Werewolf vs Comanche

COMANCHE MINIMUM OVERKILL

A Review of Werewolf vs Comanche

by Trey Murff

Werewolf vs Comanche is one of the newest titles from Novalogic, the

creators of Comanche Maximum Overkill (and its add-ons). This time, in

addition to the Comanche, you also fly the Comanche’s arch rival, the

Werewolf. Unfortunately, Novalogic has done little to improve their Voxel

technology used to render low resolution but highly detailed terrain.

Because of this, the game is virtually the same with only a few changes

from its predecessor.

The game ships on two compact disks and supports multiplayer play over a

modem or IPX network. With the two disks, you will be able to fly against

a friend without having to purchase another copy of the game. This is

wonderful concept (also used by Westwood with Command and Conquer)

which I hope other game companies will follow.

The flight models used for both the Comanche and Werewolf helicopters

are very similar. The manual shows that the Werewolf should climb faster

than the Comanche but this is not very noticeable.

Both helicopters have

the same weapons available, which are accessed through the same keys.

This makes for evenly matched head-to-head play, but quickly gets old.

They should have given each helicopter well defined strengths and

weaknesses. This would force the pilots to adopt different strategies and

make head to head flying more fun.

The cockpit graphics for the Comanche are the same as in Comanche

Maxium Overkill. However, the Werewolf has a different layout which I

prefer. The view is better which helps in shooting lower enemies and helps

when maneuvering in narrow canyons.

Multiplayer support seems to be well implemented (I have only played over

the modem) and allows both head-to-head and cooperative missions. This

is a lot of fun but I really look forward to playing with more than one

opponent across on an IPX network. This, quite possibly, may be

Werewolf vs Comanche’s biggest strength.

The graphics of Werewolf vs Comanche have not improved much since the

most recent compact disk release of Comanche Maxium Overkill. The

Voxel generated landscape is still as chunky as ever and the vehicles remain

unrecognizable at a distance. However, this doesn’t mean the game isn’t

fun. I still enjoy playing this game and hop in for a quick mission every now

and then.

Some Werewolf vs Comanche missions will be familiar to owners of its

predecessor. For the Comanche, the training missions are basically identical

while other missions feel similar. There are some differences, however.

In some missions, you will have to refuel and rearm to be successful. This

is a nice touch. You will also get to fly all new missions with the

Werewolf. This was my favorite part of the game since I was already very

familiar with Comanche Maxium Overkill.

All-in-all, this is still a very fun game to play. Those who want mega

detailed simulations may want to steer clear of Werewolf vs Comanche

(see Apache review).

However, if you like jump-in seat-of-your pants

flying, Werewolf vs Comanche may be for you. I know I will continue to

play and enjoy Werewolf vs Comanche for some time to come. Now… if

Novalogic’s next release will only update their Voxel technology, we will

be set!

Copyright 1995 Trey Murff for InfoMedia, All rights reserved worldwide.

Gamer’s Zone Scorecard

Product:	Werewolf vs Comanche
Company:	Nova Logic , Inc. 26010 Mureau Road Suite 200 Calabasas, California 91302

Cost:

$49

IBM-PC compatible 386 or greater
(486 or Pentium outstanding!)
8 Mb RAM minimum, VGA, Hard drive,
CD-ROM drive. Network play requires
IPXODI and network adapter