Review | Apache: Air Assault

If you ever had a hankering to strap yourself into a helicopter cockpit and dish out some good old fashioned democracy, then prepare to get happy. Apache: Air Assault let’s you take control of the world’s most famous attack helicopter in a battle against pirates and terrorists in hotspots around the globe.

For those who require quick comparisons, you should think Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X with rotors instead of wings. Like H.A.W.X, Apache attempts to tread that fine line between true simulation and a more arcade style desire to blow a lot of stuff up.

The main single player game takes the form of a 16 mission campaign. While the level design is a little humdrum, these missions can actually be quite fun when they want to be. Mostly these consist of destroying all the red enemy markers from the target area, but sporadically you’ll be tasked with defending shipping from pirates, destroying various ground units or using the cool UV cameras to mow down enemy soldiers in the streets.

Three difficulty levels are available — trainee (which will be the default for most of you lot out there) and then realistic and the unlockable veteran. Realistic hits the player with the usual – less damage and weapons as well as much more realistic handling. At first you’ll find yourself repetitively going kersplat doing even the simplest tasks such as taking off. If you plan on keeping this game longer than your average rental however it’s worth the investment due to the extra control and manoeuvrability you gain.

A free play mode allows you to brush up on those piloting skills. And to keep things interesting you can customize the settings to add in any number of enemies as well as some AI controlled company to the mix.

So how does the game look? While some of the larger landscapes can appear quite barren, the textures are generally pretty decent looking, and the Apaches themselves have been modelled with loving detail, so they look good from every conceivable angle.

Some 17 missions are available for the more online inclined of you. This allows a pair of you to take on the enemy head on. Unfortunately at the time of the review we were unable to test this mode due to a lack of players on Xbox Live so verifying its fun or none factor is impossible.

So that’s Apache: Air Assault. I wouldn’t recommend it to people outside of the niche, but that’s almost certainly how the niche prefers it. It’s not great, but it’s not bad either, and it provides some very memorable moments that can really bring out a great sense of achievement and fun.