PSP World

IL-2 Sturmovik PSP Preview

In the world of PC flight simulators, IL-2 Sturmovik is considered one of the most realistic depictions of WWII-era combat. Released in 2001, the original game gained quite a following among hardcore history enthusiasts and more casual gamers alike. Named after the famous Russian ground attack plane, IL-2 Sturmovik allows players to pilot dozens of historically accurate recreations of aircraft from that time period, and fight against both air and ground-based targets.

Today it was announced that the game will be coming to all major consoles in September 2009, so we thought we'd bring you a brief preview of what to expect from the PSP version. The publisher, 1C Games, has outsourced production of the PSP version to a tiny development company called SME Dynamic Systems. This would normally be cause for alarm (as with so many other outsourced handheld ports) but this time the game actually appears to be in good hands at Dynamic Systems, who already have experience making the Rhythm of War title for PSP.

IL-2 Sturmovik on PSP will contain 5 of the same campaigns also featured in the larger console versions of the game. These are the Battle of Britain, Kursk, Berlin, Sicily and Korsun. While the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game focus on all aspects of the war, inlcuding ground attack, the PSP version will be more oriented towards arial dogfighting. There will be 13 aircraft available to the player throughout the campaign mode, and 30 aircraft in total are featured in the game. The developers have also said that the game will support ad-hoc multiplayer for 2 players, allowing you to test your pilot mettle in a 1-on-1 dogfight with a friend.

We are definitely looking forward to IL-2 Sturmovik on the PSP, since there are very few competent flight sim games available for the handheld, other than the excellent (but arcade-focused) Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception.

IL-2 Sturmovik PSP features stunning graphics and historically accurate air battles.