1C announces first console titles: Captain Blood and IL-2 Sturmovik
by Scott Jon Siegel 
{ Jun 9th 2008 at 6:30PM }
Captain Blood (pictured above) is an Xbox 360 and PC action game based on the Rafael Sabatini pirate novel of the same name. IL-2S:BoP, meanwhile, is being developed for Xbox 360 and PS3, with portable versions in development for DS and PSP (no Wii love, it seems).
No details on the gameplay or plot of Birds of Prey, but our deductive reasoning tells us it will likely be either about fighter planes, or predatory fowl. Guesses?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Courtney @ Jun 9th 2008 6:39PM
Birds of Prey will be a survival horror game based around an avian flu outbreak (RE meets The Birds).
Or it could be a WWII combat sim:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IL-2_Sturmovik_(game)
SoulBlade @ Jun 9th 2008 6:42PM
"Russia-based publisher 1C games has announced its first titles for "next-gen" (or what we're actually now calling "current-gen") consoles"
FINALLY!! We're calling them current!
Thatoneguy64 @ Jun 9th 2008 7:38PM
YES! And, didn't Joystiq have an article on how it's no longer "next-gen" a year or so ago? http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/05/so-long-next-gen-and-good-riddance/
So, why has the term permeated into the posts for so long after?
Gripen40k @ Jun 9th 2008 7:08PM
IL2 is a fantastic combat flight sim that has been out for quite some time. Unfortunately it has become a bit outdated, hopefully this means a slew of updates for the title. And I wouldn't think it could 'fit' in console-style gameplay. Definitely not your standard arcade flyer.
A @ Jun 10th 2008 10:29AM
yeah it was- i'm still playing it and waiting for maddox to release its battle of britain game, though i'll prob need to upgrade my pc to play it
Korova *Pyro aspect* @ Jun 9th 2008 7:13PM
Il-2 was a cool little plain. And its a cool PC game. Going to 360 is cool. Lets just hope they dont charge for jet fuel as DL content.
Thatoneguy64 @ Jun 9th 2008 7:35PM
Yeah, BigDownload did a hands-on with this on Friday:
http://news.bigdownload.com/2008/06/06/hands-on-captain-blood-x360/
Not another "lol Oldstiq" comment, but one would think that Joystiq would be able to keep up with its sibling sites?
Nate @ Jun 9th 2008 7:36PM
You know, if you keep saying "next gen, or what we're actually calling current gen"..... then you're not *actually* calling it current gen.
The Wii and PS3 have been out for over 18 months. I think it's pretty safe to say "current gen" without anyone thinking you're talking about the PS2, Gamecube, or Xbox. Seriously.
Charlie_Six @ Jun 9th 2008 8:07PM
A PSP IL-2 Sturmovik sounds cool. I've never played a flight sim on a handheld. Wonder how they'll pull it off. Perhaps they will dumb it down a bit.
jynxycat @ Jun 9th 2008 8:11PM
IL-2 was a pretty hardcore flight sim, I doubt it'll fly well with the 360 crowd (lol puns!).
Ace Combat or HAWK it's not.
Gimbal @ Jun 9th 2008 8:54PM
With any luck it won't be anything like Ace Combat or HAWX. I'm hoping someone will stop with the "dumb it down for console" nonsense and put a flight sim on a console.
I've watched the trailer(don't know if itis 360 or PS3 tey showed) but it is lookin' mighty fine.
grantly @ Jun 9th 2008 8:51PM
IL-Sturmovik is an amazing PC game. More people need to play PC games, I'm amazed at how important PC games are becoming to the console markets yet how few console players know about them!
DBuck_Eye @ Jun 9th 2008 9:11PM
If Alexey Pajitnov and that guy who made Line Rider are any indication, Russians make the best games.
J.Goodwin @ Jun 9th 2008 9:56PM
Definitely the flight combat sim. That's a huge title.
I wonder if the head tracking technology will make it to the 360 version via the Vision camera?
A @ Jun 10th 2008 10:29AM
how would that work? would i have to turn away from the tv to look behind me?
jsutcliffe @ Jun 9th 2008 10:15PM
Hmm, I can't really picture IL-2 on a console, because the original was a such a hardcore (for me) sim.
Similarly, I have doubts about the cynical pirates cash-in of Captain Blood. Both because I'm a big fan of Sabatini (n.b. to 'stiq readers who still read actual books: read Captain Blood anf The Sea Hawk) and because the idea of an update to this makes my heart flutter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Blood_%28video_game%29
thomashenwood @ Jun 10th 2008 4:04AM
Yay for IL-2 on consoles, I loved it originally on PC, it was just way too inaccessible. Hopefully the console version will be dumbed down enough to make it more fun, but not ruin the IL-2 experience.
John H. @ Jun 15th 2008 12:52PM
I wonder if this developer knows there's already been a game called Captain Blood?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Blood_(video_game)
Captain Blood was an early experiment in procedural content generation created for the Atari ST in 1988. Not tremendously well-known today, but fondly remembered by some for its heavy atmosphere and exploration gameplay.