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PC Comanche 4 Developer: Novalogic | Publisher: Novalogic
Rating: B+Reno
Type: Action Skill Level: Intermediate
Players: 1-16 Available: Now

To tell you the truth, I haven't played anything that would compare to a helicoptor simulation in years. The last game that I played that had the gamer at the helm of a helicoptor was EA's Strike titles, while the one before that was the NES version of Cobra Command. Having said that, it should be obvious that I don't have a particular affinity for real military helicoptors and how they would theoretically handle in a video game; I just know fun when I see it, and Novalogic's Comanche 4 is definitely filled with fun.

Although Comanche 4 has the look of a simulation game, it really isn't, not in my mind anyways. In fact, it plays a lot like the aforementioned Strike games more than anything else. While I haven't played previous Comanche games before, I could tell right off the bat that this game was intended for gamers who are just beginning to enjoy the genre or who are relatively new to games in general. Unlike most simulation games, you can't actually crash into any obstacles during your missions... at least I couldn't. No matter how hard I tried, there was no possible way that I could smash my lovely helicoptor into an incoming hill or building thanks to the game's automatic levelling system. It's aim to casual gamers is even more apparent when you consider that the default keyboard layout uses the classic WASD form that all modern PC shooters use today.

That's not to say that the game won't attract fans of the series; the missions in Comanche 4 are actually quite difficult to get through. The game will throw a ton of enemies for you to kill, and all of them have deadeye accuracy when it comes to smoking you with their cannons or missiles. While there are only two difficulty levels to choose from in the game, believe me when I say that these guys are definitely not your average pilots and gunmen. The missions are split up into six campaigns, with each campaign holding about five missions each, although there's no relationship between any of the missions. One thing I didn't like about the missions is that there was no save game feature during the actual missions, which made getting through some a real pain in the butt. Nothing hurts more than to reach the end of the level, only to restart because of a rogue missile slamming into your cockpit. The game also supports joystick, throttle and pedal devices for all those hardcore fans out there. You can even tweak the flight model settings so that you are able to have more control over your craft.

Comanche 4 really shines when it comes to graphics. It's a real good thing that there's so many things to blow up in this game, because the special effects (such as the explosions) are really wonderful, and many of the vehicles in the game are modelled great. One thing I didn't like about the graphics was that the terrain seemed a little too bland to me. Perhaps this was because of the semi-realistic nature of the game, but nothing in terms of the environment I was actually flying in made me go absolutely gaga like I do in other games. While the game looked very nice with my Radeon, one of the main things that will turn off some gamers to this game is that the system requirements are rather heavy, and require a beast of a system to run it. For Comanche 4, Novalogic scrapped their old Voxel engine (which was a new process of creating environments) and instead went with a fully polygonal engine. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell you how much this change has improved the visuals in Comanche 4, as my experience with the Comanche series started and stops with this installment.

Once you have finished the single player mode of Comanche 4, there's always the multiplayer mode to go through, which can support up to 16 players in the traditional set of modes, such as death matches and co-op play. Deathmatches are particularly fun in this game, since the AI in single player is relatively difficult, it raises the general skill of most of the people who have played through single player. Finally, there's the mission editor, another staple in just about any game. The editor is very well put together with an easy to use interface, although it requires quite a bit of work in order to get a real good mission together. Nevertheless, it's a great addition for those who wish to take the time to make their own dream scenario in the game.

Despite it's rather serious tones, Comanche 4 is one of those games that is just really fun to play because it lets you blow up stuff really.... really well. Even if the game was just one long mission with hundreds of tanks and helicoptors just flying around for me to shoot down, I'd still enjoy it, but thankfully it's not. With great graphics, solid gameplay and enough bells and whistles to last you even longer, Comanche 4 is one of those games that you'll love to just pop in and start playing.

· · · Reno












Rating: B+Reno
Graphics: 8 Sound: 8
Gameplay: 7 Replay: 7
  © 2001 The Next Level