Gunship

Probably my favorite of all the sim games by Microprose.

Firstly, do not play this on Tape, Disk only as the multiload is awful. If you do have the disk game, you get huge manuals and a key surround showing what every key does, and it uses a lot of keys. What you end up with is a hardcore simulator that was easily best in class at release. Microprose did better it down the line with stealth fighter.

This game is a multiloader, and the tape version contains several casettes. Awesome game if you like simulators.

Have to give this game a 10. I played this constantly. I loved flying. I went on later in life to get my pilots license. I almost joined the Army to fly choppers but a astigmatism in the left eye would have kept me out of the flight program. This game could have been a major driving factor in my life had I joined the Army when I was older. Great graphics and playability for a sim game in 1986. Microprose knew how to make sims. Another great one is Red Storm Rising.

A very very good game especially considering that it was released in 1986.

I spent hours on this, and managed to get the congresional medal of honour several times.

When the sequel of this came out on the PC (Gunship 2000), it was virtually one of the main reasons I upgraded to a 386 pc instead of an Amiga.

10/10 from me.

Just press 1, 2, 3 to turn on both engines and the rotor.

Press F1 a few times to get big increase on collective and presto, you're airborne.

Press the stick forward to point the nose down and you start flying forward in horizontal flight.

Press F7 to get big decrease on collective.

Unfortunately you will crash and burn quite a few times before you win any battle.

Heh heh heh

The Kixx version instructions inlay warned us of very long loading from tape, as the game was originally meant for disk. The game looks okay, and intro animation is very nice. Unfortunately I need to read the instructions hard to be able to understand this nice looking Heli pilot simulation game. Otherwise the Gunship will be left grounded

My absolute favorite on the C64. In the early days I used to make screen hardcopies with my power cartridge of the maps, so I could destroy everything. The game survived all these years. Graphics are slow, you have to use your imagination with the scenery but the gameplay is endless and as usual with microprose, simulation is excellent en detailed. Using autorotation to avoid a crash, using hills as cover it all feels realistic. Great manual, overlay... 10/10

My god. I bought this game and oh did I play this puppy. The atmosphere and suspense when flying the missions was breathtaking. Pure bliss.

Brilliant!

You just knew this one was going to be good by looking in the box.

Microprose were great for flght sims and this was one of the best.

Played it for hours on end.
Could have been improved by faster 3D graphics.

Originally had the tape game and my brother and I played it to death. However I recently bought the disk version and it really is still as playable and addictive as it always was - I was astounded! Says a lot about this games long term appeal and I can't hesitate to give it 10/10

Only one better than this is Stealth Fighter, also by Microprose. (Surely one of the greatest non platform/puzzle/arcade game publishers in the world for all the 80's and 90's!!!)

A solid 9 out of 10, and if I could give halves I would give it 9. 5/10!

I was so impressed by this game, I thougt at the time it was the ultimate flighting simultor and will still for years... How foolish I was.

I was so jealous of my buddy who had the C64 version. I was stuck with the IBM version, the hills on that version looked like pyramids on a table and not the blended in style of hills that the C64 had. I was in heaven the day I found emulation! Now I have the chance to play this awesome game the way it was meant to be played! I now wish I would have had a C64.

First C64 game I ever bought and I spent endless hours playing it. Never got the congressional medal either, but all the rest of the medals and ribbons.
What I also enjoyed was blasting away at everything, friend or foe, and see how far I could get with that. When you survived missions you totally blasted, you would get this really nice potato-peeling-as-punishment-picture

I am giving Gunship a 10. This is a superlative simulation of helicopter avionics. Add to that the various mission scenarios, and difficulty levles all equals a great gaming experience. I played my original disk so many times it finally wore out. Good job I made a backup.

The greatest flight sim on the c-64 bar none. This set the benchmark and was as important a game at the time as Elite was when it was released.

Andy Hollis was a genius with Helicopter sims. Guship, Gunship 2000, Janes Longbow 1 & 2. Plus add the legendary Sid Meier into it and what a team you have. If only Microprose were still making sims with these two involved.

Oh yeah and I managed to get th CMOH

This game was legendary for the C64. The only other helicopter sim I know was Super Huey, but this one is much better. Fans of this game should definitely play Gunship 2000.

Ah yes, the Microprose sims which came in a hardboard box with a manual the size of War and Peace. I played this game over and over, though I never did get the Congressional Medal of Honor. The attention to detail in both the game and the manual were such that I'm still convinced I could fly an Apache in a pinch :-)

I played this game for days, just like Elite. I'm a bit afraid of trying the recent PC version just in case it sucks.

To be frank I found this game very boring, as well as having an approach to politics like an average Amercian Joe.

Let's face it. Completing the assigned mission was never enough. You just had to keep refueling and going back out there until you'd destroyed every single last enemy tank and AAA gun. That's because you wanted all those extra points to win your CMOH. That's because Gunship was that damn good.

Even today, I still judge and compare other newer games to the Fun Factor of the original Gunship! The game was deep but yet accessible to the newbie... Something that new combat simulators have gotten too far away from. A true classic.

Ah, with this game I found my love for simulations. I remember when I first saw the intro where the Apache was shown onscreen backed by a wagnerian theme. And I also remember beeing to lazy to look for the landing codes in the manual wich were asked when approaching a friendly base. So I had to land pretty fast before my own flak could shot me down.

Brilliant game. I still remember how Colonel Almo! (52, 000 points) died...
It was on an Ultimate mission in South Korea. I came around a hill, and there were like 3 Depots! They immediately launched some SAMs. I turned on the jammers, hit a flare, and turned around. One hit me, got the main rotor. Was heading back to the hill, and another hit me, it got an engine. Then another got me, and got the other engine. Auto-rotated. Landed fine. MIA. That was over 15 years ago, and he still hasn't been found.

My dad called me a nerd for playing this game too much.

One of the best simulations released for the C64. From the manual to the keyboard to the attention to detail. This game solidified Microprose as the King of simulators during the 80's. After completing a mission I enjoyed just flying around enjoying the scenery and the experience of flying the Apache until lack of fuel forced me to land.

Sometimes I chose only FFARs over hellfires just so I could blow more things to bits... Trying to reach friendly lines on one engine and no ammo left... Yep, best flight sim I played on C64. G2000 on Amiga was a great follow-up. I wish there was anything like it for Apple...

Didn't like this when I first saw it a my mate Carls. What a terrible 1st impression that was. Not long after I was hooked as Col Bud Weiser.

Ah, nothing so lovely as that Gunship armory screen. Now I gotta get me a copy no matter what... Beautiful game...

Oh YAH!! Microprose = deep, deep games. Gunship might just be my all time favourite C64 game. Sooo deep, I actually learn from this stuff... Like getting so banged up you lose power and have to do an "auto rotation" landing if I am remembering the name right... Physics of it were amazing... Point your nose into the groud to get speed to spin the blades... Pull up just before impact... It actually worked... I limped away with a purple heart and a silver star as I recall... I seriously doubt there has ever been a better helicopter sim ever made.

Brilliant flight sim that pushes the C64 to its limits and does it excellent. I remember spending countless flight hours achieving that Congresional Medal Of Honour. Brilliant game, words cannot describe it. Way ahead of its time ( cionsidering it came out in 1986) there wasn't a flight sim on the C64 to match it. This also helped me to make up my mind when I chose to buy a PC 386DX instead of an Amiga as Gunship 2000 on PC was simply amazing at the time... 10/10

Talk about getting the heart thumping! The first game my dad ever bought me for the 64 when I was a lad, and the only reason I held onto my C64 for Sooo long. 17 years later - I now have FINALLY found Gunship again - and to my surprise, it's still just as exciting as when I was 16. The original came with a cut-out overlay to help you work out where all the buttons were. I managed to download the original instructions (you'll need them) and make my own 'cut out overlay' of card board. Stunning game, massive excitement - and a whole range of never ending challenges from 'baby' through to 'suicide'. How on earth did they ever squeeze so much out of 64kb?!

When you're out of Hellfires and FFARs you just gotta tear in there at tree height with your jammers on and take 'em out with the 30mm cannon. A superb simulator which included loads of realistic system failures:- radar out, left engine shut down, tail rotor hit, losing rotational control. Shit, thers's a Hind on my tail and only one Sidewinder left. If I can just make it to that hill for cover...

I remember just going in full throttle and somehow completing most of my missions. Microprose - how did you do it??

Absolutely incredible game. I loved picking off infantry with the machine guns or with a hellfire. They don't make games like this any more.

A great apache simulation with all Campaign stuff that later made Wing Commander so outstanding ... But it's more of an Action game than a real simulation ... And that fits perfectly with me ... Like another guy said ... It draws you into it ... So ignored the below standard graphics and give it a try ... Two thumps up

Massively fun game! I remember playing it for hours and hours and days and days upon end. It was always a blast to get your pilot all the cool medals and promotions. The flight simulation was great, with the aspects of a real helicopter. I always loved flying extremely low to the ground, and sneaking around the mountains and picking off tanks with a Hellfire missile! If I could find one that worked, I would probably buy another old Commodore 64 system, just to play this game/simulation!!!

The aspects that made this simulation so great was how it drew you into it. It wasn't just a fancy graphic, beautiful explosions, etc. Like most sims are today. It was the realism and feeling of actually being an attack chopper pilot. It made you use actual tactics a chopper pilot uses - such as laying low and behind hills to avoid detection from enemy radar and using auto rotation when your chopper loses engines. But thats not where it left off. If you wound up behind enemy lines, there was a "chance" you would make it back to base. If not, you would become "mia" and seeing your pilot on the roster as MIA left kind of a sad feeling whenever you saw it. One of the best apspects of the game were the promotions and medals. Getting the CMH was damn near impossible, but it was always fun to try.

I had the tape version of this flight sim, and just adored it. Slip the overlay over the keyboard, one hand on the joystick the other on the keyboard, with your objectives scribbled on a notepad you were ready to take to the sky. Hugging the ground and hiding behind hills, great gameplay kept me hooked for ages. I didn't care about the loading time, just about whether I would get my Apache back to base, with low full, low cannon ammo and heavy damage.

The best simulator ever created for any computer. So complete. Brilliant work, excellent graphics and sound... And the realism... Stunning.

Best game ever. Spent my days, nights in college playing this, rather than say, studying or going to class... ! Great game. Nice for original Amiga too... Later version for PC(HASBRO)- OK, but no magic...

My all-time favourite game - of ANY platform. Many nights I have lost sleep because I kept on playing GunShip until the sun came up!

Best Game Ever !!!

Most Tension !

This Game showed for the 1st time that good realism is mandatory for fantastic games.

No Chopter game or ANY OTHER GAME later on PC could beat this game !

SID! Please do it one more time !!!

Best helicopter-game I ever played. Tension as you wait behind a hill for the enemy to appear. O Yesss.

Super-fun game. This was the first and best flight simulator game I ever played. A gem of a game!

Thats the best flight SIMULATOR on the C64. People, who look for arcade action, better choose another heli game. I love this one.

One of my all time favorites. I went through two copies on 5 1/4 inch disks. I got everything but the Congressional Medal of Honor before the dreaded :Roster Data Corrupted: Message. I played the PC version but it just wasn't the same. Gunship 2000 (1987) was also a nice game. I'm not sure it came out on Commodore though.

Bloody brilliant game!!!
Best flight sim out there - ever!

An incredible AH-64 simulation for the C-64 (by MicroProse, so what did you expect!?). My best friend's cousin had this one for the Atari ST, so naturally we found the graphics in the C64-version a bit disappointing. But, hey, they do the job, and the SFX are a real treat - just try out those jammers... Brilliant gameplay, great immersion factor and atmosphere!

Got this home, couldn't fathom it and was gutted, especially with the 27 mins loading time on tape. Decided to read the manual and was hooked. As said previously, the detail is amazing for an 8-bit game that fits into 64k of mem.

This was the first flight sim that I ever played, and it set me on a long, happy & expensive path! I would put up with the awful loading time just to have a quick go. It was so immersive, and the trials of nursing a crippled copter back to friendly lines was exhilerating. I think it was the freedom to fly wherever you like that enamoured me with it.

Fantastic simulation, let down (for cassette users) by an awful loading time. Disk version was much better.

This was indeed a wonderfull game. The depth of the level of missions and advanced nature of the equipment and tactics was unbelievable for a 8-bit machine. Truly probably one of my favourite games of all time for the Commodore 64!

Fine, fine sim. When this was published rumor told that the first six games were bought by Soviet Embassy. One of my former girlfriends dump me because of this game. She told me that I don't pay enough attention to her, or by her words "You can decide. Is it me or that choppergame?". Answering for that question was incredibly easy.