Chopper Command

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title: "Chopper Command" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1982-video-games", "activision-games", "atari-2600-games", "atari-2600-only-games", "helicopter-video-games", "horizontally-scrolling-shooters", "video-games-developed-in-the-united-states", "single-player-video-games"] description: "1982 video game" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopper_Command" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1982 video game ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox video game"]

Field	Value
title	Chopper Command
image	Chopper Command cover.jpg
developer	Activision
publisher	Activision
designer	Bob Whitehead
released	June 1982
genre	Scrolling shooter
modes	Single-player
platforms	Atari 2600
::

|title = Chopper Command |image = Chopper Command cover.jpg |developer = Activision |publisher = Activision |designer = Bob Whitehead |engine = |released = June 1982 |genre = Scrolling shooter |modes = Single-player |platforms = Atari 2600 Chopper Command is a horizontally scrolling shooter video game released by Activision for the Atari 2600 in June 1982. It was written by Bob Whitehead. The player flies a helicopter left and right over a scrolling, wraparound landscape, shooting down enemy airplanes to protect a convoy of trucks below.

Gameplay

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Chopper_command.png" caption="The player's helicopter (left) dealing with two enemy helicopters and a jet"] ::

In Chopper Command, the player controls a military helicopter in a desert scenario protecting a convoy of trucks. The goal is to destroy all enemy fighter jets and helicopters that attack the player's helicopter and the friendly trucks traveling below, ending the current wave. The game ends when the player loses all of his or her lives or reaches 999,999 points. A radar, called a Long Range Scanner in the instruction manual, shows all enemies, including those not visible on the main screen, similar to Defender .

The player's helicopter is destroyed if it collides with an enemy aircraft or a truck (which destroys the truck as well) or is shot by an enemy. Each enemy bullet splits in two, one going up and one going down. Using the "A" difficulty level results in a slower player shot.

Each enemy helicopter is 100 points and each enemy jet is 200 points. After each wave, bonus points are awarded for remaining trucks.

A player who achieved 10,000 points could send in a photo of the TV screen and receive a "Chopper Commandos" patch.

Reception

Richard A. Edwards reviewed Chopper Command in The Space Gamer No. 56. Edwards commented that "It is well-done, but if you wish to avoid another arcade shooting match, even if it has nice sound and graphics, then pass it up."

Computer and Video Games magazine reviewed the game in 1989, giving it an 83% score and noting it was very similar to Defender. Brett Weiss referred to it as "Defender in the desert".

Chopper Command won "Best Action Video Game" at the 4th annual Arkie Awards.

Legacy

Chopper Command is included in the Activision Anthology.

References

References

1. "Atari VCS game release dates".
2. (1982). "Chopper Command Manual". Activision.
3. "Activision Patch Gallery".
4. Edwards, Richard A.. (October 1982). "Capsule Reviews". [[Steve Jackson Games]].
5. (16 October 1989). "Complete Games Guide". [[Computer and Video Games]].
6. (2011-12-20). "Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984: A Complete Reference Guide". McFarland.
7. (February 1983). "Arcade Alley: The Fourth Annual Arcade Awards". Reese Communications.
8. (14 December 2018). "All Together then: Activision Anthology".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::