Crazy Choppers

It's apparently very easy to overlook the importance of a game's title. It's all about setting a scene and building expectations, and if either of those facets promised by the title turn out to be false, it's the first step toward disillusionment. Crazy Choppers is a prime example.

Yes, there are choppers, but crazy isn't a word that could accurately be employed here. Indeed, Mundane Choppers would give you a far better idea about what to expect.

You're put in the pilot's seat of a gunship, commissioned to take out the enemy vehicles, pick up loot and rescue POWs. Control of the helicopter is simple given that there's no need to concern yourself with altitude. The chopper remains at the same height throughout play, leaving the accelerometer to dictate movement around the flat terrain.

Carefully positioning the chopper over certain aspects of the environment such as crates, POWs or landing pads automatically activates the winch or lands the chopper (depending on requirements). It would be nice to have a third dimension to the helicopter's range of movement, but otherwise Crazy Chopper's controls are sweet and simple.

A radar overlay highlights the enemy vehicles, goodies and prisoners within range, along with landing pads so you can stop at intervals to rearm, refuel and repair any damage. You don't get far without making regular stops. Pinpointing each of the little dots on the radar before either blowing them up or collecting them is the way to complete each level.

Combat takes a turn for the worse when up against more aggressive enemies. There isn't a real way to perform evasive manoeuvres while shooting, as the auto-aim system takes the guns off the target as you attempt to circle, so all you can do is hover there exchanging gunfire and hoping you last longest.

Collecting crates and attacking transports builds up a bit of cash, which can be traded in whenever you land for upgrades and extra missiles. It's not a full tech tree, but improving your fuel capacity and defences gives you a good reason to hunt the landscape looking for goodies before taking out the last enemy.

Crazy Choppers actually shows a lot of promise, but there's not even the slightest intrigue to the action. A few different objectives, such as taking out a runway or munitions factory, supporting a convoy, running a reconnaissance mission or any number of militaristic tasks to add purpose to the gunplay would improve the game immensely.

As it is, this helicopter shoot-'em-up does its duty reasonably well, though without some serious updates and far deeper gameplay it offers little in the way of longevity.