Chopper Attack

"It has its bad points, but Chopper Attack is a fun game nonetheless."

Overview:

Ah, Chopper Attack. I first picked this game up when I was around five or six years old, and I had an absolute blast playing it. So, when I saw it at a local flea market, I just had to pick it up. Sadly, the game has not aged well, but, it is still a fun romp that I enjoyed thoroughly.

Story:

Since I have never had the chance to read the instruction manual, I cannot elaborate on the game's story. It doesn't appear to have to much importance, as it is hardly referenced in the game. All that I was able to draw from the mission briefings is that a war has been raging for quite some time, and "the enemy," your foe's only name, has been gaining strength, so it's up to you to save the day. All in all, the story has little importance to the actual game play.

Game play:

Chopper Attack plays rather well, especially for a game that had little to no promotion, as far as I can tell. When you start, you pick from a selection of choppers, each with their own statistics and pilots. After you select, you are shown a mission briefing and are allowed to purchase your own weapons to best suit your enemies in the current level. While it is nice being able to select your weapons, the selection is rather limited and a few of the weapons are either useless or can be substituted with another, cheaper weapon. After you load up, you are thrown into the mission. The controls are very responsive and it is easy to maneuver your helicopter, but it is slightly difficult to get used to aiming your guns. You see, your HUD has an aiming cursor for your selected weapon, but not one for your standard Vulcan machine gun. As such, it can be somewhat difficult and, at critical times, frustrating to aim two weapons separately.

The objective of the game is to complete the various missions given to you in each stage. While some are unique to a few stages, the most common objective is elimination of enemy forces, which can get a little dull after a while. However, some missions are different and rather fun, such as rescuing all POWs (which is usually a side bonus rather than an actual mission,) protecting a certain aircraft, or destroying certain enemy installations. While it is fun simply blowing everything on the map up, you may end up wishing for something with a little more variety.

Graphics:

This is where the game starts to show its ugly side. The graphics are not too great. While most choppers are fairly well done, everything else in the game is not. There are only two models for enemy tanks, and they are used in every stage, albeit with a different color scheme. Buildings are square and ugly, and most terrain textures are messy, low-res wrecks. When you first see your character on the "Mission Complete" screen, you will find it difficult to not do one of the following: laugh, gag, or instantly skip through the stats screen. However, the horror is inescapable, as your CO looks like he is made of five or six cardboard boxes, glued together and painted with the least amount of care. All in all, the graphics are not good at all.

Sound:

Chopper Attack more than makes up for its sub par graphics with its stellar sound. Also, your character finds it necessary to spout off ridiculous one-liners, such as "Here's your birthday present, loser!" and, "Guess I'll just leave now." While explosions and other noises do sound a little dull and repetitive, and you'll wish you could mute the ridiculous dialogue, the soundtrack is absolutely awesome. Each stage's track fits it perfectly: the first stage has an explosive, upbeat, speed-metal tune, the cavern stage has a slower, more mysterious song, and both the last stage and the secret final mission have tense, speedy, race-against-the-clock style metal songs. Overall, the soundtrack is possibly the best part of Chopper Attack.

Replay Value:

Another part of the game that is sorely lacking is the play time. If you are good, you can finish the game in around two to three hours. After you beat it, there is no real goal or reason to play it again, unless you want to challenge the game with another helicopter.

Final Word:

Chopper Attack definitely has problems, but if you can look past the flaws, you can find a fun, over-too-soon romp that hearkens back to old arcade-style shoot-em-ups with its smooth controls, fun destruction, and absolutely rockin' soundtrack. While it's not good enough to hunt to the ends of the earth, it is worth picking up if you find it for cheap in a bargain bin or flea market. Overall, a decent game to add to your collection.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/28/08

Game Release: Chopper Attack (US, 06/17/98)