IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is anything but a common flight/combat experience. Here we have a game that isn’t a console-specific sequel like Ace Combat or a big-name spin-off like Tom Clancy’s HAWX. And yet, after playing it for the first time, you will feel like this is the game you’ve spent the last three or four years anticipating.

It starts with the visuals, continues with the controls and concludes in one beautiful action-filled package. “It” being the sensation that, for the first time since PS3 and Xbox 360’s release, you are actually playing a flight/combat game that was made for these consoles. You can see it in the gorgeous graphics and feel it in the silky-smooth controls. You will be overwhelmed by it, mission after mission, as you narrowly escape the debris of enemy planes as they’re shot up and ripped apart. Moments that would normally be as forgettable as junk mail – like flying through a patch of clouds or soaring above a virtual city – have been turned into another opportunity for the game to flex its graphical muscle.

If you’re getting the impression that Birds of Prey is little more than a feast for the eyes, rest assured that’s not the case. The game’s real, long-lasting beauty goes much deeper than special effects ever could. But just as the graphics are an essential part of sports and racing games, they are also an essential part of flight/combat games.

It has been said that one game cannot achieve equal success in the areas of arcade and simulation gameplay. I know I’ve made that argument once or twice as well, believing that games can successfully dive in either direction but are doomed to fail if both gameplay styles are attempted at the same time. Birds of Prey may very well be the first game to prove that theory wrong.

Though we may never know exactly how the developers pulled it off, the simple explanation would credit the distinct separation of gameplay styles. If you play using the Arcade setting, you get an arcade experience. Every part of the game is reconfigured to match (and in many cases exceed) our arcade expectations; the controls are instantly intuitive, flips and spins are a joy to execute, and you can fly recklessly without losing stability. Turn on the Realistic or Simulation settings (activated only after completing their respective tutorials) and the game transforms into a brutal, real-world rules and physics-following adventure that’ll test your patience and your ability to accurately command a plane that hasn’t been watered down for entertainment purposes.

The former setting is my preferred style of play; after getting behind the cockpit for the first time, nothing else comes close. But both are essential to the game’s success because they give the player two incredible options.

In either case, Birds of Prey is a supremely intense excursion. The game is littered with large-scale battles that literally stretch beyond the length of a single mission. When the current task is over – when you’re done blasting planes, bombing ships and destroying enemy vehicles as they invade innocent territory – you will be given the chance to exit or perform a manual landing. Choose to exit and you’ll leave the skies immediately; choose to land and, while traveling back to base, you can continue attacking any stray enemies that were left behind. In Birds of Prey, you are one of many pilots, and you are given your own missions. Thus, when your job is complete, it’s rare that every enemy will have been eliminated in the process. That may be an option but it is not the primary goal.

The mission set won’t blow your mind, as it generally consists of killing enemies and/or protecting land or comrades (what else did you expect?). But one thing this generation has taught us about game design is that it’s not always the game that deviates from the norm that succeeds – it is often the one that makes the norm exciting again. Birds of Prey accomplishes this in a way that no other flight/combat game has. When it’s fun to shoot down a few hundred planes with the same machinegun, you know the game is special. And when it’s fun just flying around with no specific goal in mind, you’re playing a game that is truly remarkable.

Part of that fun does go back to the graphics, which are cinematic without even trying. The in-the-cockpit view, while difficult to utilize throughout each mission (the behind-the-plane view allows you to see much more of your surroundings), is generously detailed with light and shadow effects that perfectly wrap around every gauge. As you soar over the water, realistic textures and ripple effects are the only things in sight. At the same time, Birds of Prey is overflowing with individually sculpted buildings, homes and landscapes that are vastly superior to anything the competition has produced. This game, more than any other flight/combat title, looks like it was built specifically for the current gen.

However, there is one visual element that sometimes falls below PS3’s standards: the frame rate. Birds of Prey is occasionally plagued by slowdown, typically without warning and without any reason for the occurrence. The number of on-screen opponents (a frequent cause of slowdown in first-person shooters) does not appear to be the problem. Massive explosions do not seem to be the cause either, which is what makes this issue so surprising. It doesn’t happen often enough to ruin a mission, but any amount of slowdown is too much – especially for a game that looks this beautiful.

Slowdown aside, no other flight/combat game captures the essence of flying quite like this one. If you enjoy the thrill of aerial battles, you will not be disappointed by IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey.

Gameplay: 8.9
Thrilling aerial combat mixed with impeccable control design, IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is a game that soars above and beyond expectations.

Graphics: 8.9
Unbelievable. Birds of Prey looks so good, you'd think it was made for another console. The occasional frame rate issues will bring you back to reality, but even with them, no other flight/combat game can compare.

Sound: 9.0
I first started playing Birds of Prey after watching a movie; consequently, the TV volume was much louder than I normally have it for games. This turned out to be a blessing since, as I quickly learned, Birds of Prey deserves to be played with the speakers turned up. The realistic gunfire is instantly enveloping (and reminiscent of our first experience with Medal of Honor or Call of Duty), and the plane sounds are very convincing.

Difficulty: Medium
The Arcade mode isn't too difficult, but if you want it to be, Birds of Prey can be one very hardcore game. It's not quite a full-fledged simulator, but it's close enough to test your flying skills.

Concept: 7.9
Birds of Prey isn't a new concept by any means, but it is more exciting and more engrossing than any flight/combat game released on PS3 or Xbox 360.

Multiplayer: 8.6
Lots of modes, lots of players, and an immeasurable amount of gameplay-extending fun.

Overall: 8.9
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey is the flight/combat game no one should be without.