Heli Rescue (iPhone) Review

Costas Stephanides’s Review

A tactical version of Flight Control

Heli Rescue is the latest in a long line of Flight Control inspired games. The difference between Heli Rescue and a number of the competitive bedroom developers is that Distinctive Developments is behind this title. They've been making mobile games for years and have the experience for taking the genre to the next level.

In the game you have a number of rescue helicopters under your control and an infinite number of stranded civilians that magically appear. The aim is simple, draw a path for your helicopter to pick up a rescuee and then draw another line to pick up the next one or fly the helicopter back to the helipad to drop off and refuel. Finding and rescuing the guys isn't the problem, it's keeping the copters on the ground long enough to refuel. Heli Rescue is more of a tactical time management game than a standard line drawing game. There is always one less helipad than helicopters and they can carry different amounts of passengers. The smaller copters are fast and seem to be more fuel efficient. The larger copters that can hold up to four people are extremely slow but very useful. To add another variable into the mix, civilians can be stranded singly or in threes and fours. Deciding which copter to take to which passenger is all down to you and how you want to manage between speed and capacity. As this is a rescue game, the people will eventually die if you leave them too long. A handy red, amber & green system helps identify those most in need.

Heli Rescue successfully offers a different approach to the genre while still keeping the core line drawing elements in place. The game is split into three lands with varying difficulty. The difficulty curve is nicely laid out and you should be able to instantly get to grips with it and have a 5-10 minute sessions from the outset. Bragging rights can be maintained thanks to the high score system.