Following in the vein of classic Arcade Cabinet games such as 1942 and to a lesser extent Raiden Fighters, Allied Assault Squadron is a vertical scrolling shooter. Â You are presented with a selection of six planes which have differing strengths and weaknesses. Part of the trick to success is figuring out the plane that matches your playstyle. If you suck at dodging fire like me, you probably want to go with one featuring higher defense, or one with higher firepower and aim to quickly take out the enemies.
The game has the option for up to 4 player local co-op, which I would have loved to partake in because frankly, I suck at these types of games. The controls are very slick and quick to pick up, and there is a story attached to the game, involving beating back those nasty Nazi’s. I wasn’t able to read much of the story due to it being very blurry on my TV, but unless you are still using a non-HDTV that won’t be a problem for you.
Your adversaries vary from simple planes the fly down the screen to ones that move as freely as you do to blimps, submarines and a lot of other stuff. Â Defeating enemies causes them to occasionally drop power-ups that do everything from heal your damage, increase your rate of fire or pattern to destroy every enemy on the screen.
If you’re a fan of the style, it’s a great game to have at a great price of 240 MSP. If you’re like me and enjoy these games despite sucking at them, you probably should still pick it up. All in all, it’s a solid fun game.
