As we all may know, Sony’s PlayStation was awash with some of gaming’s finest gems and well… some of the worst titles imaginable, but there was one game that really caught my attention back in 1999 and to this day I am still surprised that nobody has heard of it. Yes it was R/C Stunt Copter. I absolutely adore this game.
Developed by Shiny entertainment and the late interplay, this radio controlled simulation was one of the most innovative and fun titles in my opinion, in PlayStation’s software arsenal. When you finally get through the company splash screens you are welcomed by a simple menu (well, what menus aren’t simple?), but I reckon it will score top marks for its country background music. So here you can choose whether to do training or free flight.
Free flight does exactly what it says on the tin. You can pick an area to fly around in and a helicopter to smash up. If you’re sensible and treat this whole exercise like a proper radio controlled enthusiast then you should opt in for the training. It’s here when the game really shines, especially if you had a dual shock controller back in the day. You have your first lesson from some guy. I’ll call him some guy because at no point does he share a name with you, but it is this guy that talks you through what your doing and how you’re going to complete the various lessons ahead. You’ll learn the basics of banking, rotation and the use of the throttle. This is what every enthusiast needs to know right?
Once you’ve passed these basic training stages the levels get that bit tougher. You’ll learn how to fire a mounted gun at target balloons or fly your copter straight into the side of a barn. Its these levels where your copters banking limit is removed and your free to fly your copter straight into the ground nose first. This is something you might want to do as the responses from your instructor are hilarious, especially if your planning on face planting a moving tractor or a pig. The developers really thought this through with various responses to the players actions.
Putting all that aside the game is as tight as drum. The helicopters can be difficult to fly but they do mimic the behaviour of a real R/C helicopter, who said that was easy? Once you’ve completed training you unlock an additional 25 challenges and a bonus one when the rest are completed. The game isn’t very long but it is challenging, especially if your trying to score top of the leader board.
This is one of my personal favourites and if your looking for a game that is fun and different or just a general collector of classic PlayStation titles then look no further.