Fireblade puts you in command of 2 types of highly specialised pieces of aviation technology in the guise of the Vendetta & Talon (Attack & Transport). These are equiped with Fire & Forget missiles, Rockets, Incedury Armour Piercing Cannon & Sniper riffle. The other weapons are the ability to go Stealth and use Heat sensitive H.U.D to track enemy and troops on the ground, disabling larger artiliery and equipment with a E.M.P (electro Magnetic Pulse) Cannon.
Thankfully Midway have gone for the approach of Gameplay over sophistication and avoided trying to create a Hellicopter Sim on a platform thats not realy designed for the Simulation style game. And in fairness, they have done a good job at creating a mix of a popular style first person shooter except in a Chopper, and the ever increasingly popular "Stealth" Elements that have ocupied the consiance of Gamers since the late 90's boom of stealth 'Em Up Shooters & strategy games.
The F.P.S style element of the games kicks in early with the training mode allowing you to learn the basics of the vendeta attack 'copter including weapons & target practice including the stealth capabilites of the Hellicopters. This quickly turns into an effort to help secure the safety of your base from the Attacking terrorist forces of the UES (United Eastern States). They are the target of the Fireblade swuad and feature in every mision.
Stealth Missions require you to keep absolute no contact with the enemy and to wipe out an possible threat that may discover you or compromise the special forces grounds troops you may be proecting. Use of the E.M.P & Sniper Cannon are a real skill that needs to be mastered.
The missions take on the role of Pro-active & Re-active assaults varying accross 4 Campaigns of differing terrain across the globe.
In brief, Fireblade is a good game, the in game graphics especialy are delghtfully rendered if slightly simple at times but it is slightly floored. The enemy need more AI to make this a more challenging game. The misssions can be slightly repetetive and on occasions frustratingly hard due to the verying inconsistant difficulty levels. The voice overs from the voice talent briefing you on your missions are cheesy but help to add to the fun element of the game.
I enjoyed it. But it has a short life span. Put it on your "Maybe" list but don't dismiss it at all. It has plenty to offer for those of you looking for a decent Hellicopter combat game.
