Review
Choplifter HD
By Jorge Figueiredo - January 26th, 2012
“Take a look at me now!”
Who remembers playing Choplifter when they were young? The simple premise of flying behind enemy lines to rescue trapped soldiers and hostages was a neat idea and fun to play. Now, inXile brings us Choplifter HD, a modern reimagining of the Apple 2E classic for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Does the game have any lift? Or does it come crashing down?
Growing up, there were lots of fun games available on the 8-bit platforms. However, Choplifter was more than your average game; it was a gateway to fantasy. By today’s standards, the game doesn’t really look like much; but back then, it was an adventure. The game had a simple story behind it; it had decent visuals and sound for its time; it was easy enough to pick up quickly, but hard enough to challenge the player. After playing this game at a friend’s house, I really wanted to be able to play this at home (but with nothing to play it on, I had to bug my parents to buy us a Commodore 64).
From this…
The core concept that made Choplifter so much fun has been preserved in Choplifter HD. Rescuing people while avoiding (or dispatching) enemies and keeping an eye on fuel are still the main drivers for this game. The concept behind the control scheme has been modified a bit; the shoulder buttons have been dedicated to swiveling the helicopter (rather than the old method of tapping the joystick left or right while simultaneously activating the fire button). This new feature serves to highlight one of the updates to the game that adds to the enjoyment.
On top of snazzy, new visuals and sound, inXile has introduced the ability to engage targets in the foreground – not just to the left and right. This addition makes proper use of the shoulder buttons critical, as some of these targets want to kill you. Other new features include secondary objectives, new copters to unlock, achievements and hidden objectives to complete; and yes, there is even a zombie level.
…to this.
With great graphics and sound, solid time-tested game-play and a healthy number of bonuses Choplifter HD is worth a look. Seasoned vets will probably be able to breeze through the basics of the game relatively quickly, but it will take a little longer to five-star every level and find All the secrets. At 1200 MSP, it might seem a bit on the pricy side, but I have heard that there will be free DLC (new choppers and missions) coming down the pipe; either way, if you are a fan of the original, it might be a good title to own and play*.
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Wait… so this was the actual game and “Rescue Raiders” was the knockoff? Damn. I spent many an hour liberating WWII France on an Apple IIe under false pretenses! False, I say!