IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946

« 1946 might as well be the holy grail of WWII flight sims, a platinum anthology of everything good about no-frills airborne scrimmaging. The new material's a deal, whether you own the earlier games or not. And if you don't, 30 bucks nets you something that -- six years on -- still outclasses everything else. »

« This is the biggest and best combat flight sim money can buy, but it's by no means flawless. [Jan 2007, p.70] »

« Many of the new planes are a bit odd, although admittedly pretty fun to fly. As a collection Il-2: 1946 is a true masterpiece. The best version of the greatest simulator of all time. [Jan 2007] »

« Aside from the half-functional multi-player and a brutal learning curve, there’s nothing about IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 that isn’t amazing. Superb aircraft flight modeling? Check. Amazing looking aircraft? Check. More than 220 different aircraft and around 200 missions? Check. »

« It feels like a retro collection, but it's pretty much a no-brainer for flight sim fans until "Storm of War" arrives. [Feb 2007, p.65] »

« For forty bucks, you can't really go wrong here, particularly since this version of the game includes every expansion that the series has seen so far. It's a shame that there's not more US or UK content here, but that's to be expected. »

« Excellent gameplay and an amazing level of detail should make those who enjoy flight sims giddy (and may even convert a few that aren't into amateur flyboys). »

« For a measly 30 bucks, you won't find a better deal anywhere. [July 2007, p.64] »

« for such an old combat flight sim, It packs a lot of content, you can play 229 aircraft in total, no DLCs included, and not only that, it is another one of those games with a dedicated modding community, so you can play even more planes from whole different eras. but although the game is loaded with awesome content, it is incredibly hard to get into, having a joystick is mandatory since there is no mouse-support, and even if you have one AI will always be better than you because they don't have to deal with the shaky aim and lack of sitautional awareness like you, it's more unforgiving than it's successor game and it's graphics (which usually is a huge selling point in any flight sim) is long due, it will take a long, long time and lots of studying basic flight maneuvers before you can actually enjoy the game for real. »

« Note: Game is a Flight Sim if you’re not into Flight Sims step away! IL-2 is more or a semi-sim between arcade and a real simulation; this due to there being no clickable cockpit (like DCS of BMS) or advanced flight management or planning (which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on who you are). Though like all Sims it still suffers in the Boredom Simulator (flying around doing nothing, feeling like a commercial pilot unless that’s your cup of tea) to which all Sims suffer from not a real surprise; though this can be overcome by time compression and best of all TimeSkip which skips you to the next waypoint much like in Combat Flight Sim. So you can take off, set up your plane, then TimeSkip to the mission point no boredom involved. The A.I (friend and enemy) is competent in most situations and will follow orders when given, along with ground control. There is a lot of content in this Sim from single missions to Mission Builder, and Campaign; you can also record and replay your flights and the replay system is one of the best still in a flight sim! It’s originally from the early 2000's (first release), and it can show in its rather overly sensitive flight controls of some of its planes (especially on takeoffs and landings), much like other early flight Sims from the early 2000's (They can be tweaked somewhat in control settings). Though ‘Damage models’ and ‘3D Models’ in general of the planes, ships, and ground forces are really Impressive; especially the planes and their **** (with fully functional gauges). Visuals are still pretty decent today (really good for its time; compare it to Microsoft Combat Flight Sim of the same time. P.S. I would only recommend for those who are flight sim aficionados, and love flying in WWII. A Flight Stick is also recommend but not necessary; because of the touchy controls. Really if you want a cheap and samey experience along with updated graphics and flight controls/flight models get the 2008 IL2: Birds of Prey for the 360, or Wings of Prey for the PC (it’s a little more on the arcade side but feels like IL-2). Pro: It’s a Flight Sim. Mission Builder so always new content, Tons of rendered **** (Fighters and Bombers). Great looking models being eighteen years old! Con: Its ‘Flight Models’ and’ Flight Controls’ leave something to be desired on some planes. »

« Oh dis donc le jeu de coucous foireux ! qu'il est relou sa mère, ce gros **** ! déjà, rien que pour décoller, il roule en crabe et il vole de travers... oui, rien que pour décoller, il faut être un astronaute de la Nasa ou s'appeler Gagarine... il paraît que le jeu gère la manette et dans les réglages, il semble avoir compris mais en fait que dalle, il s'en fout de ta manette ! ou alors faut tout reparamétrer chaque putain de touche de A à Z... laisse tomber. On clique quoi qu'il en soit sur l'entraînement pour s'entraîner... et on a droit qu'à des "vidéos" faites avec le moteur du jeu, des "leçons" pas interactives pour un kopeck... comment tu veux apprendre si tu peux pas essayer "en vrai" ? Alors, on va dans les options et on décoche toutes les conneries réalistes, on lance une mission du côté du Reich avec un BF110... déjà que l'espèce de "briefing" est super mal présenté (qui a torché ça ? le stagiaire ?) mais en vol, aucune indication de rien... faut aller où, mon couillon de jeu, hein ? dans ton cul ?... Graphiquement, c'est plutôt pas trop vilain (enfin pour l'époque je crois) mais uniquement en 4/3 et la musique du menu, on dirait de la FM des années 90, quelle horreur...! le jeu a l'air de toute façon bien buggué (souris qui disparaît dans les menus, jeu entièrement muet une fois sur deux, joystick non reconnu) et n'est pas d'une fluidité exemplaire : encore un machin programmé avec le fion ! Bref, on arrête cette connerie de jeu à la con qui soûle et qui ne vaut pas un radis : envoyez-moi tout ça au goulag ! »

« Well worth any price that will be asked. You will have to do some patching and a little modding to get it up to the community level for online play. **** still run online servers to play for free! »

« This Is a must have for every aviation history fan and simulator fan out there, Its pretty cheap on steam and GOG ! And the community mods are super good! this games feels very realistic and it is realistic! Planes are perfect , historical accurate and look good! there are hundreds of planes. Also this is an old game so it may have old graphics but that doesn't mean its a good game! Its fantastic! The controls may feel strange at first with a keyboard but I got ok with them also its good to have a good old joystick to play this! And this game is not for normal gamers. This game is serious and its not an arcade game! If you don't like hard games then think twice! Multiplayer its pretty populated! and its fun to play with a friend. For me this game is 10/10 and from an reviewer's eye this game is 9/10! I love this game! and I really suggest it for those who want to learn a bit of flying skills too! »

« This is the second best flight simulator on the PC (first is Digital Combat Simulator) and the best WWII flight simulator. There are over 300 missions, over 200 missions, and a near historically-accurate campaign. Despite this game released over 6 years ago, it is still supported, and the modding community is well active. Since this is a simulator, it's not for everyone (you can change the setting to be more arcade). It's now $9.99, so go pick it up. »

« The best WW2 flight sim! There is no better one. Grate physics, flight model lots of content because of all scenarios, static campaigns and dynamic campaigns random set of scenarios witch are generated based on your combat performance and general casualties. Game engine is old but there is still unofficial patch support redoing textures and improving graphics so it looks good. »

« great game with fantastic gameplay and excellent graphics. There are many enjoyable modes and campaigns to fly and have a really good time doing. There is a great damage engine to enhance the sense or realism and difficulty menu which lets you taylor the realism to your own preferences. However there are some complaints such as lack of tutorial, poor editor and the fact that many of the best planes are unavailable for use. For example if you want to do a mission with a bomber you are stuck with a smaller bomber or the TB-3. Also not that many different missions in single missions many are just take off or land missions. Other than that great game. But best for simulation fans. »