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Take on Helicopters

Exhilarating flying over fine scenery, but the story needed to be stronger and longer. Buy ToH for the thrills. Not the dialogue.
57%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
music, optimization
53% User Score Based on 842 reviews
Critic Score 77%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

PCPCWindowsWindowsLinuxLinux

About

"Take On Helicopters" is a civil helicopter simulation game that immerses players in a rich, authentic flight model and challenging gameplay. As the son of a struggling helicopter business owner, you must take on contracts and competitors to save the company. The game features two large environments based on real-world North American and South American locations, and includes a powerful mission editor for creating custom flights.

Take on Helicopters screenshot
Take on Helicopters screenshot
Take on Helicopters screenshot
Take on Helicopters screenshot
Take on Helicopters screenshot
Take on Helicopters screenshot
Take on Helicopters screenshot
Take on Helicopters screenshot
Take on Helicopters screenshot
Take on Helicopters screenshot
Take on Helicopters screenshot
+33

53%
Audience ScoreBased on 843 reviews
story60 positive mentions
optimization18 negative mentions

  • The game offers a unique helicopter flying experience with a focus on realism, making it enjoyable for aviation enthusiasts.
  • The Seattle environment is well-detailed and provides a beautiful backdrop for flying missions.
  • The career mode adds depth to the gameplay, allowing players to engage in various missions and challenges.
  • The controls are overly complicated and can be frustrating, especially for players unfamiliar with flight simulators.
  • The game suffers from poor optimization, resulting in low frame rates and graphical issues even on high-end systems.
  • Many players have reported bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay, including mission failures without clear reasons.
  • story
    263 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in "Take On Helicopters" is generally viewed as underwhelming, with many players finding it short and lacking depth, despite some interesting missions and a backdrop involving a struggling aviation business. While the game offers a mix of civilian and military missions, the execution often feels tedious and poorly scripted, leading to frustration during gameplay. Overall, the narrative has potential but suffers from clunky controls and a lack of engaging storytelling elements, leaving players wanting more.

    • “The career mode will teach you to fly a helicopter as you take on missions in the Seattle area and attempt to save your father's failing aviation business.”
    • “Based on a true story, this game was developed to bring insight to the hardship that fell upon one helicopter pilot from 2004.”
    • “With an added storyline to follow to spice things up, Take On Helicopters is a refreshing addition to a stagnant flight sim market and one that I highly recommend!”
    • “The dialogue in the story is so cringeworthy, the voice acting is horrible and I can't understand how anyone decided it was good enough.”
    • “Great game idea, but poor story and graphics.”
    • “The story has no interest.”
  • graphics
    136 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game have received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players describing them as outdated and subpar, even for a title released in 2011. Despite some acknowledging that the visuals were acceptable at the time, the general consensus is that they are now poorly optimized, blurry, and lacking detail, leading to a frustrating experience, especially for those expecting modern graphical fidelity. While a few users found the graphics decent or enjoyable in certain contexts, the majority agree that significant improvements are needed to meet current standards.

    • “Beautiful graphics and terrain, essential for good low down helo ops, with good sound, back-story and atmosphere make this sim very immersive.”
    • “The graphics are sharp and smooth which makes the gameplay smooth and fun to play; it's a very relaxing game to play, and the challenges are also a great touch.”
    • “Very good, excellent graphics and flight model.”
    • “The graphics look terrible even on high settings, and the framerate drops constantly.”
    • “Absolutely horrible looking graphics, even in 2011 this was atrocious.”
    • “The graphics might have been just acceptable in 2012, but the badly-proportioned flight instructor, and the blurry look of everything, was off-putting.”
  • music
    36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising the inclusion of nostalgic tracks from titles like Operation Flashpoint and the overall enjoyable soundtrack, particularly in the Noisecontrollers DLC. However, several users report significant issues, including bugs that cause songs to abruptly stop, music being out of sync, and audio levels that overshadow other game sounds. Overall, while the music enhances the experience for some, technical flaws detract from its potential enjoyment.

    • “Nice campaign, challenging levels, great music.”
    • “Also, the in-game music is very familiar to those who have played many of Bohemia Interactive's titles, for example, Operation Flashpoint or what we call today, Arma Cold War Assault.”
    • “Sit back, take off, fly civilians around, take pictures of whales and listen to your favorite songs while enjoying a glass of whisky - that is what this game is about - and it does just that, pretty darn good.”
    • “The worst one is the songs that sometimes suddenly stop.”
    • “Music is out of sync with the game, is louder than intended and bleeds out other sounds.”
    • “Oh and the music is appalling.”
  • gameplay
    34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the detailed flight mechanics and realistic controls, particularly for helicopter enthusiasts. However, many criticize the game for its lack of engaging content, frustrating controls, and reliance on outdated mechanics from previous titles, leading to a generally boring experience for casual gamers. Overall, while it offers depth for dedicated fans, it may not satisfy those seeking more action-oriented gameplay.

    • “Really fun game with nice graphics and gameplay.”
    • “The flight mechanics are reasonably good.”
    • “I honestly believe that Take on Helicopters is a great game for helicopter enthusiasts, because of its unique focus on handling and a fantastic level of mechanical detail.”
    • “The flying mechanics are nothing like any helicopter flight simulator - and not in a good way.”
    • “After blindly managing to choose in the menu options, I was greeted with some incredibly boring gameplay.”
    • “For the average game player, this would almost certainly lead to frustration... not a good recipe for entertainment.”
  • optimization
    32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is widely criticized, with many users reporting severe performance issues, including low frame rates (often below 30fps) even on high-end PCs. The underlying engine is described as poorly optimized, leading to lag and choppy gameplay, and the graphics quality is considered subpar, resembling outdated visuals. Overall, players recommend avoiding the game unless they have above-average hardware and are willing to tolerate significant performance drawbacks.

    • “Performance was choppy, but that could be overcome with newer hardware.”
    • “The Arma 2 game engine just was never that well optimized for this kind of simulation, and the overall graphics close to the ground can really get ugly. I wish the engine had been optimized because the modeling and collision detection is good.”
    • “It's straight but it's from the Bohemia Interactive team, so I hate it... super unoptimized. Fun if you know what you're doing; pretty much it's a helicopter simulation.”
    • “This game is extremely badly optimized, and runs very poorly with 30fps or less on a high-end gaming PC (Ryzen 1600 w/ 3.8GHz overclock, 16GB RAM, GTX 1070 Ti, SATA SSD).”
    • “The engine is so poorly optimized, it just lags constantly.”
    • “Simply dreadful, so poorly optimized it's unbelievable. GTX 770 2GB, i5 3570K, 8GB of RAM.”
  • stability
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is frequently criticized, with users reporting significant glitches and jerky helicopter controls. While some acknowledge that glitches are common in simulators, many feel that this game is particularly buggy and suggest alternatives like Arma 2 or 3 for a smoother experience. Overall, the game's stability issues detract from its overall quality.

    • “Overall this is a fair game, but the helicopters tend to be a little jerky at times, and there are occasional glitches.”
    • “This game is only 2/3 euros currently, and I'd say it should be free for anyone that wishes to play a buggy helicopter simulator. Most of the company's games are overambitious, and they cannot finish them all.”
    • “If you want to simulate flying helicopters, play Arma 2 or 3 since it's nearly the same engine but less buggy.”
  • grinding
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be overly tedious and boring, often comparing it to a slow, unengaging experience. While some appreciate the realism, the clunky controls and repetitive missions contribute to a sense of frustration, making the gameplay feel more like a chore than enjoyable. Overall, the grinding elements detract from the fun and excitement of the game.

    • “It's a bit of fun, but after a while it does get a bit boring and tedious.”
    • “I've read that it's fairly realistic, which is cool, but it gets to the point where trying to fly gets too tedious to be fun.”
    • “Typical Bohemia game: clunky controls, terrible AI, terrible voice acting, boring and tedious missions.”
  • emotional
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express a strong emotional connection to the thrill of flying helicopters, particularly during intense moments like being shot down. However, this emotional engagement is often undermined by a lackluster story and outdated graphics, leading to a sense of disappointment. Overall, while the gameplay can evoke excitement, the surrounding elements detract from the overall emotional experience.

    • “The story is too short and boring, which detracts from the overall experience.”
    • “The controls are bad, making it difficult to engage with the game emotionally.”
    • “The combination of a dull narrative and outdated graphics significantly undermines the emotional impact.”
  • atmosphere
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its beautiful graphics and terrain, which enhance immersion, particularly during low-altitude helicopter operations. Coupled with effective sound design and a compelling backstory, players find the overall experience to be captivating and engaging.

    • “Beautiful graphics and terrain, essential for good low down helo ops, with good sound, backstory, and atmosphere make this sim very immersive.”
    • “The atmosphere of the game is great, and it just feels amazing.”
  • monetization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users express strong disapproval of the game's monetization practices, labeling the advertising as dishonest and immoral.

    • “Such dishonest advertising is immoral.”
  • replayability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The reviews indicate that the game's replayability is questionable, with some players expressing that the experience may become tedious and unengaging, potentially leading to boredom before completing the story.

    • “Replayable: I doubt you could finish the story without dying of boredom.”

Buy Take on Helicopters

5000h Median play time
5000h Average play time
5000-5000h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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