Chopper Commando
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Chopper_Commando_title.png
Chopper Commando is a freeware computer game written by Mark Currie in 1988 (version 2.0 was released in 1990). In the game the player controls a military chopper, piloting the chopper through a side-scrolling map to complete various missions.
The game featured deformable terrain, which the player could blast holes in with weapon explosions. The game also allowed the player to eject from the chopper to control a pilot capable of throwing grenades.
Blasting through the mountain on the far right would enable the player to pass through the apparently impenetrable mountain range, giving access to a secret helipad that gave the helicopter super-powerful bombs and missiles if he or she exited and re-entered the copter. Blasting through the mountains on the far left gave entrance to a special screen with a secret message.
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Chopper_Commando_base.png
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At the time he wrote version 2.0, Mark Currie was fifteen years old. The program was implemented in Turbo Pascal 5, ran on the DOS operating system, and featured CGA graphics.
In 1992 Gatecom released a game called Death Squadron. It appears that this company took Mark Currie's game, changed the name, and marketed it as their own.
External links
Gaming Depot info on Chopper Commando (http://www.gamingdepot.com/g/Chopper_Commando) (includes game download link)
Info on Death Squadron (http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?id=3609)