Score
Gameplay:	7
Graphics:	7
Sound:	7
FunFactor:	7
PlasmaFactor:	7
Overall:	7

1942: Joint Strike Review
August 15, 2008 by Jereme Puik

There have been a lot games over the years that have dived into the World War II theme, where in the games industry point of view, the United States won the war solely on its own. Well, the games that we have always been greeted with took the position of being a soldier of the battlefield and fighting your way through a multitude of objectives trying to complete mission after mission. We were hardly ever given the opportunity to grab the excitement and danger of dogfights from this era. Capcom saw this as an excellent opportunity to delve into this realm as a vertical shooter.

It’s time to take to the air

It seems like everyone is digging into the graves of old games from the past and remaking them with a slew of better graphics and revised gameplay. This works for certain titles and 1942: Joint Strike is pretty much a remake of its older brother. There are all kinds of special effects thanks to the upgrade in hardware making it a “next-gen” debut on current consoles. Joint Strike has a pretty simple gameplay concept that doesn’t need a manual to refer back too. There are four difficulty levels and three planes to choose from. Each plane is rated based on its strengths and weaknesses, much like how much power you have, the amount of health you have…etc.

Players control their plane with the left control stick and fire the main gun with A. Unfortunately, you cannot hit the A button as much as you’d like and expect to see a continuous stream of bullets. Instead, it’s broken up into spurts of bullets so it’s hard to spam the area with bullets successfully. The B button takes care of your missiles and the Y button is for your bombs, which you are limited from 3-5 depending on the plane you choose. If you can blast through a lot of enemies in a short amount of time, you’ll build up your special attack meter and will be able to easily clear the screen of enemies. To execute your special attack, just press the B or X button and you’re on your way. It’s not hard to survive through the different stages and is highly recommended you adapt to a certain difficulty level before moving on.

As your blast your way through the many enemies that appear on screen, you’ll come across various power ups that will help you along the way. If you find one of these, it will bounce between health, bombs and another random weapon power up. There are also bullet power-ups that will increase the power of your weapons. Don’t be too distracted by the action going in the air though, because of the improved gameplay mechanics, you’ll be attacked from above in the air to the tanks shooting you out of the air on the ground. There are bosses after every level and each have their own turrets and enemies to take care of. The gameplay breaks up with bonus stages in between as you collect medals that give you extra bonus points for your overall score.

There are some downfalls to this that make it a bit more like the average vertical shooter out there. The screen never stops moving and keeps bombarding you with enemies, which never gives you a chance to breathe. You could be on a luck streak only to get hit by three tanks wasting all of your lives. Then you’ll have to start from the beginning all over again. Each level is short and takes no longer then about 5 minutes each to complete. The game as a whole lasts around a half-hour to an hour. The only variety is in its power-ups and everything else just seems about as average as every other vertical shooter out there.

Graphics

Filled with art and design from the 1942 era, this should be all too familiar to those who played 1942 in the NES days. To the new, this is an exciting new adventure waiting to unfold. Planes and bosses have their own identity and can surprise you at times. Level design is quite intriguing, in some respects, and deserves a lot of credit to the developers. In the air and on the ground, you’ll notice about any detail you can imagine from the planes to the tanks and battleships below.

Although you have a nicely decorated screen, it is a busy one right from the get go. The many sprites and effects around you may make it hard to keep up with everything, especially with the constant enemies dropping down on you. The screen is always moving vertically which makes it harder to keep up with the onscreen action if you’re on the higher difficulties. 

Sound

Although you’ll hear the classic sounds of warships and weaponry flowing around you, along with power-ups popping up out of no where, it’s something to expect these days from the upgrades in hardware we’ve had since its debut on the NES. The music gives 1942 a classical feel that, unfortunately, repeats itself over time and never seems to change. Don’t’ let the sound discourage you, even though it’s about as average as you can get in. There isn’t much to get excited about here and thus doesn’t bring much depth to the game.

Plasma Factor

Co-Op is the biggest plus about this title in both online and offline modes. Hardcore gamers will surely eat this up along with fans of the original. There are quite a few things that will put off the casual gamer considering its fast nature and constant enemies that rain down upon you. Again, that might just end up being ignored through its co-op offline. It is a short game that can be beaten in no less then an hour and in co-op probably shorter then that. Pointing out the obvious you would notice that it’s an average vertical shooter that’s set in the World War II era. The only thing you will ever get out of the game is co-op.

Conclusion

For classic gamers looking to go back into their generation of gaming, and actually look forward to remakes, then you’ll enjoy Joint Strike for what it is. Don’t expect much else other than the included co-op mode. 1942: Joint Strike is quite an adventure and the mixture in gameplay gives it a fresh keep in you library. Just keep in mind that it’s a remake given its overhaul for the next-generation.