Birds of Steel

It has single player, four-player cooperative, and online multiplayer modes. The game consists of three difficulty settings, which change the way planes are flown: "Simplified", an arcade play style; "Realistic", a mix between an arcade play style and a simulation play style; and "Simulator", in which the planes handle as closely to real life as possible. AI difficulty is not affected by the selected play style. Steel provided the base work for Gaijin Entertainment's massively multiplayer online (MMO) game War Thunder.

• Title — Birds of Steel • Developer — Gaijin Entertainment • Publisher — Konami • Genre — Combat flight simulator • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer • Platforms — PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Birds of Steel gives players command over famous warbirds of the World War II period, such as the F4F Wildcat and the A6M Zero. Players are allowed to choose their difficulty level before entering a battle, which only effects the flight parameters for the player's aircraft and not the difficulty of the AI. The choices of limited ammunition and fuel are selected separately, regardless of the difficulty level. Simplified Simplified uses an arcade-like physics model, e.g. the plane can never enter a stall or a spin and there are no aerodynamic effects such as wind turbulence and propeller torque. There are also no g-force effects on the plane or pilot, and the aircraft won't experience flutter when diving. Activating the throttle, or WEP (War Emergency Power), provides a major boost in flight speed. However, abusing WEP can cause the engine to overheat, causing a short delay before it can be used again. Realistic Realistic offers a far greater challenge than Simplified, as the player can enter a stall or a spin easily if reckless with the controls. g-forces are applied in this mode; the pilot can black- or red-out from pulling sustained G's for extended periods, resulting in the screen becoming filled with either color, obscuring the player's vision. Aircraft can experience flutter and break apart if flying above their historical structural limits, and can rip their wings if pulled too hard, especially at high speed. WEP is not available for all aircraft, and doesn't provide as significant a boost in speed. Simulator Simulator is the most realistic difficulty as the HUD elements are stripped from the screen, the aircraft is incredibly sensitive, engine management is more complex, and manual trim is required to keep your aircraft level. Various HUD elements that provide warnings, or help the player are removed; elements such as: aim prediction, onscreen warnings, onscreen radar, and aircraft blips. The player needs to rely on their knowledge of aerial combat in order to succeed on missions. Weight and durability is accurately modeled across all types. Fighters are lighter and more agile, interceptors are fast and effective climbers, and bombers are durable, slow, heavy aircraft.