Konami picks up Choplifter remake for digital distribution

Konami has announced it'll be handling co-publishing duties on InXile's Choplifter HD. The title, due for XBLA release this winter, with PC and PSN versions to follow soon after, updates Brøderbund's 1982 Apple ][ original with snazzy HD graphics, a wider range of choppers and weaponry, Duke Nukem (what?), and, of course, zombies. Zombies, you ask? Well, what do you think happens when you let enemies wait 30 years before putting them in a game?...

Whereas the original Choplifter pitted players against Brøderbund's all-purpose intergalactic villains, the Bungeling Empire, this update mixes the antagonists up – enemy combatants one level, a zombie plague the next. There's also a variety of craft to choose from, improving on the original's spartan roster of, um, one chopper. Exile president Brian Fargo promises the title will bring plenty of variety and “over-the-top explosions to appeal to today’s action-thirsty gamer.” If you think that sounds a bit like pandering, just go back to the old Choplifter and see if you don't agree the game could do with some really freakin' big explosions. Exactly.

Above: This guy knows how these things work

Choplifter will debut on XBLA in the coming months, with more info on the PSN and PC versions soon.