Active Reviews

Written by Edward Hankins

In the genre of scrolling shooters a few games stand a head above the rest. Raptor, Raiden, and Tyrian come to mind, and now joining that list is Airstrike 2 from Divogames. Airstrike 2 is a perfect mix of 3D graphics, arcade style gameplay, and all out explosive mayhem. From a plethora of enemies to awesome power-up weapons this game is guaranteed to occupy your time as long as it is installed on your computer.

Airstrike 2 is your basic vertical scrolling shooter, just like the games you grew up on at the arcade. And Divogames knows what made those games successful; lots of action, awesome weapons, and explosive power-ups. As the game begins you are given your mission debriefing and discover your mission; to destroy the terrorist bases and his means of waging war to an end. Accomplishing this mission will take all the skill you can muster in piloting your helicopter into the bowels of hell. As you progress in the game you will unlock more powerful helicopters, each with better armor or speed, and you will need them as this game is far from easy.

The first level is a tutorial mode to get you acquainted with controls of the game. Basically you have your primary weapon, your missiles, and your special weapon. Now each weapon is interchangeable and your options are shown on the top left and right of the screen. You can also switch your primary weapon as you progress by collecting power-ups. Along the way you will find yourself equipped with plasma cannons, sonic waves, electric pulses, a flame thrower, heat seeking missiles, and the all powerful laser; each upgrade is more powerful than the last. On the left side of the screen you have your missile selections, you can choose from heat seeking, double heat seeking, and large and small dummy missiles. On the right side of the screen you have your special weapons menu, and on today's menu is mass destruction. Satellite targeted missiles, nuclear bombs, electric pulses, super missiles, and close air support all will rain down destruction upon your enemies. My personal favorite is the close air support which is the yellow plane icon, this special weapon when activated sends a bomber roaring with missiles and bombs through the path of your enemies causing utter destruction.

The gameplay of Airstrike 2 is what makes it such a winner, rarely are there games that are as fun and addicting. Everyone loves a game that is full of action and mindless destruction, and here there is plenty of both and big explosions too! The game is best enjoyed with a joystick but even a keyboard or mouse can be used. The helicopter handles very easily and by earning new helicopters you can improve handling and armor. Airstrike 2 is geared towards both novice young-guns and grizzled veterans; in easy mode even a young child can have fun but turn the difficulty up and a hard core gamer will have difficulty. This and the scoring system will guarantee replay value and Divogames goes even further by allowing hi-score postings, putting gamers from around the world in competition.

Graphically Airstrike 2 is the most impressive shooter I have played to date. When playing you can tell the time and detail that went into the renderings. The explosions are particularly impressive, watch the detail when you drop a sattelite bomb or when you hit a gas tank and the screen just rumbles it really puts you in the seat of the chopper. All the units and the terrain is realistically rendered and the special effects such as smoke, fire, and fog are downright impressive. If that wasn't enough you have four camera angles available, including the classic top down view.

Once you start playing this game you realize how addictive it is. Divogames brings this genre back to life. This is the type of game you can pick up for 5 minutes or 2 hours; you can sneak a quick game while at the office or play multiplayer with a buddy late into the night.

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