Apache: Air Assault

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List Price: $39.99
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It's a shame that Apache: Air Assault will fly under most people's radar (no pun intended) this holiday season with all the other blockbuster games coming out. Especially since it's release is in the shadow of Call of Duty and with upcoming releases such as Gran Turismo 5, this game is bound to be ignored and in bargain bins after the holiday season. It really is a shame because the game is a true gem.

I am an aviation guru. In fact, I fly AH-64D Apache Longbows for the US ARMY. As an aviation nut and pilot, I cringe at most console flight games. I like my flight games with a degree of reality, not the unrealistic arcade games like Top Gun and After Burner. The only console flight games I enjoy are the Ace Combat series...that was until Gaijin Entertainment developed Il-2 Birds of Prey for consoles. Birds of Prey is what I envisioned a perfect console flight game should be. It blended realism with arcade type elements which made it user friendly and playable for console gamers. But, when I heard Gaijin was making an Apache game for consoles I was still skeptical. Helicopters are a lot harder to fly than airplanes. It takes both hands and feet to fly a helicopter and when you throw in radios, weapons, systems, etc., it takes all your fingers and concentration as well. I just didn't see that translating well to a console game. I'm happy to say, not only did Gaijin do a great job mimicking helicopter flight using a console controller, they made one hell of an authentic Apache game.

The game starts you off with a tutorial mission, in which you must start out using the training difficulty mode. There are three types of difficulty modes: Training, realistic, and veteran. Training mode simplifies everything from controlling the aircraft to the HUD. The controls are as follows: The right stick is your "collective" which in a helicopter is the control that moves a helicopter up and down vertically. You can hover up by pushing your right analog stick up, and hover down pushing down on the right stick. The right analog stick acts as your pedals also. So left or right on the stick will have you spinning to the left or right horizontally, similar to an airplanes yaw. The left stick is the "cyclic" control. In a helicopter, the cyclic is your directional control such as climbing and diving, or banking left or right. It takes coordination of all the controls to properly fly a helicopter. In the training mode, it is fairly easy: Take off with the collective and fly around with the cyclic stick. It is the realistic and veteran modes that requires a lot more coordination and has a steeper learning curve. To speed up in a helicopter, you need to push the cyclic forward, but if you don't add collective you will start diving and lose altitude. Realistic and veteran applies all these mechanics into the controls. The real treat in playing in these modes though, is the HUD. The HUD in the game is almost identical in what us real Apache pilots see in our monocle, (Look up pictures of apache pilots if you don't know what I am talking about.) from the radar altimeter on the right, to the velocity vector in the center, and the torque meter in the upper left corner, it is very similar to how we look at things in the aircraft. Realistic and Veteran are the same control wise, but Veteran, you get one attempt per mission and once you use all your weapons, you have to land at a predetermined pad to get reloaded. Realistic, you get 4 attempts and reload of weapons happen after a set time in the air.

Now onto the gameplay. there are two main modes of play. The single player campaign and squad operations. Single player is what I expected a single-player campaign to be. The Campaign takes place across three locations: Africa, Asia and Central America. The missions are varied enough, but mostly have you attacking ground targets. There is some air to air combat with other helicopters in the game, but in real life, you will never see an Apache with stinger missiles on the end of its stubby wings. There is just no need to use them in the real world, but sure makes for some good helicopter dog fights in the game. You can switch camera views from 3rd person behind the helicopter view, the pilots seat, co-pilot/gunner (CPG) seat, or just a plain HUD view with no cockpit. The cockpit views are authentic and modeled like the real life thing, which as a real Apache pilot, I was happy such care was taken into getting the details right.

Speaking of authenticity, the game is impressively accurate when it comes to the Apache. The ingame model is accurately recreated down to the side steps and panels on the exterior of the Apache to the button placement and screens on the interior cockpits. Even the weapon systems are portrayed accurately. One of my favorite things to do is press L3 which enable auto hover. The aircraft will hold the same position and altitude you engage it at, something that you can do in the real aircraft as well. While you are in auto hover, you can control the TADS (Target Acquisition and Designation Sight) in DVO (black and white day TV) or FLIR (Forward looking Infra Red) to pick out vehicles and human targets easier to pick off with the 30mm cannon. There is mission where you have to do just this and cover your down wingmen before they are over run. Just don't hover too long or you will get picked off with a SAM or RPG. The TADS image is created accurately as well. Go on you tube and look up gun tape footage from real Apaches and you can see the developers created the TADS HUD accurately as well. And just FYI, contrary to what people think, the camera is not part of the gun. It is the bottom turret on the nose of the aircraft. That's what the CPG uses to target and designate, as well as using the FLIR image to fly at night.

Have a friend over and don't want to take turns playing single player? Hook up another controller and play the single player campaign together, one as the pilot, the other as the CPG, which adds a whole level of fun. Just like the real life aircraft, the two crew members have to work together. The pilot has to hold a stable platform for more accurate weapons while the CPG controls the weapons systems, for example rockets. Coop rockets require the pilot to line up the reticle while the CPG shoots the rockets. (It's opposite in the real thing, the CPG uses the TADS to line up the shot while the pilot shoots the rockets, teamwork is required either way.)

Squad-Operations is another Co-op mode where you and a friend can go split screen or you and three others can complete a whole set of missions (that are different than the single player missions) online. The missions can be done solo and are similar to the single player missions, but are harder to try solo due to the fact there are mission objectives that are coop dependent and accomplished much easier with a buddy.

Graphically, the game doesn't impress that much. They claim to use satellite imagery to create the scenery with, but the colors seem washed out. It isn't ugly by any means, just doesn't impress. Like I said before, the vehicle models are done well and are accurate to their real life counterparts. Everything that are in the "levels" is interactive. Buildings can be destroyed, whether by shooting them or crashing into them, you can chop down trees using the 30mm cannon. I enjoyed crashing into some trees and watching my helicopter leaving a path of destruction among the trees. The explosion effects look good as well. You will take damage as well that both affect performance and the exterior of the aircraft. Overall, I thought IL-2 had a better graphical package.

Sound is accurately portrayed. From the sound of the helicopter to the weapons. The voice acting is well done and most of it is radio chatter during the missions. The musical score is great as well. Not sure who composed it, but it fits the game well, from the menus to the in-game music. Nothing to really complain about sound-wise.

Now, if I had to change or add anything to the game, it would be the inclusion of night missions. We fly using a FLIR system at night, not night vision goggles. Again, look at the nose of the aircraft and the top turret is the pilot's night vision sensor. That turret is slaved to the pilots head, so when he turns his head left, the turret turns left while he looks at his FLIR image through his/her monocle. The pilot flies at night as if his eyeball was on the nose of the aircraft, and it is extremely hard to get used to. I just wished the developers had a couple missions at night where they could have implemented the pilots night vision somehow. I guess there is room for that in a future game....

BOTTOM LINE:

....But we may not see a sequel, I just have a feeling this game isn't going to sell well. The genre isn't that popular to begin with and with all these popular games coming out, this one will get over looked. It is a damn shame. It is a great game, and if you are a fan of the genre or an aviation/helicopter enthusiast, this is defiantly a no-brainer. Like IL-2, this game blends arcade and sim elements for a perfect console flight game and remains faithful to its source material: flying a real Apache. I highly recommend it.

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First of all, I knew nothing about this game before the demo was available on the PSN. I am a big fan of flight games, typically Ace Combat and recently HAWX 1 and 2. After the huge disappointment of HAWX 2 I was looking forward to a new, quality flight game. I was a bit skeptical of a helicopter based flight combat game, but more than willing to give it a try. The demo was great and after playing it, I preordered the game. I love the simulation aspects of the game, not sacrificing quality of gameplay for an easier experience. There are different levels of flight control difficulty: Training, which offers a simplified level of control; Realistic, which is, as one would expect, more realistic, not only in control but also in HUD and physics. The graphics are very nice, much better than I expected. Flight sims generally tend to have a highly detailed vehicle, and somewhat bland environments, but overall everything in this game is highly detailed. They did a great job not only modeling the aircraft, but also the environments. There is realistic weather and excellent lighting effects. Free flight mode lets you essentially set up a mission the way you want it to be, which is very nice considering that most flight games that offer a free flight mode just put you in a map without any action. You can choose to have allies and enemies both in the sky and on land in free flight. I very highly recommend this game to flight combat fans. I'll likely update this as I move further into the game. Play the demo, it's well worth it.

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It'd be hard for me to match some of the more exhaustive reviews already done of this game, but I'll throw in my two cents. This game has a lot to offer to just about everyone, and it seems to offer much of it in threes, because that's how Nicola Tesla would have wanted it.

Three control modes are offered, basic, realistic, and veteran. Likewise, three models of Apache are offered -as well as a few other helicopters, flyable only in custom scenarios -although if there is any real difference between them other than name and minor cosmetic details, I haven't noticed. There are three main weapon systems for engaging enemies rocket pods, hellfire missiles, and the chin gun. Admittedly there is an ATA stinger missile system which has an optimal range of .20 to .25km, an extremely limited ammunition supply, and mediocre kill rate, so it doesn't count because that would throw off the threes.

The basic controls are perfect for players who want to jump right into the action it only takes a little while to become proficient with these basic controls, but to master them takes much longer, though is a quite rewarding process all the same. While you can still perform some extremely agile aerobatic stunts, the level of control pales in comparison to the realistic mode.

Realistic controls offer a more true-to-life physics model for the Apache's flight systems, and takes much more finesse and skill to handle. Though I've mastered basic controls, the realistic controls are still troublesome and I find myself magnetically drawn to nearby canyon walls quite regularly. Fortunately, the game gives you a number of continues each mission, should you crash. How many? You guessed it three. Since my flying skills in realistic mode are still novice to say the least, I haven't even flown in veteran mode at all, yet. To be quite truthful, I find the basic controls to be the best balance of action and control.

This game really shines in the co-op modes, however. Forming a squadron with other pilots through the internet is fun, although the mission selection for squad operations is somewhat limited. Local co-op mode is even more fun, since one person is the pilot and the other is gunner. The gunner has control over all of the weapon systems, allowing the pilot to simply focus on flying, lining up a proper attack run, and taking evasive maneuvers when under heavy fire. The gunsight designator remains in relative position to the ground despite the Apache's movements, meaning that the cannon will remain focused on target even during maneuvers, provided the turret has enough traverse to point where needed. Since both players share the same view, communication is essential. Hellfire missiles can be targeted at any ground unit within the view, however rockets are only capable of firing straight forward this means the players need to co-ordinate rocket strikes, with either the pilot announcing a strafing run, or the gunner requesting the pilot come to bear on a target.

My only true complaint is that [especially during local co-op] the gunsight camera view takes the entire screen, and prevents the pilot from being able to see where they're flying. A handy diagram at the bottom of the screen shows the turret position relative to the helicopter's nose, however, so the pilot can extrapolate speed and heading based off this data as well as the direction terrain scrolls by. A picture-in-picture system would have been preferable especially for the local co-op mode, but at least the pilot has complete control over entering and exiting this mode. Mercifully this means that the gunner cannot jump into FLIR mode when the pilot is executing a complex maneuver, and has to ask the pilot to put them into the gun-cam. A wider selection of Apache aircraft would have been nice, though given that the game doesn't exactly make any distinction between what models it does have other than by name, maybe it doesn't matter so much.

Do you like combat helicopters? Do you especially like the Apache gunship? Did you enjoy playing the Ace Combat games? Do you like blowing stuff up, maybe with some friends? Do you already own (or are you willing to buy) a joystick/throttle combo controller to make this game even MORE fun? Are you Nikola Tesla and/or obsessed with things that come in threes? If you answered yes to any of the above, check this game out. If you answered yes to three (or more!) of the above, buy it right now. Better yet, buy three, and give two to some friends!

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Once you get used to the controls it gets fun.

Graphics are great very realistic no lag.The aircraft can be customized with decals you can unlock by doing missions.

Controls at first are frustrating but one gets used to them.I turned the sensitivity down until I got used to them.This is not a arcade flying game even on easy.The missions vary and are challenging and fun.I like the fact you only get so many tries at missions.Then you have to start over from the last checkpoint.

Dislikes:Sound could use some tweaking 30mm sounds muffled.I had a hard time hearing the AI gunner over the music.

Graphics when shooting infantry in FLIR they didn't blow apart or start to run.

All in all I enjoy this game.Little bit of a learning curve but not much.Both casual and hardcore sim gamers should enjoy this game.It is a sleeper that sadly won't attract attention from mainstream game sites or magazines.This is the best flight game I have played on PS3 so far, surpassing IL2 birds of prey which is also a fun game.

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I have to agree with Grizz0303. This game is very hard to manuver using the DS3 remote. As another reviewer indicated, it's easy when you're flying in "Beginner/Training" mode but once you try the "Realistic" mode the fun disappears....fast. Using the DS3 controller is almost impossible to manuver quickly and accurately to attack oncoming enemy fire. I usually have to jump onto "AutoHover" just to keep the chopper from crashing. I eventually got tired of using the DS3 controller and crashing so I bought the Thrustmaster Hotas X joystick. It helped a lot but it's definitely going to take some time getting use to all of the buttons. It also adds more fun to flying the chopper as if you're really in it. I'm still having problems turning the chopper towards enemy fire but I don't crash as much which is great. I use "Auto Hover" less often but I still use it when things get crazy just to keep me from crashing at times. I prob suck at it as well but it's fun to try and it's a good challenge to learn. The game itself is ok and the graphics are good. It's not a bad game to have especially that you can play online with a squad of other choppers and you can also have 2 players on the same chopper, one using the machine gun and one flying the chopper. I def suggest getting the Thrustmaster joystick for better maneuverability for this game. The only thing I'm really upset about is that I paid $50 for it and now it's $30....mutha.....