The new port will mark the first time the game has ever officially been released on Atari consoles and is scheduled to arrive on July 18th.
It is available to pre-order at various major retailers and Atari.com starting from today and will cost £24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99, depending on where you are in the world.
Tiger-Heli was originally released in the arcades back in 1985 and is a vertically scrolling shooter that sees players get behind the control of an attack helicopter tasked with defeating various enemy forces like tanks, battleships, and artillery.
Images: Plaion/Atari
It was later ported to the NES/Famicom by the American developer Micronics in the mid-to-late 80s and was subsequently followed by two sequels for the arcade named Twin Cobra (1987) and Twin Cobra II (1995).
In the past, the original arcade game has been reissued on various occasions across several different platforms. For instance, it was previously one of the games included as part of M2's Nintendo Switch and PS4 compilation Toaplan Arcade Garage: Kyukyoku Tiger-Heli, made an appearance in Blaze Entertainment's Toaplan Arcade 1 for Evercade, and was the headline title featured in the Polymega Collection Vol. 3. It was also subject to a standalone reissue for PC last year (via Steam and GOG).
Here are the key features of the new Atari port:
- Developed from the ground up for the first time on Atari consoles
- Single-player helicopter combat
- Power-ups that increase firepower and grant special abilities
- Multiple stages set in diverse environments
- Enemies include ground vehicles, aircraft, and turrets
- Iconic Pokey-based score
- Compatible with the original Atari 7800, as well as the Atari 2600+ and 7800+
