Comanche 3 (1997) - MobyGames

The Good
Beautiful graphics, tremendous production values, lots of action and military hardware... Those are the best things about Comanche 3, a simplified (make that VERY simplified) helicopter simulation by Novalogic. Clearly catering for the "weekend warrior" and those that get a hard on with all things military instead of the hardcore simmer, Comanche 3 provides a spectacular and flamboyant simulation that goes easy on AI, damage and flight models, and concentrates on delivering flashy (if substantially realistic) action, and for the most part it does it right. The game has a collection of tutorial missions and then throws you into a linear campaign that has you blasting enemies in no time. You'll get to blow tanks, bridges, enemy helicopters, buildings, trains, etc... you name it. The missions are relatively simple but due to the Comanche's stealthy fighting profile (which make it the helicopter equivalent of the F-117) they become exciting affairs where you usually sneak on your enemies and then start picking them off until the inevitable showdown goes down.

Last but not least the AI in this game is terrible, you usually don't get to see this with the enemies since their reaction flaws fall in with the concept of the game, but your wingman has got to be the most stupid thing ever programmed for a game, most of the time I just sent him around and prayed for him to suffer a quick death (since he is absolutely inept in combat) simply because keeping him around you is a death sentence! What you have here is a wingman that will try to shoot through you to get it's foes, and that will consistently (get this) Ram you if you make sudden stops or just happen to, you know, try and pilot your helicopter in any way....

The Good
This was a smart voxel-based flight sim, intended as a more arcadey version of Digital Integration's 'Apache'. The graphics stand out - using a 'Delta Force'-esque voxel engine, the terrain undulates by as in no polygonal game, but at the expense of CPU power. The upside of this is that the graphics haven't dated too badly, as you can just bump up the resolution. There is a decent variety in the missions, and the gameplay is challenging to say the least.

The Bad
It's very hard in places - you grow to fear the 'beep' of an incoming SAM, because you can't really dodge them. And the flight model is unforgiving, and really requires a joystick and throttle combination for effective play. It's not all that large, either.

The Bottom Line
A decent voxel-based chopper sim, worth it on budget.

The Good
For its time, Comanche 3 offered a significantly realistic flight-model, but was still quite fun to play. The game offers a wide variety of missions, set in a broad assortment of environments. The cockpit model is right-on, and the training missions designed to teach the player all of the "bells and whistles" located there are adequate. Virtually any camera angle you can think of is attainable, but my favorite was the "chase" version which allows you to keep a close eye on your aircraft, but also be aware of enemies in front of you. Although Comanche 3 offers linear campaigns, the player can find pretty much any terrain to fly over, and a wide assortment of enemies, both in the air as well as on the ground.

The Bad
Learning to fly the helicopter took a bit of time, and even the "easy flight model" offered wasn't always that easy. Your computer-controlled wingman's AI leaves a little to be desired, as you can almost always bet that he'll be dead within 2 minutes of the mission's start-up.

The Bottom Line
Comanche 3 is a combat helicopter flight-sim, set in the early to mid-1990's that offers spectacular graphics and realistic simulation as an Army attack helicopter pilot.