Review by Oliver Lan

Name:            Sim Copter
Publisher:       Maxis
Format:          CD
Type:            Strategy flight sim type game

Requires:

O/S:             Windows 95
Processor:       Pentium+
RAM:             16Mb+
Graphics:        SVGA
CD-Rom:          2x
Soundcard:       All major cards supported

Tested on:

O/S:             Windows 95
Processor:       P120
RAM:             32Mb
Graphics:        Matrox Millenium 2Mb WRAM
CD-ROM:          4x
Soundcard:       SoundBlaster AWE32

SimCopter

Yes, SimCopter. Sim...Copter. Copter? Hmm... it seems Maxis is setting its sights a little lower now in its Sim line. After the dizzy heights of SimEarth and SimLife, who'd have known what would be next? [SimAnt -Ed]. Yes, OK, very clever, but that's not what I mean. [SimFarm, then -Ed].

Sigh. Never mind, because SimCopter is, after all, actually quite original - and not as mundane as it may seem (I guess it shows just what these games do to you when you find helicopters 'mundane'). But anyway, as I was saying, this is no ordinary helicopter sim. No, because there are no guns, no rockets, and no enemy craft at all...

Er, sounds like fun.

Now then, no need to be like that. There are lots of other things to do, like ferry people across town and clear traffic jams.

Hmm.

Well, as I said, it's original!

But let's clear this one up right now. Because in actual fact SimCopter is a really refreshing concept, and it is fun. You play a (supposedly) flash helicopter pilot, who probably failed to get into the Air Force but never mind, and you get to fly around a city generally keeping order and whatnot. There are only 8 basic mission types, being Traffic (got rid of by shouting at them, somehow; it's amazing what new routes appear when you call drivers 'Stupid idiots'), Rescue (grab hold of my harness, Madam [ooer]), Medical Evacuation ('this is a matter of life and death, Dammit!'), Fire (so that's what the water cannon's for then), Crime ('Stop! In the name of the law!'), Transport ('er, hope you don't mind the blood stains, Sir'), Riot (no, this is what the water cannon's for [teehee]) and Speeder (you find these yourselves; I'm glad they don't send helicopters in for speeding over here!), but they come in all shapes and sizes, and there's more variety than there might at first seem.
What's particularly cunning is the way they spring up - although some just 'happen', the world works (semi) realistically as you'd expect in a Sim game. I suppose this is intended so that things like riots cause medical emergencies and even fires and traffic jams appear appropriately (and they do), but what this actually means is you can drop people out of your chopper - and then have to rescue them (oh, and if you can find the cheat to give you an apache you can wreak all sorts of havoc). Anyway, for whatever reason missions pop up all over the place, and gain you a certain number of points each - get enough and you 'graduate' (i.e. win the level). And of course, they also give you cash.

Yes, cash. Of course, you're not in it for the money, but, hey, you've got to earn a living haven't you? Of course, the fact that I dumped the casualties when I couldn't complete the Med-Evac is nothing to do with that.

Anyway...

Yes, well, when it comes to the game itself, it's structured in two ways. There's the career game, where you work your way up levels, earning money and upgrading your chopper as you go; this is the 'main game', sort of. There's also the Custom Game, and it's here that SimCopter is really special. Because it's not just any city you get to fly around in - it can be your very own SimCity (2000, of course). Finally, you can see your wondrous city from the inside. You can marvel at the spacious parks. You can get annoyed at the stupidly restrictive road network. You can fume at the ridiculous lack of hospitals and firemen. You can curse at whoever designed this bl**dy city with no emergency service network whatsoever rife with crime and traffic and ... and ...

Calm it!

Yeah, OK. But seriously, there was a point in there somewhere. Because the problems of your city pass through into SimCopter, and affect what sort of missions you get. You can change it if you want, but it's quite fun to see it from the other side, so to speak.

There's just one problem, the graphics. They're not particularly brilliant. In fact, they're decidedly un-brilliant. And given the game's strengths, this is a real shame. Now that you finally get to fly in, through and around a Llama Dome, it's a real pity that it's little more than a mess of pixels, and the buildings look pretty much all the same. OK, if you've been playing SimCity 2000 since it came out and know your buildings back to front, then you might get a kick out of flying into them, but otherwise it's just not attractive enough. After SC2000's glorious high-res, it's really a bit of a let down, and it doesn't even run fast to compensate. In fact, SimCopter is a bit of a Schweitzer 300 of a game, and no, that's not very fast (get SimCopter if you don't know what I'm on about).

But, of course, graphics doth not a game make, and fortunately SimCopter doesn't have to rely too heavily on them. For one thing, there's the sound, which includes a complete (simulated, of course) radio system. The included classical works include the devastatingly appropriate 'Ride of the Valkyries' which really changes the atmosphere ('dum du dum deeer dum, dum, dum de dum deeeer dum, dum de dum deeeeeeee...'

That aside, the real strength of the game is that it's actually a good sim (sorry, 'Sim'). The city works, as a SimCity should, and you can really get into your role. You do have to make life and death decisions, and I don't just mean how high you fly when you chuck people out of your copter.

You really do get the feeling that the population is counting on you, and this just heightens the experience (as well as making it even more embarrassing when you crash into their houses). You can even find yourself (almost) shouting out at the screen: "Traffic jam! Dammit - I've got people dying in here!", or "There are lives at stake here! I can't ferry you around like some sort of glorified taxi!", and "Riot in Oliville will you now?! See how you like Tear Gas you *£&%£$! £$%&^*£!..."

OK, OK, I'm calm now.

I think I'm going to lie down. All right, I'm not - I'm going to play SimCopter. It's fun, original, easy to get into, great to pick up and play for a few moments, and all together works as a concept.

There's only one problem with the realism. I could overlook the fact that it's not perfect, but for this; when you've got someone dangling on the end of your rescue harness, try as you might you can't slam them into the sides of buildings! It's really annoying. You can't drop them into fires either, or...

[THWACK!]

(all right, all right, I'm going!)

(BTW, I'm the CEO of McDonnell Douglas) obscure hint alert

Oliver Lan for Game-Over!