Apache Air Assault Thread

[Steiner]

Does anyone know if they are giving away any free Apache: Air Assault swag with a preorder?
Last time Gaijin/505 gave me two IL*2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey T-shirts with my preorder, I'm wearing one right now.

[bobbysocks]

last night at the end of a (us) football game they had a comercial for "Black Ops".... which is being released here on the 9th. impressive commercial..although i am probably not getting the game. hope they do the same for AAA...and do a media blitz.

[OldDuke6]

SURE HOPE THEY INCLUDE MORE FLYABLE AIRCRAFT, SOMETHING LIKE...oh I don't know..

Eurocopter Tiger

KA-50 Alligator

Mi-28 Hokum

UH-1D Huey Gunship W/ 40mm Grenade Launcher in nose, Rockets&Miniguns (or) Quad .50's/M-60's + Rockets

MH-47D Chinook Gunship w/40mm Grenade Launcher in nose, Rockets & .50
's on either side door gunner + 40mm on drop ramp

Gazelle

MH-60C Blackhawk with ESSS wings/plyons for Rockets + 8-16 AGM-114 HELLFIRES

RAH-66 COMMANCHE

U.S. AH-1W/Z Cobra Gunship with optional 40mm grenade launcher, 8-16 AGM-114 HELLFIRE, 36 Rockets

Mi-8 Hip Gunship

Just a few, that I would like to see as DLC, that would spice up the single player Campaign, or Online Co-op.

Missions could vary from escort the transport, to rescue and recovery, or downed aircraft recovery. Or Capture the Helipad. Something to that extent.

Maybe even some downloadable weapons loadouts...

[Korsakov829]

We didn't even get MiGs for BoP so I doubt DLC adding more helicopters.

[bobbysocks]

depends...if the capitalist dogs think they can steal another dollar from the working class you will get a DLC.

[Stingray NGAGE]

Additional aircraft would be good and also a few new maps, extra missions as old duke says would be a welcome addition. this sim has real potential i just hope the developers and publisher has the foresight to see this.

Stingray NGAGE.

[Steiner]

PS3/X360 Review - 'Apache: Air Assault'
by Dustin Chadwell on Dec. 8, 2010 @ 2:00 a.m. PST
Apache: Air Assault is a helicopter combat game, where players control a variety of lethal Apache attack helicopters outfitted with cutting-edge military weaponry. The goal in Apache: Air Assault is to prevent terrorist attacks by raining down destruction from above in the world’s most volatile warzones.

Apache: Air Assault isn't a game that you'll want to approach lightly. It can be tough as nails, even if you're playing on the easiest setting — which I did — and if you start to bump it up to Realistic or Veteran mode, well, good luck, fine gamer. Apache isn't difficult because it's unfair; I can't even say that I suffered cheap deaths. Instead, it's such a unique console simulation title that it'll take a lot of time to wrap your head around it. I can't even remember the last time I touched a game that focused on helicopter-based missions outside of the classic EA series, Jungle Strike and the subsequent Strike games, so Apache: Air Assault certainly stands alone among other air combat titles. Most air combat games on consoles are strictly arcade affairs, so the controls aren't nearly as difficult to wrap your head and hands around, and they tend to be pretty forgiving. Apache is neither of those things; it's hard to play well, and it's even harder to finish.

The helicopter sim aspect is probably going to put off a great deal of people from even trying Apache. I struggled with the review for a while because I'd make some progress in the missions only to encounter a particular level that was unrelenting in its difficulty and precision. At that point, I'd toss the controller on the couch and switch to something else for a breather. I certainly hurled a fair share of expletives at the screen over the course of the main campaign, and I came dangerously close to cracking the TV screen a couple of times. However, once you get a handle on the controls and piloting, and you figure out which view best suits you, it can be quite fun. After all, you are taking the reins of a powerful piece of weaponry, and there's a lot of stuff you can lay waste to throughout the lengthy campaign.

As you delve into Apache: Air Assault, you're given a few modes to check out. Campaign mode is divided into 17 missions, most of which take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes to complete. This might not sound like a huge amount of time, but as I mentioned, you'll end up retrying quite often, so the campaign becomes more of a time sink than you might expect. On the flip side, even if the difficulty can be brutal, the missions are short enough to make them tantalizing to try over and over again without much frustration, so you don't hesitate to jump in for another round since you haven't lost a lot of time.

Free Flight mode allows you to pick a number of options for a unique scenario setup. You can pick the arena in which the flight will take place, using a number of locales found in the campaign. Then you can choose whether there will be ground units for either side, so you'll need to watch out for friendly units or shoot indiscriminately. You can also specify the weather, which doesn't have a great impact on how you play aside from your view. Then you can pick your starting altitude, which basically means whether you want to manually lift off from the ground or begin in mid-flight. Finally, you can choose a number of AI-controlled teammates, the aircraft type, weapon loadout, skins for your craft (a number of which are unlockable), the skill of your AI partners, the enemy craft, and their weapons. There are a lot of variables tossed into this mode, so that you can really put a new aircraft through its paces, and it is a fun way to sample the gameplay without being tied down by the campaign and its plot.

Squad Operations is the next mode you'll come across, and it serves as the primary multiplayer mode in Apache. You'll choose an available mission, and then you're matched up with Xbox Live players to tackle that mission as a team. A word of warning: I didn't find a great number of people to play with online, and that's disappointing. There was a community presence from dedicated players, but it was rare to get a full group together. Also, these missions are as hard, if not harder, than a lot of the campaign missions, so in order to have some fun with this mode, you really need a group of microphone-using players who can coordinate some teamwork. It's going to be very difficult to approach this mode from a casual online standpoint, and while I'm glad it's included, I certainly wouldn't suggest starting with this mode.

That's it for the main modes, but all three offer quite a bit of playtime for anyone who picks up this title. Also worth noting is that Apache has some support for flight sticks; the game lists the Ace-Edge , Cyborg F.L.Y. 9 and Saitek AV8R-02. You could also opt to use the regular controller, which worked fine for me, and you can change options like the axis inversion, roll, pitch and yaw sensitivity.

As I mentioned earlier, the controls feel spot-on. You'll use the two analog sticks to control height and speed. Pressing up on the right analog stick raises your craft into the air, and pressing forward or back on the left stick controls your movement. Pushing both sticks forward gives you more speed, allowing to whiz along the countryside or ocean, so it won't take much time to reach faraway targets. You have an AI gunner aboard your aircraft throughout most of the game that will hunt down targets while you're busy evading missile locks, firing rockets and doing some basic piloting. However, you can take control of the gun and fly at the same time if you choose, and that's usually advisable because the gunner AI is a tad sloppy. It focuses on targets that are farther away and less of a threat, and it doesn't seem to have the ability to follow orders. Similarly, I wish I could issue basic commands to friendly AI when it accompanies me on missions, especially the escort segments, which are needlessly difficult because the AI often marches headfirst into danger.

Aside from the punishing difficulty and the admittedly niche nature of the flight sim, I can't find much worth complaining about with Apache: Air Assault. I'm not complaining about the difficulty so much as I am giving people fair warning in case they get easily discouraged. It's a well put-together title, but it's certainly not for everyone, and you should try before you buy. The game won't win any awards for graphics, but I found the mission variety offered a few different locales that were distinctive and really stood out from the crowd. The terrain has enough detail so you can pinpoint targets and enemy units. Likewise, the soundtrack doesn't stand out as being particularly grand, and I sometimes felt that it mimicked the generic military theme music that's prevalent in many first-person shooters, but it certainly wasn't anything that needed to be muted.

I applaud Apache: Air Assault for offering a unique and enjoyable experience within the sim genre of air combat games, and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to play it. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but you might be surprised by how much you enjoy this one.

Score: 8.0/10

http://worthplaying.com/article/2010...reviews/78709/

[The_Goalie_94]

UH-1D Huey Gunship W/ 40mm Grenade Launcher in nose, Rockets&Miniguns (or) Quad .50's/M-60's + Rockets


MH-60C Blackhawk with ESSS wings/plyons for Rockets + 8-16 AGM-114 HELLFIRES

These get my votes. Maybe an AH-1 as well, but these we need for SURE! PLEASE!

[bobbysocks]

still would love an a-10 but would settle for a cobra.

[House MD 221B]

guys it is APACHE: Air Assault, you cant be surprised thats there's only 3 ac types available. lets aim realistically.

i'd settle for MP Co-pilot gunner.