IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey for PlayStation 3 Reviews by Gamers

I give this game an 8.5 rating.
IL-2 Sturmovik is one of the better if not the best combat flight game on the PS3 right now I think. It has plenty of models to choose from, both allied and axis. You unlock new airplanes as your progress in the game, though some you can only unlock by achieving certain conditions found only in the online play. The graphics, even through a standard definition TV are amazing to see and watching your airplane get chewed up by enemy fire adds a nice sense of realism. There was plenty of attention to detail paid to the cockpit designs. Unfortunately you only get this view with the allied planes. Arcade mode is obviously for more general gamers. You can breeze through the campaign mood quite quickly on this difficulty setting. Realistic adds more realistic flight characteristics including the ability to stall out and enter into a spin. You have to handle your plane with more care on this setting. Simulator I found the most interesting since they remove your radar and plane IDs. For a game that originated as a combat flight simulator, they did a great job of converting it to the consoles.
I do have some complaints. I felt that many of the missions were too short, particularly in the main campaign. Some of the requirements to unlock the higher end aircraft and weapons online seemed very fairly daunting and it would have been nice to have a had a more casual way of unlocking these aircraft. The training option is nice but I think they should have allowed you to set up scenarios where you had to attack ground targets and even allow an option to add wingmen to your flight. I think the only other thing I was wishing for was to possess a flight stick for this game just to help with the simulator mode. If your into flight games like the Ace Combat series, I would highly encourage you to check this game out.

This is the first flight game for the PS3 that I have really enjoyed. Tom Clancy's HAWX was ok but not for me. Birds of Prey delivers a much more satisfying experience all the way around.
The graphics are top notch and the controls, though not perfect, are good enough. Gameplay is fairly straightforward with your standard flying game missions of escort, strike, and air superiority.
Where this game rocks is in the details. Planes act like real aircraft even on Arcade setting. Things like climb, dive, and roll rate have a relationship with your aircraft that you will notice in various degrees depending on what difficulty you are on. When you are pouring machine gun fire into your enemy, you see the flashes of bullets impacting their plane, watch smoke and flame come out of the engine compartment, and watch them roll over and make the long slow trip towards the ground. It is a very satisfying experience!
My only complaint is that the control scheme for the wireless controller cannot be changed and if it's not to your liking, oh well deal. A flight stick would probably be the thing to really enrich the experience (especially on realistic and simulator mode) but if you don't have one or you are to cheap to buy one, you can get by with a regular controller.

If you enjoy flying games, give Birds of Prey a try. If you love WWII flying games just go out and buy it. You will not be disappointed.