GameSpot editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 08/03/2007
- Released on: 07/10/2007
- Originally published on GameSpot: Enemy Engaged 2 (PC) Review
Seven years is a long time. The latest game to remind us of this unfortunate fact is Enemy Engaged 2, a disappointing sequel to GameSpot's simulation of the year back in 2000, Enemy Engaged: RAH-66 Comanche Versus Ka-52 Hokum. Actually, it's a stretch to even call this a true sequel because this supposedly "new" game is actually just a revamped version of the original with slightly upgraded graphics and some new bugs. There is still an outstanding simulation of helicopter gunship combat buried in here, although it's basically a seven-year-old one with equal parts good and bad new additions.
Honestly, it's not as complicated as it looks.
It's hard to escape the feeling that this game was developed on the cheap to take advantage of the hardcore Comanche Versus Hokum fan base. Developer Gameyus Interactive has done little to establish this as an independent game, going so far as to reprint the original manual here as part of the on-disc PDF documentation. Aside from the title page, this seems to be a verbatim copy of the seven-year-old manual, right down to calling the game Comanche Versus Hokum all the way through even though the subtitle was dropped from the name of this follow-up. You would think that someone would have spent a few minutes to do a cut-and-paste job that would at least fool buyers into thinking they were getting a brand-new game.
It also would have been nice if someone would have tossed in a proper tutorial, either in the manual or (more preferably) in the game itself. While piloting a chopper into combat isn't as insanely hard as it would seem, a sim like this is in desperate need of an interactive mission that guides you through all of the ins and outs. The manual actually does a reasonably good job of detailing the steps needed to take off, hover, and run your helicopter through basic flight maneuvers, but it does little to prepare you for combat. You should expect to meet terra firma often during your first few hours with the game.
Still, because the original game was such a great blend of a hardcore flight sim and accessible action, it's not as if Enemy Engaged 2 is terrible. The three dynamic campaigns remain intense and involving. There is a serious been-there, done-that vibe going on because only the Korean campaign is actually new. But even though the Lebanese and Chinese campaigns seem like straight rehashes from the earlier game, they reward replays because of the dynamic structure that hits you with all sorts of realistic mission offers. These include reconnaissance flights, escorts, probing raids into unknown enemy-held territory, direct attacks on missile sites, and so forth.
Continue reading
%20PC%20Game%20reviews%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/pc-games/enemy-engaged-2-pc/4505-9696_7-32381780.html){kind=small}