 |
| OVERALL RATING |
3.5 |
| Presentation |
 |
3.5 |
| Control |
|
3.5 |
| Gameplay |
|
3.5 |
| Fun factor |
|
3.5 |
| User Rating |
 |
3.0 |
 |
Posted: July 13, 2004
Based on the historical battle of Midway during World War II, 1942 is a classic arcade shooter originally released in 1984 that puts you in command of your very own P38 Lightning. As an ace fighter pilot, your mission is to take on the Japanese air force and help turn the tide of the war in the Pacific.
In 1942, Japanese enemy planes constantly canvas the skies aiming to gun you down. Your best recourse is to shoot and evade your way through eight tough levels while trying to collect power-ups to make your task easier. Remember that by shooting the red squadron formation, you are rewarded with a “POW” that increases your firepower. For evasive maneuvering, use the roll button to loop out of danger. Scoring, just like the arcade version, is based on the remaining number of loops, planes and shooting accuracy.
The game play is frantic as you are constantly under attack. Thankfully, maneuvering through the sky is quite a breeze since you are given full 8-way controls. Shooting is done automatically, which, depending on your point of view, can be good or bad. Good, meaning you don’t have to worry about pressing extra buttons. Bad, because auto-fire can leave you without ammo for a limited time, causing trouble with incoming kamikaze pilots.
The game looks every bit like the arcade classic including the carrier take-off and landing sequences. The audio continues to play throughout the entire game and really helps set the tone. Lavasoft Engineering did a great job in capturing the essence of the original.
