75 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
75 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
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LHX ATTACK CHOPPER
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The United States Army depends on helicopters to perform a variety of missions,
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from rescuing wounded, to providing air cover, to delivering supplies. The
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latest helicopter on the Army's shopping list is the LHX, or Light Helicopter
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eXperimental. It's designed to scout and attack enemy positions quickly, with
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minimal chance of early detection. Electronic Arts has turned out a challenging
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simulation involving this helicopter. (This review is based on the IBM-PC
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version.)
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Four helicopters are included in LHX Attack Chopper: the AH-64A Apache, the
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UH-60 Blackhawk, the V-22 Osprey, and the LHX. Each of these aircraft has
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strengths and weaknesses to consider when choosing one for a mission. The Apache
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carries the most ordnance. The Osprey is actually a VTOL airplane, and flies the
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fastest. The LHX is the most technically sophisticated and presents the smallest
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radar signature.
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I tested LHX Attack Chopper on a GenTech 386/20 computer, with a Paradise VGA
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Pro graphics card, Mitsubishi Diamondscan monitor, and CH Mach IV joystick. My
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other games all recognize my CH Flightstick as joystick 1 and the Mach IV as
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joystick 2. LHX reversed the stick numbers.
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LHX includes a program called JTUNER.EXE that tests and helps calibrate
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joysticks. It is more sophisticated than any joystick centering routines I've
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ever seen. JTUNER makes multiple passes to fine-tune the sticks until they're
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almost perfectly centered.
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The three theatres of conflict in LHX are Libya, Vietnam, and East Germany.
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These electronic battlefields are much smaller than those of typical jet fighter
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simulators. The battle maps are about 30x30 miles. Most missions can be
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accomplished in about 20 minutes.
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The missions include strikes at ground targets, rescues, evacuations, escorts
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for other choppers, and supply drops. Free flight with no targets allows the
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novice helicopter pilot to get the feel of the aircraft.
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Helicopter cockpits share many of the features found in jet fighter cockpits.
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HUDs (heads-up displays), MFDs (multi-function displays), artifical horizons,
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and electronic countermeasures are present in all four helicopters. Weapons
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include air-to-air missiles, anti-tank missiles, machine guns, and unguided
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rockets. The Apache and Blackhawk carry more weapons, while the lighter Osprey
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and LHX sacrifice capacity for speed.
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Flight simulator purists will find that the helicopter flight equations are not
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realistic. The choppers "center up" too quickly after completing a turn, and
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stop forward motion almost immediately after releasing the stick to neutral
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position. Ground effect turbulence is exaggerated to add some difficulty to low
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altitude flying. The game is probably easier to play with these shortcomings
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than if the aircraft handled with full realism.
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There are five levels of difficulty, but LHX is not forgiving. The enemies at
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level 1 are formidable. These "amateurs" will exploit a single mistake, and one
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mistake is usually fatal. This is the game's greatest weakness. You need some
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soft enemies to practice against before going up against the tough ones. When I
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tried level 3, I could complete the mission objective, but not make it back to
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base. At level 5, I could never get close to the mission objective. My chopper
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was always detected and eliminated in a hail of coordinated air and ground
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missiles.
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The value of a game/simulation is measured in the amount of play time it gives
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before becoming tiresome: LHX is addictive. The simplified flight equations make
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targeting easier. The variety of aircraft, missions, and theatres hold your
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interest. The documentation is very detailed, with sections on each of the
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aircraft. Game scenery is not rich, but it would take a powerful computer to
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crunch the graphics routines for more complex scenery, placing the game out of
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the reach of many players. LHX ATTACK CHOPPER is challenging and fun. It needs
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an easier novice level, but practice and patience will eventually pay off. I
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recommend LHX to jet jocks looking for a change of pace.
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LHX ATTACK CHOPPER is published and distributed by Electronic Arts.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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