Police Helicopter (GTA III): Difference between revisions

[[Image:Police helicopter (GTA3) (side).jpg|thumb|right|300px|The unnamed [[Liberty City Police Department|LCPD]] police helicopter in GTA III.]]

In [[Grand Theft Auto III]], '''an unnamed, uncontrollable police helicopter''' is used in police pursuits on the player. The helicopter is the predecessor of the [[Police Maverick]], which has an official name and attributes inherited from GTA III's police helicopter.

The helicopter is defined as a large aircraft, with a body design similar to a 1990s-2000s NYPD [[wp:Bell 412|Bell 412]]<ref name="FB Field">[http://www.geocities.com/floyd_bennett_field/nypd.html The NYPD Aviation Unit at Floyd Bennett Field].</ref> and bearing a blue-and-white [[Liberty City Police Department|LCPD]] livery similarly adopted for the game's police road vehicles [[Beta Releases#Grand Theft Auto III|early in game development]]. The helicopter 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 occupants on board to (hilariously) address the player. According to an [[Police Helicopters To Help Fight Crime|in-game news report]], the helicopters were only recently introduced in [[Liberty City in GTA III Era|Liberty City]] (circa 2001) to aid the police force in fighting crime.

The police helicopter appears only after the player attains a three-star [[Wanted Level in GTA III Era|wanted level]], initially hovering just over the player. Due to its airborne capabilities, the police helicopter is able to reach places where conventional police forces can't (i.e. rooftops and off-road locales). 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). Despite its availability in the game, the helicopter cannot be commandeered by the player.

As is any airborne vehicle, the helicopter can be shot down using firearms. The [[Rocket Launcher|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 with a building or on the ground. The [[AR-15|M-16]] is also effective in disabling a helicopter, but requires a substantial number of direct shots before the helicopter begins to lose control. In its downward spiral, however, the helicopter may still shoot the player until it crashes.

From [[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City]] onwards, helicopters were redone and are controllable by the player. The [[Police Maverick]], in effect a police variant of the [[Maverick]], replaces GTA III's police helicopter. Despite apparent changes in its appearance, control and movement, all helicopters in GTA Vice City inherit many of the GTA III rendition's behavior and weaknesses.

* The [[Armadillo]], a firefighting helicopter in GTA Vice City Stories, also based on a Bell 412.

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[[Category:Vehicles in GTA III]]