Nostalgia is the quickest way into any geek wallet, so it’s no wonder that the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network Store have become jam-packed with reboots, remakes and reimaginings of classic and not-so-classic games from the days of yore. Choplifter was a slightly lesser-known, but fairly popular game originally released on the Apple II, and those who played it way back when have the chance to rediscover it as it gets remake for the 21st Century in swanky HD.
Much like the original game, your mission is to pilot a helicopter along a side-scrolling map, collecting stranded people and dumping them back at home base. Sounds simple, but you’ll be doing so while dodging gunfire from hostile ground forces and shooting the bejesus out of them in return. Take too many hits before making it back to base for repairs and survivors will be knocked out of the chopper to their doom, before your whirlybird eventually explodes.
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Added to that, you’ll also have fuel levels to worry about and space management to keep in mind. The chopper has limited seating room for rescued passengers, meaning prioritizing your pick-ups – should you fill up that extra seat in the chopper by flying out to snag another far-off survivor or play it safe, refuel first and burn more time? Hitting the boost increases your speed, but eats through fuel quicker, and while leaning on it might get you to dying survivors in time, it’s all for naught if you burn through all your fuel before you make it back home.
To make things a touch more complex and enjoyable than its 2D inspiration, the HD update of Choplifter adds plenty of distraction to the foreground, too – soldiers unleash machine gun fire and heat-seeking rockets at you, with the shoulder buttons allowing you to tilt from facing left, to facing front and facing right, letting you blast enemies from all sides. The controls are smooth, as are the chopper’s flight physics, and the lock-on targeting is a nice touch which all make hovering around, shooting unlucky hostiles and even slamming into debris, sending passengers sailing to the pavement more fun than it should be.
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The radio banter injects a welcome sense of humour, the levels are fairly visually diverse and the graphics, though simple, look nice for what they are. The gameplay action heats up pretty hectic really quickly, too, especially as levels progress and you have to contend with AA guns, tanks, fighter jets and zombies. Yep, there’s zombies in this game, too. It’s an overworn, almost obligatory element to throw into a game nowadays, but having the undead grab onto your chopper as you make a pick-up, leaving you to shake them off and send them sailing to the deck does make things extra chaotic. But if you’re not someone who loves a masochistic challenge, then the near insurmountable ramps in difficulty in later stages will be sure to turn you off.
Sadly, as fun as Choplifter HD can be, especially in short bursts, there’s no getting over the simplistic nature of the game. Developer inXile Entertainment attempt to mix things up with slightly different mission priorities in some levels and hidden survivors to find, but the game never manages to offer up any real variety beyond the core ‘rescue survivors, shoot things and make it back to the other side of the screen’ routine, and the addition of zombie levels to the mix only smacks of tired desperation. It also comes at an alarmingly high price – 1200 Microsoft Points for a fun, but repetitive remake of a mostly forgotten Apple II game/arcade game feels incredibly excessive.
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Those with a fondness for the original Choplifter will be pleased to find that the HD remake is a faithful reworking that has plenty of fun moments and a nice blend of chaotic action and minimal strategy. But repetitive design, extreme difficulty spikes and an extremely high asking price mean it’s not the most wise investment for those who’re unfamiliar with the original game.
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Choplifter HD is now available to buy on the Xbox Live Marketplace, priced at 1200 Microsoft Points, and on the PlayStation Network for £10.20.