6. Double Strike
Instructions
Killing terrorists is every good American's favorite thing to do in their
free time. By God, it's an American pasttime like baseball and gastric
bypass surgery! Before I get to the good stuff, again, perhaps it's the
perversive way my ticker looks at things, but that title graphic of a
person's hand grasping two long, pointy missles is highly suggestive to
me. Thought I'd be the one to say what everyone else was thinking.
Double Strike is very similar to the fact pace, frantic shooting action of Tailspin, but, unfortunately, brings out some of the bad too (besides not having Baloo anywhere). Ignorning the fact that it looks like you're piloting a spaceship, this game is decent enough when it doesn't remind you of the genericness of the Captain Planet video game. Game mechanics don't reach beyond the basics: You get to either lob bombs or shoot regular gunfire in your great multi-leveled massacre in the skies. There are happens to be two regular weapon pick-ups to upgrade fire power, another to obtain bombs, and an invincibility pick-up that allows you to absorb hits for a set period of time.
One can tell by playing the programmers were trying really hard to keep things lively, and they do a much better job at it than in F-15, however the action does eventually gets dull and repetitive. This should have been a game with three stages, not 10. Levels play out the same way they did in City At War: You shoot down planes; maneuver around enemy fire; get whisked off to the boss battle; shoot all the machinery guns of the boss, win; and do the same thing for another nine levels. The graphics, although still nowhere near complex, are varied enough and don't distract much from the action taking place.
From terrorists to Nazis! Or are the terrorists Nazis? See, didn't I tell you things were livelier than in F-15?
The game cheats and repeats the same bosses again...
Another Nazi castle to take down, it seems. And again...
...again...
..again...
..again...
..again...
...and again. I enjoy blowing up Nazi castles the same as the next guy, but come on! Double Strike is in dire need of some variety. Two words would have made this game timeless: MegaRobotic Fuehrer.
(Fin.) Though I thought it was more of a weight-lifting fitness motivational quote, I suppose "NO PAINS NO GAINS" can just as much apply to bombing the hell out of Nazi castles as pumping iron as long as they're playing "So we HEIL! HEIL! Right in der Fuehrer's face!" on the TVs at the gym.
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