Apache Havoc (Jewel Case)

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Summary: Apache Havoc
Review: Apache Havoc is one of the best helicopter/fighter simulator I have ever played. The graphics are great and the landscapes are perfect. There is a lot of great missions. This is an action game that will keep you on the edge of your chair. It's intense and realistic. You can be the apache or the havoc in your missions. Mission wise there are a lot of different one's to chose from. If you like combat simulators and helicopter games than you'll like this one.

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Summary: great first helicopter sim
Review: Flight simmers primarily interested in fixed-wing aviation (airplanes other than helicopters) because they've been either intimidated by hardcore helicopter games like Longbow or disappointed by arcade-shooter seeming games like Comanche should find "Apache-Havoc" (A-H) a great entry point. Here, you fly either the US Army's AH-64 or the Russian Mil-28N Havoc - both being 2-man gunships armed to the teeth with cannon shells and various missiles - in either campaigns or single missions in one of three global hotspots - Cuba, the Caspian Sea or the Golden Triangle near Laos and Thailand. Missions are dynamic (whether in single missions or campaigns, others fight and/or die around you) which gives you something to look at during the slow parts of your missions. It takes some time to adjust to the peculiarities of rotor-wing flight (in games like Falcon4 or Jane's F/A-18, you tend to seek higher airspeed during a dogfight because of the extra maneuvering power it brings; in helicopter combat, speed is a trap, one that makes it harder to fly those whacky or unreal snap maneuvers that only choppers can manage), but A-H allows you to adjust realism settings allowing you to sharpen your skills. (After a few weeks, you'll have completely forgotten a time in which the words "retreating-edge stall" were less familiar to you than such household bromides as "microwave oven" or "weapons of mass destruction".) Also, while the switchology of assault-helicopter weapons and sensors can be murderous, the game allows you to adjust the expertise of your gunner - you can tag targets and unleash hellfire missiles on it from the pilot's rear seat w/o having to switch to the gunner's seat to see what you've burned. (Chopper-sims haven't gotten to the reverse point - of having convincing AI pilots who can take the helm while you blast away from the gunner's seat. This would be a great way to get into your machine's sensor/weapons suite. It may also more accurately describe a chopper-driver's evolution. In his Memoir "Apache Sunrise", Vietnam Gunship driver Jerry Boyle spends much of the book as the gunner, more frequently taking the controls from the "X-Ray" seat as his proficiency improves).

Topography is nice - you've got hills, mountains and ravines - though the textures of all that land seems a bit suspect (a forest can either be a few clustered trees, or a huge block of solid green - though as far as a real chopper driver is concerned, a forest really is an impenetrable block of green). To be honest, helicopter sims will always have a tougher time modeling terrain than fixed-wing sims because the lower speeds and heights at which helicopter pilots operate means that the world outside their window is more likely to resemble the world outside of our own. (That is, on FS2004, you'll fly cross-country with the Cessna or 737, but you'll end up spending most of your time on the Bell JetRanger just trying to land on the roof of your boss's building.) I haven't gotten to the pint where I can discern meaningful differences between the Havoc's and Longbow's flight model. Visual model for the Havoc's interior is disappointing - as if low-tech meant simply not having much instrumentation or controls at all (the reverse is true, just compare pictures of the flight panels of the F-16 and MiG-29).

I flew this chopper-sim on my WinXP P4 and had no compatibility problems. The sim almost instantly recognized my game port Thrustmaster FCS/WCS and CH Pedals set-up. As with any descent chopper-sim, pedals are a must. In short, if you've got Longbow already, you'll probably want to fly past A-H. Still, for those new to chopper sims, A-H is an irresistible buzz. A-H was followed Comanche-Hokum (both of those higher-tech helicopters appear as AI aircraft in A-H), but I'll stick with this game until somebody releases another Mi-24 game.

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Summary: Support
Review: I have really had a great time playing the Apache Havoc simulator. The only problem that I can find is that, there is not enough fan sites. And I would like to be able to find some utilities to create my own missions, and such. If you are trying to figure out some cheat codes for the game you can almost forget it. I have tried accessing the memory locations and editing the values there, but this game does not use the same memory locations every time. If you start a site for this game or you happen to come across some utilities please E-Mail me and let me know where to find them. Thanks [e-mail]

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Summary: One of my first sims and Ilove it!
Review: I just recently upgraded my computer to a high-speed PC and went shopping for games and sims. Though mainly interested in driving sims (EA F1 2000, Codemasters TOCA 2 and Colin McRae Rally), I saw a double-pack of ApacheVHavoc and Mig Alley for a ridiculously low price. Mig Alley is tough for this sime tyro, but Apache/Havoc has been a real pleasure. After downloading and printing all 198 pages of the impressive flight manual (60 pages on helicopter flight dynamics alone), I began "training" in the single flight selection. So the graphics aren't the best, but they are good enough to allow you to participate in the "reality" of the game. Using a Logitech Extreme 3D stick with twist feature really helps control the choppers. I was able to perform some tricky nap-of-the-earth flying after just a couple of hours. Learning to fly is fairly simple, learning to fight a lot harder! I started off by "practicing" my attacks on friendlies as they were usually much easier to find! Weapons selection and actions are very good, and the helmet mounted sight mode is excellent. Background voices were repetetive, at least in the free flight mode, and distracting...turning them off while training is recommended.

I really enjoy this sim and recommend it to flight sim beginners or those that want to get into the fray quickly (though rading all those pages takes some time!).

Rating:
Summary: One of my first sims and Ilove it!
Review: I just recently upgraded my computer to a high-speed PC and went shopping for games and sims. Though mainly interested in driving sims (EA F1 2000, Codemasters TOCA 2 and Colin McRae Rally), I saw a double-pack of ApacheVHavoc and Mig Alley for a ridiculously low price. Mig Alley is tough for this sime tyro, but Apache/Havoc has been a real pleasure. After downloading and printing all 198 pages of the impressive flight manual (60 pages on helicopter flight dynamics alone), I began "training" in the single flight selection. So the graphics aren't the best, but they are good enough to allow you to participate in the "reality" of the game. Using a Logitech Extreme 3D stick with twist feature really helps control the choppers. I was able to perform some tricky nap-of-the-earth flying after just a couple of hours. Learning to fly is fairly simple, learning to fight a lot harder! I started off by "practicing" my attacks on friendlies as they were usually much easier to find! Weapons selection and actions are very good, and the helmet mounted sight mode is excellent. Background voices were repetetive, at least in the free flight mode, and distracting...turning them off while training is recommended.

I really enjoy this sim and recommend it to flight sim beginners or those that want to get into the fray quickly (though rading all those pages takes some time!).

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Summary: I can't put this game away!!!!
Review: I was given this game as a present by my wife. after loading it in i was GOB SMACKED by the graphics.The game play is very easy to pick and the controls a doddle.

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Summary: Nice game, but no 3d cockpit at high resolution
Review: I was looking for the best choper simulation. I found a very good one in this game. I'm really disapointed with it because in 800x600 and up, you have to disable the 3d cockpit, if you don't you'll see a small cockpit flying in the center of the screen in an awkward way. Other than that this is a very good simulation.

Rating:
Summary: The best detail I've seen.
Review: This is the first flight sim I purchased. So far I have been playing it for about 2 years. The detail is amazing. I have yet to play a game with this much detail. I also found it easy to play all though it did take a couple of weeks to learn. The only dislike is it takes a while to get the action going. Off course speeding the game settings up took care of this problem.

Rating:
Summary: The best detail I've seen.
Review: This is the first flight sim I purchased. So far I have been playing it for about 2 years. The detail is amazing. I have yet to play a game with this much detail. I also found it easy to play all though it did take a couple of weeks to learn. The only dislike is it takes a while to get the action going. Off course speeding the game settings up took care of this problem.