DVS KA-5- Black Shark

There’s a godd reason why military pilots spend many years learning to fly and then more time learning how to fight at the same time. Their aircraft demonstrated by KA-50 Black Shark. It simulates Russia’s lates attack helicopter, which is a little unusual because it is a single-seat aircraft, so you will find yourself both flying and fighting at the same time.

This game offers quite a challenge even for experienced players of fight simulators because of the difference between helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. There is an instant action mode with a greatly simplified fight model and controls, and plenty of help both in the game and the thorough manuals.

Game graphics are excellent. Much of the helicopter’s tine is spent at very low level and there are lots of trees and buildings that are varied enough to create a believable scenario. Other aircraft and vehicles are represented just as well.

The artificial intelligence is sufficiently impressive that enemy tanks on the ground can engage both another tank with their main guns and your helicopter with a machine gun.

The interior of the Black Shark is represented in outstanding detail: just about every button and switch can be ousted of pulled. There is so much detail that sometimes the player must lift the plastic guard over an important switch before using it.

For player willing to put in the time the tutorial videos are very good, covering everything from starting up and shooting down to fight maneuvers and combat. All the keyboard shortcuts are displayed onscreen and you can take control at any time. There are plenty of other realism settings covering the amount of fuel of weapons and even complete invulnerability so you can ease in gently.

There are single missions and a campaign mode. A logbook keeps track of flying time and successes, with separate records kept for each player. Multiplayer is also supported, either on a local network or over the internet.

Dedicated helicopter simulators are not common and Black Shark is an attractive one, even if you are not bothered about the combat element.