Here goes my 2 cents...
I know Desert Combat helicopters look great but having to fly with either full throttle or no throttle kind of sucks. After playing for a while, I too jumped back into trying to get a helicopter sim to work on XP.
Gunship 2000 (Microprose) is a DOS game. It is great because of the selection of aircraft and team management that you have. However, this game has some dated graphics. Windows XP will do DOS (somewhat) but you have to use the generic sound driver using the "VDM Sound" drivers.
Apache (DI) is also a DOS game. This too was a great game in its time. It allowed for multiple players to be in the same aircraft. (1 as gunner and 1 as pilot). The game went through a few changes to make it Windows 95 compatible, but it too was limited since it is actually still a DOS game.
Hind (DI) is also a DOS game that is pretty much the twin to Apache (DI). Only thing is that everything is in Russian and you fly the Mi-24 instead of the Apache.
Longbow 2 (Jane's) is a Windows 95 game. It was made in the 3dfx time frame, so the graphics here are better than the regular DOS games, but still outdated. With Windows XP, I can install this game, start the game (in both Windows 95 and in Windows 98/ME compatibility modes) to get to the menu, and even start a mission. The problems is that I have grown quite fond of resolutions HIGHER than 640x480 and a game that does not blink at me (where you get the black screen, I get a blinking screen). I have found that if you install the 2.09 patch, it makes the game crash back to the desktop when trying to start a mission. After installing the Direct3D patch for the game, I then have the added problem of even trying to get out of the game.
Team Apache (Mindscape) is also a Windows 95/98 game, but it is reported to have no problems with Windows XP. I have not tried this game yet only because after getting the game (when I was running Windows 98se), I found the game to be QUITE an arcade game and not really a sim. I also prefer the ability to fly different helicopters. I will be trying this game again in a few days / week, but this is my view so far.
Apache vs. Havoc (Empire/Razorworks) is also a Windows 95/98 game. This one has loads of eye candy when it came out, but I haven't tried it yet with XP either. I guess this too is another one that I will have to get back with you on since no one has put much information in the Games Compatibility section for it.
Gunship! (Microprose) - This one here is the one that I have been looking at (since I can't get Longbow 2 to work) for the past day or so. I sure would like to have the ability to fly the AH-1 Cobra, UH-60, and OH-6 along with the ones that Gunship! allows, but I can't be too picky. I did see a few posts over at flightsim forums from fng2k about his "additions". Too bad his website doesn't work any longer. As for Gunship! being the first to port two people in one aircraft, that was done quite a few years ago with DI's Apache.
Still, no other helicopter game gives you the abilities that Longbow 2 did. I am talking about the ability to select targets, prioritize them, and even have your wingmen attack them in the order your prioritized them as. But then again, those are my 2 cents...
-Phoenix
-Sager NP5660 2.4Ghz 533FSB-768MB DDR2100-ATI M9 9000 64MB
