Why all Sim Lovers whether it be Prop, Jet, Tanks or Helicopters should buy it What is this post about, well considering the recent cancellations of many Flight sim products I thought it was prudent to advertise the existence of a new Helicopter Sim called Enemy Engaged: RAH-66 Comanche vs Ka-52 Hokum by Razorworks.
First I have no connection with Razorworks or Empire and this post has been cross posted on various related forums, message boards to inform why if you like sims you will like Comanche Hokum. Hopefully some of you reading this will go and buy Comanche Hokum and help support Quality in the Flight Sim arena. I have cross-posted this to a lot of forums, so please don't get annoyed if you see if more than once. But I want to let Flanker 2.0, Falcon 4, EAW players, Janes F18 know about this Sim. I have also posted this on EECH forums just in case people who haven't got it yet but read the forums
Why is this not on a Dedicated Web Site, it would save a lot of Duplication, I can't be sure that EAW, Falcon4 fans would come to a EECH site so I have to go to them. First I am a big Fan of Falcon4, Longbow 2 and European Air War so I know what a quality Sim is, and im not adverse to a bit of Half-Life Team Fortress. So first things First who is Comanche Hokum aimed at, will it satisfy Falcon 4 Diehards and people new to the Flight Sim genre who do not want to be overwhelmed by a sim's complexity. The answer is yes to both so lets see what it's all about.
Comanche Hokum is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Apache Havoc. Developed by a smallteam called Razorworks (made of ex Digital Integration staff, Tornado, Hind etc) and Published by Empire. Fundamentally Comanche Hokum is an extension to Apache Havoc and improves vastly on a very good product to make the definitive Helicopter sim of the 00's.
With Comanche Hokum you can play either side in a battle (US or Russian), enabling you to fly the different helicopters, with Apache Havoc installed you get to fly the Apache and Havoc as well, each Aircraft is unique with it's own performance, weapons, radars etc.
Which can be played from either side (note with Apache Havoc this amounts to 6 Campaigns, Cuba, Thailand, Caspian Sea, Yemen, Taiwan, Lebanon) In each campaign you have set objectives to reach say occupy certain military bases, airbases etc. These change each time you start a new campaign. The campaigns follow the Day/Night cycle and are continuous, i.e. the action is always going on even if you're not flying.
Tanks will battle it out with each other, Helicopters will go on Troop Insertion missions, F16's will fly Combat Air Patrols. The world has a limited amount of units, so no flying against an infinite Airforce, their side and your side will get resupplyed but not by some invisible mechanics but by C17 Globemasters and Chinooks and Hip helicopters which if you see and shoot down then those supplies don't get delivered.
On your map screen you will see the battle unfold and via Radio communications you will hear the calls for Close Air Support which are genuine and can be located on the map. As the war progresses the Front line will move back and forth as you can and they can capture installation such as Airbase's, FARPS, Factories, these in turn will be used for you side. Again this is not achieved behind the scenes.
Take out an Airbase and a BDA (Battle Damage Assessment) Flight's will be generated which either the computer or you can fly, depending on this intelligence, a further strike might be prepared or a Troop Insertion. For the troop insertion you can fly escort to the BlackHawk, and if they capture the installation (which is determined by the amount of damage you done, the more likely your ground troops will succeed).
Further Repair and Supply missions will be tasked to that Airbase. Finally transfer missions, which will transfer Helicopters, Airplanes to the New operational Airbase and can be used as a base of operations. Remember the enemy will be doing the same thing to you and should any link in the chain be broken, i.e. your troop carrying blackhawk gets shot down then the whole process will be delayed. All-important events in the campaign will be relayed to u and kept in the Log section, also you will see areas of engagement on the map as they happen. At all times you can see the levels of opposing forces types.
The main Campaign Screen showing the Balance of Power
Any friendly unit can be click on in the Map and A Live feed is shown
The log shows all the recent action, by clicking on a message, the 3D Window shows u the action and the MAP goes to its location. The list on the right shows the OOB (Order of Battle) every friendly unit, bases, Installation
An Installation that needs to be protected
The Graphics in Comanche Hokum are excellent, Clean, well defined and varied. Not Photo realistic like Falcon4 but offering terrains, from the lowlands with fields, to high Snowy Peaks and massive Towns with unique buildings that have excellent damage modeling. The planes and units look gorgeous with fantastic lighting effects. Support for T&L on geoforce. up to 1600*1200 resolution.
One of the Campaign's Theatres (Yemen) , Each has it's own unique Terrain
The attention to detail is outstanding, from the tank commanders opening his tanks hatch and looking out and firing his mounted Machine Gun, to the moving windscreen wipers that can be seen on the helicopters, the Hercules C130 Transport lower their cargo ramp and eject multiple supplies by parachute to the Bases down below. To the Helicopter carriers with incredible detail with Helicopters taking off and landing. Watch MRLS pound bases with their rockets and even fly with the rocket.
Small Part of Beirut, which house many unique buildings, ranging from Huts, Mosques, Shops, Office Blocks and Ports
The Dynamic Weather system enables you to fly into different weather systems or for them to move to you, so one minute is a nice sunny day then you fly into a mild shower then it becomes a dark sky with torrential rain and lighting. Also as you fly the campaign you will witness spectacular Sunset's and Sunrises, which darken, lighten the sky as appropriate. Also things like variable wind make much more of an impact than in a jet going 500mph.
The flight model has several options to increase/decrease difficulty they are blade stall, ground effect, over toque, vortex ring, wind. Plus Hover mode, Altitude Hold and Stable Hover mode, plus autopilot. Weight and Altitude are taken into consideration so you require more power to take off fully loaded from a mountain then at sea level. The wind will buffet your helicopter and really affect your control. Taxing is possible and even rolling takeoffs.
The 3D Cockpits are simply gorgeous, panning is simple and quick and you can choose who to fly from (pilot, co-pilot) with unique MFD settings for each, swapping between the two is a matter of pressing the ESC key. All the Displays are updated and can even be seen from external views, updating perfectly. Even the Glasses mounted on the helmets show the HUD from the various views (which is displayed on the Glasses, so when you turn you head you will always see the HUD).
The viewing system really deserves some praise, as it's the most flexible and powerful out there. First there is all the usual Chase Cam, fly by, action camera etc. But what makes this stand out is the ease you can view any unit on the battlefield. Integral is the Filter set-up (F12) which enables you to filter the units, by side, type, subtype and individual unit. So you can set up a filter with ease that only shows Allied Transport Aircraft, Chinook's, or Enemy Infantry with SAMS.
Using the hotkeys you can quickly dart about finding the action from any position. Also you can quickly cycle thru the flyable helicopters, didn't I say you can jump into any flyable helicopter (Comanche's, Apaches, Hokum's, Havoc's, dependant on AH installed and Side) by viewing the unit and pressing you. Also you can select a friendly unit on the map and go straight to viewing it. The unit will appear in a small 3D window which can be panned/zoomed or you can press for Full screen action.
A View of the Duel Cockpit of the Hokum, the pilot's faces can be edited with your own face
By pressing the number keys 1 to 5 you get a quick padlock to nearly anything you want, be it Waypoints, Target, Wingmen, Threat (SAM, AA Missile) etc. It's all done with one view, (no 2D cockpit) so it's seamless as you head just turns to look in the right Direction.
Comanche Hokum features proper Terrain Masking, so it pays to keep low and out of sight to avoid those missiles. Also is line of Sight, which means that if a building is between you and the tank and you can't directly see it then you cant get a lock.
A view of a Small Town in Cuba thru the Hokum's periscope
The Main Campaign screen can be accessed at any time by pressing ENTER and when you die, complete a mission, want to get into a new Helicopter there is no loading between mission's just selected the new flight and your in, no 5 minute waits to load it in.
Your wingman will vary with type and number and might be Apaches, Blackhawks or Hind's. If you are the flight leader or a wingman determines what you can do with them, they will attack, do BOBUP's, hold position, attack targets of opportunity and take the missile for you. Also friendly units will help you, you can call for assistance, in the Form of Airstikes, Artillery, and Air Intercept Assistance, when you call for these if the resources are available the sorties will be generated and vectored to you.
In the case of Air Assistance any friendly air units capable of helping you will come, and ive done this and it works unlike many Sims where it's doesn't.
The 2 most recent occasions I had trouble with some Su25's I called for assistance and some F16's nearby came and helped me out. The other time I was attacking a major airbase I called for help, 4 A10's turned up and attacked all the Sam's and Armour. I knew it was the ones I called for as they responded (x) unit coming to assist and it was the unit that turned up and this was not their intended target and you can see all the missions for every unit so they diverted just for me, which afterwards they resumed their mission.
Multiple Wingmen who follow your Orders and can act independently
The world of Comanche Hokum is detailed and varied, from T80 Main Battle Tanks, to Harriers and A10's. Infantry who patrol bases and Armored Personal Carriers, SA19's, Ural Fuel Trucks. Sea Cobras, Stallions, Hip and Hook helicopters. Landing Craft, Destroyers and Helicopter Carriers the battle is intense and varied.
A Rocket Attack in the Night, the Rocket can be Followed and the Damage it does
The Release version is stable, fast and features NO real bugs. Even though the game already has had various patches ,but this fix minor issues and add new features such as capture enemy aicraft as CH works and doesn't need any fixing.
Along with the main campaigns there are numerous mini campaigns, which have limited objectives and units. According to http://www.simhq.com/ residential Helicopters expert Richard 'Flexman' Hawley these can easily be edited and an editor might be made allowing custom skirmishes. Razorworks have already released over the net additional skirmishes which are now included in the patch.
If you have Apache Havoc (CH's predecessors) then this integrates with Comanche Hokum to include 3 more campaigns (6 total) and 2 more flyable helicopters (4 total) the integration is seamless and Apache Havoc can be found on budget so there is no reason not to get it.
The cockpits have been slightly updated for The Apache Havoc helicopters so multiple resolution support is better but the Virtual cockpits are not as good (still good though). Of course all the benefits of Comanche Hokum are present and you do not need the AH CD once installed.
Multiplayer in CH is seamless, and stable. So you enter the IP number and join a game. The games could be running for days and there is dedicated server support. Basically you pick your side and you fight a war with other human pilots. they can be your wingmen or do there own thing. the war wages on around you.
When you want you can save the campaign and continue in another session. You can continue a Single player campaign and have People join it, or have a Multiplayer campaign and finish it off in Single player. CH makes no distinction between online and offline so it's all transparent.
The ability to pick Helicopters in flight means there is no waiting around for missions. You can share targets list with other Humans and the Campaign Map serves as a great AWACS, JSTARS platform. Plus you can have humans on either side going against each other.
Multiplayer Action
So to sum it up if your a Flight sim fan , whether Hard Core or not, Airplanes or Helicopters Comanche Hokum has something to offer all of you.
This is by far the longest post I have ever done and posted to the most sites.
I feel that with the slump in Flight Sim development we should support the Developers that bring us Quality Software and Comanche Hokum does what it says on the box and more.
So next time you buy a game take a long look at Enemy Engaged: Comanche vs. Hokum as it deserves to have Financial success, again I have no links with any of the developers, publishers, sites but I love flight Sims and I can recommend this one with out a doubt.
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