Considering how few shooters have been released in the last couple of years, I have been surprised by the lack of recognition this title has recieved in the world of 2D gaming. Though not a bold or daring step for the genre, it is a solid effort and a welcome addition to any shooter collection.
Overview
When asked to describe a game like this to a non-hardcore gamer (e.g. my girlfriend J) I usually resort to saying something like "It's one of the games where you're a space ship or a plane and you have to destroy stuff that flies at you and dodge what they shoot back". That's a pretty accurate description for this game, as it sticks close to the shooter formula that's been handed down ever since the original 1942. As far as I can tell, the game doesn't really have a story per se, or if there is a story it is definitely not explained in the actual game. It's just the tried and true you (and hopefully a friend) versus an overwhelming enemy force. One interesting thing to note about the game's opening sequence is that it has an American P47-Lightning teaming up with the game's other plane, a Japanese Zero. Is this just to make it appealing to gamers on both sides of the Pacific, or is it part of the ongoing 19XX saga? My guess is the former, but you never know with the bizarre plots some of these shooters have.
Graphics 9/10
The graphics in this game are standard CPS2 fare. They are bright, colorful, and well animated. Although this game is a vertical shooter, it is displayed on a horizontal monitor. This makes the screen appear wider than one would expect from a vertical shooter, but it is nicely filled with oceans, mountains, clouds or whatever your aircraft happens to be flying over.
Most of the enemies in the game are the usual planes or tanks with relatively simple animations. The larger enemies typically show damage before finally blowing up. All of the explosions and bullets are nicely done, and I didn't notice any graphical glitches while playing. The special and bomber attacks are also suitable flashy, with your usual screen-clearing hail of bullets. Some of the nicer touches I remember are seeing torpedo shadows moving through the water to take out escort boats, having tanks hide from me underneath trees and vines, and the levels that have you flying over a large vehicle that takes up screen after screen. Also, everybody who plays this game probably gets a kick out of the little guys who pop out of the landing craft on the second stage. You can destroy their landing vessels, so I'm not sure if they're on your side or not, but its fun to watch them swarm over the beach and mount a ground assault as you clear the skies.
The bosses in this game are where the graphics shine. Each of the 16 stages has a unique boss (or bosses) bristling with weapons to kill you. Even when you have a huge rocket powered bomber or pair of huge tanks trying to kill you, I didn't notice any slowdown. Also, when a boss is defeated you see photos as if from a news story chronicling your victory. All this adds up to a nice package, without some of the sprite repetition common in games like this.
Gameplay/Controls 10/10
The control for the fighter/bomber planes is spot on, but considering all they have to do is move up, down, left and right if they managed to screw it up the game play would be atrocious.
This is a two-button game (shooter standard: one button fires, the other drops bombs). However, the designers took a bit of a risk in assigning the fire button two purposes. If you hold the fire button down, you see a "charge" bar start to fill on the bottom of the screen. If you let this bar fill, your aircraft gains altitude and starts rapidly firing at the ground. You can't be hit in this state, which lasts for about 4 seconds (an eon in shooter terms) so it is a good way to get out of trouble. If you let your finger off the fire button, the "charge" gauge slowly starts to diminish. A good strategy is to mostly fill up the charge bar during lulls in the action, usually before boss battles, and then let loose when you need it. The trade off in using this system is you can't hold the fire button down for rapid fire, but since I don't think many people trust doing this (in the good old days, you never got off as many shots holding down the fire button as you did tapping away at it) it isn't really an issue.
The bomb button in this game doesn't exactly drop bombs, but rather calls in bomber support with justly noisy and flashy results. And, as is expected, you're invulnerable during this short explosive burst. The bomber attack is almost too devastating, as some bosses don't last long against a player relying on this attack alone to win the day.
The weapon power-ups available in this game are pretty much the norm for a 19XX type game. You have the weapons power-ups, which slowly increase the breadth and power of your main weapon. Also, as you progress through the game, you are equipped with better weapons (ending with a pretty sweet laser) so there is some more variety in the shape/form/color of the firepower spewing out of your aircraft. Also, there is the "standard since 1942" inclusion of small fighter aircraft that form on your wing and add to your firepower. As is expected, these fighters can and will be destroyed independently of your main craft. However, you can store "extra" side fighters on the side of the screen when additional power-ups are collected. When you lose one of your little buddies, another spirals into play from your reserve. If you're in a bit of a tight spot and out of the game's regular bombs, you can also send your side fighters on an explosive kamikaze attack against whatever is threatening you using the "bomb" button. Even though you've just shown a disregard for your wingmen's life, if you have more side fighters in reserve they will dutifully fill their place by your side J.
The elements of game play that are most interesting to me are some of the changes the design team made to how your aircraft takes damage. In most games like this, you hit one stray bullet or enemy vehicle, and you explode. This game incorporates a life bar, which diminishes with each bit of damage your vehicle sustains. This has allowed the addition of two more power-ups, the "small" and "full" life power-ups. Trust me, when you're low on life and see flame sprouting from all over your aircraft, there's nothing sweeter than seeing the white life recharging "PoW" float up from a defeated enemy. Now getting to it in one piece is a whole other bucket of fun…
When you are inevitably killed, and the dreaded continue screen is shown, the player is given an extra incentive to continue in that the previous pilot "bails" out of the aircraft. If he is saved, the continuing player is rewarded with a nice batch of power ups to collect.
The last game play element of interest is the bosses. As you would expect from a CPS2 game they are large and have lots of guns and what not to fire at you. The bosses are usually a destroyer/aircraft carrier, a tank, or a large bomber plane. Many of the levels end in two bosses appearing simultaneously (each of the same design) which makes two player games a bit more interesting in that you have to choose to gang up on one boss first or just go it alone and have each player compete and do their own thing.
Sound/Music 8/10
The sound on this game is nice and clear through my arcade speakers. The explosions are nice and crisp, the sound of your aircraft firing is repetitive but not irritating and the sounds resulting from a "bomb" attack or a special attack are distinctive enough that someone who isn't even looking at the screen knows something big is going on.
I can see this game's music being a much more debatable issue. It is mostly cheesy guitar/metal type songs, which I can appreciate as it pumps me up for the coming action. If you don't like this type of music, the bad news is that's all there is. Some of the songs, especially the Level 5 theme, are especially distinctive and IF songs are repeated on different stages, it wasn't obvious enough for me to notice.
Replay Value 8.5/10
The replay value of this game will vary on what sort of player you are. If you are the sort of player who plays through a shooter once, then this isn't the game for you. Even with 16 levels, you can finish this game in about half an hour. If you're the sort of gamer who likes to master a game and strives or the mystical "one credit game", then I could see you enjoying this game, but being frustrated by its length and number of bosses. If you're the type of player I am (and I'm sure many of you are) and you enjoy whipping out a game every couple of months and playing part or all of it, this is the game for you. I can't think of a single time I've felt like playing a shooter, and this wasn't first on my list of games to find. This CPS2 board is even thinking of people like me in allowing (if set up in the menu) players to choose what stage they want to start at (1, 6, or 12). Very nice touch, in that you don't have to play the first level over and over, and if you feel like blasting away at the toughest bad guys you can go right ahead and do that too. If you choose to start at one of the higher levels, you are also given a bit of a hand (side fighters and/or upgraded weapons) at the very start. Nicely done all around, and one of the major reasons why I'm more likely to replay this game than many others.
Overall 9/10
It should be pretty obvious that I rate this game highly in my collection. The main reason it doesn't rate a 9.5 is that it simply hones an existing formula to near perfection, rather than trying something completely new and surprising me. However, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies here and the guys at 8ing/Raizing do a great job keeping the 19XX franchise alive. Anybody looking for an old school shooter in feel, but with updated 2D graphics would be hard pressed to find a better game to satisfy their trigger finger's hunger. If you can't find this game at a local arcade, ask the owner to get it (hey, people can dream) or try tracking down a copy yourself. If you enjoy this sort of game, you won't be disappointed.
- by Jason Gordon
