Gameplay and Conclusions

Missions and gameplay

The final version of Gunship! will feature 5 campaigns with 12 missions each. None of those campaigns were available in the alpha, but instant action, training, the mission builder, and two canned missions were usable. Once I finally figured out some modicum of helicopter control, I had a great deal of fun busting up tanks and ground vehicles. It's a very satisfying feeling to "sprint" from behind one stand of trees to the next, and then pop up to waste a few more tank toads before hiding again from the mobile SAMs. The ground vehicles are in fact, where Gunship! tries to separate itself from its competitors. With over 114 types of ground vehicles (Tim Goodlett claims that over 100 that can appear in any one mission), players won't feel alone in the world. It's not just about numbers either; the AI is based off the one from M1 Tank Platoon 2, so don't expect the tanks and SAMs to just sit there parked. As you can see from the screenshots, vehicles will move around a lot (notice the dust clouds under them?) and conduct battles on their own. In one canned mission, I noticed that my wingmen called in artillery support from friendly MLRS (multiple launch rocket system) units!

Burn baby burn

Two more getting away

Taking out enemy copters

For those of you who can't resist the urge to go air to air, Gunship! features missions with anti-chopper aspects. For me, the air to air aspect wasn't quite as compelling. I couldn't seem to select Sidewinders in the alpha, and Stingers just don't work very well unless you're at very short range. Gunships should just stick to anti tank duty; chasing after enemy copters just gave me some bad flashbacks of that horrible "Firebirds" movie.

Good night

Overhead view

Overall our impressions of Gunship! are very positive. Graphics are fast and gorgeous, environments are dense and well represented, and there's a good selection of helicopters to choose from. The flight model seems rather realistic as well - don't forget that our grognard (Riley) will give his own opinion soon. I haven't played a chopper game since the original Comanche (not exactly a hard core simulation), but if Gunship! progresses according to plan, then this Quakehead might just jump back into the combat game scene. Microprose promises that Gunship! will be multiplayer linkable with their upcoming tank sim, Tank Platoon!, so there's a lot to look forward to! In the meantime, feast your eyes on the rest of our many screenshots. All you've seen so far are Havoc shots - we've also got Longbow and Tiger shots to share on the next couple of pages.

Havoc cockpit

Stingers on a Havoc? Must be placeholder