Choplifter HD

Originally made for the Apple II and Commodore 64, Choplifter gets a HD, which basically means keeping the same game, but enhancing the graphics, sounds, and controls. This is actually a really good remaster of the original, not only keeping the same basic core components, but making it more relevant to today's games and expectations. First and foremost, since this is an old game, it is absolutely difficult. The difficulty ramps up quickly and by the second main campaign you will be restarting levels a lot. While this can be frustrating when you get shot down just before making it back to base, this does at least keep the game challenging and also is quite satisfying when you beat a tough level. You are a helicopter pilot, and you are tasked with varying missions. Sometimes you will need to rescue, escape, or bring a ranger to a facility to blow it up. At base you can fill your missiles, your gas, and fix your helicopter. You can typically fly back to base at any time. As you fly your missions, you will get shot at, you will use gas, and you will deplete your ammo and must come back to base to refill. You will find gas stations along your mission, but none that can repair your helicopter or refill your ammo. To make it more difficult, you are timed for your mission. If you beat it early, each second counts as points, if you are late, you will lose points. Objectives within the missions can also be timed, such as picking up injured infantry. If you are late, they will die. For every person you pick up and save, you will gain points. For every person that dies during the mission, you will lose points. You also get points from killing your enemy. At the end of the mission you will see your score. Each mission has 5 stars, depending on your score, you will receive a certain number of stars. Stars allow you to open up more campaigns, more missions, and more helicopters. There are about a half dozen different helicopters to choose from. Helicopters vary in seats available, gas and missile amounts, speed, and armor. As for the enemies that you battle it out with in the missions, they vary pretty well. There are infantry with guns, with rocket propelled guns, snipers, tanks, jeeps, mortar, anti-aircraft guns, and more. By the time you reach the final level, you will have jets firing missiles, while you avoid getting hit my mortars, when at the same time a sniper just hit you with an EMP shot where you are frozen and can't control your helicopter. It can get really intense, again, the game is quite difficult. Luckily, when you beat a level you can replay it with whatever other helicopters you've unlocked. This makes getting 5 stars much easier since now you have the option to carry a bigger payload of weapons to be more destructive, or have more seats in your cargo to pick up more rescues on the battlefield. The graphics are good, nothing superb, at least by today's standard, but this is purely an arcade game, and the action is where it's at. This game gets it right. It's not a perfect ultra-wide compatibility, but for the most part it works. The sounds I found to be a bit underwhelming, especially the annoying sound of your machine gun burned up where you have to wait for it to cool down before using it again. But overall the sounds work, just aren't are good as they could be. The game doesn't take itself very seriously, which is fun. You have the chance to make a special rescue most of the missions. You are given the secret objective of saving a news anchor and his camera man. Each time, a comedic statement is made that you're not sure if you did the world a favor or not, or something to that effect, and you move on. The missions start out trying to be comedic as well with a bit of dialogue. Some of it works, some of it doesn't. You even get to pick up some surprise guests during this game, which makes it randomly fun to see characters from other games. Overall, it's not a game I'd run out and get, but I'm going to give this a recommend because I don't think there are that many games that nail a remake like inXile did with Choplifter HD, and it's a fun little game that entertains if you give it a chance. If you have it play it, if you don't hopefully someone has a saved gift or a saved code for the game. It's too bad that it's no longer for purchase.