Choplifter!

Discuss Review + Want + Have Contribute

Description

Choplifter! is a side-scrolling action/arcade game that puts you in command of an attack chopper. Your mission: Go behind enemy lines and rescue up to 16 hostages per level. Be careful, though, because tanks and enemy aircraft will try to stop you - and they won't stop shooting while you are rescuing those hostages!

Originally released for Apple II home computers, Choplifter! was later ported to the arcades and a number of video game consoles. Many imitators and homages would follow.

Screenshots

Promo Images

There are no promo images for this game

Alternate Titles

• "Choplifter" -- SMS/NES/Vic-20 title
• "チョップリフター" -- Japanese spelling

Part of the Following Group

• Choplifter series

User Reviews

Excellent port from Sega	SEGA Master System	Katakis | カタキス (40065)
Choplifter is a very well done hostage rescue game	Apple II	Droog (522)
A super-stressful little game from the mid-80s	SEGA Master System	Chris Wright (105)
Great translation of the arcade version of Choplifter.	SEGA Master System	gametrader (233)
One of the best arcade games, but very demanding	Arcade	Andrew Fisher (643)
Your average version of Choplifter!, but with some nice touches	VIC-20	Katakis | カタキス (40065)

Critic Reviews

Your Commodore	Commodore 64	Apr, 1985		100
Tilt	SEGA Master System	Dec, 1987	18 out of 20	90
Génération 4	SEGA Master System	1987	89 out of 100	89
All Game Guide	Arcade	1998		70
1UP!	SEGA Master System	Jul 04, 2008	70 out of 100	70
Tilt	Apple II	Nov, 1982	4 out of 6	67
Sega Does	SEGA Master System	Aug 08, 2014	B-	67
All Game Guide	Atari 7800	1999		60
IMPLANTgames	SEGA Master System	Nov 05, 2009	6 out of 10	60
Tilt	VIC-20	Apr, 1984		50

Forums

There are currently no topics for this game.

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Choplifter appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Arcade version

After Choplifter! was released for the Apple II, it was not only ported to numerous other computer and console systems, but also converted by Sega into a coin-op arcade game. This makes Choplifter! one of the few 1980s games to start on a home system and later appear in arcades, instead of the other way around. According to Dan Gorlin he did not really have anything to do with this version as Sega created their own design and artwork for the game. He was nevertheless impressed with the result although would have preferred an analogue controller.

[Source: Retro Gamer Magazine, Load 51]

Cancelled PC version

Game creator Dan Gorlin began work on a PC version of Choplifter! during the 1990s, but says it was never completed due to "industry problems."

[Source: Retro Gamer Magazine, Load 51]

Development

Choplifter! began as a 3D game in early development, but was later converted into a 2D side-scroller when creator Dan Gorlin realized the limitations of contemporary hardware.

[Source: Retro Gamer Magazine, Load 51]

Influence

Game creator Dan Gorlin cites both the Iranian hostage crisis and the arcade game Defender as major influences on Choplifter!'s design.

[Source: Retro Gamer Magazine, Load 51]

Legacy

Choplifter designer Dan Gorlin on the surprising influence of his game on the industry:

A lot of professionals in the game business now tell me that Choplifter was big influence on them. It kinda freaks me out; like inventing dynamite or something.

(From the book *High Score!* by Rusel DeMaria and Johnny L. Wilson, p.125.)

Scenario

While they both spawned strings of sequels to lead series of their own, Choplifter and Lode Runner can be considered to share not just human sprite animation, but a "game world" along with Will Wright's Raid on Bungeling Bay, all three games (all published by Brøderbund) eventually featuring the militaristic denizens of the Bungeling Empire as the primary antagonists.

Information also contributed by Garcia and Pseudo_Intellectual