Electronic Arts are back and this time they're bringing out the big guns. Gary Roberts, the guy responsible for the conversion of John Madden's Football to the Amiga has been beavering away in a dark dungeon to bring you Desert Strike.

A massive hit on the Mega Drive, I can already guarantee Desert Strike is going to take the Amiga games world by storm. How can I be so sure of this fact? Well, it's just simply brilliant. I could quite literally enthuse about it all day. For starters, I'm probably biased because it's my favourite game on the Megadrive, but now it's out on the Amiga and I can safely stick little brother's Mega Drive in the cupbaord. Desert Strike is excellent, the best thing since sliced bread, the best, the tops, the best game in the universe. Sllllaaapp. Phew, I flipped out there for a second.

HERE WE GO...
Right, I'll start the review properly now, it's just one of things I had to get out of my system. I'll ask a question. "What particular subject makes a good computer game?" It's easy. The answer is war. Death and destruction is what the kids want. Everyone loves a good war game. Kill some foreigners and then go and have your tea and go to bed. It's just a bit of fun isn't it? It's recently been reported that violent computer games influence how kids behave and react. Personally I think it's all a load of rubbish. The thing that influences kids to do what they do is real life.

They see wars between nations, they see people stealing cars and property, people taking and selling drugs, violence on the streets and racism and sexism among a whole list of other things I could mention. Kids want to act like adults. This is the example being set to them by others. How do they see all this that is corrupting the world? It's easy - they only have to watch the news on television or read a newspaper. Computer games are just a scapegoat, so that people don't have to accept the truth about the world we live in.

Oh I was getting a bit serious there wasn't I? What was I talking about? Err, I remember it was Desert Strike. Desert Strike is about a return to the Gulf. Without warning a madman has made himself leader and threatened to start Armageddon.
The madman calls himself General Kilbaba and looks nothing like Saddam, honest! Very little is known about him, although he has been known to watch Les Dennis on Family Fortunes and laugh. As I said before, completely and utterly hat-stand. One thing our brave government knows is that loonies and missiles just do not mix. You play the part of an American Apache pilot and because the President doesn't want to cause a fuss, he sends just you (and co-pilot) into the warzone to complete a set number of missions.

The missions vary from blowing up radar sites to rescuing POWs from their camps and even though not strictly a mission, you can play such fun games as exploding camels. Each level, of which there are four, consists of between six to eight of these missions.

PASSWORD HELPS
Desert Strike is a very hard game, not too hard that you can't get anywhere, but hard enough to keep you entertained. For example, after a few days I managed to complete the first level and by this time I'm getting quite proficient at playing it, but it still took me 40 minutes to do it. Thankfully, there is a password system otherwise it'd take you ages to complete.

As you can see from the screenshots, the view is very different to what you'd normally expect from a chopper game. Instead of being inside the Apache you actually control it from the outside. It's very similar to those 3D isometric games but far better. It's also very easy to control. It works best in joystick mode because you get a better feeling of actually being there.

The Apache houses three different types of weapons. The cannon is used to blow up enemy soldiers and features in comedy duo with Bobby Ball. The Hydras are used for almost everything else except the big buildings. The Hellfires are particularly impressive and can be used to blow up anything big or if you're a sadist you can use them to obliterate helpless enemy soldiers. You can flick between the weapons via quick stab of the space-bar.

One of the most important features when playing Desert Strike is the map option. You use the map to call up information on campaign targets. The map also tells you where the fuel, ammo, MIAs and targets are and keeps a careful check on where the enemy is.

Keeping a eye on how much fuel and ammo you've got is essential if you want to be any good at Desert Strike - although I have to hold my hands up and say when in the midst of battle I did forget about little things such as fuel, and died.
Be careful - the passion to kill the enemy might overcome you and it will be the start of your downfall.

MEGA BEATER
The big question on my lips is: "Is Desert Strike as good on the Amiga s it is on the Mega Drive?". The answer is that it is actually better. The graphics have been improved. The Amiga's 64 colour half-brite mode has been utilised and the game features realistic graphics including shadows and smoke. The sound is a massive improvement on the Mega Drive's lacklustre attempt. Desert Strike features sound effects taken from actual Apache manoeuvres. The sound is also directional and in 3D.

What this means is, for instance, if you see a tank in the distance, as you approach it the sound gets louder and more defined. The music itself is absolutely incredible. The introduction music is adorned with some of the funkiest sounds you're ever likely to hear on your Amiga and is full of James Brown samples. The music when you complete the level is also amazing and, in the style of the 70s music revival that's happening at the moment, features some excellent "wakka wakka waw" guitar music. It's the best music I've heard since Thrash Pig which starred in Core Design's Jaguar XJ220.

The playability is almost faultless. I say almost because at times for some unknown reason the game slows down. But this doesn't happen too often, but I thought I'd better mention it. It's certainly not a reason to not buy the game. It's very addictive and I can tell you this with some certainty because everyone in the Gamer office keeps on playing the damn thing and I can't get anywhere near the Amiga.

Desert Strike has always been one of my favourite games and it's nice to see that EA haven't made a mess of the conversion and actually improved the game. It just goes to show that these consoles aren't everything they're cracked up to be and the Amiga can compete with them. Desert Strike is probably Electronic Arts' finest moment since Populous. You already know how I feel about the game, so what on earth are you waiting for? Go and get it and be enlightened. Just deserts!

Somewhere in the depths of the Middle East, a madman by the name of General Kilbaba has taken over a rich Rab Emirate and is planning to end the world by killing us all with a nasty cocktail of nuclear and chemical weapons. In true John Wayne fashion, Mr President (of the good ole USA - where else?) has decided to send in you and your trusty Apache helicopter to sort out the situation and hopefully avert Armageddon.

Sounds familiar? You'd not be wrong to say that this game has been influenced by a certain military operation that happened a couple of years ago in a country not a million miles away from Saudi Arabia.

This time it's just you against the mighty of the Iraqi - sorry, not Iraqui, - I mean General Kilbaba's terrorist army. You're in an Apache attack helicopter, while the enemy has soldiers armed with AK47s, anti-aircraft missiles, gunboats, helicopters and tanks.

Arabs with attitude
An excellent intro sequence takes you into the game, with some nicely drawn animations, and a good rave-type soundtrack. Quite what this has got to do with battles in the desert I don't know, but it's rather good anyway.

The game is broken up into several missions, which are then split into several tasks, such as destroying an airfield. Completing one mission gives you the password to start the next one. There's no way that you'll be able to complete the mission on the stocks of fuel and weapons that you start out with, but fortunately, the enemy have been considerate enough to leave some lying around.

A number of your soldiers are wandering around in enemy territory. They shout 'Over here!' very loudly when you spot them. Picking them up and dropping them back at the coastal landing site helps to replace the armour chipped away by enemy fire.

You control your helicopter with the joystick and keyboard. As you'd expect, the joystick tilts the helicopter, moving you forwards or backwards, which takes a bit of time to get used to. The fire-button fires your chosen weapon, and the space-bar switches between the three available.

You spin me round
It's also possible to control the helicopter by using the keyboard or the mouse, but using this is nigh on impossible because you inevitably end up spinning all over the place. Pressing F10 puts you into the map screen, which shows your location and the various other targets awaiting your pleasure. The map also contains details of where you can find fuel and armaments, and where the Missing In Action (MIA) soldiers are located. You're supplied with information on each mission, and are given new objectives as you work through the missions.

Desert Strike runs in a 3D, isometric sort of viewpoint, which takes a bit of getting used to. Unfortunately, this means that objects sometimes disappear behind others, but this is only a small inconvenience. Steering the helicopter is something of an acquired habit, because it takes a bit of time to get used to the angle of view.

How sandy is my desert
There are plenty of sound effects, ranging from whirring rotor noises, loud explosions and your soldiers shouting "Over here!". These all add to the atmosphere, and there's always plenty going on. Unfortunately, it's too much at times, and occasionally one of the sounds doesn't work, or one is cut off in the middle. However, it's more of an irritation than a problem, especially if you're a fussy so and so like me.

The graphics are well drawn and smooth, although the background is a bit jittery, but because the helicopter is smoothly drawn, you're not likely to notice. The game runs in extra half-bright mode, which means that you can get realistic shadows, and extremely effective-looking explosions, although these sometimes seem to be in the wrong place.

Previous efforts at combining flight sims and shoot-em-ups have been less than successful, so it's great to see Electronic Arts pull off this tricky combination. Desert Strike has got more going for it than the average shoot-em-up and should appeal to those interested in strategy games. It also retains the excitement of blasting the enemy to dust.

We at AMIGA POWER have regular in-house chart polls, the most popular currently being that for "Most-likely-to-turn-out-to-be--a-crazy-person-who-goes-on-a-rampage-round-the-office-with-a-gun". Mark has 'shot' straight to Number One after last month's disturbing Walker review, and is firmly entrenched in that position thanks to the photograph of him that decorates his 'Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Kill!' feature in this very issue. (Not to mention the 'Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Kill!' feature itself).

As for me, being the kind of person who gets upset during the more violent moments of Tom and Jerry, the rest of the team will agree that I'm pretty far down the chart. I might best be described as a supreme pacifist who finds all war stupid, all firearms completely superfluous to our existence as civilised human beings, and anyone who uses them completely mad.

Sure, I like the odd feature film portraying (fictional) extreme violence, and as a subject matter for games it's often essential, but in the real world it's a sin and a crime, and I believe that anyone caught using guns should be shot.

I'm not, then, the best person to review Desert Strike. Not because it's full of guns (if that was my criterion for avoiding games, I'd spend most of the time doing nothing and waiting for Lemmings 3 - Nobody Gets Hurt In This One, Honest). No, more because it's so frighteningly serious and realistic.

Take first the situation that you're placed in. It's set in the Middle East where, from out of the confusion of religious and racial conflict, a madman has emerged as the leader of his race. He intends to start Armageddon, and his name is General Kilbaba (an obvious derivation of 'Kills-Babies' in my opinion). This isn't like a pretend situation where you control a spaceship trying to defeat an evil empire of unpronouncables. This is, like, real, man. Something very similar to this happened just recently and may well happen again. When I was handed this game my bottom lip wobbled, tears welled up in my eyes and I had to suppress the urge to moan "We're all gonna die."

As I said, I wasn't on first consideration the best person to review it. But how wrong an impression that was. What an utterly fabulous and absorbing game. Not long after I'd loaded it up I was overheard by the others hissing "die verminous scum", in a manner not dissimilar to my worthy compatriot Mark 'Kill Kill Kill' Winstanley. What's happening to me?

Let's calm down and start at the beginning. One of the first things that strikes you (ha) about this game is that it's extremely professionally done. There's an incredible cinematic intro reminiscent of Apocalypse Now, and the accompanying music and sound effects really gear you up for the action. Similarly with the options screen, the whole thing is polished to a militaristic sheen. I wouldn't normally spend this much space on pre-game sequences but you'll know what I mean when you see it for yourself (and don't forget to turn the volume all the way up high - this could be the best sound on an Amiga yet!).

That's fine then, but we don't spend thirty quid for a good intro sequence do we? You want to hear what the game's like. If you don't already know, this has been acknowledged for some time as one of the best games on the Mega Drive, and the recent conversion to the SNES has proved a success too. We Amigans are the last to get it, but the good news is that it's the best version of the lot. The graphics have been improved, in particular the really meaty explosions that accompany your destruction of the enemy, and the sound is massively improved. Doesn't that make you feel good?

More importantly, though, everything about the gameplay that made the console versions a success has been retained here. You're piloting an Apache helicopter and you have to complete four campaigns, each consisting of various sub-missions. You have to complete the missions in a specified order - although nothing actually prevents you from doing them in any order you like, you will sustain more damage from attacks if you don't attempt them the way you're told to.

During the campaign you need to constantly keep your eyes on three important factors (But I've got only two eyes! - Ed): how much fuel you've got, how much ammunition and how much power your helicopter has. Fuel and ammunition can be found all over the area, sometimes under enemy hangars and tents which need destroying first.

Your ammo takes three forms - the canon, and Hydra and Hellfire missiles. The cannon is good for shooting down foot soldiers and anything that doesn't fire back, but when faced with Rapiers, anti-aircraft guns and suchlike then you need to resort to the more powerful missiles at your disposal. The Hellfires are awesome,but they're in short supply, so use them sparingly. Swapping between the weapons systems is done with the space bar, which can be a pain when you're trying a tricky manoeuvre and being shot on all sides by everything that General Kills-Babies can throw at you. But it does get easier with practice.

Your helicopter power is a measure of the amount of armour protecting it from enemy fire. The main way to recharge this is to pick up MIAs (friendly troops who are 'Missing In Action') and return them to one of the landing areas. The MIAs are meanwhile being shot up by foot soldiers, so if you miss any of them on a pass, the chances are they're not going to be around when you come back for them.

This idea of picking up MIAs to ensure your survival is a masterstroke for a number of reasons. First, it gives you another task to constantly come back to while you're trying to complete the main missions. Second, it's in your interests to take on randomly-scattered ground forces, or else they may end up killing your valuable MIAs and leaving you dangerously armour-free.

And this is what's so great about the game. Because it presents your objectives in a specific order, you might think that it's going to be an extremely linear strategic run-through with no variation in the gameplay when you have to start the game again. But you'd be wrong, because with all the other factors you have to bear in mind you never seem to play the same game twice. And once you've got through a campaign, you can always come back and try to do it without going for any more ammo, or other similar challenges.

The actual pace of the game is quite slow - there's no fast flying or Top-Fun-style acrobatics. The control system is a bit unusual but, once you're used to it, gives a tangible sense of realism. Not that I've any idea what it's like to fly a helicopter, but I imagine it's quite like this. Probably. Your gunship is always at the same height, which is actually pretty low, so low in fact that you occasionally bump into buildings and rocks that get in your way. It's quite a skill to pilot it effectively, but it's very satisfying when you do finally get better and start pulling off some cool manoeuvres. As you can see from the screen shots, it's all viewed from an isometric 3D perspective, which is unusual for this type of game.

But what is this type of game? It may look like a fairly standard war-themed shoot-'em-up (like, isn't it just, when all's said and done, Commando in a helicopter?), but when you play it you realise there's no other game quite like it. The strategic elements are enough to make it intriguing without causing immense boredom (my usual reaction to strategic elements in games), and the satisfaction of blowing up enemies in glorious technicolour has to be experienced for yourself.

As I said at the beginning of this review, before seeing this game I wasn't the type of person who'd get into a shoot-'em-up with the Gulf War as its theme. Now - well, just you trying getting me off it. It's got me completely hooked, and it's one of the few games that come in which gets everybody in the office looking over your shoulder saying things like "Can I have a go?" and "You didn't want to do that". I'm afraid there's only one thing for it - you're going to have to go out and buy this.

The original Megadrive version topped the charts for months on end, and it looks likely that the same will happen with the Amiga conversion. The programming team may have finishing it off (the lazy sods were supposed to finish it in time for last Christmas!), but the wait has definitely been worthwhile.

Most of the game's graphics have been completely redrawn or touched-up and the sound effects cranked up a notch or two. Extra frames of animation have been added to the main helicopter sprite, making it look much more realistic as it swoops about the sky, and the animated intro screens and overall presentation have been significantly improved. So much so, in fact, that the Amiga conversion is far superior to the Megadrive or SNES versions currently doing the rounds - so tell that to your smug console-owning friends!

LETHAL WEAPONS
Missions typically involve knocking out tracking sites, rescuing hostages, bombing runways, blowing up chemical weapons plants and shooting anything that moves. You've got a full complement of state-of-the-art weapons on-board, including a chain-gun for taking out ground troops and several laser-guided Hellfires capable of reducing the largest targets to a smouldering heap of rubble.

Unfortunately, you've only got a finite supply of ammo, so extra supplies have to be picked up from drop sites scattered around the map. The same also holds true for fuel, so frequent sorties have to be carried out to replenish supplies before the rotors fail and your 'copter crashes to the ground. Soaking up enemy fire isn't a good idea, either, as each hit significantly reduces the Apache's armour plating. Ground fire isn't too much of a problem, but heat-seeking anti-aircraft missiles are capable of diminishing your armour at an alarming rate.

As you only have two 'copters in reserve, it's best not to be too gung-ho in your approach. Again, re-supplies can be picked up from special drop sites or by stealing enemy supplies.

Your co-pilot operates the gun- ship's targeting system and the winch for picking up supplies and ground troops. There's a choice of co-pilot at the start of each campaign - most are either good winchmen or expert shots, but rarely both. It's all a bit frustrating, especially when you're practically hovering above a target, watching your shots go wide of the mark.

Luckily, there is always one effective co-pilot available, it's just a question of finding out which one!

Another aid in your one-man war is the Apache's on-board computer, called into play by pressing F10 on the keyboard. From here, a detailed map of the mission area is displayed; this is useful for locating key installations, enemy gun emplacements, ammo dumps and fuel pick-ups. It also monitors fuel consumption, the number of missiles left and armour points - but why this information couldn't have been included on the main screen I don't know.

Status and mission windows give a breakdown of the campaign so far and detail the remaining targets.

The in-game action is viewed from an isometric, three-quarters top- down perspective and the screen scrolls in eight directions, panning out in front of the 'copter as it's guided across the desert terrain. It's possible to configure the controls so that either the joystick, mouse or keyboard can be used, although I found the mouse controls virtually unplayable.

The joystick is also a problem because the keyboard is needed to access the map screen and toggle between the three different weapons. This can be a bit of a distraction, especially when you're in the thick of things. Sega's joypad was much more effective, as everything could be accessed via its three buttons.

SOUND AND VISION
Graphically, the game looks a treat. Everything has been rendered in the Amiga's 64-colour extra half-brite mode and the battlefield atmosphere is enhanced further with huge palls of smoke drifting across the desert and burnt-out wrecks littering the area. Much of the game's military hardware has been redrawn and the weedy explosions of the original have also been ditched in favour of digitised effects that resemble mini-Hiroshimas.

Even the sound is top-notch, with sampled gunfire, monitor-shaking explosions, and the death screams of enemy troops heightening the on-screen action. The whirr of the 'copter's rotor blades speed up or slow down in sync with the craft's speed and an on-board computer voice warns when supplies are getting low or if you're entering a designated danger zone. Best of all is the screeching launch of a Hellfire missile and the rattle of the chain gun as you wreak your vengeance on the enemy forces - they're some of the best samples I've heard in an Amiga game for quite a while.

But great graphics and sizzling samples don't necessarily guarantee a good game, as any Spectrum owner will quickly tell you. Fortunately, Desert Strike is simply amazing to play. Once you've started a campaign, you just won't want to stop. There's so much to do and each mission is refreshingly different from the last.

Once you've mastered the Apache's controls, this is real seat-of-the-pants stuff with hardly any let-up in the action. Most of the gameplay remains true to the Megadrive original, although some missions have been made a little harder or easier as a result of feedback from EA's playtesters. One important change, though, is the near indestructibility of your MIAs.

'Friendly fire' has become a bit of a contentious issue since the Americans managed to kill off more of their own troops than the Iraqi were capable of, so EA have decided to imbue your lost men with a near- kryptonite invulnerability. This means that no matter how many Hellfires you shoot into their midst, they'll still be left standing once the smoke has cleared.

Fortunately, some of the other characters in the game, such as a lost TV crew, are not so invulnerable and can be reduced to crispy cinders with a well-placed missile. That's definitely more like it!

Another quibble is the sheer stupidity of the opposition forces. If you position your gunship so that a target comes between you and an enemy gun emplacement, the idiots will launch a volley of shots in your direction and do the job for you. It's possible to sneak up on a target and stay just out of range of its guns while you pick it off - sometimes they're not even aware of your presence which seems a little crazy when you're blasting away with all guns blazing.

The only other complaint is the excessive number of shots it takes to dispose of some of the bigger installations. It's obvious padding to stretch out the action, but it isn't really necessary as there's tons to do anyway.

But I'm nit-picking really, as the game is probably the best blaster I've ever played on the Amiga. It's been programmed by Gary Roberts, the brains behind the excellent conversion of John Madden last year, and everything about it shouts class.

It's the little details that really make it stand out, such as the large number of fire-fights and the sand particles thrown up as a stream of bullets rip into the desert. Even when you've completed a campaign, there's still lots to do if you don't want to head back to base straight away. And there's always the incentive to keep on playing to improve your highscore.

The mix of low-level strategy and shoot 'em up action is a curious but successful combination. It might seem a chore to have to continually replenish the Apache's supplies in the heat of battle, but the game would be much duller if the strategy elements had been left out. In fact, the finished game has a special 'fire- and-forget' cheat which will give you unlimited ammo so you can play it as an out-and-out shoot 'em up.

All things considered, Desert Strike couldn't be a better game. The mix is just right, the action fast and frantic and the missions suitably varied to keep you coming back again and again. It's got the just-one-more-go appeal that so many of today's games seem to lack. Thoroughly recommended.