CHOPPER COMMAND
1983
n You can’t reviewChopper Commandwithout acknowledging its debt toDefender. There are certainly similarities, but the 2600 title doesn’t have an equivalent mechanic to the aliens in the Williams coin-op’s turning hostages into hostile mutants. There are no smart bombs or hyperspace either, andChopper Commandtakes place over a flat desert plain rather than above the surface of a mountainous world. In terms of enemies, there are two different types in the 2600 shooter: jets and helicopters, compared toDefender’s five plus mutants. All of this makesChopper Commandmore of a straightforward shoot-’em-up than its arcade inspiration, but that’s not to say that it doesn’t add features of its own. Most notable is that enemy missiles split in two, with one half shooting upwards and the other rocketing downwards towards the trucks you’re safeguarding.