IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 Critic Reviews

1946 might as well be the holy grail of WWII flight sims, a platinum anthology of everything good about no-frills airborne scrimmaging. The new material's a deal, whether you own the earlier games or not. And if you don't, 30 bucks nets you something that -- six years on -- still outclasses everything else.

This is the biggest and best combat flight sim money can buy, but it's by no means flawless.

Many of the new planes are a bit odd, although admittedly pretty fun to fly. As a collection Il-2: 1946 is a true masterpiece. The best version of the greatest simulator of all time.

Aside from the half-functional multi-player and a brutal learning curve, there’s nothing about IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 that isn’t amazing. Superb aircraft flight modeling? Check. Amazing looking aircraft? Check. More than 220 different aircraft and around 200 missions? Check.

It feels like a retro collection, but it's pretty much a no-brainer for flight sim fans until "Storm of War" arrives.

For forty bucks, you can't really go wrong here, particularly since this version of the game includes every expansion that the series has seen so far. It's a shame that there's not more US or UK content here, but that's to be expected.

Excellent gameplay and an amazing level of detail should make those who enjoy flight sims giddy (and may even convert a few that aren't into amateur flyboys).

For a measly 30 bucks, you won't find a better deal anywhere.

The definitive "IL-2" collection.