Overview:
-Estimated achievement difficult: 7/10
-Offline: 46/50 (890/1000)
-Online: 4/50 (110/1000)
-Approximate amount of time to 1000: 20+hours.
-Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1 (Replay missions on higher difficulty).
-Number of missable achievements: None.
-Do cheat codes disable achievements?: No Cheats.
-Does difficulty affect achievements?: Yes.
-Glitchy achievements: Yes. See "It Was Easy."
-Unobtainable achievements: None.
-Extra equipment needed?: Flight stick may increase desirability and may ease the difficulty of the game.
Introduction:
Welcome to Birds of Steel, and 2012 air action, combat simulator, WWII game. Birds of Steel at its core is a historical flight simulator battle game that has the ability to appeal to the casual war gamer as well as the seasoned flight veteran. With historical campaigns, unique flight experiences, funny dialog, and a history which can never be over-done Birds of Steel soars to the top of our historical games.
We will tackle the game in a few distinct parts for ease and least confusion.
Abbreviated Walkthrough:
Tutorial-
In this game not only are there achievements tied to the tutorial, but it is absolutely necessary to master the controls and schematics of the game. The tutorial is divided up into a few different missions which will enable you acquire a good understanding on how the game works and will net you three (3) achievements in the process:
"Take Off"
"It Was Easy"
"Preparing"
Historical Campaigns-
This section will be the meat and potatoes of your time here on Birds of Steel. There are two dynamic campaigns to play through, the Japanese and American. There are story related achievements linked to both campaigns so I advise playing through them both to completion as it will also contribute to your exp earned for "Half-Way." As far as difficulty goes, I advise playing through the game on simplistic unless you are adept at simulation games. Of course you will not earn as much experience, but the difficulty even on this lowest selection is surprisingly high. Also note that you may need to turn up the difficulty for certain achievements, but those will be covered on a case-to-case basis and are outlined in detail in the achievement guide.
Single Missions-
There are but a few achievements linked to single missions in Birds of Steel. You are looking at "Malta," "Kuban," "Ruhr," and "New Guinea" for achievements linked directly to single missions. That being said, single missions are also a great spot to rack up some good exp and can also be a good place to raise the difficulty and try to earn even more experience than in the Dynamic campaigns.
Multiplayer-
All multiplayer achievements are guaranteed to be won against human players, but have also been unlocked sporadically with just bots. Multiplayer experience does count toward "Half-Way." You will be going for the following achievements which are directly related to multiplayer:
"You Will Be Ace"
"Good Start"
"Brave Spirit"
"Leader"
Conclusion:
Birds of Steel definitely isn't an easy breeze in the park even for the most seasoned simulation gamer. The full 1000 will test your patience, your dedication, your skill, and your will to finish another game off. Using the Achievement Guide and Roadmap provided for you here should make the process a bit easier. Hats off to you soldier, and best of luck in the war.
I also wanted to thank Merch for his help in refining and compiling information for this guide. Wouldn't have been the same without you good sir.
[x360a would like to thank THE DEADLY DOG for this Roadmap]