In the game, controlling a simulated AH-64 Apache helicopter, players navigate through missions to attack enemy targets and protect friendly forces. Gunship is a combat flight simulation video game developed and published by MicroProse in 1986.

The Story Behind Gunship

Gunship is a combat flight simulation video game developed and published by MicroProse in 1986. In the game, controlling a simulated AH-64 Apache helicopter, players navigate through missions to attack enemy targets and protect friendly forces. Gunship was also ported to the Sega Mega Drive by U.S.

Commercially and critically successful, Gunship was followed by Gunship 2000 and Gunship!. MicroProse intended Gunship to simulate an urban helicopter akin to Blue Thunder, but found that city graphics were too difficult. However, this version of the game differed from the others by featuring more arcade-style gameplay and horizontal shoot 'em up stages.

How Gunship Plays

After enough damaging hits, the structural integrity will fail, causing a general power failure that requires the pilot to use autorotation to land safely. A player can return to any number of Forward Area Resupply Points to be rearmed, refueled and damage repaired. Returning to the Home Base will end the mission.

These could include such objectives as "Destroy enemy headquarters" or "Support friendly troops" (i.e. destroy targets near friendly forces). There is no defined time limit in the game. Promotions stop once a pilot makes Colonel, although he can continue amassing medals, such as the Purple Heart, Air Medal, Bronze Star, Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross, and the Medal of Honor and retire with a final promotion to Brig.

Why Players Still Load It Up

Gunship is a combat flight simulation video game developed and published by MicroProse in 1986. In 1987, Computer Gaming World named Gunship as its action game of the year, in 1988 the game joined the magazine's Hall of Fame for games highly rated over time by readers, and in 1996, the magazine ranked it as the 102nd best game of all time. Info magazine gave Gunship for the Commodore 64 five stars out of five, describing it as "without qualification, the best combat flight simulator ever released for an 8-bit computer!" Praising its graphics, weapons, sound, controls, physics, and documentation, the magazine concluded that it was "PRIME!" Computer Gaming World stated "this reviewer heartily recommends Gunship ...

By 1989, Gunships sales had surpassed 500,000 units. Commercially and critically successful, Gunship was followed by Gunship 2000 and Gunship!. Its successor, Gunship!, followed in 2000 for Microsoft Windows only.

Gunship — Frequently Asked Questions