IL2: Forgotten Battles

IL2 Forgotten Battles

My Focke Wulf is partly covered in the light clouds and I am enjoying the fabulous scenery of the Russian countryside when suddenly I notice a pack of Yaks coming towards me on an intercept course. I give the “weapons free” order to the wingmen in my squadron. Those Russians are not going to destroy my outing for the Third Reich and we attack with all the fury that we can muster. To my amusement I see my opponent is an untried rookie when he takes the “spray and pray” approach even before I am properly in his sights. This is going to be an easy kill.

Just before we reach each other I lead turn him and quickly find myself directly at his six o’clock. Even though he tries everything he can to shake me off I cling to him like a leech waiting for the moment when his plane fills my windscreen. And then I give it to him. The full powers of my four wing-mounted 20 mm MG guns are ripping through his fuselage tearing his plane apart. I break of my attack seconds before the Russian explodes in a ball of fire and I turn my attention to his comrades.

The story of IL2 continues

Attacking with torpedoes

When Maddox Games headed by Oleg Maddog unleashed the magnificent Il2 Sturmovik last year, it was a real treat for the many flight simulation fans that had been suffering a draught in quality titles. Flight simulations seemed to have stagnated after recent high profile failures. Falcon 4 being the most prominent of all after it caused the laying off of the whole team behind it, and brought serious financial trouble to its publisher (Microprose). Hard core flight sims simply didn’t have a large enough fan base audience for this very specialized product coming to market.

IL2 tried to change all that by offering enthusiasts the possibility to fight in previous uncharted territory, flying exotic Russian aircraft next to the better-known German ones, and even though it was a sim catering for the experienced user, the nature of propeller driven aircraft with their relative low-tech mechanics made it accessible to novices alike. IL2 was a very traditional product offering lots of planes to fly starring the tank busting IL2 and featuring linear scripted missions to entertain the player. Forgotten Battles offers all this too but has even more aircraft and a dynamical campaign to add to the replay value of the product.

Plane bonanza

There's a wide variety of aircraft. This is a German built ME 210ca-1Zerstörer flying for the Hungarian airforce.

Forgotten Battles offers a wide variety of planes to play with. Even though some are different versions of the same plane even the most demanding flight sim player must be thrilled. For instance the Focke Wulf 190 appears in four different guises, which really shows the development of the plane throughout the war. You get to fly 30 different aircraft ranging from old biplanes, like the Russian I-153 "Tchayka", to the awesome Me-262 with its dual jet engines and powerful 30mm guns, which probably could have given the allied force serious problems, had it not been introduced so late in the war.

The diversity of flyable planes also gives you a flight sim that you can play in a number of ways. You can go for the glamour of the fighter pilot and only fly air-to-air missions, doing fighter sweeps and escort missions. On the other hand you could choose the star of the game, the rugged IL2 Sturmovik and clean up Mother Russia by destroying any tanks and ground forces that defile her.

Every aircraft has its own detailed cockpit

What really impresses me is, that in spite of the huge selection of aircraft, there’s nothing generic in the way these birds handle. Normally the kind of detail that has gone into the flight modelling is reserved for study simulations like Jane’s F/A 18, which only depicts one aircraft into extensive detail. Forgotten Battles succeeds in giving the user a very credible look into the different planes’ forces and weaknesses and offers very detailed cockpits for every one.

The Quest for the Holy Grail

Dogfighting is intense and difficult

Where Forgotten Battles differs from the original IL2 is primarily in its dynamic campaign. This is the reason that this game now sells at full prize even though it originally was planned as an add-on. Together with squadron management your actions now matter in the conflict. After every sortie your results are calculated and the game advances the war accordingly. You can choose to start the conflict at different times of the war giving you new combat scenarios to fight and aircrafts to fly.

Attack of the Finnish airforce

In theory the dynamic campaign prolongs gameplay indefinitely, adding new events every time you restart the game. The campaign offered in Forgotten Battles is a classic attempt to create replay value to the game. But in doing so it also falls into the pitfalls of the dynamic campaign. Many games before Forgotten Battles have tried to create a meaningful gameplay experience through a campaign generator. European Air War from Microprose, focussing on the battles around D-day, gave the player written briefings and created battles according to player input. This is also the manner in which Forgotten Battles handles the action.

Predetermined future

Divebombing with a Stuka

All these efforts, including Forgotten Battles, share one common denominator. Maddox Games are having a very hard time creating an immersive environment for the player to play. When the missions are created on the fly they fail to make it personal for the player. It might be realistic but it would be nice to be personally involved with the game that you are playing.

Another problem that especially simulators based on the Second World War are marked by is the predetermination of it all. If you’re playing the Russians you’re winning the war no matter how bad you are. As a German you can put Baron Von Richthofen to shame but there’s no way the Nazis are going to win. Very comforting but why should I bother flying if I am going to get whipped in the end anyway?

What should get you exited though is the AI’s behaviour during battles. The enemy is tough but fair, even though it sometimes presents you with a turkey shot when they are going in a straight line from the fight. Your wingmen will fulfil their duties on a mission and attack the targets they are required to by the mission parameters. As in IL2 they still speak to you in their native tongue, and you get a written translation on the screen in case your Russian is a bit rusty.

IL2 Forgotten Battles

Glory days of aviation

Damage modelling is great

I fail to get extremely excited by the impersonality of the dynamic campaign and by the sterility by which the most horrendous chapter of human history is depicted. I would have liked a little more grit, dirt and tragedy to be emotionally involved with the simulation. And a “jump-to-action-button” would have been more than welcome. Nothing feels like a greater waste of time than circling your own airport for a quarter of an hour waiting to get the planes you’re escorting in the air. Then you endure another tedious journey to your target where the bombers do their job and with no further ado you go home in the same sedate speed. Your can fast forward with a factor of eight but the missions are still extremely long. This might appeal to hard-core players but please give the rest of us the option to jump straight to the action.

The muzzle flashes look stunning

In other words you get plenty of opportunity to admire the sights and sounds of Forgotten Battles. Its predecessor was quite a sight to behold and even though not much has changed this game is still one of the best looking flight sims on the market today. It seem to me that this incarnation does throw more planes in the sky than IL2 which gives even more atmosphere and things to occupy you during battle. This does come at a cost though, since you’re likely to experience hiccups while your system is loading new items during flight.

But at the end of the day IL2 Forgotten Battles is still presently the best simulator on the market, and it gives credit to Maddox Games that they have the guts to develop a title this dedicated to its subject and to Ubisoft for publishing it. The flight simulation community has deserved this good game with its beautiful graphics and great flight modelling. Good job.