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Publisher:  Genre: Flight Sim
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Mac OS X: 10.2 Mac OS Classic: Not Supported
CPU: G3 @ 600 MHz RAM: 256 MB Hard Disk: 350 MB 4x CD-ROM Graphics: 16 MB VRAM |
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Enemy Engaged: Comanche vs. Hokum
January 20, 2005 | Tim Morgan |
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The campaign supports dynamic, changing weather, which can range from clear skies to pouring rain, and models the progression of day into night. Dynamic weather can be a bit schizophrenic, flipping from rain to shine many times per day, even in desert countries.
After selecting a mission and helicopter to fly, the player has the option of modifying waypoints and configuring the loadout. Enemy Engaged displays the waypoints of the trip in the Mission Briefing page, and this is the only place where waypoints can be modified – but only the current mission’s waypoints. The player can also customize the helicopter’s weapon loadout, choosing from a few predetermined loadout or manually choosing his/her own. This becomes especially important when flying the Comanche, as the player must make a choice between a well armed but visible loadout or a very stealthy but poorly outfitted one.
Sitting down and strapping in
Once the player has completely configured the mission to his/her liking (or let the computer do so automatically), he/she is placed in the pilot’s seat of the aircraft, across from or behind a copilot, with the helicopter idling and cleared for takeoff. After releasing the rotor brake, it’s a short wait for the RPM’s to begin climbing, and then the collective is raised for takeoff!
Flying a helicopter requires a bit of a fine touch, and even though Enemy Engaged has a very forgiving flight model (even with its scalable realism, the most realistic settings are still more arcade-ish than reality), players will want to pick up a good joystick to maintain a firm grip on the reigns. If you can’t get your hands on a good set of rudder pedals or a twist-grip, Enemy Engaged can handle some of the pedal-turning for you, but for the best gaming experience, four axes is highly recommended. Although the latest release doesn’t support multiple joystick devices, a beta version I was given did so wonderfully.
Enemy Engaged provides an interesting experience for those of us accustomed to screaming across the skies in fighter jets. Down below, in the thick of grass and trees, flying a helicopter is a wholly different experience, more akin to a tactical first-person shooter. Helicopters dart from cover to cover, find hiding spots, and make quick standoff attacks, using their concealment as their primary asset. This will add hours of relearning to the curve for fighter pilots, but knowledge of these tactics is crucial to the successful completion of missions.
The differences between the two helicopters are most apparent in handling. Whereas the weapon loadouts, range and speed capabilities, and avionics systems are mostly comparable, flying each bird is a completely separate beast. The Hokum is certainly the easiest to fly, as it is mostly stable in a hover, and will tend to stay where you leave it. Compare this to the Comanche, which has a tendency to want to tilt or pan on its own unless you fight it. This will create interesting dichotomies, as Hokum pilots will be able to employ more of their attention towards target acquisition and systems management while in a hover, while Comanche pilots will have to keep an eye on the ground to make sure they don’t run into it. (This doesn’t mean Hokum pilots can get lazy, unless they want to start hugging the Earth!) Comanche pilots make up for this by having superior avionics systems, including a more versatile helmet-mounted display (HMD) and stealth capability (as well as other smaller advantages).
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