I've never ridden in a helicopter - though I've always wanted to pilot one. If the realistic mode in Activision and Gaijin's new combat flight sim Apache Air Assault is any indication, it's probably a horrible idea. Yes, I crashed - and I crashed a lot.

Still though, I had a blast. Apache offers a thrilling mix of hardcore, realistic action for those looking for a challenge, but its training mode goes completely the other way, offering a faster paced - and much easier to deal with arcade style sim. There's a lot of hidden depth here if you're willing to take the time to find it, along with a slew of rewarding experiences.

I doubt many that are reading this have had the experience of piloting an actual apache helicopter - so you're going to want to start with the game's training mode, which more or less serves as the game's easy mode. In training mode, the game assists the player by taking much of the control away. Now while this may sound like a negative, it places a much heavier emphasis on combat - and fun. Rather than spending time figuring out exactly how to move your bird through the air, the game will do much of that, while you focus on plotting out attacks and handing out missile greetings to bastard terrorists, which all blow up nice and pretty. Training mode does have its drawbacks though, as you sacrifice tons of control, and the game often feels sluggish and unresponsive. This is painfully evident in air-to-air combat as your enemies will whizz by you, while you are at the mercy of an AI controlled vehicle.

"Combat is also much more difficult in realistic mode..."

Those looking for a real challenge though are highly encouraged to check out the game's realistic mode, which amps up the game's difficulty ten-fold. Now, you're in complete control of the aircraft, and you're going to have to worry about everything from wind resistance to pitch and yaw. It's a lot to deal with, especially at first, but once you start pulling off awesome maneuvers, it's also incredibly rewarding. Combat is also much more difficult in realistic mode, as if you don't plan, you're more or less doomed to fail. Your enemies will also be more precise here, so you'll have to be quick with your evasive maneuvers if you want to survive. Somehow managed to finish realistic mode while still staying sane? Beating the game will unlock veteran mode which limits you to one life. Have fun.

There's a surprising amount of depth to the missions in Apache as well. While more often than not you're going to be planning attacks on your enemies and doing your best to see them through, there's a ton of variance here, like having to drop supplies into troops, or protecting ground infantry in a series of raids. Majiin does a great job at supplying players with a good amount of differing missions to keep them busy. Each mission begins with a briefing, laying out your primary and secondary objectives pretty nicely.

"...the game features an almost non-existent plot."

There's no doubt about it, Majiin put the focus of Apache: Air Assault on the game's realism and action - which is good, but as a result, the game features an almost non-existent plot. In fact, the plot is so neglected that I'm not 100% sure what even happened. What I do know -- It revolves around a couple different sets of pilots. There's something about drug cartels, and something about terrorists. Even this though, the game manages to mess up, as we're only briefly introduced to each character, and are expected to know their voices (there's literally no way to distinguish between them besides this). If you don't care about the plot, and just want to shoot some missiles, this isn't so bad - but I was hoping for a bit more of a tale to play through.

Just how realistic are the aircraft in Apache? Each one is licensed by Boeing. They're modeled incredibly realistically and they're extremely fun to pilot once you get hold of the controls. One of the most fun aspects of Apache though is being able to do custom missions with no enemies around at all, allowing you the freedom of exploring the game's massive world much like an actual pilot would.

If you've got the patience to truly master the strict and unforgiving controls in Apache: Air Assault, you'll experience one hell of a flight simulator. The plot may stink, but that's okay when the focus is clearly on action, pure explosive action.