Game review: Heli Rescue - iPhone / iPod Touch

The latest one, Heli Rescue, will feel instantly familiar to anyone who has played these games.

Luckily there are enough original features and enough things to like about Heli Rescue to distinguish it from the crowd.

For the Heli Rescue recipe Distinctive Developments has used many of the same ingredients found in other successful traffic management games.

For instance, the concept of controlling fast-moving aircraft with your finger will be immediately recognisable to anyone who has played Flight Control.

And, like Taxi Jam, Heli Rescue is not all one-way traffic. You have to collect passengers as well as deliver them safely.

What’s unique about Heli Rescue is that it provides a little bit more strategy than the other games the footsteps of which it is following.

In Heli Rescue you play the part of a search and rescue commander.

The game comes with three maps featuring a mix of land and water terrain, though I’ve not yet figured out what if any difference (other than appearance) the different terrains make.

Only one map is available to play at the beginning, the other two can be unlocked later (I quickly unlocked the other two maps, but it wasn’t explained how I did it).

Once you begin playing people appear on the map needing rescuing. Some are alone while others are in groups of up to four. Another thing not explained is why so many people need help in such a small area – you just have to go with the flow here!

It’s when people in distress start appearing that the first strategic aspect of the game comes into play. Each stranded person lets out a pitiful yelp to let you know they need rescuing. They will have a green, yellow or red ring around them to show how urgently they need help, and you must prioritise who gets rescued first.

The urgency with which each person needs help increases the longer you leave them.

For rescuing people you have up to four helicopters on each map at your disposal. There are three types of helicopter, each with different speed and occupancy capabilities.

Fuel also plays a part. Each helicopter can only carry so much of it. Even though a helicopter may have enough space to rescue another person, it may not have enough fuel left to do it without a stopover first.

There is real challenge to choosing the right copter for each job, based on speed, capacity and distance it will need to travel from and back to a helipad.

The locations are varied in how they look and they play. For instance, on the first map the helipads are nicely spread out which makes route planning pretty easy, while on the second map the two helipads you get are both on one side, requiring different tactics.

These additional time management elements are a refreshing change from the usual format of this type of game.

The process of how each person gets rescued is standard line-draw mechanics.

When you hear a cry for help you choose which helicopter will be sent. You then use your finger on the touch screen to draw a flight path from the helipad to the person. You can then either grab another person if your helicopter has room or go straight back to one of the helipads once everyone is on board, again simply drawing a line to direct each chopper.

Drawing the lines is pretty easy – there is a nice chime to let you know you have connected with a stranded person or a helipad, so it’s not fiddly at all.

If you leave anyone waiting too long, if two helicopters collide or if you run out of fuel and crash then it’s game over.

Graphically the game is excellent. The maps look lovely with nice touches such as spinning helicopter rotors and water lapping against the shore. Sometimes it can be tricky spotting where people are on the background, but I guess this is part of the challenge.

Sounds are nice too, including the whirring of the helicopter engines and the screams from your stranded people.

Improvements to Heli Rescue? Well, the developer has already said more maps and helicopters will be added. The game already has many good features such as having multiple game accounts on one device, autosave, playing your own music during the game and emailing challenges to friends.

It’s therefore hard to think of much to criticise, but one gripe would be the game needs better instructions. It’s pretty straightforward to pick up and play, but there could be better explanation of some aspects of playing. For instance, I haven’t yet figured out how to spot whether a stranded person is on their own or in a group. Occasionally one of my helicopters seems not to want to stop at a particular base or pick up a certain person even though I’m sure I’ve drawn a good line - I'm not sure if this is a glitch or me doing something wrong.

Overall, Heli Rescue is a very worthy addition to the line-draw genre. It scores highly on addictiveness, replay value and design, while the extra time management elements add extra depth.

If you’ve enjoyed Flight Control, Harbour Master or any others of this type of game then you’ll definitely enjoy being a hero in Heli Rescue.

Verdict: 8 out of 10 - There is a massive number of line-draw games out there, but this one does enough to offer a unique experience

Watch a Heli Rescue gameplay video: