make your plane indestructible and hence impossible for the AI planes to shoot down. From here you can learn the basics and then turn of the protecting items one by one. This is a game that I enjoy enough to keep on playing it, but I can only recommend it to gamers who are into flight simulators. There are problems with the game such as the career campaign mode, which makes you fly missions again and again until you get them right. Also some functions are hard to control when you are in the middle of a scrap, such as the fuel mixture, air vents, etc.. A thoroughly enjoyable game, but not one for everyone.

(c)2008 buzzard_cad
This review may be found at other websites under the same user name and is also written by me.

~Further Information~
Released by Ubisoft (see www.ubisoft.com)
IL2 Forgotten Battles (2002) retailing for around $9.99 or less

~Technical information~
My PC Specification
Pentium 4 2.66 GHz
Memory 512MB of RAM
Windows OS XP SP2
DirectX 9b
An internal Video chipset
An internal sound chipset
A 40GB hard drive of which the game only needs 1.1GB
For Multiplay an Internet connection of 56Kbps or better is required, but I used a broadband connection.