Team Apache PC Game

Team Apache is a different kind of sim. It falls into a nether region between Comanche and Longbow for realism and playability, but offers some unique elements that have not been seen before in a sim. The trade-off is downplaying realism of systems and flight modeling in order to focus on realism of command and the battlefield situation. The result is a whoppingly entertaining game.

Team Apache was, along with Flying Nightmares 2, one of the titles jettisoned by Eidos after producer and former Apache pilot Bryan Walker left for Jane's. SSI/Mindscape snapped up Team Apache and saw its UK-based developer, SIMIS, through the final stretch. Knowing they were not going to be able to compete with the rigorous modeling of Longbow 2, they decided to pitch it as an upper-mid-level sim in terms of realism - a game that was more readily playable than Longbow, yet more accurate than Comanche, but with its own twists. Those twists, and the sharp graphics engine, are what make the game.

Visually, Team Apache is a real treat in almost every area. The hardware-accelerated graphics provide some of the most fluid frame rates and interesting textures in any recent sim. Software acceleration is not quite as effective, and the visuals are choppy and uninteresting without their hardware-essential chrome. Compared with Longbow 2, there are some pluses and minuses. The cockpit and object modeling in Longbow 2 is more detailed, but the textures, buildings, trees (yes, trees!), and other terrain elements are more interesting in Team Apache. Plus, even on a midrange system (like a P200) Team Apache simply runs better.

Minimum:

 OS: Windows XP SP3

 Processor: 2 GHz Intel Dual Core Processor

 Memory: 2 GB RAM

 Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8800/ATI Radeon HD 2600 (256MB minimum)

 DirectX «: 9.0c

 Hard Drive: 10 GB HD space

 Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible

Recommended:

 OS: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Windows 7

 Processor: 2.3 GHz Intel Quad Core Processor

 Memory: 3 GB RAM

 Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX460/ATI Radeon HD 5850 (512MB minimum)

 DirectX «: 9.0c

 Hard Drive: 10 GB HD space

 Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible