All 16-Bit

Review #12135 Wing Commander Full voice acting, better artwork, but worse gameplay Sega CD 1994 Electronic Arts Simulation Simulation › Flight E 61 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay Gameplay is significantly worse than the SNES version. How is that possible given the added power of the mighty Sega CD?! Whatever the alcuase, the choppy movement and slowdown is cranked up to 11 here. A terrible control scheme adds to the frustration. Instead of R and L for your throttle you have to hold B and press up or down to accelerate. This is not easy during a dogfight. Despite the improved.conematocs, this is the weaker 16-bit version. 4 / 5 Level Design I didn't see a lot of missions but each level receives a deta...

Review #12004 AH3 - Thunderstrike Get to da choppa! Sega CD 1993 JVC Simulation Simulation › Flight F 53 / 100 Not Bad, but Flawed Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay There's a lot to like. The framerate is great which instantly makes this one of the better flight sims. Gameplay is very simple - C adjusts your height (you can barely get off the ground), B switches weapons, and A fires. You have barely any missile or rocket ammo, so it's best to simply use your gun which has unlimited ammo. Targeting is automatic so you only need to fly around and kill everything on the ground. Flying enemies are another thing entirely. They're virtually impossible to kill because they're only on screen for a split second and your targeting doesn't lock on to them f...

Review #6816 Gunship Terrible on rails flight sim + bad horizontal shooter MD PAL 1994 U.S. Gold Simulation Simulation › Flight H 29 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Terrible on almost every way. The on rails sections are a complete waste of time since you have virtually no control of your movement and aiming your reticle is nigh impossible. You even lose all control randomly which opens you up to attach from the enemies who continuously spawn. Like Top Gun you can simply aim up or down and pretend like no one is there until the stage mercifully ends. The side view stages are slightly better but the momentum based movement of your chopper are incredibly frustrating to control. 1 / 5 Level Design Each theater has three ...

Review #2329 Super Air Diver 2 aka Lock On 2 SFC 1995 Asmik Ace Simulation Simulation › Flight H 35 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Same bad controls as the previous game. Maybe slightly improved, but not by much. I still dogfight for a long time, shoot everyone down, and then run out of fuel. 2 / 5 Level Design I like the overhead tile-based strategy mode between dogfights. It feels a bit like Star Fox Command. 3 / 5 Theme Pick between an F-15 and some European fighter and shoot down those MiGs! 3 / 5 Art Style There's a lot to like, but overall the graphics aren't great. Just like the previous game. 3 / 5 Au...

Review #7033 Falcon Nothing to see here TG-16 1992 TTI Simulation Simulation › Flight X 16 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay As far as 8/16-bit flight sims go this one performs fine. It's unbearably slow and choppy by modern standards but there is a bit of immersion to be had. But no, this isn't a great gaming experience. Movement is sluggish and turns are unacceptably slow. Dogfighting is completely impossible. In fact, you know what, I'll just call it. This is a bad game. 0 / 5 Level Design I'm completely lost. Unless your target is on screen you'll never find it. There's no map, no arrows pointing which way to go, no visual clues whatsoever where to go or what to do. And yo...

Review #4657 WarpSpeed In space, no one can hear you yawn. Genesis 1993 Accolade Simulation Simulation › Flight X 18 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Not sure where to begin. You can accelerate and fire unlimited bullets. Two are fired, off center which is nice otherwise it would be like Faceball 2000 since the bullets are enormous and slow moving. The only way to hit anything is to get inches away and hold to the side and wait for the enemy to break off slightly so you can get your crosshairs ahead of them. But this means the enemy is all the way off screen. So awkward and weird and stupid. Buttons are strange. Hold Start plus up or down to change speed. 1 / 5 Level Design Every level is the same. Move ...

Review #4548 Steel Talons Makes Star Fox looks like it's running at 120 FPS Genesis 1992 Tengen Simulation Simulation › Flight X 22 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Plays quite a bit different from the SNES version. That game was more of a sim while this one is arcadey. Framerate is laughable. Race Drivin' bad. Maybe even worse than the SNES. Uses every face button. Awkward use of the C+up or down to adjust elevation. Lag is so bad that it's hard to tell how long you held it and therefore if you're going to crash or fly away. Best to not touch it, kind of like movement in Asteroids. Has a good on screen mini map and a long draw distance. This is easily the best thing about the game. 2 / 5 ...

Review #4352 MiG-29 Fighter Pilot Commie die en Genesis 1993 Domark Simulation Simulation › Flight F 58 / 100 Not Bad, but Flawed Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 4 / 5 Gameplay Far better performance than any other flight sim in the Genesis. It still crawls but it's the best of a bunch of horrible options. Just fly, shoot missiles and then turn on Autoland to end the mission. Not much to it. Map is on the pause screen. 2 / 5 Level Design Same old. Big open area with some targets 2 / 5 Theme They at least try. Your CO stands and gives you a mission briefing in a red lit room. Subtle 1 / 5 Art Style 2 / 5 Audio There are some ok tunes. T...

Review #4314 LHX Attack Chopper First person Desert Strike Genesis 1992 Electronic Arts Simulation Simulation › Flight H 34 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay First person view, although you can switch to 3rd person if you wish. But don't. Surprisingly responsive controls. And by responsive I mean horribly slow, but dramatically better than other 16 bit flight sims. The best feature of this game is auto aim. Your target only needs to be within your field of view and locked on to be fired at. C shoots a gun and B shoots your selected missile (sidewinder or hellfire). The worst feature is the inability to control elevation. Or more accurately, the inability to hit any flying enemies who are invariably above you and therefore impossible to hit. Well it...

Review #4186 F-22 Interceptor I had no idea the F-22 was so old Genesis 1991 Electronic Arts Simulation Simulation › Flight H 28 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Do all these flight sounds play the same? Crazy slow movement. You can only pull upward. Pushing downward does nothing. Again, this genre is incompatible with 16 bit consoles. 2 / 5 Level Design Has a fun little tutorial. It demonstrates just how limited the gameplay is but hey it's something. 2 / 5 Theme 1 / 5 Art Style 2 / 5 Audio More Genesis reviews Browse all reviews

Review #4185 F-15 Strike Eagle II Where's Louis Gossett Jr.? Genesis 1993 MicroProse Simulation Simulation › Flight X 24 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Incredibly stiff movement. Simple two button controls. Just change weapon and fire. No way to control speed. Dogfighting is ridiculous due to the slow turning. This genre never should've come to 16 bit consoles and this game is a good example why. 1 / 5 Level Design There are 6 missions. Ultimately they're all the same - just an area to take out ground and air targets and then land, although I wasn't able to do that last part. 1 / 5 Theme Flight sim. You can fight the Libyans, the Russians, or na...

Review #4184 F-117 Night Storm Stealthy; adjective; slow, deliberate, and silent Genesis 1993 Electronic Arts Simulation Simulation › Flight H 30 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay Finally, a flight sim with halfway decent movement. Not great but way better than F-15 or F-22. 1 / 5 Level Design What levels? There are no missions, just an open area that you customize by choosing the number of aircraft and ground units, a time limit, and a difficulty level. There's literally nothing else. 1 / 5 Theme An absolute blank slate. I'm not even sure if there's a title screen in this game. 1 / 5 Art Style As good looking as a pile of paper. Even ...

Review #692 Wings 2: Aces High There's slow. And then there's Wings 2 SNES 1992 Namco Simulation Simulation › Flight H 25 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay No HUD, no speed, no map, no crosshairs, no nuthin. The barest of bones. Controls are just the d-pad and shooting. That's it. Aiming is an absolute crapshoot. Super slow gameplay. Some of the slowest framerates you'll see in the 16-bit era. Controls are very difficult with super weird physics. Nearly impossible to fly straight. 2 / 5 Level Design The kinds of levels: 1. Dogfighting 2. Bombing 3. Strafing No variety other than the number of targets, so once you've played one level you've played them all. 1 / 5 ...

Review #691 Wing Commander 2: The Secret Missions Madden-style roster update SNES 1993 Mindscape Simulation Simulation › Flight E 67 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Same game as the predecessor. Doesn't add anything meaningful. Slowdown is even more prevalent. 4 / 5 Level Design Same as first game 5 / 5 Theme Again, I LOVE the cinematic story and setting in this sci-fi game. Still the highlight of the game. 2 / 5 Art Style SLOWDOWN 4 / 5 Audio Love the music and the sound effects are nice as well. The fanfare after killing an enemy is pretty cool as well. More SNES reviews ...

Review #690 Wing Commander My first encounter with permadeath SNES 1992 Mindscape Simulation Simulation › Flight E 69 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Simple controls. L and R slow down and accelerate while B shoots lasers and A shoots missiles. Enemies are hard to track down and evade but dogfighting isn't frustrating. Not sure how to connect with a missile though. Gameplay is a bit choppy. Slowdown happens a lot when firing lasers. 4 / 5 Level Design I didn't see a lot of missions but each level receives a detailed mission briefings followed by conversations with other pilots and the bartender between missions. If memory serves there is lots of variety in the types of missions. ...

Review #674 WarpSpeed In space, no one can hear you yawn. SNES 1992 Accolade Simulation Simulation › Flight X 18 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Not sure where to begin. You can accelerate and fire unlimited bullets. Two are fired, off center which is nice otherwise it would be like Faceball 2000 since the bullets are enormous and slow moving. The only way to hit anything is to get inches away and hold to the side and wait for the enemy to break off slightly so you can get your crosshairs ahead of them. But this means the enemy is all the way off screen. So awkward and weird and ready and stupid. 1 / 5 Level Design Every level is the same. Move around a grid and clear out quadrants. Boring ...

Review #653 Turn and Burn No Fly Zone I went to the Danger Zone SNES 1993 Absolute Simulation Simulation › Flight E 67 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 4 / 5 Gameplay Ok this is more like it! Very fast and buttery smooth gameplay. Cockpit view gives sense of speed and left and right over-shoulder views are pointless but unbelievably cool looking. Plane can make very tight turns which is both unrealistic and awesome. This is a video game after all. Has a real time map you can switch to and navigate from with clear callouts to enemies and targets. LEVEL 1 - NQBJKLFF LEVEL 2 - GSZWBFPT 2 / 5 Level Design The only difference seems to be the number of MiGs and the color of the background. There's daytime, evening, ...

Review #599 Super Strike Eagle Air Combat 0.9 SNES 1993 MicroProse Simulation Simulation › Flight H 37 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay Plays like a dumbed down version of Air Combat for PS1. Best dogfighting I've seen on SNES. Use tight turns, speed, loops and rolls to evade enemies and get behind them. Switch to overhead view for bombing runs. Not as good, like a faster version of Pilotwings' helicopter levels but with much, much worse graphics. 2 / 5 Level Design Open world maps let you choose your targets. Impossible to tell what your targets are, unfortunately so you pretty much just fly into whatever you can find. I wish there was a map showing your targets. 3 / 5 Theme ...

Review #530 Steel Talons Makes Star Fox looks like it's running at 120 FPS SNES 1993 Left Field Simulation Simulation › Flight X 22 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Major momentum issues. Probably the worst I've ever seen. It's manageable once you figure out how to turn as minimally as possible. Not fun, but doable. Framerate is laughable. Race Drivin' bad. Uses every face button. Feels more like a simulation than any other flight sim on the system. Buttons for up, down, gun, missile, bank L or R like F-Zero. Has a good mini map and a long draw distance. This is easily the best thing about the game. 2 / 5 Level Design Missions are an open map with enemies to destroy. Time limit alt...

Review #527 Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Wing Commander with more menuing SNES 1995 Interplay Simulation Simulation › Flight G 44 / 100 Bad Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay Basically Wing Commander with more menuing. Simple controls that amount to pressing Select and making a menu selection. More fun than I thought it would be, but also pretty boring and repetitive. 2 / 5 Level Design I couldn't figure out how to do anything other than the simulator levels. I used a guide and my knowledge of the classic Star Trek films to figure out what to do. The game pretty much tells you what to do anyway. 4 / 5 Theme I really liked that they included a couple of storylines from the from classic flicks. ...