H.E.R.O (12.3Mb)
Hero is an excellent remake of the classic Atari 2600 game Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operation, where your player has a helicopter backpack (why hasn’t anyone invented one of these in real life yet, using a battery, electric motor and small stabiliser fan?) and where the player has to navigate a maze with platform hazards and various puzzles to encounter and solve. You enter an underground network of mines to rescue trapped victims, while fending off various creatures and clearing obstacles.
The player assumes control of Roderick Hero (sometimes styled as R. Hero, a play on our hero), a one-man rescue team. Miners working in Mount Leone are trapped, and it's up to Roderick to reach them. The player is equipped with a backpack-mounted helicopter unit, which allows him to hover and fly, along with a helmet-mounted laser and a limited supply of dynamite. Each level consists of a maze of mine shafts that Roderick must safely navigate in order to reach the miner trapped at the bottom. The backpack has a limited amount of power, so the player must reach the miner before the power supply is exhausted. A number of obstacles stand between Roderick and the miners. Some mine shafts are blocked by cave-ins, which require dynamite to clear, but Roderick must not stand too close when the dynamite explodes, or in case rocks fall down too.
The helmet laser can also destroy cave-ins, but it does so much more slowly than dynamite. Some mine sections are illuminated by lanterns. If the lantern is somehow destroyed, the layout of that section becomes invisible; exploding dynamite will light up the mine for a very short time. The mine shafts are populated by spiders, bats and other unknown creatures that are deadly to the touch; these creatures can be destroyed using the laser, or will also be destroyed if they are close to exploding dynamite. In later levels, the player must contend with magma, which, like cave-ins, can be dynamited to clear a path, but like the mine creatures, is lethal when touched. Lastly, some deep mines are flooded, forcing players to hover safely above the water. Points are scored for each cave-in cleared and each creature destroyed. When the player reaches the miner, points are awarded for the rescue, along with the amount of power remaining in the backpack and for each remaining stick of dynamite. Extra lives are awarded for every 20,000 points scored.
Controls Menu - use ‘D’ key to switch between the 3 difficulty levels. ‘Z’ key to start. In-game - ‘Arrow’ keys to move and fly. Hold ‘Z’ key to fire laser . Hold down ‘Arrow’ key to drop dynamite. ‘Esc ‘ key quits the game.
The game has excellent graphics/sound and is a proper PC remake, not an emulated version. It runs full screen in XP, Vista and Win 7. Gameplay has been considerably enhanced over the original.
By way of mention, although posted before, there’s a joy to key emulator that gets joysticks or gamepads to mimic keyboard keys and mouse inputs. You can download the basic (free) version HERE. It is very useful for disabled users too, so I must remember to mention this more often, as it can be used with any program (even Word etc), or for any game that only normally accepts key or mouse input.
If you like platform games you’ll enjoy playing H.E.R.O!
Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY6svif6hE4
Download HERE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------There’s also graphically simple version with very retro graphics. (1.2Mb) ------
Gameplay is very akin to the original in this retro version.
Controls: F1 - Help, F2 - High Scores (Shift + F2 - Clear this table), F3 - Change difficulty, F4 - Restart game, F5 - Switch between Fullscreen / Window Mode, ‘Arrow’ keys left/right/up - Move the Hero, Down ‘Arrow’ key - Place a bomb, Left ‘Ctrl’ key - Fire,‘P’key - Pause.
It runs in a (re-sizeable) window or full screen in XP, Vista and Win 7. For retro fans!
Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q68bk-ez2bs
Download (retro) HERE
You can also play the retro version online (with helmet laser having greater effect) HERE if you wish.
----
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
