Apache Havoc

Other products by Interplay

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00001SHN6
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: March 30, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,786 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

GameSpot Review

If you take a look at combat helicopter sims, you have two fairly distinct categories. On the one hand, you have Longbow 2, a hard-core sim of the highest order that comes replete with excellent realism, top-notch graphics, and a relatively steep learning curve. On the other hand, you have games like Comanche 3 and Team Apache, which sacrifice varying degrees of realism in favor of fast-paced, easier gameplay and (in the case of Team Apache at least) multiplayer action. Now, along comes Apache Havoc, from Empire Interactive and Razorworks Studios. Where does this two-in-one sim fall along the spectrum of helicopter sims? Right smack in the middle.

Apache Havoc offers a great mix of realism and approachability, so that hard-core fans and novices alike should find a lot to like in the game. Not only do you get to fly either the AH-64D Apache Longbow or the Mil Mi-28 Havoc B, but you also get to take part in three different dynamic campaigns as well as some memorable multiplayer airborne deathmatches.

The game does not include an instant-action feature per se, but you can take off for free flights, dynamic missions, dynamic campaigns, or multiplayer missions (co-op or competitive). Free flight is a good place to start for novices, as the game's flight engine is reasonably accurate and therefore requires some practice to master. Most of the individual realism settings (wind, retreating blade stall, and ground effect, among others) can be dialed up or down to accommodate your skill and preference. Also, the game includes a basic three-level difficulty setting that affects the overall challenge of the missions and campaigns.

The campaigns in Apache Havoc take place in three global hot spots: Cuba, the former Russian state of Georgia, and the "Golden Triangle" of Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. Each campaign is dynamic and somewhat reminiscent of EF-2000 and F-22 Total Air War. The unique twist to Apache Havoc's campaigns is that you begin with only one and a half hours on the campaign clock. That clock ticks down as you fly missions - you gain some time if you accomplish a mission, and you lose extra time when you fail (extra, meaning time beyond what you spent trying to accomplish the mission). When you run out of time, the campaign is over, and whichever side is closest to its objective goals wins. A clock may not be the most exciting of motivators, but it works well in Apache Havoc.

One thing I didn't much like about the early stages of each campaign (dynamic or not) was that the missions are all pretty dry. Recon, scout, and combat air patrol are the rule of the day, and for a while these missions tend to come up empty in terms of targets, let alone excitement of any kind. Even worse, when you complete some of the basic scout missions, the computer maps an insanely long return route to a base several map grids away. The result is not only a boring mission, but also a very, very long boring mission. The "skip ahead" feature from F-22 Total Air War would be welcome in Apache Havoc. Still, once the campaign heats up a bit and you complete some of the simpler hops, you'll have better missions to fly.

While the graphics in Apache Havoc are not quite up to the sheer beauty of Longbow 2 on all fronts, they are exceptionally good. The unit models in particular are excellent and highly detailed, and the weather and weapons effects border on spectacular. Also, the level of detail on the ground is fantastic - particularly on airfields, where you can see all the other aircraft and support equipment. The terrain can be a bit uninspiring at altitude, but you're not really supposed to be up that high anyway (this is an attack helicopter remember). Once you're down near the ground, following rivers and popping up over tree lines, the terrain quality becomes very immersive.

The trees themselves are a touch disappointing, though, since they're just blocks of space with treelike textures on them. And the colors can be a bit garish at times, but otherwise the game looks great. This is especially true at high resolution (the game runs as high as 1280x1024). Unfortunately, the developers created cockpit graphics for 640x480 only. For invisible cockpit fans like me, this is no big deal, but if you like to keep the cockpit graphics on while flying, the ridiculously small, floating 640x480 cockpit on your 1024x768 screen might prove annoying. Also, Apache Havoc can be a brutish resource hog - even on a Pentium II 450 with 128MB RAM and dual Voodoo2 cards, the game chugged whenever I flew over an area with lots of buildings or ships.

The music in Apache Havoc is techno-pop, which seems out of place but quickly fades to repetitive background noise after a few minutes. The sound effects, on the other hand, can be remarkable. Though the radio chatter is jerky and occasionally cryptic, the vehicle sounds are excellent. Flying low over a patch of trees looking for a column of enemy armor (which seemed to be actively trying to hide from me), I actually heard the tank treads below before I could spot the individual tanks. Can you really hear tanks from inside an Apache cockpit? I have no idea, but it was damn cool in the game.

Apache Havoc is a good all-around sim that impresses despite its odd assortment of quirks. While the game is unlikely to make Longbow 2 devotees drop the Jane's classic, it is a solid addition to the genre. --Michael E. Ryan
--Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice game, but no 3d cockpit at high resolution, January 25, 2000

By	[e-mail] (Guatemala) - See all my reviews

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great first helicopter sim, August 21, 2003

By	Rottenberg's rotten book review (nyc) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Apache Havoc, February 26, 2000

By	Matt (USA) - See all my reviews

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.