Reader Reviews Retro Special

Star Review: Desert Strike (Mega Drive)

by Peej

Now Tom's on a retro kick (a games drought will do that to you!) and since EA have decided to listen to the faint mumblings of a few people and have started plundering their rich back catalogue for ideas, it looks like sooner rather than later we'll be seeing a "re-imagining" (see Tim Burton for details) of one of the classic EA Mega Drive [Americans: for "Mega Drive", read "Genesis" -Ed] era games, Desert Strike. I'm sure that it won't just be a cheap cash-in on the recent sabre rattling in the Gulf. Nosiree!

The thinly veiled storyline of the original went something like this: You're an ace chopper pilot drafted in to carry out missions against the evil General Mubaba, behind enemy lines in the Gulf. General Mubaba is a nasty sort; a gentleman whose pursuits include dissolving hapless revolutionaries in acid, blowing up innocent oil fields, launching scud missiles at anyone who dares to oppose him and, well, all manner of other very naughty things indeed. So as a true American you're shoved in there to make sure that the General's quest for world domination does not succeed. Anyway, if you can stomach the rank patriotism and forgive the fact that this game was released on a wave of post "Gulf War One" nationalistic hysteria then you'll actually find quite a surprisingly good game here.

Reviewing the Megadrive version (which was the first version I played but was subsequently converted for SNES, PC, Amiga etc) reveals a game that even by today's standards features multiple layers of rewarding gameplay looped with a not-too-hideous graphics engine (running in "pseudo 3D", some feat for the Mega Drive).

You basically control rotational movement of the chopper, can move forwards and backwards, and jink from side to side so it's a relatively sprightly beast. Couple that with an awesome arsenal of missiles, rockets and machine guns and already you've got the makings of a good shoot-'em-up.

The missions are carried out with the usual waffly grey-haired old general giving you a briefing before you're thrown into the battle arena, where you'll be going up against troops, scud missile launchers, tanks and armoured cars. An integral part of the game's dynamic is that you don't get infinite ammo or fuel; these must be picked up along the way from various places and are in limited supply. So once all the fuel dumps are empty and you run out, your helicopter will plunge unceremoniously into the ground, and cut to a rather harrowing scene of you and your co-pilot lying dead amongst flaming wreckage. I guess this makes a pleasant change from being shot down by your own troops or crashing in some fog [Steady as she goes Mr. Peej -Ed].

Moving swiftly on, some of the missions in Desert Strike are fantastically structured, others will have you tugging handfuls of hair out of your head and weaving ornamental baskets out of it (unless you're me of course, in which case the game will at times have you breaking your teeth trying to chew your joypad in half).

Though there is a strict linearity to the way you complete missions, for the most part you're free to roam around the map blowing things up and generally causing havoc. Pretty much everything in the game can be ruthlessly turned to ratatouille with your helicopter's various weaponry and it's incredibly difficult not to start humming the "Airwolf" theme tune as yet again you level your Gatling gun on another bunch of hapless Mubaba soldiers.

The presentation of the title is nifty, and it's no surprise that back in the day this was one of the most popular games on the Mega Drive, spawning a further two sequels [Jungle Strike and Urban Strike -Ed] on that and other platforms before also garnering two more modern makeovers on the PS1 and latter-day accelerated PCs (Soviet Strike and Nuclear Strike).