IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey

Platform(s): Nintendo DS, PSP, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre: Simulation
Publisher: Fulqrum Publishing
Developer: Gaijin Entertainment
Release Date: Sept. 8, 2009

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'IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey' (ALL) Multiplayer Modes Detailed - Trailer

by Rainier on Aug. 6, 2009 @ 7:15 a.m. PDT

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is based around the large-scale aerial combat and ground military operations of World War II. Players can participate in some of the war’s most famous battles piloting fighters, battle planes and heavy bombers across a range of thrilling missions. There are five theatres of war to engage in – The Battle of Britain, Stalingrad, Berlin, Sicily and Korsun' representing the main airborne battles of World War II in Europe.

Get the IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey [ALL] Trailer off WP (32mb)

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is based around the large-scale aerial combat and ground military operations of World War II. Players can participate in some of the war’s most famous battles piloting fighters, battle planes and heavy bombers across a range of thrilling missions. There are five theatres of war to engage in – The Battle of Britain, Stalingrad, Berlin, Sicily and Korsun' representing the main airborne battles of World War II in Europe.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey also boasts an all new damage effects engine as well as advanced environmental visuals enriching the game play. Players can see real time damage to the aircraft such as holes in the wings and trail lines during dog fights. IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey features hundreds of airplanes taking part in air battles. The unique environmental engine also produces highly detailed, realistic landscapes that allow players to see breathtaking ground support actions.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds Of Prey's visuals are produced with the use of satellite photography. STRM database pictures, renowned for their uttermost precision, have been used to recreate the landscapes of war-torn Europe in remarkable detail.

As well as boasting over 50 single player missions, the multiplayer experience featured in IL-2 delivers even more thrilling aerial combat action.

  • Dog Fight

    Dog fight is a traditional ‘free-for-all’ mode. After selecting initial game settings (number of players, difficulty level, planes available, game play map, time limit, points limits etc) players engage in aerial dogfights earning points for every downed enemy aircraft.

    The winner is the first pilot to reach the point limit first or the pilot with the most points when the allotted time runs out.

  • Team Dog Fight

    After selecting initial settings, players are divided into two teams. Like Dog fight, points are earned for every downed aircraft in the enemy’s team.

    The winner is the team that reaches the point limit first or has the most points when the allotted time runs out.

  • Strike

    Strike is a multiplayer mode where teams attempt to destroy as many of the enemy’s ground targets as possible, while defending their own. The winner is the team with either the most points when the timer runs out, the team that reaches the points limit first or the team who wipes out all of their opponent’s ground targets. Points are awarded for both aerial and ground targets, although ground targets are worth more points than those in the air.

  • Capture the Airfield
  • In Capture the Airfield, players attempt to capture and hold as many opposition airfields as possible. An airfield is considered captured once a player lands and spends a specified amount of time on the ground without being destroyed. All airfields in this mode being the game as neutral, so securing airfields quickly is crucial.

    Each team is granted a specified number of team tickets at the beginning of the game. Each time a player respawns, one team ticket is used up. Once a team has no tickets left, it cannot return to the battlefield.

    The team controlling the lowest number of airfields suffers a penalty of their ticket pool being depleted second by second. The bigger this disadvantage, the quicker the ticket pool is depleted.
    The winner is the team that has the most tickets left either at the end of the match or when an enemy team loses all tickets and planes.

DiP Interactive's NDS version of IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey has sought to employ innovative use of the DS' unique touch screen format by way of counter measure. Players will be able to take hand draw notes on the in game flight card into battle, to physically record key information such as enemy positions and bombing coordinates. DiP Interactive has made use of the lower screen for flight instruments with the top screen used for gameplay and have managed to cram over 25 planes across 42 missions into a single DS cart. The DS has been tested to its limits by producing maps that can comprise an area of up to 100 x 100 km, providing ample room for aerial manoeuvre.

SME Dynamic Systems Limited is able to take advantage of the PSP's considerable graphical capabilities and produce a handheld format that bears notable familiarity to the home console versions of IL-2. The PSP campaign unveils 30 thrilling missions across six major WWII battlefields with over 30 aircraft recreated in stunning detail (14 available for the player to pilot). The non-linear campaign allows players to pick any mission and unlock new ones as they are completed. There are 16 achievements to gain as well as multiplayer support for two player head to head dogfights on the move.

Building accurate 1940’s environments using the latest in cutting edge satellite technology comes with a set of immediate problems, most obviously the 50 year time gap in buildings, foliage and other features, many of which did not exist at the time of the game’s setting and others which are now long gone from the real word and need to be added. To combat this, the development team have collated and pored over hundreds of wartime photos, documents and maps, painstakingly removing unwanted additions and recreating missing landscape features.

Whenever possible, locations have been remodelled according to genuine, historically accurate photos from archives around the world. These were laboriously compared with modern images to ensure all significant features were included or removed as appropriate. Where documented evidence was unavailable, the team took the time to create unique buildings in keeping with the style of the era, often imitating structures from other cites of the era and transposing them into the created landscapes. In total, over two million buildings and around 35 million trees were put in place using these processes to produce a level of realism hitherto unseen on current generation consoles.

Features

  • Authentic World War II atmosphere
  • Engage in more than 50 thrilling missions from famous historical battles over Eastern and Western Europe and fly historically accurate aircraft
  • Flexible difficulty level system: from arcade to realistic simulation
  • Thrilling multiplayer mode support customization - choose the color scheme of your plane and install your choice of weapons
  • Cutting edge, highly-detailed visuals, realistic sound and original music from Jeremy Soule

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, developed by Gaijin Entertainment, is in development for X360, PS3, PSP (SME Dynamic Systems Limited), NDS (DiP Interactive), scheduled for release in North America on Sept. 15, 2009 (Sept. 4 in Europe).

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