Play Desert Strike (USA, Europe) Online

Game Overview

Desert Strike drops you straight into the cockpit of an Apache helicopter with one job: blow up everything that moves. The controls take a second to get used to—tilting forward actually moves you forward, which feels weird at first—but once it clicks, you're weaving between sand dunes and picking off tanks like it's second nature.

The missions start simple (take out this radar, rescue those hostages) but quickly spiral into chaos. You'll run out of ammo at the worst possible moment, realize you missed one tiny fuel depot, and have to improvise. The pixelated explosions somehow never get old, and that tinny Genesis soundtrack nails the tension when five SAM sites lock onto you at once.

It's one of those games where failing feels like your fault, not the game's—which just makes nailing a perfect run even sweeter.