Before the breakdown of the Soviet Union, the Russians put an awful lot of time, effort and roubles into their military machine. They came up with some fearsome weapons platforms, one of which is the star of this latest combat flight sim from GT Interactive.
Andy Smith

Haven't we seen enough combat flight sims?
Not with helicopters we haven't! Go on, name a few.

Er, er... Team Apache!
Yup, and guess what? The people behind that game are the ones behind Team Alligator.

Oh right. So why the Alligator name then?
The game's centred on the Ka 52, which is a twin-seat version of the Ka 50 Blackshark, more commonly called the Hokum.

Cool. That's got some serious fire-power.
These things are awesome! They're twin-seaters because while one guy's flying the thing, the chap sat next to him controls the weapons - targeting and firing the bullets, rockets and missiles.

Let me at 'em!
The game's got three play modes - you'll want to jump straight into the Instant Action where you merely survive for as long as you can against wave after wave of enemies. For a less arcadey game you can opt for the missions. These are stand-alone, objective-based affairs that are ideal for you to practise your skills on. When you're ready for the meat of the game though, pick one of the two semi-dynamic campaigns.

Eh?
Team Alligator features campaigns set in Belarus and Tajkistan (different ground terrain and stuff, see?) that consist of several missions strung together. They're semi-dynamic in that your performance in a mission dictates what mission you're given next, along a controlled plot line.