Chopper Attack
Reviewed by Diwakar Choubey
Chopper Attack, known in Japan as Wild Choppers, is a fun shooter and effectively
fills the void in Nintendo 64's Chopper gap. Moreover, this is the only game of the
Helicopter/Shooter genre until EA's Nuclear Strike, which currently has been given
a "late '99 status." So, if you don't want to wait that long (which will be a majority
of people), Chopper Attack is a good game. Developed by Seta, and sold by Midway,
the game offers 8 levels of different types of shooting fun - from misty jungles to
underground chemical weapons installations, Chopper Attack is bound to keep you
occupied for a while. The graphics are good, to say the least and the sound is great
if not excellent. The only problem that I had with the game was its speed. At times,
specially if you pick the slower moving helicopters the game seems very slow. It is
frustrating when your fuel supply is about to run out and you are stuck flying at 20
MPH. Nevertheless, Chopper Attack is really fun after you get the hang of the
controls - the default settings call for the player to use the C buttons for moving
forward, backward, tilt right, and tilt left while the control stick mandates the
helicopter's directions. The Z button is used to fire the un-repletable supply of
machine gun bullets and the L button is used to fire the bombs and missiles. There
are a total of 8 missions, each on a normal and expert level. As you complete each
mission you will be awarded money for different things such as the percentage of
enemies you distroyed and the number of POWs you rescued. Before each mission,
you will see a terrain map, outlining what types of targets you must destroy;
therefore, you must pick your weapons accordingly.
Graphics 8.3 out of 10
Like I stated before, the graphics are very good. But, the slow framrate causes
a hazy appearance at times. Certain levels are very well done while others are
mediocre. For instance, you will find that Missions 1 and 2 are decent, Mission 3
is good, Mission 4 is amazing and Mission 5 is average. Still, even the average
graphics are appealing to the eye. As you strive to complete each mission, your
appreciation of the graphics will grow. The only reason I did not give this game
a 8.5 or 9 is because I took into account the possibilities of the Nintendo 64
system, and realized that the graphics could have been sharper.
Music and Sound 8.5 out of 10
Like the graphics, the sound is great at times and okay at others. Fortunately, they
are great more times than they are okay. You will here sounds such as "I've got a
birthday present for you" and "I'm hit!!" The varied usage of these phrases does not
make them redundant and annoying. Music in certain missions are just great. For
instance, in the desert mission- the music is very appealing to the ear. Overall,
the machine gun effects are great, the bombs whistle as the fall to the ground and
the missiles zoom as they leave your aircraft. This is one of the better games on
the system - sound wise.
Game Challenge 9 out of 10
The game is pretty difficult. I would say that the learning curve is about an hour,
depending on how good a video game player you are. The first 3 missions on the
normal level are easy - however, the game progressively becomes more and more
difficult. I haven't yet attempted the expert level, so I'll refrain from commenting
on it. But, the normal level is pretty difficult.
Game Play-Fun 10 out of 10
I for one, love aircraft shooters. But, even if you don't this ought to be a fun game for
you. You can pick different types of helicopters and pretend different scenarios. The
game is really fun after you get a hang of the controls.
Rumble Pak 10 out of 10
The rumble pak adds to the fun by letting you feel when you are being drilled my
machine guns or are locked in by an enemy homing missile.
Frustration
The frustration lies only in the fact that the game at times is slow. Had this
problem not been in the game, it would have been outstanding.
Replayability 8 out of 10
This is another good thing about the game. I player is tempted to go back to a previous
mission and try to destroy a larger percentage of the enemies or even try the entire
game with another type of helicopters, being that you are given 11 to chose from.