Rating: 
Summary: I am not saying it is a bad game......
Review: I got this game the other day, I had looked at it when it first came out and wanted to wait a little time for any bugs to be taken care of. I will come out and say this first, the website and updates are great. For a game that is a little "old" the community is great, and the fixes and updates are very active.The looks to the game are great. It is a higher end game so if your running anything under 800 you might not get a real good idea. One thing that does bother me, it does get a bit boring to play. Yes shooting at stuff and taking out planes or ground targets is fun, but after a while getting to where you need to go can be long and very boring. The sounds are great in game, I do get a few odd delays but that is far from a complaint. The idea that you can make your own campains and quick missions is great, it does add alot to the game. I just think it has fallen a little short of what I was looking for.
Rating: 
Summary: IL-2 Redux...I tried again
Review: OK, I loaded this thign up again. After seeing all the hero worship about this game, I thought I may have missed something in my first attempt at it, so here we go again. Visuals: I still like the planes in CFS2 much better, IL-2 looks too shiny, somewhat like a plastic model. Clouds and terrain, i will give IL-2 the advantage over the stock MS ones, but that equals if you use after market stuff for CFS2. Flight models/Damage models: In the flight model department, stock out of the box, a slight edge to IL-2, but only slightly. After flying a 1%, the edge back to MS. Damage models, MS has it all over IL-2, or at least, all over IL-2's soviet planes. Gameplay offline: MS, no contest Gameplay online: IL-2 General comments: I still wanted to like this thing... The game loads slow throughout the various screens, settings are counter-intuitive, and I didn't care for the interface, but beyond that, there is a definite, built in, bias to everything soviet. Makes me wonder how the Luftwaffe racked up such amazing scores flying against such aircraft as the YAKS are in this game. Oh well, history is wrong, Oleg the sun god is correct. The eastern front has never been a very interesting area to simulate, precisely because it was so lopsided. I guess you could simulate not having replacement parts and gasoline, that would make it historically accurate. But once airborne..... Back to the shelf...here's hoping CFS3 supports carrier operations.
Rating: 
Summary: The best one
Review: The game has lot of advantages: graphics, flight and damage models, sound, on-line playing. First time when you start it, it is a kind of surprise. Man can smell leader and gasoline. Bullets tracers dancing in night, engine roaring, plane shaking as approaching stalling... Horizontal rudder hit by cannon dropped from plane in front of you, hit your windshield and jump aside. All repayable on tracks. Regularly maintained and upgraded by publisher.
Only problem is a bit "unreal" performance of Russian planes. YAK 1 can overdrive Fw 190 a8, and climb almost equal as Me 109 g6. But, compared to CFS I....
Rating: 
Summary: The Great Patriotic Sim!!
Review: Comrades!! After a glut of western Europe WWII sims, you now have the opportunity to fly over Russia, where Mustangs and Thunderbolts DO NOT roam. Instead, in addition to planes like the Me-109 and FW-190, you get to fly the Stormavik - a sort of do-it-all heavy bomber, strike fighter and (if you're lucky and very good) an interceptor. The Stormavik is sort of like a tank with wings, a WWII version of the A-10 Warthog. But you'll also fly even more obscure planes - those you may have heard of (I-16) and even many you haven't. And you'll learn more about the differences between different versions of the same planes ("You mean the Me-109E and Me-109G don't fly and fight exactly the same? Who'd a thunk it?) than you'd imagine existed. I've already played Jane's WWII, but Il-2 is far more immersive. Some people hate the small, hard to read gauges, but readable instrumentation and a comprehensive, and ergonomic panel was a dream to Soviet fliers even years after the war. I thought the cockpit was conveniently claustrophobic and, when lined up on the runway, prior to a mision on a cold rainy day, waiting to get the cue to start the engine, I had the sensation of being trapped in a freezing car in December waiting for the radiator to get its act together. Though packed with planes, the complex flight characteristics make each plane the star (why not just call it the "Lend-Lease P-39 Simulation"?). Besides the convincing feel that you're inside of an airplane (and you don't have to be a Hero of the Soviet Union to know what it feels like to be inside of something other than your den) the flight characteristics are uncharacteristically hardcore - just getting off the ground is a feat of aviation prowess equal to shooting down a dozen planes on the original CFS. One word about dynamic campaigns - some criticized Il-2's less-than-entirely dynamic campaigns, but when you're trying to be historically accurate, you've got to portray certain historical events without regard to your ability to change history. A WWII Pacific sim with a truly dynamic campaign would in theory allow you the chance to find and destroy IJN aircraft carriers on 12-7-41 - thus obviating future battles in the Coral Sea and at Midway. Would that sim be more realistic because it was dynamic or less it monkeyed around with history? Ubi Soft chose the latter, knowing that a truly realistic sim would require a fog of war and the element of surprise (i.e., requiring the player to forget that on 12/7, an armada of enemy planes was about to strike Pearl). One word about systems - as much as the game tests your flying, the software that it runs on will test your hardware. I originally ran this game on a Windows XP P4 - 2Ghz rig with 512 MB of RAM and an S3 Savage 4 card (which is like buying a Lexus with an 8-Track). Video performance was abysmal - like watching a slide show, and that was before take-off. After personally conducting an investigation of the suspects for this criminal and counter-revolutionary deficiency, and submitting my findings to the general commisariat of people's simulations (at the Central Presidium of Aviation Verisimilitude) I have determined that the Savage 4 video card was responsible for committing these crimes against the State of my Pentium, and have directed its removal and exile to the AGP port on my 5 year old's Celeron. After installing a Geforce 3 (64 MB DDR) in its place, performance improved markedly. In short comrades - to exploit this addition to your hard drive, don't skimp on the hardware. Instead, lavish your machine with the highest grade of components and defray the costs by shifting assets from where they won't be missed - housing, education, agriculture, infrastructure and environmental protection. Long Live the Revolution!!
Rating:
Summary: Great Sim
Review: I recently bought sturmovik and overall am pleased with the purchase. The price i believe is slightly overpriced, but as all ways the price will go down woth time. The main thing with this game is that it isnt a install play game. You need to learn the controls farely well. The first thing about the game is that it is VERY DIFFICULT. I suggest that when you first get the game put realism downt to Easy, then work your way up(medium, hard) What is diffrent about this game is that it mixes two simulators. It mixes the classic Fight Sim and Microsof Flight Simulator 2002. Where as many classic Flight Sims are Shoot 'em up, and Microsoft is just the flying and is only concerned about the actual flight. In Sturmovik, I was suprised about how hard it is to actually fly the aircraft at first, they really are concerned about the actual flight. I have heard about an add on and I hope it includes More missions. Also the hype about 30 flyable aircraft, isnt as true as it sounds. There are about 5 models of the IL-2, 4 of the bf-109, and so on. so there are probably more like 17 DIFFRENT flyable aircraft. In conclusion this is a good game and i suggest this to anyone interested in Combat Flight Simulations.
Rating:
Summary: Pure air combat excellence . . .
Review: Great, all I can say. I love diving out of the sun in a MiG-3 and ripping a couple Bf-109s to pieces while dodging flying shrapnel from the following explosion as bullets fly. A great Soviet WWII combat flight simulator.
Rating:
Summary: Hartman v.s. a Russian pilot or vice-versa
Review: This sim may co$t alot but it is very good. Here is my ratings for it: FUN: 4/5. GRAPHICS: 4/5. VARIETY: 5/5. There are about 30 FLYABLE PLANES! LERNING TYPE-STUFF: 3/5. Note to parents: THIS GAME CONTAINS REALISTIC VIOLENCE AND ADULT LANGUAGE. YOU MAY FIND IT INAPROPRIET FOR CHILDREN UNDER 10.
Rating:
Summary: A Game the Casual Gamer can enjoy too
Review: Sturmovik has managed, in many ways, to bridge the gap between hard core flight sims and casual games. The flight model is so thoroughly detailed that they have even modeled in how forgiving planes can be. All to many of the pilots on the Russian front were send their with only a few hours of stick time under their belt. Many of the great Russian planes were made with the 'underqualified' pilot in mind. The flight engine shows that with beautiful realism. The small number of controls also makes the game easier for the casual game to approch. A decent 4 button joystick with rudder is all that is really needed to enjoy the game. There is no need to memorise fifteen different targeting commands, a complex power managment system, or any of the many other things most hard core games required. A robust and flexible instant action system allows a casual gamer to jump quickly into battle. When combined with the game's reasonably fast start-up time, and the ability to make simple, short missions, a casual gamer can snagg a ten minute session, and walk away satisfied. To top it off, Sturmovik has tremendous depth. Every flight is different. You can run the same mission a hundred times over, and never have it go exactly the same way. There are so many ways for things to go different. And you're always learning new things about the planes. There's always a new way to push your plane to it's limits. Even the Flying Tank can pull some acrobatic stunts in the hands of a master. Il-2 is a game that is simple to learn, yet takes time to master, and it has the replay value to keep you with it once you have mastered it. If you enjoy flight sims, this is the game to buy.
Rating:
Summary: good and bad
Review: the graphics in this game are truly amazing. and if you have a high end computer and like to dogfight 4 versus 4 it is great. the flight models are good, with a strong russian bias however. But if you want to have lots of ground activity and lots of planes in the air, forget it this game cannot handle this without stuttering and the screen becoming a slide show. And I have an excellent high end computer! The sound in the game is terrible. Much static and problems. Offline campaign is terrible. It really is an on line game. Having said all that, you should buy it. The graphics are stunning and the flight models are good. Just for this it is worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: God Is In The Details
Review: Do you have what it takes to enjoy the most realistic WWII flight simulator ever? Do you have the patience to learn how to execute the Hammerhead without stalling in mid air; do you really want to control the propeller pitch while trying to shake off a FW-190 in a desperate dogfight? You will have to answer these questions, because IL2 delivers the most realistic simulation of the flying procedures of WWII. The flight models are superb. Tremendous attention is given to visual and audio details. Machinegun and canon fire telegraph the recoil to the fuselage, subtle audio cues define the angle of attack in your wings, cross winds pull the plane off course, a sudden change of throttle generates torque in the opposite direction of the frame... if God is in the details, this game will certainly bring you to heaven. The graphics of the game are unmatched. The planes are beautifully modeled, every moving surface on the machines is realistically depicted. The movement is clearly visible in both the cockpit and exterior views. In third person, the pilots track with their heads the movement of enemy planes during a dogfight. In first person, all gauges accurately reflect the flight data available to the pilot, from air speed and horizon to manifold pressure and oil temperature, allowing you to play the game with no extra cues if absolute realism is what you desire. You can choose to play either as a Luftwaffe or Soviet Air Force pilot flying missions over the skies of Eastern Europe in WWII. Flight tactics are crucial for accomplishing the objectives of the sorties. The game requires true military discipline and team work to achieve air superiority. The tactics are different for the Germans and the Russians, each using their own formations and military hierarchy of command. In a German Bf109 be prepared to fly in a "scharm" formation or in "echelon" if you choose a Russian Yak. The maps and the missions are historically accurate. Whenever I had the opportunity to cross-reference the objectives and the circumstances of the missions, they always checked out. Besides being the best simulation ever, IL2 Sturmovik is an invaluable source of actual historical data. The only unexceptional feature is the manual that comes with the game. It does the job, but games like Combat Flight Simulator 2 come with much better booklets. In conclusion, I must say that this game has completely kidnapped my free time for months. It offers a time portal to the air combat during the brutal battles of WWII. You can walk through this portal if you have a powerful enough PC. Be careful and watch your six!
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