Enemy Engaged: Comanche vs Hokum

Enemy Engaged: Comanche vs Hokum pitted two iconic Cold War attack helicopters against each other — the American RAH-66 Comanche and the Russian Ka-50 Hokum — and let players choose a side according to their own preference. The game placed emphasis on a relatively realistic flight and weapon system model for both aircraft, while trying to strike a balance between accessibility and simulation depth, which allowed it to appeal both to demanding fans of helicopter simulators and to players looking for adrenaline-fueled action. Campaigns from both sides of the conflict let players experience the same battle from a different perspective, which was an unusual and well-regarded design element at the time. Players had to adapt to the different control and armament philosophy of both machines, since the American and Russian helicopters differed both in avionics and in tactical use. This asymmetric approach to design was rather exceptional among helicopter simulators of the time and was one of the game's main draws for fans of modern military hardware.

The game's graphics engine benefited from 3D card acceleration and offered more detailed models of vehicles and terrain than players were used to from earlier generations of helicopter simulators. Multiplayer missions, where players could face off as Comanche versus Hokum in real matches, were among the title's strengths and contributed to its popularity among fans of online combat simulations. The sound design of the weapons and warning systems rounded out the tense atmosphere of modern aerial combat and, together with a detailed damage model, gave the fights their proper weight.

Within the helicopter simulator genre, Enemy Engaged: Comanche vs Hokum is valued precisely for the symmetry of both campaigns and its solid technical execution by the standards of its time. For today's players, getting in is made harder by dated controls and the need to track down compatible settings, but as a showcase of the tail end of 1990s helicopter simulators, the game remains an interesting and playable piece of genre history.

Why play it: Thanks to symmetrical campaigns for both sides of the conflict and solid technical execution, it's worth trying for helicopter simulator fans willing to make peace with dated controls.