- Game: Aerial Assault
- Console: Sega Game Gear
- Developer: Sega
- Publisher: Sega
- Release Year: 1992
- Region/Language: NTSC-U / English
- Genre: Side-Scrolling Shooter
- Purchase Location: BX – R.A.F. Alconbury, England
- Purchase Price: $ - I’m not sure. I know it came with my Game Gear, but I don’t know what my parents paid for the set way back in 1993. For a U.S. Game Gear in the United Kingdom in that year must’ve not been cheap, though. I’d guess 30-50 dollars just for this one game to come bundled with the unit.
- Purchase Year: 1993
- Review Platform: Sega Game Gear (Original Sega Model with Full-Color Logo)
Aerial Assault made quite an impression on a 7 year old me. When I opened my big Christmas present from my parents (or Santa Claus… I can’t remember!) I was delighted to see a Sega Game Gear set with Aerial Assault and Sonic the Hedgehog bundled in it. While Sonic for the Game Gear is a true classic in my opinion, Aerial Assault has always seen me coming back for it time and time again, Gradius clone though it may be.
The story (I was always under the impression this was correct) starts with a huge evil entity , N.A.C., creating a super-weapon that’s giving all civilized nations of the world very real cause for concern. A great uprising took place, but was firmly quashed by the N.A.C. almost as soon as it started. With the world on the brink of chaos and destruction, a lone pilot called the “Freedom Fighter” comes in to rescue the day. Flying in his tricked-out F-14, he’ll pop a cap in the evil leaders of the diabolical N.A.C. and stop this madness once and for all!
Graphics: Aerial Assault’s graphics may not have pushed the system to its limits, but they certainly do the job. The strong towers of the city, lush tropical islands in the Pacific, gorgeous sunset along the cloud line turning into a lightning storm… the backgrounds in this game are absolutely fantastic and really add a convincing depth to the game play. The sprites may be a bit basic for your ship, and for the other lesser craft you will encounter during your missions, but the bosses are very well implemented. Huge and looming with very little sprite flicker, the bosses outsize your airplane by a great deal.
I particularly enjoyed the in-cockpit mission transmissions prior to the start of a new level. It may seem hokey to some, but this got me ‘into the action’ like no other.
Sound: I can still remember the title screen theme. It’s a bit screechy, but after listening to it off and on for the last 15 years I’m quite fond of it. Kind of like a video game music Stockholm syndrome. This goes for the whole game’s music. I’ll probably end up remixing it when I finally get interred in a mental hospital.
The sound effects are sufficiently explodey to maintain enough realism when blowing up B-52 bombers the size of Austin, Texas.
Controls: The controls are awesome. They make your plane go up, they make your plane go down. They are accurate and fast enough to enable your plane to perform some hair-raising dare-devil like aerial feats, such as flying between two bullets, or flying between two planes.
Gameplay: The gameplay is awesome. There’s nothing like spending half an hour shooting the shit out of everything that comes your way while waiting for your oil to get changed. The power-ups in this game are pretty sweet, though one has to wonder why the hell your F-14 has to emit chirping bolts of blue energy on the third or fourth power-up… Chirping? I’ve never heard a chirping weapon.
The difficulty starts at very easy, but gets tough at the middle of the sunset level. You’ll have to whip out your best reflexes to beat this game!
Verdict: Buy it. Many people have never heard of this gem, but its well worth it. It even supports 2 players via the Game Gear’s link port, provided you have two copies of the game. I’d buy it for $15.00 or less.
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