IL-2 Sturmovik (video game)

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IL-2 Sturmovik (Ил-2 Штурмовик)
Il-2 Sturmovik: an external view of a Bf-109 in the Crimea map
Developer(s) 1C
Publisher(s) 1C, Ubisoft
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release date November 18, 2001
Genre(s) Combat flight simulator
Mode(s) Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s) Everyone
Media Compact Disc, DVD
Input methods Keyboard, mouse, Joystick

IL-2 Sturmovik is a combat flight simulator video game, focused on the air battles of the Eastern Front during World War II. It is named for the Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack fighter, which played a prominent role in this theatre. Along with its sequels, it is considered one of the leading WWII flight simulators.

The game was developed by 1C: Maddox Games and published by 1C in Russia and Ubisoft in the rest of the world, for the PC on November 18, 2001. The game has been updated frequently, the latest version that includes all sequels and patches being 4.08m.

The flight simulator "IL-2 Sturmovik" and the sequels Forgotten Battles, Forgotten Battles Ace Expansion Pack, Pacific Fighters, Pe-2 add-on, Manchuria and 1946 now contain 347 aircraft, with 256 being flyable. The aircraft covers most major aircraft deployed during World War II as well as some which did not leave the prototype stage.

The original version of the game featured 31 playable Russian, German, American, British, French and Polish planes and an additional 40 non-flyable planes.

Contents

[edit] Multiplayer

The game includes a very stable multi-player feature which supports up to 64 players online over the free internet matching service Hyperlobby. The All-Seeing Eye also allows members to host multiplayer games. As of April 2007 the game still attracts over 1500 online players at peak times.

[edit] Sequels

A sequel was released in March 2003, entitled IL-2 Sturmovik Forgotten Battles, which greatly expanded the number of simulated planes and battlefields. The game is based around the "forgotten" Russo-Finnish Continuation War of 1941-1944. The Ace Expansion Pack followed in March 2004, which improved the game still further.

In October 2004 Pacific Fighters was released, which can be installed on top of the earlier releases or as a stand-alone game. It expands the action to the Pacific, adding many Japanese and United States planes as well as aircraft carriers and battleships.

Most users of the IL-2 series choose to "merge" together Forgotten Battles, Forgotten Battles Ace Expansion Pack and Pacific Fighters into one installation. Having this merged version of the game is essential to be able to access the majority of IL-2 servers for online gaming.

The IL-2 Series "Complete Edition" has been released, combining Forgotten Battles, The Ace expansion pack, and Pacific fighters into one easy installation.

Recently the PE-2 Add-on has been released in Europe and North America. The PE-2 add-on added 95 Campaign Missions, 5 Single Missions and 5 Multi-Player Cooperative Missions. Two new flyable aircraft, the Pe-2 in 4 versions, and the Pe-3 in two versions. The new PE-2 add-on also added a large number of new ground vehicles and other objects for missions, incluiding several types of Flak weapons and Soviet heavy weapons. As with the other add-ons the PE-2 is installed as a merged installation.

The latest add-ons are called Sturmoviks over Manchuria and 46. They were released simultaneously on DVD or as a pay-per-download in a single package titled IL-2 '46. The complete set brings the games total aircraft count to over 300.

The Il-2 Sturmovik 46 (game version 4.07m, now patched up to 4.08m) consists of prototype and completed aircraft from 1946, as well as new Soviet and Japanese aircraft that served during the operation August Storm in 1945. The planes include the Yak-15, MiG-9, Ta-183, MiG-13, Ar-234, N1K2-J, J2M5, Ki-21, A-20C, Il-10, and many others.

Ubisoft released the "IL-2 Sturmovik 1946" compilation pack in stores in December 2006 in Europe and Australia; North American release was on March 13, 2007. Il-2: 46 raises the total number of aircraft to over 300 with 32 new flyable aircraft (some which never flew in real life) as well as a few others controlled by the AI . It also features nearly 200 new missions and new maps featuring the Kiev region, new parts of the USSR, China, Korea and Burma.

In 2009, IL2 will come to the XBox 360 and the PSP under the title IL2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey. The theateres of war are the Battle of Britain, the Battle of Stalingrad, the Allied Invasion of Sicily, the Battle for the Korsun, and the Battle of Berlin.

[edit] Aircraft

The lists includes only flyable aircraft. Due to intellectual property issues, several important US planes - such as the TBF Avenger - could not be included in the game as flyables. [1]) This list is correct for version 4.08m IL-2 1946

[edit] Allies

[edit] Axis

[edit] Combat Areas / "Maps"

The original "IL-2 Sturmovik" came with several maps depicting the main battle areas of the Eastern Front, including

  • Moscow (summer and winter)
  • Berlin
  • Kuban
  • Crimea
  • Stalingrad (summer and winter)
  • Prohorovka
  • Kursk

The first Add-On "Forgotten Battles" provided some further maps:

  • Leningrad (summer and winter)
  • Hungary (summer and winter)

"Pacific Fighters" came with a plethora of maps for the Pacific Theater of Operations, like

  • Pearl Harbour
  • Okinawa
  • Midway
  • etc., pp.

The last Add-On "1946" brought two more maps,

  • Manchuria
  • Kiev and
  • Norway

Later, some patches came with maps created by voluntary players:

  • Kurland (autumn and summer)
  • Bessarabia
  • Slovakia

Also, a lot of imaginary landscapes were designed, like "Pacific Island", several "Deserts" and "Italy".


[edit] Storm of War

The next game from Oleg Maddox, Storm of War: Battle of Britain is a sequel to the IL-2 series.

[edit] External links