Software:Helicops (video game)

From HandWiki
Short description: 1997 first person shooter video game
Helicops
Developer(s)7th Level
Platform(s)Windows
ReleaseMarch 25, 1997[1][2]
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Helicops is a 1997 video game developed by Paragon Visual Systems Inc. and published by 7th Level for Windows.

Storyline

After a major earthquake, the city of Tokyo is destroyed. Afterwards, a new city is created, called NeoTokyo. It is a technologically advanced society and the frontier of humanity's science. However, a new threat arises. An international criminal syndicate, known as Nemesys, led by Maxwell Giger, takes over the city with military force. Now, only a specially-designed squad of cops piloting high-tech combat helicopters can save NeoTokyo. Each of five combat pilots have their own archenemy among the ranks of Giger's five lieutenants. Upon choosing the one of pilots, the player has to complete four missions against Nemesys leaders. Then, another mission follows, where the player has to take down a leader who is the pilot's personal enemy. One final mission follows, where the player confronts Maxwell Giger himself and thwarts his plan to launch nuclear missiles.

Gameplay

The game is a first-person shooter where the player takes control of a special combat helicopter.The game has five characters to choose from, as well as five different helicopters, each with its own speed and ammo types. The character selection alters only the order in which the missions are given. While controlling the helicopter from the first-person view, the player navigates through levels, which range from city landscapes to gigantic caves. The game consists of six missions, each with about three levels. Using up to four ammo types, the player has to complete a specific task in each level, ranging from saving civilians and destroying an enemy vehicle to locating an artifact and destroying a specific building.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGSPStarStarStarHalf star[4]
CGWStarStarStar[3]
GameSpot7.3[5]
Hyper72%[6]
PC PowerPlay79%[7]

Helicops was released to generally positive reviews, with reviewers highlighting the story, presentation and variety of missions. Computer Games Strategy Plus praised the setting of NeoTokyo and the "distinct solidity to the game world", with "refreshing variety of terrain" that "far exceeds other games of this style".[4] GameSpot complimented the story of Helicops, stating "how personal the game becomes when you begin to absorb the character profiles", due to the rivalries of the central characters, which "(brings) an unlikely emotional element" to the game.[5] March Stepnik of PC PowerPlay highlighted the design of the campaign, praising the missions as "the game's ultimate strength" as "the objectives are intelligent, well thought-out and interesting, and tie in with the overall plot nicely".[7]

More critical reviews of Helicops focused on the lack of depth of the gameplay. Robert Coffey of Computer Gaming World critiqued the game as "not too difficult...and doesn't have much depth", highlighting how "some levels can be finished in under a minute".[3] David Wildgoose of Hyper similarly critiqued the game and questioned "who this game is for", stating that although "half the time it feels like a simple shoot ’em up", the game is "too techy to be (one)" due to difficulties with the controls and navigation.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Online Gaming Review". 1997-06-06. http://www.ogr.com/news/news0397.html. 
  2. ↑ "7th Level Ships Helicops". March 25, 1997. Archived from the original on January 29, 1998. https://web.archive.org/web/19980129210001/http://www.7thlevel.com/corp/press/1997/cops.htm. Retrieved August 18, 2023. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Coffey, Robert (July 1997). "Review: Helicops". Computer Gaming World (156): 202. https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_156/page/n205/mode/2up. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "HeliCOPS". Computer Games Strategy Plus (80): 107. July 1997. https://archive.org/details/computer-games-strategy-plus-july-1997/mode/2up?q=helicops. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "HeliCOPS". May 2000. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/helicops-review/1900-2537503/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wildgoose, David (August 1997). "Helicops". Hyper (46): 68–69. https://archive.org/details/PCPowerplay-015-1997-08/page/n65/mode/2up. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Stepnik, March (August 1997). "Helicops". PC PowerPlay (15): 67. https://archive.org/details/PCPowerplay-015-1997-08/page/n65/mode/2up. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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