Play while listening to “Flight of the Valkyries” for maximum effect.
Chopper drops you into a raging war zone where your main objective, apart from blowing away enemy tanks and bazooka-wielding soldiers, is to pilot a Vietnam-era helicopter deep behind the red line and rescue hostages. In addition to dodging enemy fire in this side-scrolling aerial shooter, you'll also have to steer clear of buildings and jagged structures that can send you into a flaming tailspin.
The game cleverly substitutes the iPhone’s accelerometers for the flight stick, resulting in some tight and nuanced controls. You tilt your iPhone back and forward to control altitude, while turning it left and right to pitch the copter forward and back. The developers also included a handy calibration tool to adjust tilt controls based on your orientation. A pair of touch buttons at the upper corners of the screen allow you to wreak havoc by either dropping bombs or spraying machine-gun fire.
At the start of each of the game’s 20 missions you'll receive a tensely worded mission briefing instructing you to airlift one to 12 hostages out of enemy lands. Flying through the level you'll be treated to some smoothly rendered, if tiny, 3D sprites before opaque 2D backgrounds ranging from deserts, forests, tundra, and cityscapes. Particle effects from falling snow, rain, exploding tanks, and ricocheting bullets look impressive.
Your score is based on the number of enemies killed and hostages rescued, so replay value is limited mostly to high-score chasing at higher difficulties that, while challenging, don't vary much—your enemies just become more numerous and develop better aim. We would’ve liked a simple time-attack mode that not only rewards kills and rescues, but also grants time bonuses for getting it done quickly.
While the gameplay can become repetitive past a few playthroughs, it's fun and genuinely addicting. Majic Jungle doesn't try to overcompensate and scores a perfect landing with a game that fully harnesses the iPhone's unique capabilities.
Tight controls. Rich foreground and background graphics. Challenging and addicting gameplay.
No Time Attack mode. Not much variation at higher difficulties.
CaptD
December 22, 2011 at 3:53pm
I've got the iMac version and it's fun to fly some missions simulating "bad weather" by closing one eye while shaking while playing the game ...
