Apache Strike

When I saw "Apache Strike" with the year 1989 in the game table, I knew what to expect — getting into a helicopter cockpit and seeing if it managed to be interesting at all.

Apache Strike is a flight action game for PC that you can think of as an attempt at an Apache helicopter simulator without pretending to have any depth. You sit in the machine, get a map with enemies, and your task is elementary — shoot and don't crash. The game takes place in a 3D perspective, which back then was more of a novelty on PC than a standard. It's not complicated — you fly, look for targets, squeeze the trigger.

The controls are simple to the point of necessity — arrow keys move the helicopter, shooting is either automatic or on key press. No complicated targeting procedures, no realistic fuel gauge. The game lets you fly around and blast everything that moves. The graphics are primitive even by the standards of the time — polygon on polygon, animation like a photo album. But this simplicity has its charm — you can play the game without a manual, without pretending you've ever looked at a helicopter manual.

Apache Strike is exactly the type of game that the publisher didn't even bother naming properly — just "something with a helicopter," sold and forgotten. It only survived because it was on PC in an era when every piece of software was a novelty. Today you look at it as a technical experiment, not entertainment.

It's only worth picking up as a time capsule — to see how developers in 1989 tried to get something moving in 3D onto a PC. If you're expecting entertainment that would hold your attention for even thirty minutes, look elsewhere. Apache Strike plays like punishment. Or like education.