Gunship III by Neil "Enzo" Mouneimne
	Hard at work delivering the next level in their ground warfare series, the folks at Microprose are getting Gunship III ready to spin up. Strange as it may sound, Gunship III is kind of a sequel to M1 Tank Platoon 2. Yet this perhaps is understandable considering that the role of the helicopter really is that of a ground warfare asset - even if it is a flying one. The graphics engine is a revamped version of that in M1TP2, supporting larger battlefields, more terrain variety, large clusters of trees (as in European Air War), as well as large numbers of individual trees to flesh out the countryside. Finally, no more "blocks" of trees! This larger battlefield is now capable of supporting artillery, supply, and HQ units routinely instead of forcing them to always be ghostly off-map assets. In some cases you will be assigned to go behind the lines to strike at these targets to alter the momentum of battle. The campaign itself is a pseudo-dynamic campaign, again similar to M1TP2, but is more sophisticated all around, offering an expanded variety of missions. Click to continue		The most interesting thing about Gunship III is that this is definitely not "just another Apache simulation." Players will be treated to some interesting innovations. For starters, the available helicopter lineup is interesting. Depending on what service you elect to join, you will be flying one of a variety of helos - the Apache Longbow for the Army, its UK Westland variant, the AH-1Z SuperCobra, the Mi-28 Havoc, and finally the Eurocopter Tiger. Havoc Next is the atypical implementation of the pilot and gunner stations. For the first time, you can hop in the gunner seat with some confidence and let the computer handle the flying. A flexible menu of commands lets you give orders to the computer pilot to pop-up, take cover, or to fly in some direction or other as you perform your task. Meanwhile, you actually can designate and aim at targets with the joystick yourself, rather than the traditional method of having it always abstracted by an AI gunner. Even automated FLIR tracking of designated targets is an option (although the computer controlled tracking easily loses its lock if a target passes behind an obstruction). With regards to the possibility of pilot/gunner multiplayer play, designer Tim Goodlett simply commented that this may indeed happen, but no promises are being made. Go to Page Two
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