The helicopter can be set on fire with the Flamethrower and Molotov Cocktails but it will receive no damage from the fire.The helicopter bears an NYPD-like light blue and white police livery, a color scheme that was cut for both the game's police car and Enforcer following the Septemattacks.In the promotional screenshots of The Definitive Edition of Grand Theft Auto III, the Police Helicopter is black.In the beta version of GTA III the helicopter originally had the same body color as the regular helicopter.The police helicopter model as viewed up close in GGMM. It is used in police pursuits, but only with a Police Maverick texture. However, the controllable Police Maverick has a separate texture and handling line, while the GTA III's police helicopter's (HELI) texture files and handling line still exists. The Police Maverick, in effect a police variant of the Maverick, replaces GTA III's police helicopter.
Also the helicopter has no set height limit and can match the player's altitude.įrom Grand Theft Auto: Vice City onwards, helicopters were redone and are controllable by the player. In its downward spiral, however, the helicopter may still shoot the player until it crashes. The M-16 is also effective in disabling a helicopter, but requires a substantial number of direct shots before the helicopter begins to lose control. The rocket launcher, in particular, is effective in taking down any police helicopter with one hit, sending the helicopter spinning out of control before exploding and disintegrating on impact at a building or on the ground. As is any airborne vehicle, the helicopter can be shot down using firearms. By five stars, a second police helicopter will join in, doubling the police's firepower from the air. The helicopter is designed to shoot the player from three stars onwards, but will only open fire once the helicopter's spotlight has been shined on the player for a few seconds, regardless of whether the player is on foot or in a vehicle by constantly moving and changing directions, the helicopter will be unable to target the player using the spotlight, preventing the player from being shot. Despite its availability in the game, the helicopter cannot be commandeered by the player. However, the helicopter will retreat as soon as the player enters a enclosed area which the helicopter cannot reach (such as a building interior or tunnel). Two police helicopters circling above Claude.ĭue to its airborne capabilities, the police helicopter is able to reach places where conventional police forces can't (i.e. The police helicopter appears only after the player attains a three-star wanted level, initially hovering just over the player. According to an in-game news report, the helicopters were only recently introduced in Liberty City (circa 2001) to aid the police force in fighting crime, even though police helicopters can still be seen in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories which is set in 1998, 3 years before GTA III, probably, because the developers ignored the in-game news report.
One of the pilots on board will be calm towards the player, whilst the other tries to argue over the loudspeaker and is negative towards the player. The original game's rendition bears a blue-and-white LCPD livery similarly adopted for the game's police road vehicles early in game development, and comes equipped with a gunner or turret, which fires bullets from its underside, a search light that is commonly used at night, and a loudspeaker used by two occupants on board to (hilariously) address the player. The helicopter is designed as a large vehicle bearing similarities to the Bell 205.