PC pilots on the Russian Front

FLIGHT simulations of the Eastern Front are virtually non-existent. Until now video gamers had to be content with the myriad Battle of Britain sims. If it was action on the Russian front you wanted, then the only alternative was a tank game.

In 1941, the Second World War took a decisive turn when Hitler called off the planned invasion of Britain (Operation Sealion) and launched a second European front by invading Russia.

Operation Barbarossa - as the Russian campaign was called - began with a blitzkrieg of unprecedented proportions - hundreds of bombers supported by Luftwaffe fighter squadrons.

In the first few weeks, more than 3,000 Russian aircraft were destroyed as the German infantry cut deep into the Russian countryside. But the Russians weren't about to go down without a fight. Their factories re-tooled to build modern aircraft better able to dispute air superiority with the Germans.

This game focuses on the famous IL2 Sturmovik tank buster used by the Russian air force to great effect during that period. As well as that machine, the game also gives you the opportunity to fly dozens of different machines on both the German and Russian sides.

This Operation Barbarossa add-on needs the original IL2 Sturmovik game. Provided you have the correct disc it allows you to experience some of the greatest aerial dog-fights of the Second World War.

Visually, the game is nothing short of stunning - provided, that is, you own a PC man enough for the job. Performance on a 1GHz machine running a GeForce 2 GTS card is terrific and you can always turn down some of the graphical eye-candy if your frame-rate starts to drop.

Swoop down out of the sky and you'll find fully three dimensional towns and cities populated with trees, roads, houses, factories and even shops. You can forgive the rather muted and drab-looking colours - this is supposed to be Eastern Europe after all.

Enemy airfields are equally well populated with fuel trucks, aircraft hangers and planes ready for the off. When you drop out of the sun and bear down on them, you can see the ground troops running for their lives, the armoured cars racing for cover and the tanks trying to find cover - fat chance!

The expansion pack also throws some pretty impressive weather effects into the pot. Even seasoned flight sim players will be impressed by the light-reflective effects and the environmental effects like thunder and lightning.

It sounds terrific too. The game is full of screaming engines, massive explosions and the rattle of machine gun fire.

The physics guys behind this game had the experience of seasoned World War II pilots to fall back on and it shows in the way your aircraft respond to the joystick.

This is no arcade game, it's a proper flight sim. Each plane has it's own "feel" and some are a real pig to fly. No wonder the full IL game comes with a weighty instruction book that runs to almost 80 pages. They also take damage realistically and become progressively hard to fly as the bullets take their toll.The artificial intelligence of your fellow combatants is of a high order. Thankfully, you can order your tail gunner to take over the flying, leaving you free to shoot down the hordes of enemies.

The missions range from the first day of the campaign in July 1941, all the way to Berlin in 1945

IL2 also comes with full multiplayer support, both Internet and LAN. Many new Internet groups and squadrons are beginning to develop online scenarios so there's always something new to experience, even when you have exhausted all the various missions.

IL2 Sturmovik and Operation Barbarossa are two games for the hard-core flight sim obessive. Casual gamers need not apply. It takes hours of practice just to keep your aircraft out of danger and as long again before you can really start to think about the dog-fights that await.

On the other hand, for those PC pilots who are prepared to put in the flight time then Operation Barbarossa represents some kind of ultimate.

Published: 07/02/2003