The IL-2 Sturmovik series dates back to 2001 when the first of the series released to a worldwide audience. The then lesser known Eastern Front setting initially had combat flight sim fans write off the title, however, its great technology and expanding aircraft list made the IL-2 Sturmovik combat flight simulator into a legend. Now, 25-years later, 1C Game Studios have released the fourth generation of the series tackling another lesser known conflict and once again seeking to impress with new technologies. Does the new sim live up to the legacy? Does it push far enough into new areas to justify the next generation? Is it worth the high price? Let’s break everything down in the full review!

The Korean War

You have to go back to 1999 and Rowan Software’s MiG Alley to find another full featured Korean War combat flight simulator. DCS World dipped its toes into it with the DCS: F-86 and DCS: MiG-15 but two duelling jet fighters don’t make for a full combat scenario and that’s where IL-2 Series focus on the Korean War really make it stand out. Nobody else has touched this subject in 27-years and so the change of scenery and aircraft set feels fresh after decades of mostly World War II and occasionally World War I focused content.

The Korean War itself came on the heels of World War II marking the opening shots of the Cold War and would portent the many proxy wars that would follow after it. The active part of the war would last from the 25th of June 1950 to 27th of July 1953 and lead to some 2.5 to 3-million deaths among civilian and military personnel. It ended inconclusively and permanently split the Korean peninsula between north and south. An armistice was declared, however, no peace treaty has ever been formally signed and its officially considered a frozen conflict. Occasional skirmishes and periods of tension have followed in the 73-years since.

From an aviation perspective, the mix of surplus World War II equipment and cutting edge jet fighters with swept wings marks an interesting inflection point as military aviation began to change dramatically. Aircraft that were top of the line just a few years prior were now being significantly outperformed by the new jet fighters on the scene and bombers, like the B-29, that were difficult to intercept by piston engine interceptors were now vulnerable to the much faster MiG-15. It makes for an interesting subject matter to experience in a combat flight sim.

Content included

IL-2 Series Korea comes with a reasonably lengthy list of content when you factor everything in.

One of the hallmarks of the IL-2 Stumovik titles in general is that they have aimed to offer not just aircraft but a complete battle-space to participate in. This latest generation sticks with that format bringing a large piece of the Korean peninsula with detailed map featuring mountains, valleys, rivers, dams, villages, towns and cities with industrial areas, harbour fronts, and so forth. The map layout is based not on modern satellite imagery but on period appropriate positioning. And, for those of you who sometimes wonder… yes, it is 1:1 in scale according to the developers.

The map also comes with five seasons including summer, autumn, winter, early spring, and late spring. Each season comes with its own visuals and vegetation styles.

The series also packs in an ample array of vehicles, ships, trains, artillery, guns, tanks, and other associated assets. Various technologies have been implemented this time around to take things up a notch across all of these categories.

Vehicles are more detailed visually and have more detailed damage and physics models. New abilities are included now as well with features like the ability for trucks to tow artillery guns. Rails and roads have more terrain variation and the rails are all now rendered in 3D. It looks fantastic up close as it does flying over at a rapid speed.

Ships have seen some big advancements too with more unique damage models, damage zones, and some very cool animations when the sailors decide to abandon ship jumping from the sides.

But what about he aircraft? We have 6 aircraft included with the standard edition and 8 when you go up to the Premium and Deluxe editions. Its two aircraft less than the 8 +2 that we used to see with Great Battles. Fidelity has gone slightly up with these aircraft but numbers are slightly down as a result.

The flyable aircraft types included are:

MiG-15bis
IL-10
Yak-9P
F-86A-5 Sabre
F-51D Mustang
F-80C-10 Shooting Star
La-11 (Available in Premium and Deluxe Editions)
F-84E Thunderjet (Available in Premium and Deluxe Editions)

Deluxe edition also includes a further five aircraft that will also be sold as a future DLC pack. Their specific types have yet to be confirmed though both the F4U Corsair and F9F Panther have been spotted in various officially released sources, I do wish that they had been more certain about what was being added in the add-on pack… not least because Deluxe Edition owners have already paid for them more or less sight unseen.

In addition to these flyable types, a further four aircraft are included as AI-only types. They are:

C-47
Li-2T
B-29
Tu-2S

The AI-only types add variety (and targets) to the aircraft on display in the sim and interception and escort missions tend to revolve around these. Having flown ample transport and bomber missions in Great Battles, I am hoping that these become flyable options in the future but we’ll have to see how things evolve over the coming months and years.

There’s definitely a few missing types that could be added to the mix. Not least being the AD-4 Skyraider, Sea Fury, Meteor F.8, B-26 Invader or a flyable Tu-2S that would be awfully nice to see. At least some of these might be among the promised 5-aircraft included in the Deluxe Edition DLC pack but we just don’t know yet.

Ways to play!

IL-2 Series branches off into several different ways to experience flight and air combat making some subtle changes to how the series handle both single and multiplayer content.

Stormbirds

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