Gunship
| Developer: N/A | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: MicroProse | Sound: |
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| Year: 1989 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Flight simulation | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
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A late adaptation of a Commodore 64 flagship title (1986) and a reference in helicopter simulation, combining action and realism.
You are entrusted with an Apache AH-64 (reputed to be the best combat helicopter, though I haven’t verified), and you must successfully complete various missions around the world. The difficulty is configurable, as are several other aspects such as flight realism, landing ease, weather caprices, and enemy reaction times. Notably rare, there is a training mode (tutorial). Studying the manual is nonetheless required as there are numerous functions to assimilate. In fact, it is possible to share commands with a second player: one pilots the aircraft whilst the other operates the weapons.
The game offers you the opportunity to pursue a genuine military career, through approximately one hundred missions (randomly generated!) punctuated by promotions that will progressively elevate you to the rank of Colonel.
One regrets that there are no notable improvements compared to the Atari ST version, released three years earlier. A minor oversight subsequently rectified with Gunship 2000, more worthy of an Amiga’s capabilities. I wonder if MicroProse’s flight simulator owes part of its commercial success to the Airwolf series, broadcast around the same period on television…
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