Today we are going back to February 1992 to play the first in one of the best combat trilogies made for the Sega Megadrive; we are going back to Gulf in the form of Electronic Arts Desert Strike.
Desert Strike was an instant classic on its release in 1992 with its isometric view and wide open playing area, this was something totally different than you had ever played before. The Apache chopper you were put in charge of moved smoothly and realistically, armed with your chain gun, rockets and hell fire missiles you were given various missions to complete.
Missions ranged from capturing enemy generals to rescuing stranded soldiers taking out airfields and ground attack vehicles, but there was strategy involved in doing all this. It wasn’t a case of flying around with infinite ammo and blowing the crap out of the enemy, nope you had to collect your ammo via a winch to make sure you could pack a punch when it was time to take out vehicles and enemies. Fuel was also required which was scattered around a vast area and this was often needed during timed missions ramping up the difficulty to a whole new level.
It may not have been the most amazing graphics….
Graphically the game was very bare (hey you’re in a desert, what do you want – a supermarket and McDonald’s?!) but the vehicles and bases were very well designed and animated the sound effects from the winch to hell fire missiles taking out what looked suspiciously like scud missile launchers was satisfying and Enjoyable.
Star Struck Gaming Rating
The game was well accepted but in some cases was accused of capitalising on the Iraq war. The game had a similar storyline of an invasion of a Gulf state but no direct link was established and this did not stop it becoming Electronic Arts best selling game to date.
This was another example of the capabilities of the Sega Megadrive and what could be done when developers put their mind to it, and EA had plans to build on this franchise but that will be covered in another review even though Desert Strike was a great game even better was yet to come.
