Heli Attack 3

Heli Attack 3
Developer(s)	squarecircleco.
Publisher(s)	squarecircleco.
Designer(s)	iopred, daydream
Engine	Adobe Flash
Platform(s)	OS independent (web based Flash applet) PC (special edition)
Release date(s)	June 17, 2005
Genre(s)	Run-and-gun shooter
Mode(s)	Single player
Distribution	Web interface PC CD-ROM (special edition)

Heli Attack 3 is a run-and-gun shooter game created by the company squarecircleco.^[1] and released on June 17, 2005. It is the third in the Heli Attack series of games in which the player takes on the role of a paratrooper who must travel through different locations or zones and use a wide array of different weapons to destroy a series of helicopters, or helis, whilst these enemies simultaneously attempt to harm and, ultimately, kill the paratrooper.^[2]

There are sixteen different levels in Heli Attack 3;^[3] in earlier levels the helis are comparatively weak with inaccurate and low powered guns.^[4] As they progress through the game, the player must take on helis which are more difficult to destroy, and with weaponry that can cause considerable damage to their character's health. There are also a number of purely ground based enemies in the game; in early levels these have no weapons, but in later levels, they have weapons and a highly accurate aim and, if ignored, they pose a big threat to the health of the paratrooper.

Weapons

Heli Attack 3 has been applauded for featuring a wide range of thirty-two different weapons,^[5] nineteen more than its predecessor. At the start of the game, in the training area, you start with all weapons that do not have to be earned throughout the game to be allowed to get to know them. After which you start the game with 3 weapons. After completing each level you will gain access to a new weapon. All levels (even the training level) except the final level have a weapon that you can get.

Enemies

There are eight different forms of enemy present in Heli Attack 3. Four of these are the helis which you must destroy in order to progress through the game, and the other four are ground based enemies, two of which will actively attack you and two of which will not. With the exception of holograms, destroying any of these enemies will earn you points and extended use of the time powers.

Ground based enemies

Holograms are immobile red and yellow holographic projections, designed purely for target practice in the Training Zone. Rollers are present in earlier levels, and are small wheeled robots with limited mobility and no weapons. Walkers are larger and more mobile than Rollers and similar in appearance to the Drone. Its 'head' section splits apart to reveal a gun that can only fire in the direction that the robot is pointing. Finally, Sniper Robots are equipped with guns and can aim with high accuracy in any direction, though it is immobile. They are very low to the ground and are the smallest and most deadly of the ground enemies.

Helis

Drones, the weakest of all Helis, are small unmanned machines with ineffective guns that can only fly at a set altitude. They have 50 health. The Flying Bug better resembles a standard helicopter, and is fitted with a light machine gun that can do moderate levels of damage but that has a bad aim. It has 300 health. The second most powerful of the enemies is the Small Thread, an angular helicopter with better aim and more armor than the Flying Bug. It is equipped with both a heavy machine gun and bombs, which cause a lot of damage on contact with the player. It has 450 health. The strongest of the enemies, is the Big Gun; reminiscent of the Apache helicopter. It has a highly accurate, rapid-fire chain gun that can rotate to fire large quantities of bullets in all directions. It is also equipped with forward-firing rockets that inflict a lot of damage if you are hit. It has 600 health.

Zones

Excluding the training zone, Heli Attack 3 has sixteen levels. These are organized into four groups of four, and one of these groups is set in each of the different Zones; for example, the levels in group one are Zone 1-1 through to Zone 1-4, and those in group two are Zone 2-1 to Zone 2-4, and so on.

To complete Zones 1-1 through to 4-3 you must destroy a set number of helis before you are killed. However, the final level Zone X only ends when you are killed: your task is to destroy as many enemies, particularly Big Guns, as you can before this happens to amass a high score. Since a player's arsenal may, be low at this stage since all non-infinite ammunition weapons are lost when you die, a random weapon appears on the ground to pick up at the start of the level.

Training zone

The training zone is set in a secret laboratory located in Canada, and is the starting point of Heli Attack 3 where the player can learn how to play the game.^[6] Onscreen tips guide the player through the different skills they will need to master, and they are provided with infinite amounts of ammunition. Time powers can be used for any length of time. The training zone is similar to the last levels, but is supposedly located in a different place.

Later zones

Levels 1-1 through to 1-4 are set in an alpine area of the Russian arctic, and these early levels are comparatively easy, allowing the player to warm up their skills and build up their arsenal against small waves of weak opponents. The second set of four levels are set in the Amazon jungle, a tropical location which hosts slightly harder levels against stronger and more dangerous opposition, where the player must take out many more helis than before to proceed.

Levels 3-1 through to 3-4 take place in canyons located in Africa. The helis in these levels are more powerful than in the Amazon jungle, and there are considerably more of them to be destroyed than there were in the previous zone. There are also ground based enemies with guns as an extra threat in this zone. The final zone in Heli Attack 3 is set in the underground lab, a secret laboratory which, whilst identical in appearance to the training zone, is supposedly located in Australia. The four levels here are the hardest of all, with large numbers of strong helis that must be destroyed in order for the player to proceed, as well as ground based enemies that have a highly accurate aim.

Time powers

Time powers or time distort are a unique feature in Heli Attack 3 which allow the player to control the speed of time within the game universe. There is a specific gauge present in it so is limited. This, if executed carefully and cleverly, gives the player a big advantage over their opponents since they are able to move faster than the enemy and their projectiles. It takes a long period and takes a long time to recharge after use; however, this process can be accelerated by destroying any kind of enemy. There are three different time powers in Heli Attack 3, TimeDistort, which slows down both the player and enemies, TimeRift, which slows down enemies but not the player, and TimeBreak, which completely stops enemies, but has no effect on the player. In addition, there is TimeSink, a power-up which falls from helis and allows the player to use any combination of the time powers for its duration.

The player can also perform a HyperJump, which allows him to jump higher than normal. The power bar for HyperJump recharges very quickly. If a player destroys a heli or ground unit from above while performing a HyperJump, the player gains 25 rounds for the Machine Gun.

Critical response

Like its predecessor, Heli Attack 3 received a very positive response from gamers. It was particularly commended for building on the strengths of Heli Attack 2 and integrating more weapons into the game.^[5] Reviews also noted that the movements of the paratrooper had evolved with him able to jump significantly higher as well as climb and crawl.^[4] Such was its popularity that Heli Attack 3 was voted Miniclip Game of the Year 2005 - despite which, one of the main complaints about the game was their official host, Miniclip. Many gamers found that the design of the website caused significant problems if they clicked ads, being able to move or respond, or, worse still, if the player clicked on the large and prominently placed advertisements they would be taken away from the game and lose their score and progress.^[4][7]

Heli Attack series

The Heli Attack series is a series of run-and-gun shooter games created by the company squarecircleco. in which the player takes on the role of a soldier (later a paratrooper) who must use a number of weapons to destroy helicopters, or helis, whilst these enemies simultaneously attempt to kill the player. In the first two games of the series there was only one level and a never-ending wave of helis, with the aim being to destroy as many as possible before the player is killed; in Heli Attack 3, however, there are sixteen different levels and a set number of helis must be destroyed in each to continue through the game.

The original foot game was released by squarecircleco. The game was considered incomplete, partly because it lacked any soundtrack or sound effects.^[8] Though the graphical appearance was comparatively primitive by the standards of their later games, foot introduced the theme of a soldier whose aim is to destroy helicopters, a range of increasingly powerful weapons and power-ups that fall from the sky after helis are destroyed, and the yellow bullets of the soldier and the red bullets of the enemy helis. There was only one type of heli present in the entire game and also only one level that ended when the player was killed.

In 2003, squarecircleco. released the follow-up to Heli Attack, Heli Attack 2. Originally intended as an improved version of the first game, Heli Attack 2 proved to be a major evolution in the series.^[9] It featured a significantly improved graphical interface, a soundtrack and sound effects, the ability to distort time and use a hyper jump, and a range of thirteen different weapons - eight more than the first game. Heli Attack 2 also introduced some of the more powerful weapons seen in Heli Attack 3, such as the Grapple Cannon and A-Bomb Launcher, as well as five different power-ups - jet pack, time distort, invulnerability, TriDamage, and predator mode. However, Heli Attack 2 still only featured one heli and one level with a continuous wave of enemies. In spite of this, the fast-paced and addictive gameplay proved popular and the game won the awards for Miniclip Game of the Year 2003^[10] and Flashkit.com Most Addictive Game of the Year 2003.

References

External links

• squarecircleco. official site
• Heli Attack 3 on Miniclip