Strike Point

This is a pretty lousy game. I didn't have much fun playing through it. The graphics were decent but nothing spectacular by any means. The "reflections" on the water were nothing more than the sky image on the water. The ground was kind of grainy, too. The control was hard to get used to even after multiple plays. Most of the explosions and weapons lacked effect. This is especially important when the gameplay isn't that good. The mission objectives are a good idea, but often were confusing. There was a fair number of missions, but overall they lacked style--they didn't make you part of the game like some combat pies do.

I would like to know just how games like Strikepoint make it as far as store shelves. The opening cinema is sadly the only good part of the game. As soon as I saw the game in action, I cried out, "Oh my God." This game looks horrible. The animation is choppy, the enemies are tiny and the explosions are pathetic. Everything looks ridiculous! Now, on to the controls. Let's just say that I would probably have an easier time flying a real-life helicopter. On top of that, it's too easy to shoot things down. Your cannon shoots guided bullets for some odd reason. Finally, the view switches to some bad positions often. Stay away!

Fans of flight-combat games should stick with the action-packed Black Dawn, 'cause Strike Point is one ho-hum helicopter title. It does boast some flashy visuals. The terrains look realistic (the sky is reflected in lakes) and pop-up is fairly tolerable. Two players can fly missions simultaneously, courtesy of a Splitscreen Mode, too. Otherwise, the game's a mess. Control is sluggish, especially when you need to ascend or descend in a hurry. The missions are overly difficult and often boring. SP is also far from being realistic-even for an action-oriented game. Your missiles fly right through mountains, for instance.

Let's get this over with folks; I found one interesting point about Strike Point: You can change the color of your helicopter. Yup, that's it. I had to look back and see if this game was originally a NES game and was a spectacular 32-Bit port (a direct port, like the popular Arcade Classic collections out there). Explosions look like half-hearted paintball blots. The music is non-existent, and other than your own helicopter, the remaining sprites are a joke. Don't even ask me about the controls, they're not worth the print. I can't believe I'm already doling out yet another coaster award, and this is only the second generation of PlayStation titles!