In RC Heli – Indoor Racing, you are in command of a radio-controlled RC helicopter with realistic flight capabilities. You can fly in free mode or challenge yourself to get the best time in race mode. It’s a great application with nice graphics and solid gameplay.

There are two main options in RC Heli, free mode and race mode. In free mode, you can fly your helicopter anywhere you want in the house. There are multiple levels to the house, so you can fly in the upstairs bedrooms and down to the kitchen and living room. The graphics are done very well, making you feel like you’re in an actual house. In race mode, you fly around the same environment, but you have to collect gold stars in a predefined path across the house. Arrows guide you from one star to the next, and not only are you timed on the whole course, but you also have a limited time to get to each star. So, accuracy and speed are crucial in race mode. In both modes, the screen will display damage and battery level indicators. Throughout the house, there are helipads where you can land to recharge your batteries and repair damage.

Actually controlling the helicopter takes some practice, but a tutorial will help you learn the basics of flight. There are two virtual thumb sticks that control flight. The left stick controls the main rotor that lifts the helicopter up. Pushing this stick up will increase the rotor’s speed and altitude, while pushing it down will decrease speed and send the heli to the floor. The right stick has two functions. Up and down will change the heli’s pitch. So, pushing up will make the heli fly forward, while pushing down will make it fly backward. Moving this stick left or right will turn the heli in that direction. Flying really does take some practice and may be frustrating at first. But, give it a few minutes and you’ll be just fine.

Overall, the helicopter’s controls are highly responsive and feel very realistic. However, there are times when you’ll turn the heli and get a slightly jerky reaction, even if you hold the stick steady throughout the turn. Some animations are just a bit choppy and may feel as though you lost control for a split second. This choppiness is minor and really doesn’t take away from the experience too much.

The app is also customizable. You can change the heli’s color and you can fly around in one of three views. The default view is follow, where the camera will chase the heli from behind. Then there’s cockpit view, where you see the environment from within the heli itself. The third view, and the most challenging, is fixed view. In fixed view, the camera stays in one spot just as if you were standing stationary in a room and flying a real RC helicopter around.

The only other issues I have with this game are the quality of sound and lack of environments. The motor noise just doesn’t sound realistic and can actually get annoying after a while. I think it’s worth tweaking a bit, just to add to the sense of realism. I also wish there were more areas to fly around in. I know the title says “Indoor Racing”, but could we please see some outdoor flight? Does this title mean there will be a separate app for outdoor racing? Will we get multiplayer racing? There are endless possibilities for this game. I can’t wait to see what’s next!

RC Heli is definitely a solid application. It didn’t crash on me once and I have fun flying around every time I start it up. I strongly recommend checking this one out.