''AH-64D Longbow'' is a realistic

combat flight simulator Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and mil ...

of the

AH-64D Apache Longbow The Hughes/McDonnell Douglas/Boeing AH-64 Apache ( ) is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. Nose-mounted sensors help acquire targets and provide night vis ...

attack helicopter. Released on June 3, 1996, for the PC, this simulation was developed at

Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. It was founded on March 3, 1983, by Richard Garriott and his brother Robert. Origin is best known for their groundbreaking work in multiple genres of video games ...

. ''AH-64D Longbow'' was the second simulator released under the ''

Jane's Combat Simulators ''Jane's Combat Simulations'' was a brand of combat flight simulators and naval warfare games published for DOS and Windows by Electronic Arts from 1995 to 2000, and later by other companies under license by Jane's Information Group. It is named a ...

'' line from

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

. A mission disk ''Flash Point: Korea'' was released as an add-in in 1996, and a compilation pack, ''Longbow Gold'' was released in 1997. A sequel, ''

Longbow 2 ''Longbow 2'' is the sequel to ''Jane's AH-64D Longbow'' from ''Jane's Combat Simulations.'' The game was developed by Origin Systems with executive producer Andy Hollis on board, and released by Electronic Arts on November 13, 1997. Gameplay ...

'' was released in late 1997. In 1998, ''Longbow Anthology'' was released, which included the whole ''Longbow'' series.

Gameplay

The game had the most authentic flight model for a helicopter for its time and every aspect of the electronics systems was meticulously detailed. The weapons had realistic operational ranges and limits, and all friendly and enemy units were strictly based on their real-life counterparts. A wingman helps the player, and the player takes on Russian equipment in multiple single missions and campaigns, as well as a handful of historically accurate missions in which it is possible to 're-live' memorable battles. ''Flash Point: Korea'' was released on November 30, 1996. It features a new campaign set in Korea, the addition of the co-pilot position, improved wingman commands and many bug fixes.

Release

''Longbow Gold'' came out in April 1997. It is a compilation pack featuring the ''AH-64D Longbow'' and ''Flash Point: Korea'' add-ons. It is also fully patched and updated to include a

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

executable, so

DOS DOS (, ) is a family of disk-based operating systems for IBM PC compatible computers. The DOS family primarily consists of IBM PC DOS and a rebranded version, Microsoft's MS-DOS, both of which were introduced in 1981. Later compatible syste ...

is no longer necessary. Also included is the

3Dfx 3dfx Interactive, Inc. was an American computer hardware company headquartered in San Jose, California, founded in 1994, that specialized in the manufacturing of 3D graphics processing units, and later, video cards. It was a pioneer in the f ...

update, which adds a Glide renderer. ''Longbow Anthology'' was released in 1998 and is a compilation of Jane's ''AH-64D Longbow'', the mission disk ''Flash Point: Korea'', and ''Longbow 2'' in one box, with an abbreviated manual. All included simulators are fully patched to the latest versions. A Limited Edition was also released, removing the campaign mode and marketed as a budget title.

Reception

''AH-64D Longbow'' debuted at No. 4 on

PC Data PC Data was an American market research and point of sale tracking firm founded in 1991 and based in Reston, Virginia. Its founder, Ann Stephens, had worked previously as the head researcher for the Software Publishers Association. Initially, th ...

's monthly computer game sales chart for June 1996. The game fell to position 14 the following month, before rising back into the top 10 in August and exiting the top 20 in September. In the United States, the game sold 106,423 copies and earned $4.78 million by October 1999. Global shipments of ''AH-64D Longbow'' ultimately surpassed 600,000 copies. The ''Longbow'' franchise as a whole, including the compilations and ''

Jane's Longbow 2 ''Longbow 2'' is the sequel to '' Jane's AH-64D Longbow'' from ''Jane's Combat Simulations.'' The game was developed by Origin Systems with executive producer Andy Hollis on board, and released by Electronic Arts on November 13, 1997. Gamepla ...

'', shipped above 1.2 million units. The reviewer for ''

Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...

'' praised the option to choose from nine different levels of realism, and the game's unique mission design. ''Longbow'' was named the best flight simulator of 1996 by ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...

'',

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

, ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

'' and ''

Computer Games Strategy Plus ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...

''. CNET Gamecenter and the Computer Game Developers Conference nominated it in their "Best Simulation Game" categories, but these went to '' NASCAR Racing 2'' and '' MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries'', respectively. In 1996, ''Computer Gaming World'' ranked it as the 100th best game of all time for being "the first helicopter sim to match its fixed wing counterparts for realistic play". That same year, it was also ranked as the 73rd top game of all time by ''Next Generation'', for being "an unbeatable marriage of graphics, gameplay, and armor-blasting fun".

''Flashpoint Korea''

The editors of ''

PC Gamer US ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...

'' named ''Flashpoint Korea'' 1996's "Best Expansion Pack", and wrote that it "practically makes 'Longbow''a whole new game". ''Flashpoint: Korea'' was also a finalist for ''

''s 1996 "Best Enhancement of an Existing Game" award, which ultimately went to '' Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal''.

References

External links

* * *
SimHQ Forums for ''Jane's Longbow'' series

Review
in

PC World ''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online-only publication. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tec ...