IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles

Originally Billed as an add-on pack for IL-2 Sturmovik, Forgotten Battles has now turned into a full-blown sequel. And fair enough too. The game boasts 20 single and ten multiplayer missions covering both the Finnish and Hungarian theatres of combat during World War II. It jazzes up the flight model, reworks the entire Al, creates vastly improved terrain (sea that actually looks like sea!), and adds a load of new planes (Brewster Buffalo, Hurricane and P47 Thunderbolt to name but three). Plus, both the 109 and JU87 series have been extended and the Al given a bigger pool of aircraft too.

There's also scope for players to go for the medals and glory. The existing Russian and German rankings and awards are being extended to include both the Finnish and Hungarian military command. Huzzah!

The development work isn't just above-ground either - it's in the sea as well. Three new ships are being added, modelled to the nth degree, and sinking them will be difficult.

But that's not all! Rumours abound that the final game will have searchlights, barrage balloons and an engine management system corresponding to the modelled aircraft type, which will include the use of radiators, superchargers and fuel mixture controls when necessary at different altitudes.

This all may sound a little spoddy, but it's enough to make a fully developed propellerhead throw back his flaxen locks and cry: Oh thank you God, never again will I...' Er... I've said too much.

Several years ago a vicious argument raged throughout the flight-sim community when then-leading developer DID released F-22 Total Air War - a full price revamped' version of its hit F-22 ADF. The problem was that the only ostensible difference between the two was the addition of a dynamic campaign engine. Was it a new game? Add-on masquerading as sequel? Con job? The jury was so far out it was wearing crushed velvet flares and platform boots so high they caused vertigo.

Ubi soft has done the same thing with IL-2 Sturmovik's sequel' Forgotten Battles, only this time round it isn't so blatant, Most of what's been improved lies under the bonnet - less buggy Al, more accurate flight models, and a somewhat more realistic experience. Example: anti-aircraft guns aren't nearly as accurate as they were before, meaning bombing runs are still a nerve-shatteringly dramatic affair, with tracer shells zipping and popping all around your cockpit. Only this time round your chances of actually getting anywhere near your target without resembling a perforated teabag lie on the good side ofwafer thin'.

Ok, Look

You know what? It's pointless. All this detailed analysis, careful breakdown of the game's components, meaningless critique of various shoddy areas and so on. None of it matters.

IL-2 Sturmovik shat on every other flight sim from a height so great, you'd need the aforementioned platform shoes to even come close. Reason being? It was basically the work of one man. One man whose care, compassion and mastery of his craft shone through the game like a beacon of hope in a marketing-driven industry.

Forgotten Battles is this very same man's attempt to keep on doing things a bit better than the rest. He's listened to what the public had to say about his first effort, he's taken the time to make sure that what they wanted was actually worthwhile, and the result is there for all to see. Better Al, dynamic campaigns, more planes -it's all in there.

Best Ever

There is absolutely no point in criticising Forgotten Battles, (although less hardcore flight sim enthusiasts will no doubt be scared off by the magnitude of detail) as demeaning this man's work serves no purpose other than to make the world even more miserable than it already is. These are the sorts of enterprises that we should be hailing loudly from the rooftops. Oleg Maddox (the man in question) should be granted as much money, vodka and women as he can stand for producing a game like this.

I could waste time telling you all about the things you can read about on the back of the box. Or I could just say this: IL-2: Forgotten Battles is the finest flight sim ever. It thrills, excites, worries, stresses, exhilarates and enriches you every time you play it. In short, you feel alive. How often do FIFA Update 2003 AllStars or Super Generic Platform Cash-In 56 Xtreme do that?