1942: Joint Strike for the PS3 and Xbox 360

1942: Joint Strike is a new game available for download on the Sony PlayStation 3 Network or the Xbox 360 Live Arcade. It costs $9.99 and was released in late July, 2008. I have played only the PS3 version, though I do believe them to both be the same. This is a remake of the classic NES game, 1942, where you fly a WWII plane through various missions where you have to take out ground and air targets.

I have loved this type of game ever since the days of playing River Raid on my Atari 2600. It is played using a top-down view, and the screen scrolls from top to bottom, or vice versa, depending on the level. As you take on the never-ending swarms of enemy planes, you'll get power-ups that give you better weapons, bombs, health, and so on. This is by no means realistic, but instead a very fast-paced and fun arcade style shooter.

The graphics look pretty good considering the game's 8-bit roots. It has been updated with High Definition graphics, which are most evident in the backgrounds, such as when you see the waves coming ashore as you fly overhead. There are lots of visuals that keep the screen full of color and animation. You shoot your guns almost constantly in each mission, and there's usually some kind of target to hit. The graphics aren't on par with some of the disc-based games you might buy in a store, but I didn't expect them to be that good. The gameplay is so fast that you barely have time to notice the pretty backgrounds, anyway.

The sound effects in this game are quite impressive. The explosions are loud and clear and the constant sounds of gunfire makes it exciting. Even in the menu screens, it has planes flying overhead. For some reason, those planes freak out my dog and she keeps looking behind the TV to see where they are. This is a very loud game.

I found this remake to be just as challenging as I remember the original. The further you get into the game, the faster and smarter the enemies become. You really have to be able to react quickly while you dodge enemy bullets and planes at the same time you are trying to shoot at them. Each level practically requires a little bit of memorization for you to get through them successfully.

On the PlayStation Network, you can play cooperatively online with other people. I played a couple of games, then went to the Leaderboards to check my high score. There are already thousands of people playing this game on its first day of release, so interest in definitely high. The gameplay is quite similar to another PSN game called Novastrike, but this game has the benefit of being a remake and people like familiarity.

In the end, 1942: Joint Strike is a very fun and worthy remake for the PS3 and Xbox 360. For the $9.99 price tag, I think it delivers plenty of entertainment. Now I just need to work at climbing that high score list!