Fans of Warhawk who were let down by the brevity of that otherwise awesome
heli-type game may want to look into Thunderstrike 2 from u.s. gold.  while
it won't blow you away like Warhawk did, there is definitely some cool
stuff going on here.  poor polygon programming and questionable control and
physics are the major detracting factors.

in numbers:

ORIGINALITY - 7 - although helicopter attack sims are a rather old concept,
Thunderstrike 2 does offer some neat features that are only possible in a
next generation game, such as the CD-quality sound and voice effects, which
make this simulation a lot more believable than other helicopter sims.
since realism and believability are lacking in most classically-executed
sims, with their untextured polygons and sparse sound effects, this game
scores a little higher in this category than its predecessors.  in
addition, three instantly selectable views and some nice variety in the
time of day and end goal of each mission helps this score out.

RESPONSE - 6 - although the controls respond quickly, u.s. gold may have
outdone themselves by making response a little TOO sharp--when you start or
stop moving in any direction, you don't drift at all, the way a real
helicopter would.  in a doom-style game, where the vessel you are piloting
is very small and has little physical volume, this kind of control response
would rate higher.  in this case, however, u.s. gold should have taken a
lesson from Warhawk, whose futuristic helicopter-esque craft handles much
more believably.  use of the triangle and X buttons to raise and lower
altitude is also irritating, as is the arrangement of buttons for turning
and rotating (slide by pushing left or right on the D-pad, rotate by
pushing R1 or L1).  the complexity of the controls is another case of
overdoing it.  however, familiarity comes with lots of play time, so it's
not the end of the world.

GRAPHICS - 7 - wow, there are some AWESOME explosions in this game.  in
fact, there are a lot of awesome graphics in this game, from enemy tanks
and helicopters to friendly transport cruisers--it all looks great,
especially with the added variety of night missions.  however, there are
some inexcusable polygon flickers, which occur most noticeably when enemy
planes you are firing at simply disappear and reappear, creating some very
unbalanced combat.  there are also a lot of heavy-duty pop-ups on the
cliffs and other backgrounds of some stages, and, after seeing the
virtually perfect graphics of Warhawk, i just can't help but wonder why.

ANIMATION - 8 - firing missiles, chain guns, and rockets all make you the
privileged viewer of some very realistically handled firepower (graphically
speaking, of course), and when you see something explode... you see it
EXPLODE.  shrapnel always adds lots of fun to anything in life.

SOUND FX - 7 - although all the sound effects are CRYSTAL clear, from
voices to gunfire (and of course, those booming explosions), words and
numbers are not enough to express how irritating it is to hear "main target
dead ahead!" and other such phrases CONSTANTLY.  they are all cool the
first time, warning you about incoming bogies and the like, but there seems
to be only one voice sample for each situtation, so the novelty wears off
FAST.

MUSIC - 10 - i have to say that i honestly don't remember too much of the
music, but what i do recall was very, very nice.  you also have the option
of turning off the music during combat, which helps out a lot.  now, if i
can find the option to shut up that "main target dead ahead!" guy, i'll be
set...

in practice:

on the M.A.R.C.H. scale (of IGNORE IT, RENT IT, or BUY IT)...

THUNDERSTRIKE 2
U.S. GOLD

RENT IT RENT IT RENT IT RENT IT RENT IT RENT IT RENT IT RENT IT RENT IT

Thunderstrike 2 really does have a lot going for it, and if games like
Warhawk and Air Combat (ick) are your thing, then it's definitely worth
looking into.  in either case, this is a game that must be seen, if only
for the awesome intro cinema and killer explosions (turn up the volume!).
in the end, however, Thunderstrike 2 is one of the most disappointing kind
of games--the kind that are ALMOST good enough to keep, but in the end,
just don't seem to be worth the price.