Since its arrival on the flight sim scene in 2001, Sturmovik's developers have pumped out several expansions to the series. Some of these were simple expansions, some fully-fledged games, and it is a feat indeed if you have made your way through all of these considering the extensive offerings. Thankfully, 1946 contains everything that its predecessors held and more. Each plane, mission, campaign and add-on features have been thrown onto the discs like some box for precious keepsakes. Along with the glories of the flight sim’s past, there are some new additions with campaigns including PE-2, Sturmoviks Over Manchuria, and 1946.
One of the most notable achievements of the series is the way that it has managed to weave historical fact with fiction and even alternate histories. There is an encyclopaedic level of detail to I-L Sturmovik. We cannot even begin to fathom the time that was put into research around everything that the game holds within its tight grasp, and this is quite impressive.
Sara's looking a bit worse for wear for work this morning.
IL-2 Sturmovik is a series that offers a great deal. From the heavy flight sim fan to those that just want to dabble in a bit of dogfighting and bombing, there’s plenty on offer. The complexity of the controls can be adjusted accordingly to suit whatever your level of proficiency. We must admit that we preferred the lower level of this as the upper end can become quite complex, but that’s the beauty of the game; it caters to all skill bases.
The list of planes you can hop behind the flight stick of is extremely extensive. From those from the World War II to some modern jets, you get a chance to experience all that is on offer. There is even the inclusion of a plane that was designed by those nutty Luftwaffe - catchily called the Heinkel He-L-IIIB-2 Lerche, it's a bizarre-looking contraption that apparently never made it past the prototype stage. Somehow the team behind Sturmovik has managed to do what the Germans couldn’t do (even with their world-renowned engineering skills) and let it take to the skies. Other planes that have been included have painstakingly been reproduced to be as authentic as possible and all look great.
Hey man, don't point that thing at me.
Missions range from simple recon to more focussed hit-and-run attacks. With such a rich history to draw upon, both in terms of the games, and indeed the source material for them, an extremely comprehensive set of missions can be undertaken. There is enough variety here to present even the most concentrationally challenged of flightboys and flightgirls. Some of the missions do involve a lot of flying around between checkpoints without seeing much in the way of action in between. Flight Sim fans should be used to this, but those fresh to the genre may want to remember that flying is not only a means of launching attacks, but also a means of transport (the latter of which is needed for the former and also carried out more extensively along with being much more time-consuming).
The level of visual detail extends from the planes to their surroundings. The initial thing you’ll be greeted with on first hopping into a plane is the cockpit, and the developers seem to have been aware that first impressions count. Dials and knobs abound, and are all rendered with an eye for detail. Similarly the visuals outside the plane are incredibly well-rendered. Towns and forests are built of individual houses and trees and, as odd as it is to get excited about the way clouds are presented, they too look great. Also, minor details that add to the realism of the game's world are aspects such as certain weather effects - things such as frost appearing on the wings of planes and sun glare further add to the immersion in each mission you undertake.
Heavily detailed cockpits may not get everyone excited, but believe us, there's some people out there that live for this stuff.
Despite its many achievements, the game is not without its drawbacks. There's extremely little in the way of tutorials or any tools to hold your hand as you learn to control the planes, and you're simply thrown in the aircraft version of the deep end and expected to swim (or is that fly). This is often an issue with flight sims and it would be nice to see a game come along and make it a bit easier for those without a lot of prior experience to get involved. Along with this, considering the amount of detail that has gone into the actual game, it would have been nice to see a more attractive and slightly easier-to-navigate menu system, especially considering this is a showcase for the whole series. Fans of flight sims and previous Sturmovik titles will be able to forgive these issues, but it does little to attract new players.
IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 is a great summation of the series. It's fantastic to see such a solid series presented in this excellent package for both new players to experience for the first time and for those that have already played some of the previous instalments, a chance to revisit and play parts that they may have missed out on. With the new additions this may be something that those new to the series may want to look at, or extreme fans of the series want to pick up for its new content, although a lot of what is on offer you may have seen before.
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