Producer: Firebird
Memory Required: 48K
Retail Price: £2.50
Language: Machine code
Author: Tony Beckwith

Apart from the flying ducks, the rising lethal bubbles, the murderous disks and the bombs there is little difference between your role in this game and that undertaken by those brave chaps of the Air-sea-rescue service. Your mission is simply to chunter around the screen in your little helichopper and rescue the clones stuck on the other side of the swamp. In the meantime the creatures in the swamp below are attacking you with a wide variety of weaponry, and while your chopper is armed, it can only destroy objects that are immediately below it.

The rescue of clones is affected by flying to one side of the swamp and waiting while he/she/it climbs on board, and then you deposit your passenger safely on the other side. A sort of IF clone to be picked up THEN do so operation.

While flying you must brave the objects buzzing around all of which are bent on your destruction. Subsequent screens offer the same terrain but with even more nasties to counter. Some of the screens have an aerial maze for you to negotiate, touching any of its component parts (the third screen's maze is made up of what appear to be bricks with eyes) will result in the destruction of your flying machine.

Points are awarded for shooting the aerial greeblies, the number of points will, oddly enough, depend on their colour. Points are not awarded for transporting the clones but you will have to move them all before you are allowed to go to the next screen.

COMMENTS

Control keys: definable
Joystick: any
Keyboard play: good
Use of colour: simple but clear
Graphics: average
Sound: fair
Skill levels: 5
Lives: 4
Screens: 23

When I first played Helichopper I thought it was Firebird flop but now, about two hours later, I just can't put it down. The graphics are small neat and well animated, they remind me of some of Ultimate's early games. There is hardly any sound but what little there is, is adequate. I think the time limit was a little too long on some screens because they where a little too easy to complete. One feature that really annoyed me was the key define option, if you weren't quick enough then you could end up with all of the controls on one side. While Helichopper was a very playable game it wasn't as addictive as I had hoped

Helichopper' part of Firebird's Silver Range, is pretty good value at £2.99. The graphics are smooth, and the game is at first fun to play, but it become less exciting the more you play it because of its limitations and repetitive nature. 'Cheap and cheerful', better than average and for the money not a bad deal

Apart from a fatal misunderstanding when I first started playing the game, which led to me parking the helicopter on top of the electric fence (which meant that the little clones wouldn't come out to play and I couldn't do anything), I soon got to grips with Helichopper which is really quite jolly. Your helicopter whizzes round quite merrily, bouncing off the top of the sky, and the various nasties which include homing killer ducks make it quite a-challenge to play. Once I'd stopped bouncing the helicopter in frustration on the head of uncooperative clones, and worked out that you had to land by the electric fence and wait for it to disappear before collecting a clone, I was well away. Hours of fun....

Firebird
£1.99

It's whirlybird time again as you get in a spin rescuing clones - though why you should want to I don't know. Seen one, seen 'em all.

Twenty three budget screens of chopper action in all, in a very standard (I mean, just how standard can you get?) dodge and bomb sprite based arcade game. Land screen right where the Xerox Man will board; take off; dodge what look like jelly beans, the projectiles from the ship and the deadly homing ducks. Drop unlimited bombs though be careful as some of your opponents actually breed by having twenty tons of TNT dropped on them. Land on a ledge, screen left, when the ledge above it flashes white and the man disembarks, Next man; beat the clock; try to stay awake.

It may hold the attention for thirty minutes but I can't see any critical player coming back for more.

Publisher: Firebird
Price: £2.50
Memory: 48K
Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair Cursor

Another original game of 'grab the survivor and we'll bomb the rest' has been released by Firebird.

Though Helichopper scores nothing for innovation, it is saved from being totally awful by fast and clear graphics.

Zip down in your copter and spend a harrowing few moments ferrying a little pink Clone across a duck pond to deposit him on a ladder.

You can only deposit a Clone when the rung above you changes white.

Bombs and balloons move slowly upwards to annihilate you and killer 22 ducks are rife. The chopper has unlimited bombs and you can rain those on the heads of the hapless birds.

Further screens are about as exciting as a wet sponge and follow the same pattern with minor differences.

MACHINE: Spectrum
SUPPLIER: Firebird
PRICE: £2.50

It could turn out to be mission impossible. Your task is to rescue the clones from the swamp using an armed helicopter with an unlimited supply of bombs.

But beware seeking Dollopoids.

MACHINE: Spectrum
SUPPLIER: Firebird
PRICE: £1.99

Airwolf this isn't. But it still involves a super-helicopter on a mission to rescue - not scientists or maidens in distress or prisoners of war - but clones. There's a new twist for you.

Unfortunately the game is pretty uninspiring - even for a budget title. You have to fly your chopper around a cramped screen full of blobby aliens, pick up the clones and land them safely on a series of platforms on the left hand side of the screen.

There are four screens to this game - each with varying difficulty levels - more, nastier, quicker aliens. You can bomb the nasties as you dodge about if you really want to.

Frills like a joystick option, an instruction screens, comprehensive menu screen and a hi-score table don't stop this effort registering a high mark on the old boredometer. Save your two quid and put them towards a full price game!

Spectrum
Firebird
Dodge About
£1.99

Another one of those hoary old plots which refuses to expire like any respectable theme. You have to use your helicopter to rescue things. Naturally, there are many other things trying to zap your chopper and stop your mission of mercy.

Pleasant graphics, fast and wacky game play - have you ever bombed a duck? Well, now is your chance - prevents it from being intolerably dull. The whole thing is against the clock, you have five lives and 23 screens of little chaps to rescue.

Firebird, the BT company who made such an impact with their first collection of SW have added to their range with the introduction of seven new programs in their Silver, £2.50, series.

HELICHOPPER is a bomb and dodge game which again is very enjoyable and good value, though as with all these games, the quality reflects the price to a certain extent.