Choplifter!

About Choplifter!

The player assumes the role of a combat helicopter pilot who must rescue hostages held in barracks within the territory controlled by the evil Bungeling Empire. The player must collect the hostages (described in the backstory as "delegates to the United Nations Conference on Peace and Child Rearing") and safely transport them to the nearby U.S. Postal Service building, all while fending off hostile tanks and other enemy combatants. According to the backstory, the helicopter's parts were smuggled into the country, disguised as a "mail-sorting machine".

The helicopter can face three directions: left, right, or forward (facing the player). It can shoot at enemies in any of these directions and need not fly in the same direction it is facing. The forward-facing mode is primarily used to shoot at tanks. The player must be cautious to protect the hostages from enemy fire and avoid hitting them with friendly fire.

To rescue the prisoners, the player must first shoot at one of the hostage buildings to release the hostages, then land to allow them to board the sortie, and finally return them to the player's starting point. Each of the four buildings holds 16 hostages, and the helicopter can only carry up to 16 passengers at a time, meaning several trips are necessary. Once the chopper is full, no more hostages will attempt to board; they will wave the helicopter off and wait for its return. Each successive trip is typically more perilous than the last, as the enemy becomes aware of the player's actions and mounts a counterattack.