Any helicopter-sim fan will be familiar with the Thunderstrike name, be it from its stint on the Sega CD, to its more recent and disappointing appearance on the Playstation. Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix is the latest game in the series, and it improves upon its predecessor in every conceivable way. That said, its not a game for everyone, as its high level of difficulty, and steep learning curve for the controls are likely to turn casual gamers off after only a short time with the game. Those of you who know what to expect from the title will be rewarded with a challenging game that gives you lots of control over your craft and its wide array of weapons.

The premise of the game is not unlike many other combat games out there fight terrorism. The areas in which youll be fighting are: Alaska, Africa, The Middle East, and Eastern Europe. There are a wide variety of missions ranging from scouting, escort, rescue, and of course, blowing lots of stuff up. While there are a wide variety of missions here, theres not much that hasnt been done before, which is a problem that many games of this nature have, but it still doesnt keep you from having to endure the 1,000th escort mission in your gaming career.

Controlling your AH74 chopper isnt as tough as it initially appears, but it does take a while before the controls become comfortable, and longer still before they are second nature. Heres a basic overview: The left analog stick moves the AH74 forward/backward and strafes, right analog controls altitude and turning, shoulder buttons select and fire weapons, and the face buttons change views and lock on targets. Core Design added a test range where you can learn the basics and fly around shooting targets, but despite training here youre likely to get toasted your first couple of missions.

Before heading out to the field, the standard mission briefing updates you on the current situation and your objectives. After the briefing you are taken to your helicopter and are allowed to customize the birds weapons before heading off to battle. If you dont like having to do this sort of thing, the computer selects for you, but there can be some advantage to choosing your own weapons if you know what you are doing.

Once on a mission you are forced to put your knowledge of the mission, your flying and combat skills all together, and do it quickly at that. The game is very unforgiving when it comes to easing you into combat, and youll quickly find yourself outnumbered in almost every level. This is where the game gets frustrating youre going to die, and youre going to die a lot. This problem is exacerbated by having to go all the way back to the main menu and suffering through many load screens before getting back into the thick of things. Your AH74 might control just like the real thing, but it comes off as feeling a bit too slow and unresponsive for some of the situations that you are put in, particularly when forced to quickly navigate in and around hilly terrain. Overall, veterans of this kind of game will be happy with what they find in Thunderstrike, but others might end up overwhelmed and disappointed.

Visually, Thunderstrikes lack of any particular style or flair make it a drab and boring looking game. That said, it does get the most basic things down, like a solid 60fps framerate, and a nicely detailed cockpit. The cockpit is so detailed that theres even a good luck charm dangling from the ceiling, and its extraordinarily irritating to see this plush doll swinging back and forth in front of you when youre trying to avoid a flaming death over a very cold sea. A third-person perspective is available, but it is rarely the best method for going about a level.

The slick framerate does not come without costs to the rest of the games appearance. The horizon is very close, very foggy, and more reminiscent of a Nintendo 64 game than a PS2 title. Equally poor are the actual levels, as they all feature low-quality, repetitive textures, and a distinct lack of interesting characteristics. Each level in a particular area comes off as looking the same, with only different layouts to distinguish one from the other. Despite these shortcomings, the game looks good enough that its graphics wont keep you from enjoying the game.

Like the graphics, the games sounds are very generic. Gunfire, missiles launching, and things blowing up is all youre going to hear in Thunderstrike. Sure its war and this is what you expect to hear, but theres no huge explosions, no good radio chatter, or even any noteworthy music to get you pumped for battle.

If you put a hundred people in a room with Thunderstrike, its safe to say that a healthy portion of them wouldnt like the game. Whether its because they didnt like war-sims, couldnt get a grasp on the controls, or found the game tedious, there would be many. On the other hand, there would be plenty that found the game engaging and well done. A rental is definitely in order to find out what category you will be in before purchasing this game.