Aerial Assault

Game Gear

Review by Matt Paprocki

Sega

Shooter

Graphics: 8

Sound: 5

Gameplay: 3

Overall: 3

 

There's one flaw in video games, regardless of the genre, that's simply inexcusable: Lack of fun factor. This is exactly what major flaw Aerial Assault suffers from. It's plodding pace, complete lack of intensity, and downright boring gameplay is simply astonishing at times, more so considering the surprising inclusion of a two-player mode. It's a slight tech demo as far as colors are concerned, and that's the only thing worth noting.

The usual terrorist organization has decided to conquer the planet. You, a former member who has changed your ways, decides to take them out yourself since all other efforts have failed. You have the option not to go solo as a friend can join you, but be aware the final power-up is not available in multi-player, likely due to the system's lack of horsepower.

There's a ton of color being pumped out here, surprising even for the Game Gear. Most of the stages actually progress into the night as the battle ensues, a nice touch that's wasted on a mediocre game. Sadly, even with the color, the backgrounds constantly repeat themselves and with the ludicrous length of the stages, this flaw becomes even more obvious.

During the game, enemy fighters will be attempting to knock you out of the sky... "attempting" being the key word here. The vast majority of the opposition simply keeps flying by, not even making an attempt to impede your progress. Ammo must be real expensive in the games fantasy world since they'll hardly even take a shot when it's available. If this wasn't laughable enough, the first two bosses can be beat by simply staying to the far left of the screen, just underneath their hulls, and you'll never be hit. They go down easily. Without any sense of peril, what's the point?

Even the sound effects have been botched. The music, while occasionally enjoyable, loops itself repeatedly throughout the fight. To make matters even worse, upgrading your weapon reveals the most annoying sound in the history of video games, repeated with every shot. It's the type of sound that's there because someone felt it needed to be. They were wrong.

The Game Gear is more than capable of handling a shooter. If the NES can, so can the GG. This is not the example. Most of the game is inherently boring, defeating the entire purpose of a shooter, a genre based on rapid reflexes. Though things may look good at first, by level two, you won't care anymore.

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Last updated: Sunday, October 02, 2005 08:26 PM