Strikers 1945

During the aftermath of World War II, an organization code named F.G.R. managed to steal top secret information on advanced weaponry. This enabled them to reinforce their military and attempt to engulf the world in chaos. The allied forces equipped six ace pilots with advanced planes to combat the threat. The group were code named the Strikers, and they set out to restore order to a world that has only begun to recover from the horrors of war. -summary

Strikers 1945 does appear to possess quite a bit of depth in its story, and it seems plausible that an underground network could have possibly surfaced to attack the world's nations at their most vulnerable, during their recovery. Unfortunately, the story is a mere after thought since it's never delved into, and even if it was, I'm sure it would be completely over looked anyway due to the fast paced shooting action found in the game play.

Strikers 1945 is one of those lost arcade shooters (among plenty others) for the PS1. This is a very good game to sit down and blast away a few minutes of your life. The game for me, is one of those diamonds in the rough, and I often wonder how this one actually got lost in the shuffle during the PS1's heyday, since I don't know many people who have heard of it.

Game Play:

When coming into this game, think 1942 and 1943 by Capcom, with a dash of R-Type difficulty for the last two stages, and you can pretty much visualize what this game is about. Strikers 1945 is a 2D, upward scrolling, free-roaming, vertical shooter that features two player co-op. The objective is to blast your way through 8 missions of highly intense air combat. During the character select screen, six aircraft can be selected before the mission, and each aircraft differs in some sort of way. The planes basically all have the same functions; single shot, bombs or missiles, and a massive bomb attack. The planes can vary through speed, but their main difference comes in the form of their charge shot and massive bomb attack.

While fighting the enemies, the player will be able to obtain pick ups which upgrades the main gun. There's also a power gauge meter that gradually builds up to three levels. Once it hits level three, a stronger shot can be fired. However, the shot can still be used on the lower levels, but the strength of it will be reduced. Each of the planes have a different variation of their shot; such as high explosive chain blasts that fires in front of the plane, and runs up the screen damaging or killing everything in its path, or another plane firing off a ghostly like image of itself with the same effect. The massive bomb attack that is meant to wipe out all enemies or weaken bosses, is actually in the form of an air raid. This attack calls out a formation of indestructible planes, that attack relentlessly plus protects you from enemy fire. The attack differs in some way for each of the planes but it does have a limit.

The stages themselves are packed with non stop enemies firing at all times and they are relentless. The enemies consist of planes, tanks, heavily armored gun turrets, and anything that has something to do with the military. They will always fire straight in your direction and the constant attacks will keep you on your toes.

Like all games of this type, eye coordination is a must and constant moving is the only way to survive this game. At the end of the stage, there's always an intense boss battle that takes place. The player begins with a certain amount of lives, and when the player is killed they pick up from right there in the heat of battle. Therefore, you do not have to replay the stage again. To include, there are a certain amount of continues and the player can pick up in the same spot where they died right then. I'm sure this game sounds very easy to beat right? Wrong! By the sixth stage I believe, the continues now restart you from the very beginning of the stage, and if you were the type who relied heavily on your air raid attack during the earlier stages, then you will be completely out of luck because now you're forced to rely on playing skills, since the air raid attack will likely be completely exhausted. The real challenge to this game I think is trying to beat it without continuing once.

The only draw back I can think of is the length of the stages, but then again, I'm kind of not too sure here. The stages are very short, and after a brief amount of high octane shooting you're plunged into a boss battle. However, the difficulty in the later stages makes up for this. It's very possible to use up your air raid attack and lives by the time you make it to the boss. Thus, making your quick death almost a guarantee at the stage boss' hands, and most of those battles are not easy.

I have to single out the two player co-op mode, because this is when the game is at its best. In the hands of two top notch players with the planes completely upgraded, it is very possible to rain pure hell on the enemies, and beat the game a bit easier; the fusillade of ammuntion, along with powered up shots, and well coordinated air raids, creates a battlefield of poetic destruction. This is one game where perfect team work spells disaster for the enemy.

Controls:

The game is pick up and play, and there really isn't much of a learning curve either; a cursory glance at the instruction manual, and you're pretty much good to go. The planes handle very well, and all of the actions are responsive.

Graphics/Music/Sound:

The visuals are very good, and there are many nice vehicle designs to look at such as aircraft carriers and planes that resemble C-130's. However, the boss designs are pretty much the show stealer. They begin as regular oversized vehicles, then after heavy damage they morph into mecha styled nightmares. The backgrounds are pretty well detailed from villages crowded with houses, to small icy glaciers in the artic. The game features a very fast and impressive frame rate. There isn't the slightest bit of slow down, no matter how furious the attacks are, or how many enemies are on the screen at the same time. The best part is that no bullets become invisible because there's so much taking place. The action packed soundtrack increases the tempo, and even though there's nothing truly noteworthy about it, but I thought the sound effects were decent enough concerning the explosions.

Overall:

Strikers 1945 is a lot of fun with two players, and the solo mode is very challenging when trying to win without continues. Overall, the game is a very solid shooter that will more than likely appeal to fans of these type of games. Recommended.

Overall Rating: 7/10

Pros: Non stop shooting action, graphics, controls

Cons: Short and at times too difficult, completely non story driven