It’s got to be pretty easy to release sequels for licensed blockbuster video games.

Most people expect them to be rubbish, yet they’ll buy them despite their better judgements, usually resulting in a thorough head-banging-on-wall session later that evening.

However, with niche, cult hits, it’s much tougher. The committed fans count down the days to release, frenetically chatting online about what they hope to see in the finished product.

So when it turns out to be as bad as helicopter simulation Enemy Engaged 2, you shouldn’t be surprised to see the internet near-enough catch fire as frustrated customers vent their rage. Yup, this is a real mess of a game.

It should be noted that this is a hardcore sim, so those that would prefer a chopper title where you simply push up to take to the skies, and so on, should move on. That said, it's not true to say that the more technically minded with enjoy this game: even qualified pilots will find EE2 full of gripes. The first problem you’ll encounter is setting up the game after installation.

Unfortunately, there's no simple plug in and play here – you’ll need the patience of the saint and the technical nous of a RAF engineer to get it configured properly. We ended up settling for something that looked relatively reasonable just to get started. But the next time we played we had to go through the same thing all over again. It’s very frustrating.

The next problem is that it looks awful. Now, we know that the developers of simulations quite often sacrifice visual flair for solid gameplay and relentless realism. But as this game doesn’t have the former (it may have the latter, but we’ll leave that for more knowledgeable helicopter folk to attest) the presentation is particularly disappointing. The landscapes look ragged, the ‘copters are hardly enough to fill you with militaristic venom, and there are far too many glitches as the game moves around.

The bugs are numerous and it’s continuously annoying to play. The gameplay is dated, the combat isn’t nearly as fast-paced or as thrilling as it should be, and it’s just never much fun to play. We haven't been in a real helicopter, but if they’re as cumbersome and error-prone as this game suggests, we’re staying firmly terra firma. The game's website doesn’t even have a forum to talk to other plays, so finding ways of improving matters will also require some homework.

The original Enemy Engaged has a lively online community and perhaps they’ll be able to tweak this into something resembling a decent title. But it’s a bit unfair to ask the gaming public to buy something and then spend a weekend trawling through messageboards looking for advice on how to turn it into something playable. As it is, this is one rather nasty video game.

Vista compatible: Yes