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It had to happen one day I suppose. As war machines become increasingly sophisticated, so the gap narrows between the games that programmers create and the tanks, boats and helicopters that our soldier boys and women actually tootle about in. These days, the only real difference between flying a computerised version of a helicopter and piloting the real thing is that if you screw up on the c64 version, you still get to wear underpants on your head on New Year's Eve; mess up on the real thing and you get a very bad headache and a bill for 2 million.

Gunship was originally released in 1987 to loud hurrahs! from rotor technology fans everywhere. It was released on budget in 1988 and it has remained in cold storage ever since. So three cheers, then, for Kiss and their XL label for arranging its re-release this year. But does it still cut the mustard?

Gunship's a typical MicroProse game: chock full of detail, crammed to the gills with missions, heaving with weaponry and copy-protected with one of those guess-the-war-machine routines. That is, if you've got the disk version. If you've only got a datacorder, then don't bother with this game because there's such a humungous difference between the two formats as to make the tape version unplayable.

After you've trawled through the vehicle identification and the pilot roster, you can pick the location and difficulty of your mission. All the usual options are in there from wild pig barbecuing in Central America to stopping the red menace from spreading all over Western Europe. I told you the game was a bit old; the Berlin wall was standing proud when Gunship was released. Funnily enough, there are a lot of people who wish it still was. Standing that is.

Actually flying your chopper is a somewhat tricky affair. You see, instead of the usually aeroplane style ailerons and rudders, you've got to contend with something called the collective. This alters the angle of the blades as they chop the air and therefore alters your height. To go forward, you tip the nose forward, a process which drops your height meaning that you have to up the collective a bit more. If it sounds tricky, then you'd be right. Fortunately, there's an easy flight option which means you can tweak the collective without altering your forward speed.

What with the Gunship being an army helicopter you'd expect there to be some state-of-the-art firepower on-board. Your 'copter is fitted with Sidewinders, 2.75" FFARs, Hellfire and a 30mm cannon. The Sidewinders are guided missiles which you look onto a target and then let loose, the Hellfires are unguided missiles useful for ground installations, and FFARs are guided missiles with a shorter range. Your cannon can lock and hold targets too, all of which makes simultaneous flying and shooting a damn sight easier.

On each of your missions you have two targets: the primary and (can you guess?) the secondary. Along the way, there will of course, be enemy ground and air attack craft intent on doing you damage. To locate your main targets, you can call up a large map, with ground detail listed on it. Once you've carried out your mission you can pick out your base and hightail it home.

But what of the graphics and sound I hear you cry. Yes you sir, at the back. Well thankfully it looks as good today as it did when its programmers shooed it out of the office and onto the software shelves. All the attack craft are wireframe, which means that the frame update's nice and quick, while the explosions are bitmapped affairs in lovely colour. The cockpit looks great, especially the detail of the appropriate target appearing in your weaponry window. Sound's a bit on the minimal side, but then you'd be a bit surprised if a helicopter sounded like Handel's Water Music and not like a road drill. Wouldn't you?

Does it all still hold true though? I mean, it's not as though this game's a spring chicken over even an autumn one for that matter. Fortunately, the answer's a resounding yes. Gunship's an awesome giggle, chock full of carefully honed gameplay. With all the missions, the realistic flight patterns, the slick wireframe graphics, the never-ending action and some dirty great missiles, this is one game you can't afford to miss. Gunship's a wild whirlwind of whirlybird wonderfulness. And no mistake, missus.

Graphics 82%
Slick front-end combines with smooth wireframe in-game graphics.

Sound 72%
Plingy, thuddery sounds. But then, it's a copter. What do you expect SWV?

Playability 90%
Large game, well produced with tons of gameplay to check out.

Lastability 92%
Loads of missions, with plenty of variety. A stayer and no mistake.

Overall 93%