Ace Chopper Rescue Review

By , on September 14, 2010

Helicopter Simulator - Chopper Games for Free!
Download on the AppStore
2 out of 5

PROS

  • Familiar Choplifter-style gameplay.
  • Interesting artistic style.

CONS

  • Silly gameplay design choices like not being able to land properly.
  • Poor difficulty balancing.

VERDICT

Ace Chopper Rescue feels like an incomplete title, with only a few short levels and gameplay with odd features that need more balancing and an initial price point that's almost insulting for what you get.


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If you're going to make a Choplifter-style game it's going to take more than a decent artistic direction and sadly Ace Chopper Rescue by MystoneGame didn't get much further than that.

In order to go about your business of rescuing people from a ravaged war zone you'll need to get used to the game's one and only control scheme, tilting to maneuver your helicopter up, down and around the level, while buttons provide you with a retractable ladder and a gun. The ladder is used to pick up hostages, though a limit is never specified on the amount you can carry; and strangely enough regardless of how safely you decide to land your vehicle your helicopter will explode on hitting the ground. So, ladders only it is. Shooting enemy AI is also a struggle thank to needing to tilt to shoot down and when enemies take multiple shots to kill and you only take one shot, it's not hard to guess the end result of these encounters.

Visually the game is actually pretty decent, with a hand-drawn digitally painted look that's suitably war-torn and dilapidated, but some buildings in the foreground have a nasty habit of blending in with the background, making it hard to react and avoid them before watching your helicopter die once again.

Considering that other titles have pulled off the Choplifter gameplay for less it's not hard to say that you should avoid a half-finished title like Ace Chopper Rescue.

Screenshots

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