TGS 2000: Air Ranger Hands-On

Ask was showing off Air Ranger at the TGS. The game is an unassuming flight simulator in which you pilot a search-and-rescue helicopter and perform numerous tasks in a mission-based campaign. While the final game will let you take control of a number of different helicopters, the demo being shown at the booth only let you pilot a Boeing CH-47D Chinook.

The premise of the game seems relatively simple. You fly toward disaster areas, and using the winch attached to your helicopter, you lift or drop supplies and other objects to or away from the area. The demo of Air Ranger on the show floor took place in a city modeled after San Francisco. An accident involving an 18-wheeler on the Golden Gate Bridge required you to lift the separated tanker away from the scene of the accident. That's easier said than done, however, as the controls of your helicopter are extremely sluggish, and getting the winch to line up directly over the target is a chore in and of itself. Additionally, the helicopter moves at a sluggish rate, so flying around the city takes excruciatingly long. In fact, the entire game has a very slow pace to it, which, in Air Ranger's defense, is the nature of its gameplay. After all, Air Ranger isn't an action or arcade-style game, nor does it make any pretenses to be so.

The graphics are simple and have an overall dull feel to them. The textures of your helicopter and the surrounding environments are washed out, and while the game's line of sight is longer than most other 3D games, fogging and slight pop-up is still an issue.

It's doubtful we'll ever see Air Ranger release on our shores. We'll update you further if we hear otherwise, however.