In a surprising twist to the classic flight simulator genre, 1C Company has shown us a new game that will broaden the horizons in this market: a helicopter simulation. Instead of flying the usual assortment of airplanes, players will now pilot the popular Huey from the Vietnam era.

Taking from the usual flight-based simulators on the market and striving for innovation, developer Maddox Games has not only decided to change the aircraft model but also to change the flight sim experience as a whole. Players will now be flying one helicopter of an entire cavalry, with the rest being controlled by AI. This will be the first time that this type of game has put other aircraft in the sky with the player.

Whirlwind of Vietnam features missions based on real life events from 1965, which is why the Huey model was chosen. Maddox has put a lot of effort into making this the best experience possibly for gamers by making everything as accurate as possible. All gauges in the cockpit work in real-time and the attention to detail is simply amazing. The terrain is also rendered real-time by the engine, allowing for trees and blades of grass to sway in a life-like motion. Equally impressive is the water texture and reflection in the game.

To say we are looking forward to this kind of innovation in flight simulators would be an understatement. After seeing that the terrain can be made life-like as opposed to flat and painted on, I will never be able to go back. Whirlwind of Vietnam is early in development with a possible release date at the end of this year.