Overall 7.7 Graphics 8 Sound 1.5 Addictive 10 Story 5 Depth 7 Difficulty 7
5
Turn the volume off and just enjoy the game. Azul Fria
Overview
This is the first game in the 194X game series and you are in control of a green plane flying over various terrain such as oceans, islands, and occasional sand with various planes that are seriously out to shoot you down but more on that later. Bear in mind that this is the NES version so my opinion is subject to change if I decide to review this game on another platform.
Gameplay - C+
This game can get kind of boring easily as all you have to do is shoot enemies and avoid bullets all day. The object of this game is survive 32 levels of shooting down planes that come from all sorts of directions including some of them that like to sneak up from behind you to crash into you first and if you are fortunate to avoid the initial kamikaze attack, then you have to worry about avoiding the bullets they shoot back at you in a three way pattern and worse of all, these type of planes take several shots to destroy them but yet as big as they are they end up dying by crashing into you too even though you die as well. Most of the time you are flying over an ocean trying to fly your way safely to a docking port and after your score is tallied based on enemies shot down and rolls unused, you are told how many levels you have left to survive. Occasionally, you'll have a boss battle against a giant plane that is 100 times bigger than yours and I'm not kidding, that sucker is huge but yet, if you keep your guard up, this plane goes down easily.
Graphics - B
The graphics on the other hand are actually great but not perfect. The terrains are all colorfully displayed beautifully and well mapped. Just the boss battle take off the points from perfection because the background disappears and you are fighting a plane in a section that is a blue void. In all, the graphics is the only aspect of the game that gives it any saving grace.
Oh my freaking goodness. If you got a TV that allows you to turn down the volume, then turn it all the way down. If your volume knob is broken, then I feel totally sorry for you. This game hardly has no music at all. Throughout the whole game is Morse Code, Morse Code, and more Morse Code with a few gunshot sound effects combined with it to make a sorry excuse for a rhythm beat. The other sounds are bad. But they sure could've used sounds for blowing up the smaller enemy planes or gave a sound warning for enemies coming from behind.
As long as you don't beat the game, then the replayability is a little bit ok if you just want a game to give a challenge and really test your eye coordination. As to why I mentioned not wanting to beat the game, read my final recommendation.
Overall - C-
I gave this a C- because there are people who just play it for the fun of it and not care much about the game aspects. I won't spoil the ending but you can check it up on Youtube and you will know the main reason my tagline says "Turn off the volume and just enjoy the game." and after surviving 32 levels for that piece of monkey crap ending you would want to gun gun blast on the TV.
Graphics 8 Sound 1 Addictive 10 Depth 8 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 03-26-13
Updated: 03-26-13
Review Replies: 1
8
Theo Vellum Reviews 1942 for NES Theo Vellum
1942 is a game ported from the arcades to the Famicom by Capcom on December 11th, 1985. The game is a classic shoot em up with nothing to really make it stand out from the crowd, but no real flaws either. Except for one we will get to later. For now, let's discuss the story of this game, or lack of one.
Story: Average
The story gets a middle average from me because it's a game based on a moment in history. Situated in World War II, you are a lone fighter pilot up against the entire Japanese Armada. That's about it. It didn't really need a story and what you got is solid enough. Something could be said for a Japanese game about the downfall of the Japanese Armada in World War II, you could also say this shows how Japan has evolved from those days, or you could say it shouldn't really matter. Whatever you say, it doesn't change the fact that the game doesn't really have much of a story, and it most likely wasn't meant too.
Graphics: Really Good
One of the things I love about games is the feeling of being in a real environment. Even old graphics can make you feel that way if they are good enough. 1942 does really well with what is has, flying over all the different environments feels appropriately paced. The animations look realistic, the only real gripes I have are with the bullet graphics and the two mini planes from the white power up. The loop de loop and explosion effects look really cool in particular. Overall the graphics are done really well. As for the major flaw of this game...
Sound: Horrible
This is definitely something they could have done better. A lot better. There is no music in the background, not even a catchy loop. There are some cool sound effects, but they quickly become grating without music to go with. After a while I just muted the sound, which does not say good things about it. But I still recommend playing the game, just mute the sound.
Gameplay: Excellent
Not that we're past the bad part, here's the best part. The gameplay itself is simple, yet effective. You go around shooting down all the planes in your way, you can shoot down a bunch of red planes to get a power up, which may give your bullets a wider range, give you two white mini planes to spread out your range, or destroy all enemies on screen. All while your score goes up really quickly. With 32 stages, you are sure to be playing this game for a while.
Addictiveness: Can't Put it Down
That's literally it, I just can't put it down. I'm having so much fun even though I completely suck at it. If you want more examples, just look to 6 year old me where I couldn't be bothered to do anything other than shoot down these virtual planes. I don't have the game anymore, but this certainly brings memories back. I recommend trying this out and see how much you like it.
Depth: Some
The depth in this game mostly comes from the gameplay itself, if you're good at the game you can complete all the levels pretty easily, but one of the things about this game is recording your scores and competing with friends. So there's only a little more than average depth to be had, but it's still fun regardless.
Difficulty: Somewhat Difficult
It generally has the same difficulty throughout the whole game, but with any game you play for long periods of time, this will likely get more difficult as you continue playing. There isn't much to say here other than watch out for planes that come from behind.
Overall: 8 out of 10
Overall, 1942 is a fun and classic shoot em up that may not be for everyone. But once again, if you feel the need to mute audio, go ahead and do it. That's the only reason it's not a 9. Thanks for reading!
Graphics 8 Sound 2 Addictive 10 Story 5 Depth 6 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 4.3/5
Submitted: 06-03-16
Review Replies: 1
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