Tailing the enemies behind..

• Love flying planes?
• Love the World War II era?
• Love dog-fighting in the air?

Well, it looks like you've got your match. Birds of Steel is developed by Gaijin Games, known for their another air combat game sim, IL 2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey. A sweet game that. Anyway, Birds of Steel will amuse gamers who love a flight game and the ever so common - WWII era.

It's kinda unusual that a flight simulator is Exclusive to the consoles rahter than the PC, a route that other flight sims usually follow. Lets see if this experimental World Wat themed Sim is worth your time and moolah.

To start with, Birds of Steel is immensely enjoyable. What makes this is the quick-to-understand control scheme. It's simple and easy to implement. The tutorials isn't to be thanked though, because it's pretty lucid. I can go as far as to say that this is perhaps the most accurate rendition of what can be done for a controller in this genre. No wonder they opted for the consoles.

But that isn't to say that you will have an easy task at hand. Even at the lowest difficulty settings, flying is a challenge(battlefield anyone?). I'l actually salute u if u do keep your plane in the air at the hardest settings, Even a party perhaps :p

This isn't a fast paced game like HAWX. Infact, it's the opposite. Playing this will  require your attention more than the others. Whether it's a good or a bad thing is another question altogether.

Now, it has both, a Singleplayer and Mutliplayer. The former has 2 different but similar campaigns. You either play as the Americans or the Japanese in the 1942 - 42 era. The missions are based on true events and it shows. The 20-odd missions that are present aren't as action-packed as you'd expect. It's the same design: Every mission has you taking off from an airstrip, striking your enemies down and then landing back. Yea i know, that's how it's done but; isn't that the exact same thing that made Mafia 2 so boring(well.....kinda)? Just having an awesome control scheme with beautiful environments ain't enough. Unfortunately, this game lacks a good and an enjoyable singleplayer. They have their moments though but they are bogged down.

Nonetheless the Multiplayer more than makes up for it. Just like an FPS, MP is where it's at. With support for upto 16 players, it's alot of fun to participate in some extremely intense dog-fights. This where the game truly comes alive. Don't worry, there's Co-operative missions as well. 4 of'em. And they are equally fun but not as adrenalin-pumping as the mutiplayer. So, you get the point!

Now for the heart of the game - The Planes. All the way through, you'll be exposed to some gorgeous looking planes and are of course the highlights of the game. Each with fantastic detailing and animations. They look brilliant and as said before, handle brilliantly. Period.

In the few aciton scenes present, the background; the environments look pixelated and fuzzy even on my full HD. And to unlock the 100 plan...uh...fantastic planes will have you replaying the missions over and over again. 

In the end, inspite of the inconsistent pacing of the game, it is exceptional. Birds of Steel is intense and demands your attention, by doing so, you will be rewarded with a game that has a decent singleplayer but an addictive multiplayer and of course; gorgeous planes that provide tons of enjoyment. And let me tell you, the sight of shredding enemy planes and watching them explode is a sweet! one.

Enthusiasts of Flight Sim as well as Admirers of the World War II era will thoroughly enjoy this game. Thumbs up from me! :)

Laying assault on the enemys base.