I wrote this review a long time ago, maybe ten years. I pasted it from a file that has been backed up and transported from computer to computer.
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Are you wondering if this is the title of that one game you're looking for? Did you finally find that one airplane game you've been looking for online? Probably.
Strike gunner has two modes of play: single-player and 2-player cooperative -- each play the same campaign. I'll tell of a few details of the multiplayer experience. Single-player is exactly the same, except it's just one fighter jet saving the world and not two. No, there aren't less enemies when you're playing single-player.
You and your buddy start out flying over a 2D jungle. If you're first player, you get the hot-looking red fighter jet; player 2 gets a classical blue one. Both jets are identical (except color, as previously stated). Ok, so you and your buddy manage to close your dropped jaws of awe and actually concentrate on the mission. "What is it?" You're thinking. It looks like you're flying fast, but you can't slow down. You find that you can move all around the screen, but you can't make the 2D picture under you slow any slower. You start to hope that you chose the right super weapon for the level you're playing.
Wait... super weapon? You get super weapons in this game? Yes. Before each level you and your playmate get to choose a super weapon, one at a time, for your fighter jets. There are around 30 weapons to choose from. Each time one is chosen, it's crossed out and no longer available for future missions. There are more weapons than missions, mind you. So, you'll have to beat the game a few times in order to find out what all these cool guns can do.
In the game, you'll see that you and your partner have separate super weapon power meters. When the meter is full, you have a lot of super weapon "ammunition" to use. When it's empty, you don't. Your weapon power is resupplied by several cargo planes during each mission. If you're playing on the easiest difficulty, don't be conservative with your super weapons; you get more than enough supply -- especially in the first few levels.
Oh, now that I mentioned those cargo planes (they don't look like cargo planes, but that's their job), I should tell you their other job. Some cargo planes give you more "ammunition" for your super weapons, as stated above. But others upgrade your primary machine gun. There is a catch to this. Every time you die your primary machine gun returns to its base shooting power. Oh, and you die in one hit. This can make it hard to upgrade your primary machine gun to your desired level. At least your super weapon meter fills after you die.
How many times can you die? Frankly, that's your choice (to a measure). In the options screen before you start to play (you can't access any menus after the game commences, you can only pause), there are several gameplay settings that make for numerous custom levels of difficulty. You can decide how many lives each player gets -- up to 9. There are others options that I don't recall because I don't know what they changed. They might have been damage ratios.
"Whoa! Whoa... you forgot to mention exactly what effect those primary weapon upgrades have on your machine gun!" Oh, yeah. Your jet starts out with two machine guns. Each shoot one bullet at a time. The bullets must be on fire or something, because they are long and fiery-looking. The next upgrade makes you shoot faster, the next doubles your shot. The next one makes your bullets into blue lasers. You're back down to two bullets again. Then they're faster, then they double again. They get faster one more time, and then I think that's the ultimate upgrade. It's pretty simple. But these upgrades allow for plenty of time to die in between. You might end up beating the whole game without ever reaching the last upgrade. It's a good thing you don't need it to win.
I have a few leftover details to mention, then I'll have my final word(s). There is one super weapon that takes every last drop of "ammuntion" from your weapon meter. You can find out for yourself which weapon that is.
When playing 2-player, you can lock your jets together by pressing X or Y. Each lock you together a little differently. Whoever commands for the lock now controls both planes as one. In one lock mode, the player that's not controlling flight can shoot a small machine gun. The advantage of this is that you can shoot 360°. The other lock mode provides shooting a bit differently -- a less fun way. The initiator of the lock doesn't lose his own shooting abilities. Locking together can be very helpful if one player is low on super weapon "fuel" or not very good at maneuvering through some of the more crouded areas.
The levels change from jungle to desert to ocean to sky to outer space. Each stage ends with a boss. The last one is not really a boss, but you'll find that out yourself. The game is set in 2008. I believe it was published in 1992.
