Pacific Warriors: Air Combat Action

Although to many modern, big-money developers it seems to be a dead art, there are in the hinterlands of the Internet some cracking old-skool shoot 'em ups to be found, either as freeware or shareware. There is a reason for that: few people want to spend $30 on a simple concept and therefore few people make them. In the case of Pacific Warriors, in essence there is little to tell it apart from the 'classic' coin-op 1942, mixed of course with a slice of Afterburner.

Well, OK, Pacific Warriors offers much more freedom to get lost among the confusing islands of the South Pacific, and as a flight game, is far easier to get to grips with than any simulator you'd care to mention. But as an action game it is pretty dull. For instance, the seas and island are entirely static, you are more likely to be rammed out of the sky rather than taken out with a well-placed shot and the sound is a dreadful cacophony of looped samples and repeating voice lines.

But for all that, Pacific Warriors is one of those games that while you're playing, manages to trick you into thinking that you're having some kind of fun. As you think you're nearing the end of one level, you're thinking that the next must be better. And it is, just enough for the hope to circulate once more.