1942: Joint Strike

Capcom’s 1942 flies in with a new look

Posted 4 years ago By LuxDraconis - William Bobola

I spent a lot of time in a lot of arcades when I was growing up (sorry Mom). I hate to admit it, but all the games I liked and played back then are now known as "classics". One that I lost a lot of quarters on was 1942. Today, the guys at Backbone brings back the nostalgia with 1942: Joint Strike, an updated version of my favorite coin-op classic, and that’s what you should expect as soon as you download the game. But 1942: Joint Strike left me puzzled, wondering if it really derserved the "ohs and ahs " I was keeping for it.


Gameplay

If you grew up in the 80’s, chances are you played 1942 in the arcades. Shockingly, some of you may not have had the pleasure of growing up back then. So, let me explain what this "remake" is about. 1942: Joint Strike is a top down scrolling shooter where you fly one of three different types of aircraft, an improvement over the original who had only one plane to play with. To aid you in the fight are three different weapon power-ups that you collect. You get these power-ups by destroying multiple enemies; blasting swarms of them can also get you extra lives or health bonuses. You’ll need the extra help when faced with formidable boss fights at the end of each level… Or, you can play co-op offline or via Xbox Live with a friend, a nice addition.

Co-op is the same as the single player campaign. Except for one thing: you and your friend can use the "Joint Strike" attack in which you’ll be able to defeat multiple enemies on the screen for a limited time by combining your fire powers. Other than that, same amount of enemies, same speed, same patterns. Frankly, I was hoping for a little more robust game play in the co-op game mode. What you get is an added plane and the same generic single player game play. Also, if you and your friend are blasted out of the sky, then you both will be kicked out of the the room you created…. Yes, once you die you are forced to create a new room and re-invite your friend back in to resume your fun…decidedly NOT fun to do. Thank god I can open a private chat...I suggest you do the same! Just so you know, the game did crash during one of my online sessions. The screen got black, enemies disappeared and my buddy couldn’t play at all until he died without knowing why. But it didn’t happened again. Weird.


Graphics

When the arcade title was first launched in 1984 the graphics were average for arcade title and compared to what we are used to today they are almost laughable. This remake, the graphics have been given a retro-fit with some higher quality 3D Models, textures, special effects and the right amount of shine brings the title up to date for todays gamer. Could they be better? Of course they can, but for a arcade title such as this they are passable and done well enough you need not worry about them.

Sound

The sound effects are good, not great or bad, but just good. From weapons, explosions, sound effects and even the menu sounds the actual audio is passable, just as the graphics are. If there was music I have no recollection of there being any because I was trying to stay alive, but this is a good thing because bad music is distracting.


Conclusion

If you’re a fan of the classic arcade version then it’s a fun trip down memory lane, and is still fun to play. If your looking for button mashing shooter this could fill that need as well. While it’s not a must buy, I did have some playing it again.

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