Birds of Steel

Birds of Steel is a fantastic flight sim that is set during World War II. I have played more than a few of these and I would probably put this one near the top. They have managed to make a game that is realistic and pays great respect to history, but not at the expense of the game being a great deal of fun.

The Pacific War

The game has a fantastic campaign that in many ways feels like a history lesson with its classy narration in-between missions. It is mainly about the battles between the USA and Japan over the Pacific including such battles as Pearl Harbor and Wake Island. I enjoyed the way it walked a fine line between being like an action movie you would see on HBO and a documentary that would air on the Discovery Channel.

Shooting Them All Down

As you progress through the campaign of Birds of Steel, you will take part in battles from both sides of the war. The missions tend to follow a standard path. There are dog fight missions that take place in the air with you fighting other aircraft. You also have missions where you need to take out boats on the sea and there are missions where you need to destroy land targets such as machine guns. The missions are a lot of fun, but towards the end of the campaign, they do start to repeat.

Play The Game Your Way!

I played the game with a standard controller and I have zero complaints. I liked how they made the control scheme in the game accessible for those who are not hardcore flight-sim fans. On the flip side of this, Birds of Steel does support flight sticks so if you wanted to add even more realism to the game, you are more than free to do that if you want.

Winning A War Is Not A Solo Effort!

As well as having a fairly long campaign (you are looking at around 15 hours). You can also play the game in four-player co-op which I am sure would be a ton of fun. There is also a team deathmatch style multiplayer mode as well. While I was not able to enjoy the multiplayer modes the game offered, I am sure for those who played this back in the day they were a lot of fun.

The Spoils Of War

This game holds up pretty well from a visual point of view. They have done a good job in making the planes as authentic as possible and the whole gave has a very high level of polish to it all. The different locations all look good and my only complaint is that when you are in a dog fight over the ocean, it can look a tad boring, but that is me nitpicking at best! I liked how the planes show damage too. In all, visually this game I feel holds up very well to this day.

A Little Bit Of Class

As well as being a real looker, Birds of Steel also has some fantastic sound design. The campaign is narrated by Stephen Fry and his classy English accent lends a real air of authenticity, class, and drama to the story as it unfolds. There is also a lot of talking from the main characters in the game too and plenty of radio chatter, even though that does start to repeat after a while.

Pros:

• It treats the WWII subject matter with a great deal of respect
• The game is challenging, but it is also a great deal of fun
• The sound design is great
• The campaign feels very epic

Cons:

• Some of the radio chatter does repeat a tad too much
• Dog fights over the sea lack the wow factor of other areas