First Impressions:

Graphics:

Here is where the sim shines. There are three theaters, Lebanon, Yemen, and Taiwan, modeled in each case from topographic maps of the areas. Many simmers pan the fact that Razorworks models forests as a raised, flat block of mottled green, but it does what it is supposed to do - give low level cover without hogging CPU cycles. The buildings are well done. My favorites are still in the Apache-Havoc Cuba campaign, with the huge Che Guevara (sigh) posters on the buildings. There is a switch one can use in the startup shortcut to fix building popup rates, so that they are drawn at greater distances; however, I have noticed that with a GeForce card there are still popup issues no matter where that is set. There are power lines, and they can bring down the unwary traveler. Best of all are the vehicles and the aircraft. Look at the screenshots. Are they not gorgeous? Thumbs up to the Brits for that one - very, very well done. The models are fully articulated, and you can see doors open and all sorts of stuff. My favorite thing is to watch an air assault on a facility I just hammered. Blackhawks or Mi-24's will fly in, land, and a squad of soldiery will jump out, form up, then break formation and double-time, two-by-two, into the nearest building. That looks so neat to watch! One can randomly select ongoing missions in the Map screen and watch them up close and personal.

The campaign itself is fully dynamic and different every time you play. Objectives are set that you must disable or capture for your side to win, and that ain't easy. Using the road network, forces will advance, take territory and fight when they come into contact. This is a very well done, reactive AI scheme; it reacts to what you do, where you fly and what you kill. Hang around too high for too long, and the AI will see you and send MiGs et al. to find out what you're up to. In one Recon mission, I flew right past a power plant that was listed as an objective. I had rocket pods and after reconning the target, stopped at the power plant on the way back and pounded it. When I got back to the airbase, Command had a new mission fragged. It seems Intel had picked up increased enemy activity and concern regarding Power Plant 2. They wanted me to investigate and see what the Syrians were so worked up about (giggle)! That is just good attention to detail. However, aside from the "skirmish" and "free flight" missions, there is no way to create your own missions or to frag your own missions from inside the campaign. You are restricted to what the computer generates. This has a lot of the faithful online upset. Note that there is enough going on so one rarely has to wait long for the computer to frag her a good mission.

Sound/Music:

While the music tracks are rocking, the explosions and the gun/missile sounds are pretty tame, which surprised me. And things don't burn like mad, as they did in F/A 18, which still has my vote for coolest-yet-Hollywood-like fire and explosions. There are aftermarket addon sound packs. Try Flexman's page at www.simhq.com for these.

Gameplay:

Avionics/Flight Model

I have to give the Razorworks team some credit. What they do in the Enemy Engaged series is model not just one but TWO helicopters. From the cockpit, both implement sufficiently different flight models that one knows she isn't flying the same bird with a different skin. The team did their best to accommodate pilots of varying skills. Flying a helicopter, especially for those virtual pilots like me who are used to flying fixed wing fast movers, is a real challenge even without the realistic things like retreating blade stall, vortex ring state, and translational lift. Here, all of the above are present and accounted for. This is a first in a helo sim, and they can be toggled on or off by the user. The avionics, unfortunately, are generic. They're geared more toward the Western helo than the Russian one; however, all the modes you look for are there, and there is enough detail that hardcore simmers like me aren't turned off. I find the avionics suite a good compromise, though I do wish that in realistic mode one could get a little more help from the AI co-pilot/gunner. He does identify targets for you, but it comes up as a notation on your integrated helmet sight. I'd like it better if it was like Longbow II, where the CP/G just yells, "Enemy tanks-two o'clock!" However, it is again an obvious compromise. The Russian helo is representative of the state of the art technology over there. The French Thomson company is now lending a hand with technology updating for Russian combat aircraft, and as a result, the current generation of Kamov attack helicopters equals the U.S. in many capabilities.

One thing that bugs me is the yo-yo effect you get sometimes in the Comanche with the altitude-hold on and moving at about 80 knots. I have been told that it happens because I get into a vortex ring state where air is flowing around the blades funny, as it usually happens when I'm about 50 feet high. Whatever it is, it is aggravating, making you yo-yo right into the ground. Altitude hold is not for the faint of heart. Hover hold is most fun in the Ka-52 (see below).

Weapons and AI

All that and a bag of chips. On the U.S. side, both laser and radar variants of the Hellfire anti-tank missile are present and accounted for and can be used in direct "lock on before launch" and indirect "lock on after launch" modes. The Stinger anti-aircraft missile is there, but is easily spoofed by flares. Both multi-purpose sub munition and high explosive Hydra rockets are also available, and both are effective. The Russian side has Vikhr laser-guided anti-tank missiles-the deadliest ones in the game. Both 80 and 120mm rockets are there, as are Igla air-to-air missiles, and are as easily spoofed as Stingers, unfortunately. If you have the earlier game, Apache v. Havoc, installed, then not only will you have access to the campaign games in Comanche v. Hokum, but access to the Apache and Havoc helicopters as well. This means that you also have access, when flying the Havoc, to the ever-dangerous AT-6 "Spiral" command-guided anti-tank missile, known in the game as the "Ataka." This was always one of my favorite weapons in Apache-Havoc. There is room for improvement here, on the Russian side. Russian helos are known to carry a much wider variety of weapons, including heavy missiles and bombs, that aren't in the game. However, what is there is done well, and I'd rather have a little done well than a lot done poorly.

I do wish that the older helicopters had updated cockpit graphics because to get the most out of the helicopters from Apache-Havoc, you have to toggle the resolution to 640 x 480 mode by means of a simple SHIFT-F1. The artificial intelligence is better than in the release version of the game. Wingman commands are implemented very well via a menu driven command system, and when you tell your team "Weapons Free" they will track and engage the enemy without further input from you. Radar cross section modeling looks well-done; when the Comanche is in stealth mode and alone, it can sneak onto an enemy airbase without being seen. If it opens its weapon bay doors or turns on its radar, the surface-to-air missiles immediately lock on. I have a question about their implementation of Doppler notch: When a target is stationary, it seems to me that enemy aircraft with pulse-Doppler radar should have difficulty in finding it, but here, they'll find and frag you whether you're moving or not, regardless of your altitude, once you show yourself to have evil intentions. However, as far as I have seen, it isn't a 100% thing, and I have found the Stinger and Igla to be more useful against fast movers than helicopters - as they should be. Ground units will move and fight, though they seem to be road-bound, which in a desert like Lebanon doesn't ring true. They are dangerous to low-flying helos and jets, though, and will track, fire and kill the unwary traveler.

Vikhr missiles are laser guided. They can be fired by means of a realistic and cool viewscope, as in the real bird! It has three levels of zoom, and when you're head down, you can see and target the bad guys. To kill them, you have to keep the crosshairs on target because you're illuminating him with a laser. The lased target will often emit a cloud of purple smoke to fool the laser. See the screenshots at right for details of this.

Enjoyment:

Of the two helos represented, the Russian one is the most fun. From its side-by-side cockpit one can see all four of the multi-functional displays, giving the pilot the unique ability to be able to target with the Crossbow radar system. If the CP/G can't see, the pilot can identify targets simply by thumb-hatting across the cockpit and looking for herself. In the Comanche, one has to jump back and forth between the two cockpits to do this. The CP/G will run flares and chaff and operate the IR and radar jammers for you if you so desire. This is very helpful when the heat is on

Multiplayer:

I didn't test this area. The Cat got put off multiplayer flight a few years ago and prefers to fly solo. However, I prevailed upon my friends in the helo messageboard, and they tell me that multiplayer is seamless. It works just like the campaign game itself, and there are dedicated servers one can find to fly on. The one recurring issue with MP here is weapons lag - where the pilot pickles off a weapon and it doesn't leave the pylon for a second or two. That's disconcerting, but the guys say it's manageable, and the MP aspect of the game works very well and stably.

Overall Impression:

Overall, I liked this simulation. It is a neat and, for the most part, accurate representation of low-level helo combat, from what I have read. Certainly, it is superior to any other helicopter sim out there at this time, in my mind, and other combat flight sim publishers should be taking notes on the interoperability of the sim with its Apache-Havoc ancestor and its innovative answer to the dynamic campaign. However, the team's out to lunch with regard to appeal across gender lines. Wake up, y'all!!

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

Is it female friendly?

This is always the first thing I look for. The combat flight world is notoriously male-oriented, and many game developers have not yet figured out that women fly combat too. In England, the U.S., Canada, Israel, and I believe, Russia as well, women are already flying combat aircraft. Evidently, our friends at the Razorworks haven't got the message because they're boldly marching forward into the 1950's with an all-male combat environment. The only exception is an American flight controller from the Bronx who every guy I've met on the Net is panning like a big dog. All, and I mean ALL, of your wingmen are very macho-sounding fellas indeed, as is your co-pilot/gunner. Well, at least they didn't commit the cardinal sin of having the lead pilot male-voice only...the lead pilot has no voice. However, one's immersion gets blown all to hell when the intrepid ladybug goes to the handy-dandy F11 crew view and finds out that the crew is male, including the pilot, and no function to change them exists. Thanks for the sour persimmons, Razorworks. Y'all get a great, big, juicy raspberry from this writer for that.

Enter the very nice men of the combatsim.com Combat Helo forum. After I was heard to complain about that, vociferously, on the forum, they made me a bitmap that I was able to use to at least change the pilot's face using a neat little utility one can find on Richard "Flexman" Hawley's Combat Helo Page at www.simhq.com . If there is any interest in getting this, ladies, let someone on the staff here know, and I'll have 'em post the bitmap file. I nominate *all* the guys who post over there for the White Knight of the Week Award.

Chivalry...is NOT dead.