Comanche Gold

At the core of thte release Is the year-old 'copter sim Comanche 3 - a fine game which offered a good balance between propeller-bead realism and no-nonsense fun - although this Is little more than an old game with a tew extra missions bolted on. Less virtuous game publishers might have named It Comanche 4.

Of course, you do get extra missions - In tact there are over 80 In total now, Including an all-new campaign designed by a termer US Army Comanche Team Member. If that little lot doesnl keep you busy for a tew long nights (and they will), you can always knock up your own with the new easy-to-use mission designer.

Tweaks elsewhere include Improved wing man intelligence, new weather effects, a pre-mission weapons select option, and a simplified night model facility for novices. And where the original was DOS-based, the new version Is Windows 95 native (and optimised lor MMX-based machines) - a switch which we'd guess look the boys at NovaLogk a little longer than five minutes.

There's still no support for 30 graphic accelerators though - Nova Logic's use of their own polygon-free Voxel Space 2 system makes this Impossible - and while It does look excellent for a non-accelerated game, those with 30 cards would probably be better advised to look In the direction of EA's Longbow 2 or Team Apache. Already got Comanche 3? Then give NovaLoglc a call - they're sorting out some kind of upgrade deal.

Incidentally, the Gold edition features built-in support for NovaWorld, NovaLoglc's Met gaining front end first used for F-22 Raptor. Armed with a Net account, you're just a button-press away from kicking real Yankee ass for the cost of a local call. Tip: H you find them kicking your ass, use the chat function and mention something like, say, Vietnam. In cyberspace, words hurt a lot more than AJM-92 Stingers.