Desert Strike
Desert Strike, original Genesis game by Electronic Arts. Master System conversion developed by The Kremlin and published by Domark in 1993.
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Player's Review
"The number one hit helicopter sim' has now arrived on Master System! Pilot your AH-64 Apache helicopter through 27 in depth missions. Destroy scuds, tanks, nuclear reactors and rescue vital personnel in this all action test of speed and skill."
Desert Strike was published on pretty much all the home systems of the time but not all versions were equal. Most were done in house at Electronic Arts but some were licenced out and can look and play a little different to the original game. The Master System game is no exception and considering the difference is hardware compared to the Genesis game, the Master System game has faired well maintaining most of the game and still recognisable although the helicopter it self is a little jarring.
Due to the smaller cartridge size and being an 8-Bit system some concessions were made. The Intro is mostly intact with some changes and the options menu allows you to select your co pilot although they all pretty naff at there job in this version. The main problem being is that they will prioritise shooting at friendlies and pickups before targeting the enemy! Once in game we have all the familiar missions but the game map is notably small so it takes no time to move across the map when going from mission to mission or racing off for items. All four scenarios are included as well as the ending.
The Longplay shows playing through all missions, completing all objectives and occasionally going above and beyond to complete all missions fully. After the ending has rolled I show the game over screen. One notable difference compared to the original is the final mission where instead of going after the madman's bomber, you go after his submarine! It takes forever to destroy and you will need to collect a few ammo boxes so I hope you saved some else you will be in trouble. I think your co-pilot also goes down with the sub as the last your hear from him is that he was captured and taken to the madman's apc going to the sub. Interestingly the pre mission dialogue still talks about the bomber right after the sub.
Overall it is a good conversion although it does have some annoyances. The enemies hit hard and exact and can ware down your armour quickly. It can take a lot of ammo to kill enemies and it's not so easy to aim with you having to get in close before shots will land as ell as the previously mentioned co pilot targeting items instead of enemies. It can be a bit strange having multiple mission objectives right next to each other.
00:00:00 Title Screen
00:01:30 Intro
00:03:52 Mission 1 - Air Supremacy
00:19:44 Mission 2 - Scud Buster
00:49:11 Mission 3 - Embassy City
01:22:20 Mission 4 - Nuclear Storm
01:47:06 Ending / Game Over
Desert Strike was published on pretty much all the home systems of the time but not all versions were equal. Most were done in house at Electronic Arts but some were licenced out and can look and play a little different to the original game. The Master System game is no exception and considering the difference is hardware compared to the Genesis game, the Master System game has faired well maintaining most of the game and still recognisable although the helicopter it self is a little jarring.
Due to the smaller cartridge size and being an 8-Bit system some concessions were made. The Intro is mostly intact with some changes and the options menu allows you to select your co pilot although they all pretty naff at there job in this version. The main problem being is that they will prioritise shooting at friendlies and pickups before targeting the enemy! Once in game we have all the familiar missions but the game map is notably small so it takes no time to move across the map when going from mission to mission or racing off for items. All four scenarios are included as well as the ending.
The Longplay shows playing through all missions, completing all objectives and occasionally going above and beyond to complete all missions fully. After the ending has rolled I show the game over screen. One notable difference compared to the original is the final mission where instead of going after the madman's bomber, you go after his submarine! It takes forever to destroy and you will need to collect a few ammo boxes so I hope you saved some else you will be in trouble. I think your co-pilot also goes down with the sub as the last your hear from him is that he was captured and taken to the madman's apc going to the sub. Interestingly the pre mission dialogue still talks about the bomber right after the sub.
Overall it is a good conversion although it does have some annoyances. The enemies hit hard and exact and can ware down your armour quickly. It can take a lot of ammo to kill enemies and it's not so easy to aim with you having to get in close before shots will land as ell as the previously mentioned co pilot targeting items instead of enemies. It can be a bit strange having multiple mission objectives right next to each other.
00:00:00 Title Screen
00:01:30 Intro
00:03:52 Mission 1 - Air Supremacy
00:19:44 Mission 2 - Scud Buster
00:49:11 Mission 3 - Embassy City
01:22:20 Mission 4 - Nuclear Storm
01:47:06 Ending / Game Over
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