The games greatest strength is its online play, while the game doesn't include any co-op play which is disappointing, the competitive 16 player online is where the most enjoyment will come from. Multiplayer online allows you to take part in four different game modes, Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch which as you can expect is simply a dogfighting affair, Capture Airfields which is a domination game mode where you not only have to battle it out in the skies but you need to land your aircraft on the runway of an airfield to capture it thus reducing the other sides tickets. Strike is the last game mode, Strike sees you flying over to enemy positions such as naval ships or towns and bombing them, each hit reducing the other sides tickets. While dogfighting is also present, it's usually a case of everyone choosing the biggest bomber they have and scrambling to the enemy base in a who can bomb each other out first affair. In each of the game modes, the host can select the difficulty, again being arcade, realistic or simulation, the location of the battle is also selectable, giving you the option of choosing anywhere from the single player campaign, the weather and the time of day making for some truly unique battles. The communications are fantastic as well, clear and precise just as they should be in any game. One problem found in multiplayer is when flying in simulation mode, because the majority of the aircraft do not have a cockpit, those people who choose a plane that does have a fully rendered cockpit are basically cheated out of a view because you have only the windows to look out of, where as someone who chooses a plane without a cockpit, just sees the crosshairs giving quite an unfair advantage.
Birds of Prey gives players the chance to unlock aircraft as they progress through the campaign and play the online multiplayer. Replayability wise players can unlock encyclopaedia entries on the history of the war and the battles you are fighting in, for the history buffs it makes for a nice read, there is also information on the stunts and tactics which can be employed while in the air. Outside of this, you can go into the aircraft viewer and see the planes you have unlocked allowing you to pan around the aircraft and look at it in closer detail; you'll also find information on the aircraft your looking at, some history on its role in the war and other bits which you may find interesting. The game of course comes with Achievements and Trophies for their respective consoles, some are easy to accomplish, others such as the one for completing the game on Simulation can be quite difficult. One of the main things you'll unlock during your online play is different loadouts for your aircraft, different combinations of machine guns/cannons and bombs or missiles, each aircraft has a range of different loadouts for you to choose from and most are usually unlocked for getting so many kills in an online game with that particular aircraft. Not only do you have the choice of playing through the campaign or the multiplayer, there is also a training mode where you can set up your own scenario and while this isn't a mission editor as such you can basically create your own multiplayer game offline in which you fight against up to 16 computer opponents making for some interesting battles. Also notable is all the extra missions you unlock throughout the single player campaign, these can be played in any order once unlocked and provide some different objectives other than dogfighting or bombing, but usually entail the same end result of combat, their are quite a few to go through which should keep players happy.
The game is simply stunning to look at, the sky and ground are very highly detailed and while the ground isn't as great once you get up close, it's certainly one of the best you'll come across. Weather is also something you'll notice while playing through snowy Russia or sunny Britain the cloud level will change and vary from bright sunny days to foggy and misty outsets. One hidden gem you'll come across is the rain, during the campaign you won't find any of the missions have rain in them but if you head online or make your own mission you'll be able to select it, the rain is utterly beautiful, as you fly through the rain which hits your cockpit you can head into the clouds which totally block your view from anything other than fog, and then once you break through you'll find a lovely sunny day above the clouds, it's a spectacular show piece which unfortunately isn't used as much as it should be. Of course the game wouldn't be the same without good looking aircraft and Birds of Prey doesn't disappoint, the planes are fantastically modelled and very accurate if not perfect on their real life counterparts, the planes take damage which put bullet holes in your wings and fuselage, parts of your plane can come off such as your wings thus putting you into a spin and hitting the ground in a blaze of fire and smoke. Engines can be knocked out leaving your aircraft unpowered as you try to make it down to the ground without crashing, this is where your WEP (War Emergency Power) should be used with caution in the realistic and simulation modes since using it to often will cause your engine to overheat and die. Bullet trails are equally as good looking leaving trails of smoke behind them as you try to take down the enemy fighter planes or bombers. While the game looks truly exceptional, it does fall short in certain places, screen tearing is most obvious during the in-game cutscenes, it isn't game breaking but it distracts from the experience slightly. The game also drops in frame rate only slightly and very rarely, usually when the action gets thick for instance fighting over Berlin where there were more aircraft and ground targets on my screen than I could count.
The audio is also top notch, while flying you'll hear radio chatter from your fellow pilots giving updates on the mission and updates on their status or receiving orders. All the voices for the cutscenes and narration of the fighter pilots journals are voiced by none other than the acclaimed British actor; Joss Ackland and he does a sterling job of voicing the Russian, American and British pilots while also narrating the story. Engine sounds and gunfire are as good as they will get, hearing ricochets of bullets off your plane while in a dogfight and the clangs of metal hitting metal add to the immersion as you take the role of a pilot, the engines sound great and thankfully don't all sound exactly the same. Music wise, the orchestral score is good but you'll hardly notice it when your battling it out, one negative comment is the music you hear upon completing a mission, after some time it becomes incessantly annoying playing during the loading screens and before and after a cutscene, when you finish the mission and choose whether to take the secondary objective, it's something one wishes could be turned off without turning the rest of the music off. Thankfully you only hear it towards the end of your mission though which gives some respite.
Overall IL-2 Stumovik: Birds of Prey is a game one shouldn't miss if you like your WWII aerial history and fancy battling it out over some of WWII's greatest battles. You won't find a game better than this on it's given console platform. While the campaign is a little short, the online dogfighting more than makes up for it especially when played with a group of friends where you can all work together. The game does have a few minor flaws as mentioned previously but these are easily forgivable once you get into the game and start enjoying it. However to truly enjoy the game you do really need to pick up a joystick, it makes a huge difference in your control over the aircraft which is paramount in Realistic and Simulation difficulties. So if you're looking for some huge aerial battles to take part in through various campaigns of WWII, this game is simply unmissable.
