Ahh, Choplifter. You and I go waaaay back. A lot of people think Choplifter started out as a Sega arcade title, but I remember playing it before that, on our first computer: an Apple ][+. This PC version of Choplifter was all black and white, and I was only about kindergarten age so it was a little hard for me to wrap my little head around some of the more complex helicopter controls (it wasn’t really that complex, though). But I did get the basic idea of the gameplay: pilot a helicopter from left to right and rescue little people on the ground while blowing up tanks and planes. Just don’t shoot the little houses the people lived in! Now, nearly 30 years later, you can relive this classic in high-def with Choplifter HD, a downloadable title on PSN and Xbox LIVE (360 version reviewed here).

Even though the graphics are all in 3-D now, the basic gameplay of Choplifter remains the same. You can only move in a 2-D plane, and can see your objectives and targets with a scanner on the top part of the screen (kind of like Defender). In each mission you start out at a base and must fly to the left or right, and search for people to rescue on the ground to bring back home. Your helicopter can only hold so many people at a time, so repeat trips are necessary. The mission is usually over when you rescue all the people in a stage. In some missions you may have to carefully plan your rescues as you have a limited amount of fuel and can only land and refuel at certain spots. And in other times you must prioritize who you rescue if some are injured and you need to save them before they expire

But it’s not always that easy, as you’ll face opposition along the way in the form of enemy troops. Ground gunners, land to air anti-aircraft missiles, tanks, and even fighter jets will try to blast you out of the skies. You can fight back with a machine gun and missiles. You have an unlimited number of bullets for your machine gun, just be careful not to overheat. Save your missiles when you need to blast something big and quick. You can aim where you shoot with the right analog stick. To turn your helicopter to face the other way, just hit the LB or RB buttons. You can even turn sideways to shoot at objects and enemies in the foreground and background.

Sometimes Choplifter HD mixes things up with the missions, and this is when the game’s tongue-in-cheek humor comes in. You can shoot goats and chickens on the ground, and sometimes even stop the occasional zombie outbreak. In nearly every mission you can find and save a news reporter, and then for the rest of the stage you’ll get a rolling bar on the bottom of the screen with funny headlines on what’s going on around you. There are other secrets to discover as well, and completed missions unlocks new stages and difficulty levels, as well as new choppers to fly.

I was impressed with how closely the kept the feel of the original game. I haven’t played Choplifter in nearly 30 years, but I was able to jump right into this one. The only problems I had with the game was that some of the graphics of the people were a little small and hard to see, and the challenge is brutally difficult. But if you have fond memories of this classic, you’ll want to check it out anyway. Now if only someone would make an update of my favorite Apple ][+ game: Aquatron (Man, writing this review probably makes me sound OLD!).

Kid Factor:

Choplifter HD is rated T for Teen with ESRB descriptors of Alcohol Reference, Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, and Violence. Most of the alcohol references, suggestive themes, and language is just in the silly text and banter, and is used sparingly. You do shoot a lot of soldiers and vehicles, so it is somewhat violent. When you shoot people on the ground, blood does gush out, but the people are so tiny you hardly even notice it. I’d probably be OK with older kids and preteens playing this game, especially if they like helicopters and other army vehicles. But really, the best reason why this game is best for older players is the high level of difficulty.

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