IL-2 Sturmovik Updated Preview
We take the latest build of this impressive sim for a test flight.
Flight sims, so recently pronounced dead by the gaming community due to a lack of announced games, seem to be making a bit of a comeback with several good-looking ones on the horizon. Leading the charge is an unlikely game called IL-2 Sturmovik, from Russian developer Maddox Games. The Sturmovik was the workhorse ground-attack aircraft for the Soviet Union on World War II's eastern front, and Maddox Games is bringing it to your computer by the end of the year. It's a subject that hasn't really been covered by a flight sim yet, and the freshness of the topic combined with the high technical standard that the game is demonstrating could make it one of the year's best releases.
One of the first things we noticed is how good IL-2 Sturmovik looks. It's not an exaggeration to say that this could turn out to be the best-looking World War II flight sim to date. The aircraft models are simply gorgeous, with superb detail right down to squadron markings and different summer and winter paint schemes. One of the most impressive things about the graphics is that even in its early beta state, the game ran fairly smoothly on a midrange computer without a lot of memory or a top-of-the-line graphics card. If Maddox Games can smooth it out even more, this could be a game that somehow provides unsurpassed visuals without bogging down your machine. We'll believe it when we see it, but signs are good so far.
Because the air war over the eastern front was so closely tied to the land campaign (there was no real strategic bombing campaign like there was on the western front), most missions have some ground element, whether it's direct attack or the escort (or interception) of aircraft aiding the ground war. You'll be spending a lot of time down low, and this means that the terrain needs to look good up close. So far, it does. The missions available in our beta included both winter and summer missions in various weather conditions. The terrain engine does a good job of capturing the expanse of the Russian and Ukrainian steppe as a seamless expanse, and it's very effective in projecting the idea of space. The weather effects are another of the game's strong suits and include one of the best renderings of a thunderstorm in a World War II flight sim. Probably the only game that has produced rain effects so convincingly in any era is last year's Enemy Engaged: Comanche vs. Hokum.
Even more so than the terrain, the vehicle models are simply outstanding. Whether it's a tank-busting mission, an antishipping strike, or a bombing run against a crucial bridge, the ground units involved look better than in some recent tank simulations. The ships also look sharp, and their movement through the water looks convincing as well, as do the torpedo tracks. This kind of detail--like when your mission is to blow up a bridge and the convoy of vehicles heading down the road looks realistic and isn't just a collection of boxy shapes--really enhances the game. The immersion factor in IL-2 is very high, even in this unfinished state.
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- GameSpot Score9.2Editors' Choice
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IL-2 Sturmovik Review
IL-2 Sturmovik is destined to be a classic. This is one of those simulations that reminds you why you love the genre.
- Dec 4, 2001
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