IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey

GameShark

Is the experience worth the purchase price of the game for average console gamers? If you've played Ace Combat and the like and want to try something a bit more involved, that would be a definite yes - even without the flight stick.

Eurogamer Italy

Birds of Prey is both a realistic flight simulator and an historical and deluxe edition of Ace Combat, leaving the fans of this genre of games extremely satisfied. Sturmovik is a well-finished and balanced product, that will nail you to your seats for more than 40 hours in single player and virtually forever in multiplayer. The best choice for all those willing to fly high in the sky.

Console Monster

IL-2 builds on existing simulation titles that have been landing onto consoles recently, and is probably the best combat flight simulation title I have played on consoles to date. With its stunning visuals, audio score, well structured campaign and insightful exploits from our WW2 heroes, IL-2 will certainly send any budding fighter jock into a flying frenzy.

Impulsegamer

IL2 has held its own from the PC title, adapted to console beautifully, and is a rich and action packed simulator that gives a great realistic experience while giving enough entertainment to keep you enthralled.

WonderwallWeb

IL2 is a worthy addition to your console games collection offering fast paced and daredevil fights with some jawdropping graphics to boot.

Official Xbox Magazine UK

IL-2 feels like two separate games: one a solid, fun arcade flyer, the other a testing simulation of true aerial combat circa Hitler-times. It's inevitable then, that if you're at all interested in planes, or just want to embarrass yourself at a different altitude, IL-2 can hardly come more recommended.

Xbox World 360 Magazine UK

Does for Spitfires what Forza does for Ferraris. The best combat flight sim ever made.

GameFocus

For those who have been hoping for an incredible flying game to play on their home consoles, the wait is over. The variable controls, the authenticity and the sheer enjoyment of taking down Axis planes is something that everyone can enjoy. From top to bottom, IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is an absolutely incredible journey and certainly one of the biggest surprises of the year; don’t hold back, pick this one up.

TeamXbox

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, viewed generally as a piece of software, is finely crafted in every way, and it shows a great carefulness on the part of its developers to do right by the subject matter.

IGN

This isn't a game that seeks to amaze with some kind of gimmick or flash. Birds of Prey is more subtle and sturdy, where the strength of its play mechanics and attention to detail make it one of the best choices for console-based flight combat.

HellBored

Combining superb atmosphere, setting, and visuals with a learning curve that will appeal to casual gamers and experience simulation pilots means that this is the best all round console flight combat game, bar none.

3DJuegos

The main virtue of Birds of Prey is its diversity. Probably the best air combat videogame in years.

Everyeye.it

Three different options for simulations make Sturmovik suitable for hardcore and casual gamers, but the game doesn't defeat the congenital problems of the genre.

IGN UK

The dry subject matter will keep it well below a lot of folks’ radars, and while that’s understandable it’s a bit of a shame. You really don’t need death rays and power-armour to have a fine, shooty old time – rattatat and all that is more than enough.

Vandal Online

Ignoring some small flaws, IL 2-Sturmovik is delicious, honest, mature and deep, one of the most complex and fascinating flying simulators ever published in console.

Cheat Code Central

Birds of Prey shines brightly as a solo endeavor in large part due to the extreme level of authenticity and attention to getting the flight mechanics just right.

1UP

505 Games and 1C did an fantastic job of not only crafting a fine flight simulator that just about anyone can pick up and play, but also doing a fine job of paying homage to WWII pilots and aircraft. This title is a far cry from a cash-in or a port -- it is the best combat flight simulator one can own on the console. Still, for the hardcore, you would be better off on the PC, where the flight simulator still reigns supreme.

XboxAddict

IL-2 doesn’t try and wow players with a certain gimmick or crazy stunts; it is simply the best recreation of its era’s airborne warfare that you will find.

GamingTrend

For a dogfighting newbie, IL-2 Sturmovik seems like a great place to start.

Edge Magazine

From the patchwork fields of the Dover coastline to the unforgettable sight of Berlin burning in the pouring rain, the carefully characterised locations are as integral to the experience as its encyclopedic line-up of planes. [Oct 2009, p.97]

Meristation

IL-2 Sturmovik Birds of Prey allow us to revive some of the most important World War III battles controlling airplanes in realistic scenarios. Tons of contents, 50 missions and multiplayer options are waiting for you in one of the best air combat videogames in years.

Boomtown

This is a brave, thrilling and fun-packed game that sets out to entertain us with recreations of daring do from the last century. It really achieves those aims, but in also doing so while giving us a say in how we play it, it makes the game all the greater.

GameTrailers

Il-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey delivers a top notch flight sim experience that manages to remain accessible thanks to its scalable controls. Aside from a few bumps in the air, it has certainly earned its wings.

Teletext GameCentral

The PC flight sim makes a near-perfect landing on consoles, with some of WWII's most exciting combat.

Games Master UK

Considering a hard-as-nails sim lurks below the skin, Sturmovik has surprising playability. [Oct 2009, p.78]

SpazioGames

The console port of this important series has certainly proven successful. The game is an excellent title based on aerial combat in the middle of World War II when played in arcade mode.

Official Xbox Magazine

While IL-2 doesn't quite manage to be the awesomest air combat game of all time, it comes temptingly close. [Oct 2009, p.68]

Thunderbolt

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is a step in the right direction for flight-sims on consoles. It’s accessible for both newcomers and hardened veterans alike, and its variety of locales and mission types should hold your attention for a good few hours at least.

Cynamite

Birds of Prey is a great mixture of simulation and arcade. The missions get repetitive quickly, though.

MondoXbox

Gaijin Entertainment showed hou a very realistic game can be brought on console without the need of mapping the controls on a whole keyboard. The Sim mode is very challenging and entertaining, but the Arcade and Realistic modes allow everyone to enjoy the game without having to master all the aerodynamics laws. Our main complaint is about the missions variety, that start looking a little bit too repetitive at the middle of the game progression.

PALGN

Despite a few minor issues such as frame rate drops and occasionally mundane gameplay, IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is an engaging title that will appeal to simulation veterans and newcomers.

InsideGamer.nl

IL-2 Sturmovik is the most realistic flight-simulator on the consoles. Although it misses some appeal of a top-game, it has very profoundly controls and beautiful graphics. Give this game a shot if you’re a hardcore simulation fan or if you just like to see old planes.

MS Xbox World

Fans of flight combat simulators will surely spend plenty of time doing missions and unlocking the extra aircraft but simply put, the game offers little else that stands out for the average gamer.

Gamer.nl

IL2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey succeeds at bringing a flightsim to the consoles. The game delivers a few things that console gamers haven't had for years, but at the same time takes its place between the less-realistic alternatives on the consoles. If you can look past the minor flaws, Birds of Prey is recommended for the serious flightsim-enthusiast.

XGN

Il-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is the best World War II combat flight simulator at this moment. The game really brings you the atmosphere of WWII. Thanks to the good gameplay and content, this game is definitely worth buying.

Gamer Limit

It has to be said: IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is not for everyone. However, what Birds of Prey does achieve is a stunning landscape, deep storyline, and arguably the best combat flight multiplayer ever created for a console.

GameSpot

IL-2 Sturmovik's dogfights and bombing runs are exciting enough to satisfy anyone with an interest in air combat. It successfully caters to both novices and veterans, and it's good to see such a faithful sim appear on a console.

Worth Playing

IL2-Sturmovik: Birds of Prey isn't for everyone, especially not players who expect this to be the next Crimson Skies or to fill in for the next Ace Combat. Its emphasis on traditional dogfighting without frills, along with its low-key presentation, may seem a little dry alongside Jeremy Soule's stirring soundtrack, but the realistic bent of its flight mechanics and gameplay will find an audience among flight sim enthusiasts and would-be WWII pilots who want a reason to plug a flightstick into their console.

RealGamer

IL2-Sturmovik is a solid aerial combat game that is accessible enough for anyone to pick-up and play, whilst still offering hardcore simulation fans the option to play the game in a fashion they feel comfortable with.

Eurogamer Spain

It's a great game, but having the IL-2 Sturmovik name is more a burden than anything: the old PC game still has some important advantages like joysticks, better multiplayer and user created content.

Eurogamer

Taken as a rousing aerial shooter, it's easy to recommend - and sadly rather too easy to complete. There's a ton of content, at least, and it's all presented in a whiz-bang style that draws you in with heart-pounding action without belittling the history behind the explosions. It's just a shame that for such a venerable simulator series, it's the more serious game modes where Birds of Prey feels most compromised by its hardware.

AceGamez

If you have, or intend to, invest a massive amount of time in learning all the delicate intricacies of the IL2 series, then by all means give this latest addition a stab. However, if you simply wish to play an engrossing and hair raising thrill ride in the skies, you'd be much better off queuing up on the aircraft carriers in Battlefield 1943 for your chance to fly a plane for 30 seconds.

X360 Magazine UK

It's arcadey enough to be fun but engine issues and a confusing UI and missions bring it down. [Issue#50, p.91]