For many years flight simulation games have made various attempts to make their mark on the generation of consoles at that particular time, only to find that their game play, graphics and lasting appeal all suffered at the hands of expectant gamers. The Ace Combat series has been the only one that has fulfilled console gamers desires and been able to stand the test of time – so the question really has to be who could possibly create a flight simulation game that could bring action, speed, realism and in-depth gameplay to the current console generation?
IL-2 Sturmovik from 1C Company has its flight simulation roots firmly in the PC gaming market, and was for the most part one of the best flight simulators available when it released many years ago. Such was its success that expansion packs were released and community's were built on the success of a great game. That was then and this is now, and the series has made a welcome return to the flight simulator market with IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey for consoles, and some of the original 1C Company developers are still on board within the Gaijin Entertainment team.
VGChartz;s Adam Cartwright: "For a console that can only really be seen as a commercial failure, the PlayStation Vita did extremely well for itself in terms of software – more than 1500 games are available for it and that figure is surprisingly still growing each week, despite the hardware being discontinued earlier this year and despite the rhetoric suggesting it’s only a good machine for indie 2D platformers and niche Japanese RPGs.
Unfortunately certain genres didn't receive any representation at all and act as glaring holes in the Vita’s software library. Some of these just aren’t particularly popular on consoles in general, such as city builders, which have been niche for years. It’s these genres I’m aiming to look at in this article – what they are (including examples of some modern entries in the genres), why they weren't represented on the Vita, as well as some suggestions about what alternatives are available to scratch that itch."
The Publisher of GoozerNation recently had the opportunity to play IL-2 Sturmovik, not because he wanted to, but because his 5-year old son accidentally purchased the game for him through XBL. And because of Microsoft's draconian law of No Refunds, he settled in to play the combat flight simulator that released a little over two years ago. As a result, he was pleasantly surprised at how fun, yet frustrating, this value bin game could be.
GamingTrend writes: "Let's start this review with a big, fat, huge disclaimer right up front: I don't play flying games. In fact, I'm pretty sure the last time I stepped into a virtual cockpit was playing Afterburner in arcades 20 years ago. I know nothing about speed stalls, flaps, props, flat-spins, ailerons, Immelman turns (even after playing this for nearly 20 hours, I had to Google those last two), or any other kind of aerial maneuvering. So if you're looking to find out if IL-2 Sturmovik accurately recreated the altimeter on the interior cockpit of a WWII fighter, or if they correctly mapped the position of every ship during the Battle of Britain, you should probably check out some other reviews, 'cause this one ain't going to help you."
