IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover
This is the best WWII combat flight sim out there at present..BAR NONE…It is the most complete WWII fighter pilot experience you will get….I have tried other WWII flight sims on the market and they are all very arcade like…This is the REAL DEAL…I have flown this sim over 1000 hours and I am still amazed at how real it feels, how good the landscape looks, the flight characteristics, the damage models, it is breathtaking!..and it is still being improved
When this sim originally came out it had flaws that put a lot of people off and gave bad reviews on sites like this. Unfortunately this has marred what is now quite literaly a brilliant sim. Its taken a while (2 years actually) but for those of us who gave this sim a second chance we have not been disappointed. For that reason I feel that I should make people aware of what they are missing if they don’t get this game, but don’t take my word for it..checkout the recent youtube videos..
– Real player with 2090.8 hrs in game
TL:DR:
With Team Fusion patches, this title still beats newer sims in terms of multiplayer experience. It’s cheaper now too so a win win for all. Forget the BoS/BoM as your first title. Go with IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover as your first entry into the genre and you’ll likely never look back.
Team Fusion are set to release their 5th patch in the coming months which opens up a new theatre and expands the airframe set. IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover has a bright future and really is the #1 choice for anyone looking a full immersive experience.
– Real player with 676.3 hrs in game
Wings of Prey
Wings of Prey is a lot more accessable than the IL-2 series and allows you to get into the game and action alot more quickly.
WoP features a ton of highly detailed aircraft that include cockpits, plus missions / gameplay spanning many combat theatres to match. There is plenty to do here in single-player, plus standard online multiplayer modes are included as well. I’ve gotten 100+ gameplay hours out of WoP so far.
However compared to its rivals, there are a few things lacking, notably no mission editor so you are limited beyond the missions offered and there have been some issues with multiplayer recently as support has been dropped in favour of its multiplayer-oriented sequal War Thunder .
– Real player with 118.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Historical Multiplayer Games.
NOTE: This is coming from a joystick/throttle/trackir user who mainly flies in Sim mode, running Windows 10.
I’ve owned this game for a few years but never really spent much time playing it after my first big marathon. Why is that, you may ask? Well, back when I was using a mouse and keyboard setup, the game was playable but ultimately boring. But more about that in the pros vs. cons of this game.
Pros:
-The game is rather pretty for when it was released, the plane models are seemingly pretty detailed and the ground clutter is realistic for the period.
– Real player with 53.0 hrs in game
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad
Where do I start?
I have always played the Il2 Sturmovik series - that is no exaggeration - I picked up my first installment at age 10, which means I have played for half my life.
To talk about the series as a whole would take up so much time that you’d probably die of old age by the time I finished, so I’ll keep it simple. It’s had it’s ups and downs.
This installment though? What a bloody masterpiece. If you’re here then I’m guessing you already have some Idea of what the IL2 series is, and that is a Combat flight simulator with a heavy emphasis on realism, through its flight and damage models. In all of these aspects Il2 Sturmovik Excels, aircraft are painstakingly researched and their flightmodels studied in order to bring them as close to life as possible.
– Real player with 382.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Historical War Games.
Must fly in VR. My gunner bailed after our Stuka’s right tank was shot and began to leak over the Kuban. You didn’t trust me, bud? I landed safely at a friendly airfield. Hope the water showed him no mercy. 10/10 would recommend to every flight sim/WW2 enthusiast.
– Real player with 201.7 hrs in game
IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946
Written as of 25 August, 2016.
I grew up with this game, so I may be severely biased, just a warning. I remember getting the original IL-2 Sturmovik/Pacific Fighters pack way back in 2005 as a starry-eyed little kid. I was fascinated with aircraft from this era and it’s the main reason I know how much about them I do today. And then, suddenly, this new, vastly superior version appeared! I never begged my parents for something so badly in my life, but I NEEDED this as a child. And so I made the money to buy it. Best idea ever. It doesn’t show it, but the amount I have played this game in so many situations must easily be at least 4,000 hours before getting it on Steam alone. But enough of my life story, let’s get into the review of this.
– Real player with 590.7 hrs in game
IL-2 1946 Is a masterpiece in WW2 aircraft simulation and is a must have if you’re craving action in the pacific. To my knowledge, this is the only game that gets it right and makes you feel like you’re there fighting for small islands and atolls in the 1940’s. Whether you choose Japan or the United States, it does a great job at putting you in the pilot’s seat and give you the true feel of the war from the perspective of one squadron. If you choose the Japanese, you really feel the advantage of the Zero or the Val in the early war battles. The flight models of the aircraft in game make you work for it and learn how the real world planes fly, but once you put in the work you see the reward. But as the Japanese campaign goes on, everything gets harder. By the time you’re flying at Iwo Jima you’re in desperation to just survive you’re next mission. Alternatively, If you choose to fly for the US Navy, you start out from the battle of the Coral Sea and work your way to the mainland islands of Japan. For the US Navy you get to choose the Dauntless or the fighter campaign. The main fighters you get to fly as the war goes on are the Wildcat (and subsequent upgraded variants), Hellcat (f6f-3, f6f-5), and Corsair (with variants). In both campaigns you take off and land on WW2 carriers which by itself is boatloads of fun, but the missions are great as well.
– Real player with 388.2 hrs in game
VR Museum
A tremendous power lies in VR. Anything you imagine, anywhere you dream, any time you envision - it can get you there.
Have you ever wondered what the Handley-Page 42 looked like in real life? Or what size was a Messerschmitt Me-323 Gigant? Or Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria? All of them are long since gone, but with the incredible power of virtual reality they can be brought back to life. And this is what the VR Museum was created for.
There are many great inventions that are only known from drawings and blurry photos. And many of them are already 3D-modelled and scattered around the net. The idea behind the VR Museum is to locate them, refurb if necessery, and show here for everyone to see. Starting from airplanes, the Museum’s collection will grow to become more interdisciplinary in the future.
Rise of Flight United
now when i got this game i didn’t understand why it had mixed reviews, i watch videos on youtube and the flight simulator community eats this game up like a fresch cherry pie, they seem to love the hell out of it and talk so highly out of it, so when i saw the mixed reviews i was kind of suprised, and didn’t undersand and now I do… now before i get too that lets get too the Pros of the game.
PROS
the pros of this game are simple, if you are a avid flight simulator player like myself you will enjoy the higher graphics the game has to offer, clean, smooth, the game has VERY nice graphics and seem to be somewhat realistic in appearence on the aircraft, the cockpits also are nicely detailed with working gauges, instroments and controls, and just like any other flight simulator getting kill after kill is addicting. damage effects are pretty spectacular too watch, peaces of wing come off, fires spread rather than just rapidly burst, props break, holes develope on the aircraft pretty much where you hit your target, very very nice… skins for the aircraft are also relatively easy too mod aside from the fact you have to have a higher setting for your editor so your skins don’t look all pixely.
– Real player with 640.1 hrs in game
Rise of Flight is a World War 1 flight sim that is a game made for flight sim enthusiast’s, thus the game tenders to a small audience and genre. The game upon start-up is a tad confusing for someone who has never really had a flight sim, but being a normal gamer I ventured into the unknown playing a quick match. After taking awhile to find the “Start Mission” button I was off.
The game is visually stunning, even for me with a relatively old gaming rig. The detail to the airplane is stunning and really helps capture the feel of playing in one of these vintage aircraft, from the seat to the gunsight everything seems authentic and comes alive as you fly around and if you have any interest in airplanes this game takes you right in.
– Real player with 182.3 hrs in game
303 Squadron: Battle of Britain
After playing for for a bit and doing five missions or so, I believe I have expirienced the gist of the game.
I have closely followed the development of 303 Squadron since it’s announcement, and it’s pretty much what I expected from an Early Access game.
The game is clunky at this stage, as in EA v1.1.0.
First off, the performance-
Running the game on an Intel Core i7-5930k CPU, GeForce GTX 980 Ti AMP! Omega 6GB GPU and 4x8GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR5 2133MHz RAM, I must say the performance leaves much to be desired.
– Real player with 15.9 hrs in game
It’s not really open world as some say. Only the airbase is open to walk around or cycle in. Despite that it’s a good game but rather short; only 15 missions. 16 if you count the very last one as well.
I completed this in easy difficulty mostly in Arcade mode. Hope to do this again in Realistic mode later.
Final mission. Arcade mode on Easy.
More detailed review will be added soon after i condensed it.
Condensed review below
Pros
[olist]
- Base is huge and explorable
– Real player with 14.5 hrs in game
Super Huey™ 1 & 2 Airdrop
I bought it mainly because I had it when I was a kid for The Atari XL/XE And the c64
Huey 2 was the best one
Huey 1 is okay for its time but controls are choppy. I only liked the Exploration bit
This version is only the C64 version Not the Dos version or the Atari XL or Atari 7800 version
I liked huey UH2x the best!
– Real player with 0.4 hrs in game
Blue Max: Aces of the Great War
Forget glory, friend. Think survival.
The “Pour le Merite” or Blue Max fighter pilots were something to be both admired and feared. An award given to the best German pilots of World War I, if you ended up in the sights of a Blue Max plane, you knew your flying days were over.
Originally released in 1991 by Artech Digital Entertainment, Blue Max: Aces of the Great War is a classic flight simulator that takes you right into the fray as a World War I flying ace. Choose from 8 different planes, such as Fokkers, Sopwiths, Spads to take down enemy planes or capture surveillance behind enemy lines. If real time flying simulators aren’t your thing, Blue Max can also change dogfights into strategic turn-based battles, taking your challenge out of the sky and onto a 3D tactical map.
Step into the cockpit in Blue Max: Aces of the Great War, and experience the strategy and thrills of the best fighter pilots of their time.
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Take your dogfights to a 2D tactical map, executing turn based strategies against your opponents with an unique 3D simulation to visualize your best plan of attack
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Fly high in 8 historic fighter planes such as Albatross DIII, Fokker DVII, and more!
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Multiple 3D angles for more visibility when dodging and diving in the heat of a dogfight
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Shoot down enemy planes or fly skillfully over enemy territory for surveillance as you engage in captivating gameplay featuring multiple mission options and several historical locations.
Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China
I should say, I have not been playing flight simulators that much previously, but if you’re heading to start, then FLYING TIGERS: SHADOWS OVER THE CHINA is right for you.
Game of the genre will appreciate both amateurs and beginners, and now I’ll tell you why:
- Soundtrack. After the game was launched, the first thing I noticed was a soundtrack in the main menu. Without a minor doubt, it was amazing. I enjoyed it while setting the game up. Music in the game itself is quite dynamic and non-irritating as well.
– Real player with 11.1 hrs in game
Ok, played it through. I wanted a casual dogfight arcade game, and that’s what I got (so I played with arcade controles obviously). Controling with the mouse feels good, the plane is responsive, it’s not a pain to aim and shoot as it can be in so many other games. There’s a bullet-time unciton, I must be dumb, I never managed to use it, but to be honest I never needed it.
The visuals are good enough, the sounds are convincing, the voices are convincing too. The music is half-half, some great score, and some that, while nice, don’t really fit the atmosphere, I find, but it’s nitpicking.
– Real player with 7.8 hrs in game