Birds of Steel Announced for Xbox 360 & PS3

31 August 2011

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Posted by:Josh

Birds of Steel is an upcoming Xbox 360 and PS3 flight-combat game that promises to give a “battle theater” viewpoint of the action.

Birds of Steel promises a breath-taking combat simulator featuring some of the most pivotal air battles of World War II, including the battle of Midway, Guadalcanal, Coral Sea, the historic attack on Pearl Harbor, the Mediterranean Maltese island, Germany’s Ruhr Valley, and others.

Players can select how detailed they want each campaign to be, and are offered a wealth of single and multi-player campaigns.

Developer Gaijin Entertainment says Birds of Steel will offer 20 historical mission and a wealth of fictitious missions that span eight world-famous campaigns with users being given access to over 100 famous planes from the entire Axis and Allied forces roster.

A number of planes ideal for each campaign can be selected, and have been faithfully recreated in terms of handling, capabilities and weaponry. The classic Spitfire, P-51D Mustangs, and Messerschmidt 109 are all lined up for combat, as players opt to fight for the Allies, Japanese or Axis forces.

Birds of Steel also promises a breath-taking level of detail, with the weather effects of each war zone brilliantly brought to life, while the handling and battle-scarred planes are susceptible to damage and will suffer in terms of control accordingly.

Similarly, a series of camera views allow users to witness their skills from a series of external views, or within the varied cockpits of the 100 planes. The missions are presented in a pre-conflict briefing, and players can also see how their contributions related to the overall path of the scenario, with new planes available on the completion of specific goals.

Birds of Steel also offers the user a number of control systems, ranging from simplistic arcade-style movements, to entirely faithful control systems that offer total control over every aspect of flight.

There is also a huge online element in the game. Players can support co-op missions alongside friends, or enter massive multi-player online dogfights to see who owns the skies. There will be a series of absorbing missions for online users, with team death matches, co-op strike missions, airfield raids, and tournament play all set to throw open the skies for the most intense aerial combat ever. Squadrons can even edit their finest hours to showcase their skills, and share them with their peers!

“For far too long, first-person shooter fans have been tied to the foot soldier point of view, but we aim to bring the seat-of-their-pants skill and daring of dogfighting and aerial combat to a wider audience,” said Martin Schneider, General Manager, Konami Digital Entertainment. “Birds of Steel pushes the throttle of realism by giving fans what they’ve been missing when it comes to co-operative online gameplay, incredibly realistic visuals and game dynamics, while spanning the entirety of the war’s air campaigns.”

Here is the debut trailer for Birds of Steel.

Key Features of Birds of Steel include:

1. Over 100 real life planes – Dog fight and dive bomb in actual WW2 planes and rain down terror from above. Determine for yourself which plane is the ultimate bird of prey.
2. Navigate through hundreds missions – Embark on 20 historical missions, hundreds of procedural missions scattered throughout 16 different locations. All are inspired by real life campaigns such as Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal and the battle of Wake Island. Reality is reflected using real life maps and actual satellite photos of these areas.
3. Pioneering online and multi-player modes for flight sims – Enjoy 4 player co-op or go into the new and unique online ware mode to compete against up to 16 aviators across world. More exciting details to come!
4. Key innovations – The finest details are the most critical in the new physics and damage models. Controlling speed is a direct result of effect manipulation of the ailerons, and rudders. Each plane has over 100 hitpoints where each part of the plane has its own health and damage detection.
5. Fun for all gamers -Multiple levels of realism offer a gameplay experience for gamers of all walks: Simplified, Realistic up to Simulator for the serious flight-sim aficionados.