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 Flight 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: 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
Read More: Best Historical Flight Games.
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
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 Flight 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
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
Iron Front: Digital War Edition
Better then Arma but since the game spy shut down multiplayer is kinda hard to play now. Which was one of the best things on this game. Anyone that has a massive server and group still add me! The games singalplayer can be fun if you know how to make maps. Making a simple map is not that hard at all really. I do like it more then Arma. Deaths arnt so crapy looking. Just look up senarios online or use your imagenation to make a small simple map or a huge lag fest battle and have fun. This gmae should get more credit, but I will say it can be a time consumer when making a nice map. However its pays off most of the time.
– Real player with 140.3 hrs in game
Iron Front : Liberation 1944 tactical war simulator based on arma 2 engine so If you like
Arma iron front might be an interesting game for you
so now i’m gonna say a couple words bout story mode firstly as i think single really sucks moreover be sure that you’ll get bored
playing that piece of shit there’re so many buggs you can stuck in textures for instanse or just fall down through the damn earth right into the hell e.t.c yet some old animations from arma ruin the picture even multiplayer doesn’t work anymore
– Real player with 107.1 hrs in game