Comanche was a stealth-based helicopter game where you became the pilot of a highly advanced Apache and you would complete special ops missions. These missions would take you to different terrains such as deserts or even snow-covered areas. Comanche 3 even claimed “best-selling helicopter title” in 1997. Around 20 years later, THQ Nordiq brings back the beloved franchise…
Created by Nukklear Digital Minds “Comanche” re-surfaced in the gaming world and they will try to claim the title “best-selling helicopter title” back by revamping the series. They are aiming high with this revamped title and try to take on a more “multiplayer” styled approach with the new “Comanche”.
The game is all about different high tech helicopters that are piloted by military-trained professionals and equipped with state of the art technology. Each helicopter will be equipped with a drone that could infiltrate an enemy’s base and demolish it from the inside. It’s a combined force of human skills and technology that’ll get the job done. Talking a bit about the development process, the team made sure they could offer the best “flying helicopter simulation” you could have by working with real-life pilots who gave their thoughts on the flying mechanics. It took them over a half year to create a prototype and eventually improved the prototype piece by piece testing it in different simulations and gaining the knowledge to create the best experience.
We were shown a live demo of a multiplayer mode called “Infiltration”. This mode sets up two different teams: attackers and defenders. It’s up to the attackers to deploy an EMP device with their drone within the defender’s base. The opposing team will have to defend their base with all their might and deploy their drones to scout the base from the inside for possible threats. It’s an interesting concept that makes the game a lot more tactical than you might think. Each helicopter is equipped with a drone, this drone can be deployed at any time which by the way will be piloted by the same player of that same helicopter. Because a player can’t pilot the 2 machines at once, you’ll have to park your helicopter somewhere on the map before you can take control of the drone, preferably a place where the enemy team won’t spot you (because your helicopter will be vulnerable) but still close to the enemy’s base because the drone can only work within a certain range of your helicopter. It looks like a fun concept that seems to work.
This multiplayer mode also opens up opportunities to tackle the objective the way you want. You could easily divide your team into different groups: the drones who will infiltrate the building and a group who will defend the parked helicopters. This seems like a very logical choice but there could also be a whole other approach as well. You can have one of your team members act as a decoy and trigger the enemy’s team line of defense so they would jump into their drones and chase you, only to come to the realization that there parked helicopters are vulnerable and open for an attack. Each map will also give the players some defensive cover by implementing tunnels or mountains that could easily mean a way behind enemy lines or just a plain blocker of the enemy’s view. The density of their clouds is also very thick and can block the enemy’s view as well. This feature allows each player to surprise their opponent and get the upper hand. The maps also have a decent verticality that can also be used to your advantage.
The game can be seen as a kind of a hero shooter where these heroes have their own set of abilities and weaponry. Comanche is the same but with helicopters. At launch, the game will have 4 different classes and a couple of maps. They have also let us now that the collection of these classes and maps will expand after release. During the live demo, we have only seen 2 classes: the Wraith and the Cyclops.
“Each helicopter also flies a bit differently…”
The Wraith is a helicopter equipped with a Gatling gun and unguided missiles. It also has a unique ability to cloak itself from the enemy’s sight. This helicopter is more used for short-range combat as it’s flexibility can outmaneuver its opponents because of its speed. The Cyclops is more of a long-range shooter and can be compared with the term “sniper in the sky”. It’s light-weighted and can’t handle too much damage but it’s equipped with a lock-on missile and a long-range weapon that can charge its shots and zoom in on the target. So you’ll get the point, each helicopter has its role to play during combat missions which can offer a lot of combinations. Weaponry and abilities can’t be changed, as they are focusing on competitive multiplayer. If they would implement a progression system like most of these competitive shooters, this would give some players the advantage over its opponents and the battle won’t start on equal terms. Each helicopter also flies a bit differently and you will have to play a couple of rounds before you get the hang of its flight style.
Some interesting worth mentioning. The developers promised us that there will be no form of microtransactions, loot boxes or power progression. They want to keep it as “competitive” as possible and the game will only be “buy to play” with free regular updates. However, there is an in-game currency that allows you to unlock classes in a specific order and it will also be used to unlock color palettes for your helicopters. They’ve also chosen to go with a “First Person View” from the cockpit because they think that a Third Person View can be exploited during matches and this isn’t good for balancing the game.
The game will launch early 2020, there will be a beta at the end of the year and there will also be an Early Access on steam but no set date yet. Stay tuned at our website for the latest information on Comanche.
