Every now and again a
good game somehow slips through the cracks. Sometimes a game
receives so little press that it has no chance of being even a
sleeper hit. Fire Blade is one of these games. The fact that
this game is a Midway title would be a red flag to the savvy gamer,
its $20 price tag would also indicate that the gameplay is somehow
fatally flawed. Regardless of the warning signs, I picked up a copy
looking for some quick and dirty fun… If the game were REALLY awful,
I’d only be $20 poorer.
CHOPPER STRIKE
I loved EA’s Strike
series in the glory days of the 16-bit systems. The graphics were
great, and the gameplay was simple and addictive. The core gameplay
consisted of chopper vs. ground force combat, using a chaingun,
dumb-fire rockets and seeking missiles. Weapon, fuel and armor
pickups provided a bit of a strategic element, rounding out a very
intricate and polished gaming experience. I still occasionally play
Desert Strike (the first game in the series) via an emulator
on my laptop (not that netjak condones that sort of thing)
After familiarizing
myself with the controls, I begin to notice how closely the gameplay
in Fire Blade mirrors that of the old Strike series.
The auto-targeting chaingun is here, the rockets, the missiles, the
power-up crates. A few extras have been thrown into the mix, stuff
you’d expect to find on modern choppers: heat vision, jet-assisted
boosters, precision sniper weapons, EMP weaponry and stealth
capabilities.
So many ‘retro revival’
type games (Spy Hunter, Defender and Frogger, to name
a few) are mediocre at best and usually fail to capture the key
elements that made the originals fun in the first place. It is
refreshing to play a game that actually captures the spirit of a
classic game, improves upon the core gameplay, all without ever
exploiting its ‘retro’ appeal.
GRAPHICS
The developers obviously
put some effort into making this game shine on the XBOX, a somewhat
astounding feat when you consider that this game was released for
all three consoles. Not once did I spot a blurry, muddy or
pixellated texture. On the ground beneath you is an intricate
patchwork of military installations, complete with troops, jeeps,
trucks, APCs, tanks and anti-aircraft guns. There are also many
different types of buildings: bunkers, guard towers, hangars,
communication arrays, you name it. Zooming in on any of the detailed
ground forces with a sniper weapon will reveal a remarkable amount
of detail (so much so that you couldn’t even see it without a sniper
scope).
Water effects are
especially well done, with crisp textures and real-time reflection
effects. Water may be a murky brown or a clear aqua, and
transparency effects are affected accordingly. When hovering close
the surface of the water, your chopper blades will cause the water
to chop dramatically. Your chopper blades will also kick up a dust
cloud when flying close to dry land; trees and foliage will bend and
sway under the downward force of your bird.
The heat vision provides
some useful contrast to spot distant enemies, and is accompanied by
a nauseating motion blur that will effectively keep the player from
over-using it. A similar motion-blur effect is used during
jet-boost, although it is well done and less disorienting. Smoke
trails and explosions are adequate, and the EMP effects are a little
cheesy.
SOUND
The sound is as about as
good as can be expected from this type of sterile military scenario.
The constant sound of your revolving blades is mercifully hushed,
more so in stealth mode. Explosions and gunfire are par for the
course; nothing to complain about, nothing to go ape over, either.
The only notable voice acting comes from your rough-sounding
commander, who shouts orders at you when you screw up your mission.
GAMEPLAY
Missions consist of your
basic set of objectives: defend key points, destroy key points,
escort, time limit and stealth. Sometimes these are mixed and
matched, but there is going to be at least one type of mission goal
that any one gamer is going to hate. I’m not fond of timed missions
or escort missions, but even these missions (while difficult)
have me picking the controller back up after multiple frustrating
losses until I beat them.
Getting used to
controlling an attack chopper in three dimensions can be a daunting
task. The right analog stick controls your up-down and strafing
motions, while the left stick controls your forward-back and turning
motions. After a bit of practice the controls may be tamed, but
still require enough effort to make every kill a joyous event. The
nature of chopper control makes it nearly impossible to aim your
rockets via the third-person reticule; thankfully your chaingun and
missiles lock on and your rockets can be fired from the first-person
sniper mode.
Certain situations
require that you get past enemy positions without being detected.
Your attack chopper is equipped with a stealth system (pulling
weapons into internal weapons bay, light/heat refraction technology)
to achieve this. Getting too close to an enemy will still allow them
to hear or spot you, so distance is key. Firing your chaingun or
launching rockets will also give your position away.
Your EMP cannon provides
an interesting bit of strategy. You can fire your EMP without giving
your position away while in stealth mode, and it quietly disables
vehicles instead of blowing them up. This gives you the opportunity
to secretly immobilize a large portion of the enemy attack force
before coming in for a close range attack. Soldiers will notice if a
vehicle is hit by an EMP charge and will run to report it, they must
be precisely delt with using the sniper cannon.
For the most part
gameplay is balanced, but occasionally the difficulty will vary from
‘way too easy’ to ‘blinding rage difficult’.
You may go back to any
level after completion, to achieve secondary goals or just get a
better score… This helps to add a bit of replay value to a game that
already sports a healthy collection of levels over several
campaigns.
FINAL DIGS
Fire Blade does
not have an engrossing plot, pre-rendered cinematics or a popular
license. What it does have is an assload of rock solid gameplay, and
an impressive game engine to boot. If you are looking to kill a
solid weekend, this game would make a great rental.
Let’s face it: you can’t
beat a $20 price tag to have a good game in your collection, either.
