Missions

Navigate through 20 historical missions and hundreds of procedural missions scattered throughout 16 different locations. Inspired by actual WWII campaigns using real life maps and satellite imagery, Birds of Steel has beautifully recreated the battle locations as they would have existed.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese carrier aviation and submarines launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. This devastating strike was intended to destroy most of the U.S. ships in the Pacific and to give the Japanese a free hand for further invasions in the region. It started the war in the Pacific; before Pearl Harbor, the U.S. had doubts about participating in World War II, but after the attack, its choice was obvious and unanimous. Despite the irreparable damage suffered by the American fleet, Japan was unable to keep America out of the game.

Battle of Wake Island

Wake Island is actually a group of three atolls: Wake, Peale and Wilkes. It is located in the Pacific Ocean, north of the Marshall Islands and west of Pearl Harbor. The island is home to a military base with a runway, and also has a convenient harbor for hydroplanes. The Japanese Air Force attacked Wake Island on December 8, 1941, just a few hours after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. The first assault destroyed the majority of the aircraft stationed on the island. However, the four remaining F4F-3 and a small group of coastal artillery managed to defend the base for two weeks until the lack of ammunition, provisions, fuel and the loss of the remaining aircraft forced the Wake garrison to surrender on December 23. On September 4, 1945 the island was retaken by the U.S.

Guadalcanal Campaign

Guadalcanal is the largest island in the Solomons, an archipelago in the South Pacific. It has a mountainous interior, with a valley to the north that holds a military base and Henderson Field airfield. In 1942-1943, Guadalcanal and the nearest islands were a battlefield for one of the largest battles of the Pacific War. The Japanese tried to establish themselves on the island to be able to block Australia and increase the defense of the territories taken. By the time the Allies noticed their increased activity in the Solomons, the Japanese had already begun building the airfield. To prevent the enemy from reinforcing their position in the South Pacific, the Allies decided to launch a landing operation on Guadalcanal. The operation was codenamed Operation Watchtower.

Battle of Midway

Midway Atoll and Wake Island were both home to US military bases. However, unlike the attacks of Pearl Harbor and Wake Island that had been planned by the Japanese military before the outbreak of the Pacific War, no plans to invade Midway as a strategic position had been made. The Japanese invasion of the island aimed more at challenging the U.S. navy to battle than gaining control of the base. Thus, between June 4-6, 1942, the US Navy defeated Japan in one of the greatest naval battles of World War II near Midway Atoll. The Imperial Japanese Navy lost most of its carriers, and thereby completely losing initiative in the Pacific War.

Siege of Malta

On June 11, one day after Italy declared war on Great Britain and France, bombers from Sicily attacked the Grand-Harbor, Hal Far, and Takali airfields. At the time of these air raids, the island only contained a small British garrison of 4000 and 6 Gloster Gladiator airplanes. Italy, aiming to invade Greece and fearing an attack from Malta, continued intensive bombing. By 1942, carpet bombings of Maltese towns and airfields by the Italian aviation, supported by Luftwaffe, left Malta almost barren. There was a great lack of ammunition, provisions and aircraft fuel. A few convoys that were sent by the Allies from Alexandria or Gibraltar were able to reach Malta. The air and sea blockade of the islands was only lifted by 1943 through a series of dangerous operations, the most noted of which was Operation Pedestal. The renewal of supply lines and restoration of Maltese aviation allowed the island to become an important base for containing Italy in the Mediterranean and, later, for landing in Normandy.

Battle for the Kuban

The region became one of the priority goals for German command because of its location, and large amount of subsoil resources, including oil. Invading Kuban would have deprived the USSR of the natural resources essential for the war and allow Germany to establish control over the Caucasus. While Army Group B was fighting at Stalingrad to cut off communications between the Caucasus and European Russia, Army Group A moved southward. From August 1942, many important Soviet cities were taken in a series of bloody battles in Kuban. On September 11, Novorossiysk fell. However, the German Army suffered heavy losses and thus was forced to assume the defensive. Meanwhile, the war reached a turning point for the Red Army at Stalingrad. By 1943, the Stalingrad (South) front was posing a serious threat for the Army Group A rearward area. On January 1, 1943, the South front forces launched a counteroffensive.

Port Moresby

Port Moresby is one of the key points in the South Pacific. It is located on the south coast of the island of New Guinea, with access to the Coral Sea, thus controlling an important route from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. In addition, it is strategically close to Australia. The city has a port, a base, and several airfields. New Guinea campaign started with the capture of port Rabaul on the island of New Britain by the Japanese Army. From there, they continued the offensive southward. The invasion of Port Moresby would have provided the Japanese with a base for landing in Australia. Having suffered strategic defeats in the Battle of the Coral Sea and near Midway Atoll, the Japanese ceased their attempts to invade Port Moresby by sea, launching a ground offensive along Kokoda Track. However, by then the Allied forces had assembled enough troops in Port Moresby, which allowed them to not just defend the city, but also to launch an offensive on Rabaul and take over the Japanese base in the South Pacific.

Ruhr

The Ruhr is a region in West Germany, the largest polycentric agglomeration in the country. It's the largest industrial center in Germany, which has oil plants, steel plants, military equipment production plants, and several airfields. In 1945, after defeating German forces in Ardennes, the Allies launched a counteroffensive on German territory, taking strategically important and industrial regions. Thus, on April 18, 1945, after the encirclement of German troops by American and British forces, the Allies took over the Ruhr region. Army Group B, the last German force to offer real opposition to the Allies in their march towards Berlin, was completely defeated. The German command lost the largest industrial region that provided the country with war-sustaining power.

Multiplayer

Dynamic Campaign - 4-player Coop

A great multiplayer mode. You and three of your squadmates can change the way history was written in one of six areas of conflict:

    Siege of Malta

    Battle of Port Moresby

    Battle of Ruhr

    Battle of Guadalcanal

    Attack on Pearl Harbor

    Battle of Wake Island

After selecting your battle campaign, you then choose specific settings:

    Year : Select any between 1940 to 1945

    Team : Axis or Allies

    Frontline Advantage : How ground battery fire behaves... in your favor, enemy favor or neutral

    Victories to Complete : 3, 5 or capture all sectors

    Difficult Level : Simplified, Realistic or Simulator

    Game Modes : Offline or Online (private or public)

Each of the six campaigns consists of numerous individual sectors (missions) to challenge even the best pilots, especially in simulator mode. You will earn XP (for ranking up) and war points currency (for purchasing planes) in all dynamic campaigns. A great all around mode.

Versus - Up to 16 players

Compete against aviators from across the world.

Fields of Battle

Air Domination

    Wake Island Air Domination

    Midway Air Domination

    Kuman Air Domination

    Pearl Harbor Air Domination (Take Off)

    Ruhr Domination (Take Off)

Battlefront Domination

    Guadalcanal Battlefront Domination

    Kuban Battlefront Domination

    Ruhr Battlefront Domination

Airfield Domination

    Kuban Airfield Domination

    Ruhr Airfield Domination

    Malta Airfield Domination (Take Off)

Descriptions of the Modes

Air Domination

Basically, a king of the hill type of game mode. You fight near the big "A". If one team is near the"A" zone alone, then they will capture it for the time being. This results in the other team starting to lose points (looks like a life bar in shooter games). However, if both teams are fighting close to the "A" zone, then they cancel each other out and it remains a neutral area. In order to capture the zone, you need to fly near the giant floating "A". A message should pop-up saying axis or allies team is capturing "A" zone depending on what team you are on. Then, the circle around the "A" will turn blue if your team is capturing it or red if the enemy team has control. If you fly into the zone and don't get a notification that you are capturing the zone, then it means that an enemy is also in the zone, preventing you from capturing it. The darkened area by the "A" on your radar or the map is the zone in question. In addition to capturing the zone to reduce the enemy's "life bar", you can also shoot down enemy aircraft. Be careful, as your deaths reduce your teams life bar too.

Battlefront Domination

This mode is essentially the same as the air domination. However, your bases (where you take off / spawn) can be destroyed by the enemy team. This will prevent you from spawning after you or a teammate have been killed. Your base is defended by AA guys that shower enemy aircraft with heavy flak. This tends to prevent spawn camping but if you are able to get through and destroy some AA guns, the enemy's life bar tends to drop a lot. Your base can be either an airfield or an aircraft carrier.

Airfield Domination

This mode is very similar to air domination except you have to land to capture the zone. It appears, that once the zone is captured you do not have to stay on the ground to keep it. However, being on the ground already while an enemy tries to recapture it back will prevent them from getting it.

In all modes, shooting down enemy aircraft will cause their life bar to reduce.