D-Force (Asmik 1991)

One of those oil rich dictators from the Middle East has finally gotten too big for his shoes and declared war on the world for some misguided reason. Not only does he have droves of high-tech planes, tanks and weapon sites at his disposal but through the help of his biologists also managed to bring back some mean dinosaurs to further boost his forces. The UN's defence budget must be running a bit low since they decide to send in only one Apache helicopter. Your job of course is to pilot it and save the world.

Despite the rather elaborate storyline Dimension Force is a rather simple game. In fact the only place you'll learn the plot is in the manual since the game itself contains no intro, cut-scenes or even ending. I'm sure those people unfortunate enough to not have the manual was wondering why they were shooting down jets on one stage and dinosaurs on the next. If you've ever played a game of this type in the arcades you should know exactly what to expect. You have to pilot your small helicopter through six levels teeming with enemies wreaking as much destruction as you can along the way. Foes attack in swarms and there's no shortage of bullets heading your way which considering the fact that it only takes one hit to destroy you makes for a few hair-raising experiences.

Ultimately though Dimension Force is one of the easiest games in the genre thanks to the three skill levels and the ability to have up to nine lives to start with. Furthermore you continue where you were shot down with full fire-power and even when you are game over have unlimited continues which place you back at the start of the stage without taking away your power-ups. This means with a little perseverance anyone should be able to finish this one.

Looking at the graphics D-Force is decidedly average with the usual ocean, forest and desert type backgrounds. Apart from a few freaky dino's the enemy designs isn't anything special either. Despite the basic graphics the screen can get rather cluttered at times making those small, indestructible enemy missiles a real nuisance. One of D-Force's main (well only actually) gimmicks is the ability to alter your height on some levels. You simply tap one of your shoulder buttons and the view zooms down so you can shoot enemies on the ground or dodge obstacles. An interesting idea but the levels are rather short and the graphics get a little blocky up close. This feature is also one of the reasons I suspect there's no two-player mode.

The audio is a bit of a mixed bag with sound effects being about as feeble as can be. Apart from the tame sound your guns make, a few explosions and the sound of a power-up being picked up you'll hear nothing else. The music isn't that bad and some of the tunes (especially the song on the final stage) actually sound nice but overall I have to say they don't really fit the game. These tunes are a strange choice for a fast paced shooter that's for sure.

Besides the main game there is also a "Shooting" and "Technical" mode but these are basically the same levels from the game split up into "zooming" and "non-zooming" sections. Trying to put up a high score is nice but since the game has no battery backup also pretty pointless. In the end only the lack of other good shooters makes D-Force worth playing and even so it won't keep you busy for long.

[6]

Air Fortress (HAL Laboratory 1989)

When the peaceful people of the planet Farmel started exploring the galaxy they were understandable a bit upset when they found eight planet destroying fortresses in the Yubbart Galaxy. Even worse these living fortresses were heading right for them and seem to have the intention of using their planet for fuel. After a direct assault fails they decide to send in their hero, Hal Bailman to infiltrate the eight fortresses and destroy their central reactors.

Air Fortress is actually two game styles in one game. First you have to make your way through the air base on your space ship blasting everything in sight and picking up bomb and energy tokens. Take one hit and you die and although you continue where you left off, if you die three times it is game over. Once you reach the airlock Hal hops off and enter on foot. The interiors of the fortresses are like mazes that you have to traverse in your search for the reactor. Once this is blown up you only have a small amount of time to locate the exit before moving on to the next fortress.

The graphics in the game is nothing special but overall it's not too shabby. The spaceship design is a bit dodgy though. The side scrolling shooter graphics is pretty average and nothing really special happens outside. Once inside things look marginally better with lots of weird enemies and strange traps. You can fly around inside the structures but every movement you make detracts from your energy. This replenishes once you stand still but if you are hit it will go down permanently. This makes it vital that you gather as much energy as possible outside. Your bombs are also limited and are needed to destroy the reactors. Without it you'll have a tough time destroying the fortress.

The sound in the game is average with nothing exceptional or annoying happening and the sound effects is likewise pretty tame. Controls are pretty responsive and the way gravity affects your actions inside the fortresses is novel. This means if you fire a shot your momentum will propel you backwards and lots of traps are designed with this in mind. You get a password when you die that will restart you at the beginning of the fortress you've died in and overall the game isn't all that hard.

My only fault with the game is that I really hate these types of maze games and as such the game wasn't all that fun to me. There is nothing wrong the game though and it has a few good ideas so if you don't mind getting lost and having to map out sectors then by all means go for it. The game has surprising depth for such a simple looking game and it looks like it can provide quite a challenge later on. If you're anything like me however the confusing maze layouts will have your more bored and confused than entertained and you might want to stick with something else. Not a bad game just not my type of adventure.

[6]

Life Force (Konami 1988)

Life Force is another fine example of the space shooter genre brought to you courtesy of Konami. This game is very close to the classic Gradius and follows exactly the same concept. You fly around blasting the crap out of everything in sight while collecting tokens. Every token you collect represent an upgrade. Pick up one and you have the option of increasing your speed, two gives you missiles, three a new gun etc. Of course, once you use the tokens you'll need to get the required number again before you can upgrade again. So if you push all you're tokens into upgrading your speed you might not have a strong enough weapon when you reach the boss. This brings a bit of brainwork to the genre.

The graphics in Life Force are outstanding. Bullets fly all over the place, yet still remain clearly visible. This is because Konami hasn't gone overboard with the backgrounds, but instead concentrated on making everything as clear as possible. Swarms of enemy ships swarm at you from all directions and you have seconds in which to react, or die. Even the levels themselves provide hazards, often shaping and reforming, causing you to fly all over the place dodging and weaving through obstacles. The viewpoints is that of a side scrolling shooter on the first stage which then switches to a top down shooter on the second. This pattern continues throughout the game. At the end of each level you face off against a boss baddie and some of these are very cool (not to mention disgusting). What about a floating brain where you have to shoot the eyeball to kill it or a huge skull that shoots its eyes out at you?

The music is also very good and adds to the overall hectic atmosphere of the game. The sound effects are minimal, but do the job. The gameplay is hardcore shooting all the way. Take your finger off the fire button for one second and you die. You're going to need all the luck, skill and reflexes you have to get through this one. This might put some people off, but the hardcore shooter fans will relish the challenge. The feeling of satisfaction you get from finishing this game is huge and the challenge factor is high. If you think you're good enough give it a try, if not use the cheat code printed in the manual and try anyway!

[9]

Isolated Warrior (KID 1991)

When the planet Pan was suddenly and violently attacked by unknown alien forces its defences quickly fell. As the military force of the planet fall in battle, most of the survivors fled but one man chose to remain. He is Max Maverick, captain of the army and the last hope of the planet. Suiting up in battle armour the lone warrior sets out to drive away the alien armada.

OK so the one man against the entire alien invasion force scenario is what the "snow" level is to the platform game, every title  in the genre has it, but when it's this good who cares? You take control of Max in a 3D isometric shooter, a rarity on the NES, and have to blast your way through seven challenging levels. Before you even think of taking on this game be warned this is one tough cartridge. Aliens swarm at you from all angles and bullets fly across the screen in slowdown inducing quantities. Besides your power armour you have some other means of transport depending on the level as well. Water levels have you riding a hovercraft while some of the outdoor levels give you a hover bike. Max has only two ways of firing. Focused fire shoots a straight beam ahead of you, which can be upgraded to more powerful levels as well as also shooting out behind you. Wide fire instead fires a lot of beams in a spread direction but is weaker, although it can also be upgraded to shoot in more directions. Now and then you'll find a shield if you're lucky which can make life a little bit easier.

 

There is a wide assortment of enemies but the highlight is the bosses. These guys are very tough and take a ton of hits to go down. As usual for the genre they each have a pattern that has to be figured out before you stand any real chance of beating them. A good thing is that if you die after killing the boss it still counts as a victory and you progress to the next level. I have to admit few battles ended with me dying almost simultaneously with the boss. I still have nightmares about that level four boss battle on the hover bike.

The graphics in Isolated Warrior is pretty good considering the sheer amount of things going on at all times and the fact that there is so much variety in the enemies. The colours might not be that impressive but there is a fair amount of detail in the surroundings and you can spot the unique touches like flying over a burning city that gives the game a unique perspective.

The sound is OK with the best feature an alarm sound that goes off each time you get hit. Believe me you'll be concentrating so hard on dodging bullets and enemies that you'll hardly notice it if it wasn't for the audio warning. You'll be hard pressed to remember the music though as you be so engrossed in the game. The game has a much needed password option for each of the seven levels, but even with it you'll be playing for a while before mastering the game. Novice players might have some trouble with the fixed difficulty setting but if you're a fan of the shooter genre this is without a doubt a classic and a good example of what the NES is capable of.

[9]