Jackal (Konami 1988)

Vietnam has long been over but new satellite data show that hordes of Americans are still held prisoner on enemy soil. Not wanting to risk an all out invasion again (look what happened last time) the plan is to rather send in a small commando team. The job is handed to the Green Berets and their infamous "Jeep Squad". You of course are one of the best and it's now up to you to lead the raid and bring back the P.O.W.s.

You and your Jeep "Trigger" is parachuted down along the border of Cambodia and from there its top down shooting action all the way through the games six levels. Your only goal is to bust out P.O.Ws and take them to pick-up points. Along the way you'll encounter all kind of hostiles like tanks, cannons, bunkers, helicopters and even the navy. Enemy troops also harass you but these guys can simple be run over. Your Jeep is capable of shooting bullets but only in the up direction and grenades or missiles, in the direction your Jeep is facing. Buildings have to be blown open, the hostages rescued and then taken to safety. The levels are quite cool and scroll in all directions although the playing area isn't all that huge.

 

The enemies are bad enough but there are also some environmental hazards like land-mines to keep you on your toes. It only takes one hit to blow up your vehicle and although you have extra lives and continues, you have to restart the level if you continue. At the end of each level is a boss and although the game is pretty easy overall some of these bosses are quite tough. It's quite frustrating to come all the way to these guys and then die horribly, only to restart at the start of the stage. That's why it's wise to hang on to all your lives until the end of the level and not rock up on the boss with only one life.

The graphics are pretty average and the colours are pretty muted. Besides some nice sprites and explosions there's nothing really new here that you haven't seen in a top down shooter yet. The levels are quite varied though and the layouts are unique. Background details are nice and everything moves at a good speed. Bosses are more impressive and have some varied and unique machines.

The music in the game is sadly quiet average and none of the tunes are really anything to shout about. Sound effects fare even worse and besides the grenades (which sound like a rusty gate opening) and a few tiny explosions there isn't really much else. Controls are responsive and your Jeep is quite maneuverable. The handling is pretty good and the shooting method is easy to master. Blasting through doors and avoiding mines soon become second nature and running down enemy soldiers always stay fun.

Jackal is a nice game that does nothing really wrong but at the same time doesn't really offer anything new or exciting either. Fans of the genre are sure to like it but it's sadly a bit on the easy side (except towards the end) and a few more levels would have been nice. Newcomers can use it to hone their skills and the two-player mode is also a nice blast. Good but not great.

[7]

Heavy Barrel (Data East 1990)

When terrorists seize control of an underground nuclear missile site only you have the training and skills to go in and stop them. Since the place was designed like a fortress and filled with all manner of defences (now under terrorist control) infiltrating the complex is not going to be easy. The site also contains "Heavy Barrel" a devastating gun which one of the scientists has disassembled and hidden across the base. Finding and assembling the parts will go a long way towards giving you an edge in this impossible mission.

Heavy Barrel is a top down shooter and apart from a few niggles is one of the better ones on the system. The graphics are quite good and you travel through some really nice locations. Levels consist of areas like the weapons assembly area, quarry, and reactor area as well as launch security area. Each is packed with enemies like tanks, helicopters, mobile gun turrets, machine gunners, snipers and of course the normal terrorist. Each area is also littered with lockers, some of which contains parts of Heavy Barrel while other contains new guns or bombs. The catch is that you need keys to unlock these lockers and these are carried by the terrorists in red clothes. You can also only carry four at a time so you can horde keys for better lockers later on.

You can find new guns like the laser and flame thrower but these have limited ammo before you revert back to your standard machine gun. You can also find hand weapons like grenades and smoke bombs although only one type can be carried at a time. The Heavy Barrel weapon is of course the best in the game and is so powerful that can take out almost anything in just a few shots. Unfortunately it's split up in six parts and once you've found all the parts you can only use it for 90 seconds. After your time is up you have to find all the pieces again. Sometimes you can time it so that you find the last piece before a boss battle but it's mostly a question of luck.

 

The sound in the game never really rises above average with the usual action-like tunes playing in the background. The sound effects are quite feeble though and lack that hard hitting edge that would have made the game seem more intense. The controls are responsive and your character is easy to control while dodging bullets and enemies. It only takes one hit before you go down but you have a few continues to even out the odds and there is handy two player mode so you can take on the terrorists with a friend.

Heavy Barrel could well have been a classic if it wasn't so short. It's a much better game than similar titles like Ikari 3: The Rescue but its still bit too short to offer real value for money. With a few more levels this would have been a great game but as it is, it's still good. Good in single player and even better in multi-player, shooter fans should have fun completing this one.

[7]