Overview
Chopper is a (surprise!) helicopter action game that has players flying around various levels, blowing up bad guys, and rescuing non-military personnel. The game uses an accelerometer-based control scheme which I was skeptical about but ended up loving. Two types of weapons give you options when dealing with enemies, and the mission setups are varied enough to keep you interested for the game’s 20-level span.
Features
While Chopper takes place in two dimensions, the buildings are displayed in 3D. The graphics aren't groundbreaking, but they suit the game well.
I’ve experienced both ends of the tilt control quality spectrum, and I’m pleased to report that Chopper’s controls land squarely on the “awesome” end. I never felt out of control - every time I died was my fault, just like every time I did completely awesome was because I'm a completely awesome chopper pilot.
The game features 10 save slots that you can save to and load from at whim. I’d give this feature two thumbs up if my thumbs weren’t controlling the chopper’s weapons.
Breakdown
The Good:
I really dug Chopper’s controls. There was a slight learning curve to the game - I had to teach myself to tilt gently instead of rocking the iPhone from side to side. I was impressed that the controls were sensitive enough to support the slight movements I was making.
Another plus was the option to adjust the zero-degree tilt position, which meant I could hold the phone naturally instead of having to adapt myself to the game. I’m sure tilting a phone is nothing like flying a helicopter, but the steering motions I made sort of did make me feel like a pilot in a geeky, vicarious sort of way.
I felt that the game struck a great balance between tricky flying, picking up survivors, and action-based gameplay. It’s all seamless, too - you must maneuver around skyscrapers to line up shots at enemies (without hitting civilians). Once the area’s clear, you drop in to pick up your passengers, and continue on to the next hot spot. The game’s pacing was good - it never got boring or repetitive for me.
At Normal difficulty, I died plenty. There are three settings above that, so there’s plenty of challenge to be had, which is always nice to see in a game. I feel like the best parts of Chopper were where I had to fly deftly down a narrow passage to pick up a civilian. I struggled with those moments at first, but after I learned to be patient and slowly guide the chopper down, it got easier.
I also appreciated the brief introductions before each level. They described whatever conflict the player was going into. While this didn’t show through in the level at all - an intro telling me to save the civilians before they freeze didn’t result in a timer when in-game - it provided context for the missions, which I thought was a smart and important choice by the developer.
The Bad:
Though I enjoyed Chopper plenty, there was a small pile of annoyances that added up to leave me feeling like this game has room for improvement. For one thing, I encountered a few bugs while playing through the game once. These included a crash and some of the score screen text persisting after leaving that screen. (Should have gotten a screen cap. Forgot to get a screen cap.)
I wasn’t subjecting the app to any particular bug-finding strain, so I feel like a little extra time spent seeking those bugs - beyond just making sure the levels worked - could have resulted in a more polished end-user experience.
Another complaint I had was there was no introduction or instructions when starting up the game. I had to experiment to figure out how to play. With gameplay as simple as Chopper’s, dropping in an instructions screen would have been a small effort for no small effect. Also, the options are only accessible from in game. The main screen only has three options, as seen below.
While playing, I wondered if the buttons for the weapons would have worked better in the lower left and right corners. It felt a little awkward to hold my thumbs up at the top of the phone, and in order to get comfortable I ended up having my palm covering the speakers. I think including an option to change button placement, since there are only two of them, would give players some flexibility, which I would have appreciated.
Finally, another small aspect of the gameplay I questioned was the infinite ammo. I found it possible when faced with a bunch of tanks to float as high as possible and just hold down the bomb button until everything was dead. Including a limited supply of ammo might add a strategic aspect to the game that I, for one, would enjoy.
Verdict
I do have a list of things that I thought could have been improved with Chopper. That said, all those things are small and insignificant when compared to the fun I had with what was included. Since Chopper is on sale right now for 99 cents, I definitely recommend checking it out.
It appears that the game normally costs 5 dollars, which seems a little steep for the amount of content. I think I'd still recommend it at that price point - with the added condition that you like what you hear in this review. Bottom line, Chopper was a blast and I bet you’ll think so too.
