Gunship

Gunship is a combat simulation of an attack helicopter from studio MicroProse, released on the Commodore 64 in 1986, and it became one of the most successful simulation titles of its time. The player commands a helicopter crew, controls the flight, aims at targets using targeting systems, and also has to handle tactics – flying low over the terrain, taking cover behind hills, and quickly switching between weapon systems, from a machine gun through anti-tank guided missiles to unguided rockets, where a poor choice of loadout can outright ruin a mission.

The game offers a campaign made up of several types of missions – destroying vehicle columns, defending friendly positions, or attacking fortified targets – and as the player progresses, their military rank rises along with the difficulty of the assignments and the appearance of more dangerous types of enemy air defense. On the C64, a substantial part of the computer version's complexity was successfully carried over, albeit with more limited graphics; the cockpit with its overview of instruments and the radar for tracking enemies were preserved and gave the game a genuine military-simulation feel that the player has to invest time in to master all its systems. The sound is modest, but the gunfire and explosions sufficiently underline the tension of combat at low altitude over enemy territory.

Gunship contributed to MicroProse's reputation as a leader among publishers of military simulations and was very well received at the time of release, which also led to the sequel Gunship 2000 a few years later on more powerful platforms. It's still praised today for its balance between accessibility and authenticity – the player doesn't have to learn hundreds of commands, yet still feels the weight of responsibility for the crew and the mission. On eight-bit hardware, it was a technically demanding but very playable piece of software that proved that even a seriously intended military simulation could be fun, and it introduced many players to the simulation genre for the very first time.

Why play it: For players who want a seriously intended military simulation without having to learn hundreds of commands – Gunship offers a balance between accessibility and the weight of responsibility for the crew and the mission.