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This is the first of several Atari 2600 games that Steven Day (STE'86) is interested in porting to the C64, teaming up with programmer Antonio Savona. STE'86 is renowned for being a C64 artist that went on to create artworks for Amiga games Stormtrooper (1989) and Fireforce(1992) before making a notable return to the C64 for the 2011 release of Prince of Persia.

Antonio Savona's most recent C64 game releases include the wonderful Planet Golf (2017) and L'Abbaye des Morts (2019).

Bob Whitehead's original drew heavily on Defender, as the player's helicopter defended a convoy of trucks. After the bitmap intro and credits screen, the game starts. The radar at the bottom of the screen shows where the trucks are, and where the attacking enemy helicopters and jets are. The player can fly left or right, blasting away – but must be careful not to shoot the trucks themselves.

Once all the enemies are gone, a bonus is awarded based on the trucks left, and the next stage starts.

This is an impressive remake, capturing the look and feel of the original, and adding a little extra polish. After the stunning bitmap intro and cleverly nostalgic credits screen (based on old Activision games), the game itself has a very pleasing "sunset" at the top of the screen and subtle parallax effects. It is certainly fun for a quick blast.

Sadly, behind the technical sheen lies a very simplistic game. There is very little variety, just an increasing difficulty as enemies fly faster. Once you have completed a couple of levels there is nothing else to see.

A fun conversion that will bring back many nostalgic gaming memories. However, some may feel the long term appeal is limited. It will be great to see how the other Atari 2600 ports from this C64 development team turn out.