Enemy Engaged: Apache vs Havoc

...this game is one to check out. It use to be that flight simulator games and PC's went hand in hand. There was everything from space (X-Wing and Wing Commander), to Airplanes (A-10 Tank Killer) and yes, even helicopter (Remember the Jane’s Long Bow games?). This reason alone made a good joystick a must have for any respectable PC gamer. It is too bad these kinds of games no longer around to make the joystick a must have. But thanks to Good Old Games, we are once again able to enjoy at least one classic helicopter sim. Apache Havoc, by some, is considered one of the better helicopter flight simulator games of its day. This is due in large part to the range of options available to would be arm chair pilots. This added to the number of missions to fly made it one to own. Even with all of the options (everything from having to turn off the rotar brake and wheel brake before take off, to being able to turn on a windshield wiper when it is raining), the game still manages to be fun and accessible. Now don’t get me wrong, there is a learning curve for getting up to speed, but with the included documentation downloads from Gog.com, it is not that hard to figure it all out. The graphics in this game will not win any awards by today’s standards, (but lets be real, if graphics were the only thing you are looking for, you wouldn’t be at this game site would you?) but even after 11 years, they are not bad to look at either. For me, one of the things that makes this game so memorable is the way the helicopters handle. I am sure there are some out there that would argue with me and say "this game" or "that game" has a better physics engine, but the way the helicopters handle in Apache Havoc is fun without being overly complicated. You can use your keyboard (sorry, no mouse support) to control the game, but I would suggest investing in a joystick if you do not already have one. In fact, I went out and bought a new joystick (my old one would not work in windows Vista) the day after I bought this game. After finding Gog.com, one of the fist games I requested for them to add was this one, and couldn’t believe my eyes when I loaded up Gog and saw that it had been added. If you are looking for a good helicopter sim, Apache Havoc is definitely one to check out. After all, its only 6 bucks.