Review by Mark Arnott

Name:         Comanche 3
Publisher:    Novalogic
Format:       CD
Available:    May 97

Requires:

O/S:          DOS 5.0+ or Windows 95
Processor:    P75+
RAM:          16Mb+
Graphics:     SVGA
CD-ROM:       2X
Soundcard:    All major cards supported

Tested on:

O/S:          Windows 95  (in DOS mode)
Processor:    100Mhz Pentium
RAM:          32Mb
Graphics:     2Mb SVGA (Matrox Millennium)
CD-ROM:       4X
Soundcard:    AWE32 
Controls:     Mouse, Keyboard

It was with some trepidation that I loaded the CD into the drive, as my previous encounters with Comanche 1&2 did not leave me inspired, mainly because of the arcade feel and very small flight area. But every dog has its day, and as I'd already had a flick through the 82 page manual things were looking up. The Novalogic team had visited the Boeing-Sikorsky headquarters in Connecticut, and flew in the real RAH-66 Comanche Simulator that is used there. This visit enabled the team to implement extra realism into the game.

A brand new scenery engine called Voxel-space2 is used for the first time with Comanche, enabling the flight area to be increased to 80 square miles for each mission, and the quality of the ground texture is greatly improved compared to the previous 2 Comanche sims.

The install from CD is stress free. A standard install requires 50MB and can be started in DOS or Win95. There is a multiplayer install option, which allows play over Serial, Modem or IPX Network, the latter two supports up to 10 players. Soundcard detection worked ok, and there are many options for screen resolution setup, allowing you to adjust the display to match the speed of your PC. Be warned though, to have all options turned on you will need a fast Pentium.

Controller support is built in for various hardware setups. The keyboard can be used entirely on its own, or any standard joystick, including the Thrustmaster and CH range. Four way hat switches can be used for view control or to control yaw and collective. Rudder pedals or Sidewinder Pro can be used for yaw control, and throttle devices are supported.

When first starting the game it's worth watching the guided tour around the Comanche, it's a nicely rendered presentation, and gives a good overview of the aircraft that you will be flying.

There are five campaigns to choose from, with eight missions per campaign. The first are training missions and the remainder are war zones in different locations of the world, which allows you to fly over different types of terrain.

During the training missions an instructor guides you via the radio and talks you through all elements of flight. This is a good place to start, as the Comanche does take some getting used to. The flight model is accurate, and there are easy and advanced modes of flight to choose from. The Comanche does not use a conventional tail rotor for yaw control, instead it has a Fantail.

This can be setup to operate in unison with the cyclic stick when banking the aircraft, but with this option set you can't move the aircraft sideways. there is an option to limit the cyclic range so that you will not over-stress the aircraft by performing extreme banking or pitching movements.

The four war scenarios are set in the following areas: Ukraine, Siberia - lots of snow covered landscape, Cuba - fighting the drug cartels, and an Iraqi - Desert Storm type of operation. All of the scenarios incorporate lots of hills and valleys to fly over and through. You have to watch out for the main rotor blade tips when operating close to cliff faces, and if you make contact you'll hear some interesting sound effects.

When you select a mission, a text-briefing screen appears describing mission goals, then a map shows target and waypoint locations. The waypoints are fixed and I did find that sometimes it was best to follow a different route to the targets, but this is difficult without waypoints to follow and you need to memorise or sketch the headings that you need. The weapons for the mission are pre selected for you and cannot be changed, so you have to make do with what's given. The weapons that can be carried are:

• 20mm chain gun which has a 120° firing arc.
• Hydra 70mm unguided rockets.
• Laser guided AGM 114c Hellfire missiles.
• AIM 92 Stinger Air to Air missiles.
• Artillery strikes can be called upon if available.

All missions are carried out with a wingman who will follow behind you until a contact is made. He will then take up position on your flank, and you can pass over to him any targets that you wish him to attack. Although he will fire without being told to if he comes under threat by an enemy unit.

Selection of targets is made by the TADS (Target Acquisition and Designation System) which uses a collection of high-tech sensors on the nose of the Comanche. The TADS can be set to only target enemy units, which is handy during battlefield support - eliminating friendly-fire incidents.

After looking at the map the next step plonks you in the cockpit. Here we have two MFD's (Multi Function Displays) in the cockpit, all other flight info is superimposed on the visor of your helmet - the Helmet Mounted Display.

If you don't want the cockpit artwork and MFD's spoiling the view, a full screen view is available where only the HMD info can be seen. This includes speed, height, threat display and heading indicator amongst others. The waypoints are shown as numbers floating in the air with a line running downwards to the ground. This is a novel way of indicating their position, and is easier to read than a small caret on the heading ribbon.

The Comanche is a stealth aircraft, and the gear is retractable, as are the doors for the internal weapon bay. Both of these actions reduce the radar signature of the aircraft, and when combined with low level flight down valleys, renders you virtually invisible to enemy radar. To aid low level flight there is a vertical stabiliser function which will maintain a selected altitude for you, but don't expect it to work too well if when flying at a sheer rock face doing 170 knots. Another flight aid is hover-hold, which is best used when hiding just behind a ridge and you want to pop up now and then to let some Hellfires loose.

During flight there is a lot of radio chatter from your wingman, AWACS, other friendly aircraft and the artillery guys. It all adds well to the atmosphere of the game, and lets you know what's going on around you.

Some of the missions are difficult and I found that the mission objectives had to be achieved by means other than stated in the briefing. I had one mission where all my AA missiles had been used but enemy copters were patrolling the main target, I found that Hellfires can be used on aerial targets as well as ground, so I removed the Hinds and got close enough to call the artillery strike.

Once the mission targets are wasted, you are given the option to end the flight there and then or continue back to base; if there are still enemy choppers about it's best to quit while you're ahead.

It's a shame about the absence of a mission planner or editor, as it would have been nice to at least be able to move the waypoints. But, it's a big improvement on the two previous Comanche games, and it's now more of a flight sim than arcade shoot-em-up. It's nice to fly, there are some good missions in great looking scenery, and the general sound effects in the game are of good quality. Don't forget though that a fast Pentium is required for all scenery detail to be turned on.

Mark Arnott for Game-Over!