Burton's Bytes: Search out new helicopter rescue game

IF you take Microsoft's mighty Flight Simulator out of the equation, most computer recreations of flying a plane or helicopter are usually combat-based - cyberspace flights of fantasy, if you will.

Search and Rescue 3 (henceforth known as SAR 3) eschews the usually Apache recreation and dumps rockets, chain guns and electronic jamming gear in favour of precision flying technique and delicate winching operations.

It's not really that surprising, given that the majority of helicopter flights aren't life or death suicide missions but simple commercial hops from one airport to the next and usually with a cargo no more deadly than a few Red Star parcels.

SAR 3 is a bit more interesting than that, thank goodness.

And while howling winds and mountaneous seas may not sound as exciting as putting one over Saddam's Republican Guard, there's plenty of excitement to be had once you're in the air.

Would-be rescuers can select from three "birds": the Sirkorsky SH-3 Sea King, BK-117, and the Dolphin HH-65A.

All of them look superb and from the cockpit it feels (and looks) just like the real thing. I don't know much about flying choppers but it all felt very real right down to the way your searchlight slowly warms up before casting a decent beam when scanning for someone to rescue. Microsoft's mega-budget cash cow may be able to model a Boeing 747 down to the smallest detail but SAR 3 ain't far behind in the realism stakes for sure.

Landscapes, ocean textures, and buildings look great (provided you have a decent graphics adaptor and a modestly powerful PC set-up) and your environment is positively festooned with forests, bustling townscapes, cars and busy roads.

In fact, it's a pleasant change to be able to fly around your video game world just checking out the scenery without fear of coming under fire from anti-aircraft batteries or some bad guy diving straight into your windshield. This is far more relaxing than most flight sims.

One thing that puts many a casual gamer off this kind of software is the intimate knowledge needed before you can go flying. My fears were confirmed when a hefty manual dropped out of the box as I slipped the CD into my PC.

At least the book of instructions is written in clear, concise English that even the biggest flight sim dunce couldn't fail to understand. Put in a bit of homework and you'll soon be flying like a pro.

You can also fiddle with the game set up to make flying easier or harder; in fact, you can even switch to full simulation mode where everything is for real (I take my hat off to chopper jocks, flying one of these things sure isn't easy).

Initially you'll probably opt to play from a chase camera view where you can see what your helicopter is up to on screen but, as you get better, it's more authentic to switch to the cockpit cam and look at what a real pilot would see. There's also an excellent zoom facility for mission overview or close up detail.

A powerful physics engine has also been used to make the helicopter move as realistically as possible, responding to elements like torque effect, hover effect, weight, auto-rotations, aircraft emergencies and speed limitations. A wind and air pressure system also has an impact on the flight and helicopter handling and adds to the realistic feel of flight.

The missions are many (over 100) and varied. They run the whole gamut from drowning bungee jumpers and stranded mountain climbers to car crashes on racetracks or even gunshots victims. The 3D modelled victims and crewmembers respond to your actions so it pays not to panic.

Your career will see you tackling dangerous situations in amusement parks, nuclear power plants, on the high seas, and in the high altitude mountains. A time jump feature allows you to speed things up between landmarks.

Each mission has also been created to look and feel as authentic as possible with highly detailed visual effects including lightning flashes, falling rain, dust clouds at ground level, blurred rotor blades, transparent cockpit window glass, random tree dispersion, smoke, explosions and much more.

There's even a complete range of injuries to deal with, more than 30 in all, and these cover everything from broken bones, skull fractures, heart attacks, diver sickness, burns, meningitis and even jellyfish stings!

In addition to the selectable mission scenarios, there's a random mission generator ensuring that no two missions are alike.

In fact, for a game that costs a shade under £20, SAR3 offers an awful lot of replay value.

Don't be fooled into thinking that this game doesn't offer as much of a thrill as its combat orientated rivals. In fact, because it's that much closer to reality I found the SAR world to be more believable and exciting than any combat sim of recent memory. Try it - you might like it.