IL-2 Sturmovik (video game)

IL-2 Sturmovik

Developer(s) 1C:Maddox Games
Publisher(s) 1C, Ubisoft
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)
  • NA November 18, 2001
  • PAL November 30, 2001
Genre(s) Combat flight simulator
Mode(s) Single player, Multiplayer
Distribution CD, DVD, Digital Download

IL-2 Sturmovik (Ил-2 Штурмовик) is a 2001 World War II combat flight simulator video game and is the first installment in the IL-2 Sturmovik series. The release focused on the air battles of the Eastern Front.[1][2] It was named after the Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack fighter, which played a prominent role in this theatre and is the single most produced military aircraft design to date.[3] Along with its sequels, IL-2 Sturmovik is considered one of the leading World War II flight simulators.[4]

Gameplay

The game features 31 flyable planes and additional 40 non-flyable planes (available as opponents). One can play as Australia, France, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, the USA, and the USSR.

The game includes a multi-player feature which supports up to 100 players online over the internet. Free internet services such as Xfire, Hyperlobby, and The All-Seeing Eye, are used for setting up online game sessions.

History

The game was developed by 1C:Maddox Games and published by 1C in Russia and Ubisoft in the rest of the world, for Windows on November 18, 2001.

Sequels and subsequent development

The game saw the release of a number of add-ons and sequels since its initial release, with some of the sequels including the entirety of the original release's content.

The game is currently distributed as the IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 pack. The latest edition that includes all sequels and patches is version 4.12, which brings the number of available flyable aircraft up to 79* and the number of maps to 41*. IL-2 Sturmovik is the flight simulator video game longest supported by its developer with the demo released in 2001 and the latest patch including new planes, maps and other features released in January 2012. Recently patches 4.12, 4.12.1, and 4.12.2 were released.[5]

All the patches or versions, like Forgotten Battles (2003) or standalone games, like Pacific Fighters (2004), used and shared the same game engine from 2001 until the 1946 pack (2006) and even until the console adaptation (IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, 2009). The first games in the series not using the original 2001 game engine were IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover (2011, which runs its own game engine) and IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad (2013, which runs the game engine from another game, the 2009 simulator Rise of Flight).

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings90.65%[6]
Metacritic91/100[7]
Review scores
PublicationScore
GameSpot9.2/10[8]
GameSpy94%[9]
IGN8.3/10[10]
PC Gamer (UK)89%[11]
PC Gamer (US)90%[12]
PC Zone90%[13]
The Cincinnati Enquirer[14]

IL-2 Sturmovik and subsequent games in the series have been critically acclaimed. The review aggregator Metacritic gave IL-2 Sturmovik a score of 91 out of 100,[7] while GameRankings, another review aggregator, gave it 90.65%.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Osborne, Scott (March 11, 2003). "IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles Review". GameSpot. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  2. ↑ Driver Heaven review of the whole series
  3. ↑ Goebel, G. (2008). "The Il-2 Shturmovik". Air Vectors, military aviation site
  4. ↑ Spotlight: Ilushin IL2 Shtumrovik, Digital age Shturmoviks. Fly Past magazine, pp 54-73. April 2011
  5. ↑ http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=31724
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "IL-2 Sturmovik for PC". GameRankings.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "IL-2 Sturmovik for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  8. ↑ Chick, Tom (December 4, 2001). "IL-2 Sturmovik Review". GameSpot. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  9. ↑ Lackey, Jeff (December 9, 2001). "IL-2 Sturmovik (PC)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on September 2, 2004. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  10. ↑ Butts, Steve (November 28, 2001). "IL-2 Sturmovik". IGN. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  11. ↑ "IL-2 Sturmovik". PC Gamer UK. 2002.
  12. ↑ Klett, Steve (February 2002). "IL-2 Sturmovik". PC Gamer: 66. Archived from the original on October 2, 2003. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  13. ↑ Emery, Daniel (November 30, 2001). "PC Review: IL-2 Sturmovik". PC Zone. Archived from the original on May 2, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  14. ↑ Saltzman, Marc (January 16, 2002). "‘IL-2 Sturmovik’ simulates World War II aerial combat". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on June 3, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2014.

External links