My first PC game was a helicopter game. In fact, it was a helicopter game: 1982's "Choplifter," which came with the Apple IIe computer my father bought at Radio Shack. On the ground, you bombed tanks and barracks; in the air, you dodged jets and rescued little hostages who waved frantically for help. All these years later, I'm still on the lookout for a new helicopter game that has a little of that arcadey chop-lifter spirit.

Oh, hello, Megacopter: the Goddess Blade. Yes, this is an incredible title for a game, and I'm happy to report that things are looking up from the main menu. Here's its radical launch trailer:

"Megacopter" is reminiscent of the 1990s helicopter game series "Desert Strike" (inspired by "Choplifter"), with similar isometric views and levels that scroll in all directions have the same isometric view and levels that scroll in all directions. However, as you can see from the trailer above, there are some fairly significant differences. [For example, the earth has been invaded by green lizard people called Reptoids, and your helicopter (megacopter) has sentience and needs to ingest blood to live. Imagine "Knight Rider" if KITT killed the aliens, sucked their blood out of the vents, and was also a helicopter: ....... As you progress through the map, blasting the aliens into bloody chunks, you can collect pizza tokens (90's) to spend on upgrades back at base. Better armor, bigger guns, energy weapons, plasma weapons, etc. etc.

The megacopter also has a giant grappling claw so you can pick things up while you're turning the aliens into red mist. If you need to recharge your armor, pick up a missile, or grab a barrel of explosives to drop on a reptoid, just hover and grab it.

There are laughs to be had in the story portion of the game. The tough, gritty pilot you play is named "Jack Copter," and the general to whom you report quickly admits that this mission is not a soldierly duty, but "pure bloodlust." The game shouts "MAXIMUM RADAR!" when you capture a radio tower that pinpoints an enemy on the map, which always makes me laugh.

Megacopter: The Goddess Blade is a lot of fun, not to mention challenging. Frankly, my choplifter reflexes have long since reached their limit and I don't last very long before I'm blown away by MBotG. Circling the alien invaders while blasting them into bloody chunks never gets old, and it's available on Steam for 15% off through July 5. There's also a free demo if you want to play before you buy.