Who remembers EA’s Jungle Strike, Desert Strike, and Urban Strike helicopter series? I wish we could get a modern version of those games, but alas, EA has moved on and has abandoned all of their classic games. However, Developer CETVE is bringing back the classic arcade helicopter genre with Chopper Merc.

For those of you familiar with EA’s helicopter series, you don’t need an explanation about what the games were like. But for those of you that have never heard of games like Red Zone and Jungle Strike, they were top-down, arcade helicopter shooters that took place in a large open world map. Back when the games first came out on the SNES and Sega Genesis they blew my mind with how large the play area was and how all the missions took place on the same map; you just had to learn how to navigate the area to get from one mission to the next. Chopper Merc is no different, and it looks like it will offer all of the unique features from the original games. However, it doesn’t really look like they are throwing in any new gameplay mechanics, so there isn’t really anything innovative here, it is just a literal retro throwback game for fans of the classics.

The graphics and art style is still in pixel art form, and the environment is also done in a 2.5D style to give a bit of depth with the perspective while flying over buildings and outposts. It doesn’t look like you will be able to get out of the helicopter and travel on foot in Chopper Merc, so it looks like it is strictly a helicopter arcade shooter, but if done right, that might be enough to keep the game fun. Take a look at the gameplay trailer linked below.

If you are interested in seeing Chopper Merc come to Steam and you are a fan of classic arcade helicopter shooters, you can vote for the game on Steam Greenlight.