Bomber Raid
System: SMS
Release Date: January 1989
Developer: Sanritsu
Publisher: Activision
Genre: Shoot ‘Em Up
We start 1989 not with a bang, but with a fuse that peters out as it enters the explosive as we check out Bomber Raid. This has 1942 clone written all over it. But 1943 came out in 1988 and was like a million times better than 1942, don’t you mean they cloned that? Nope.
You’re a fighter plane pilot and you have to defeat the enemy. That’s the story, at least. So you hop in your plane and it’s off to take on the world on your own. At least, to start… if there’s one novel hook, it’s collecting planes to join your squadron. These guys act as options and depending on what number you collect, they hook up to your plane to shoot in different directions. However, if they get hit by an errant bullet, you’re back to solo play. I said it was novel, not good. You also get taken down by a single bullet.
Luckily, you can shoot Power Pods to power up your gun. If you collect eight P icons, you’ll strengthen your shot. This stacks and if you can stay alive for a long enough time, you can get a pretty powerful gun. But if you die, you’re back to square one. There are also S icons that can be collected to speed up your movement. Like any shoot ‘em up, these are essential and when you lose them, you’re off to the game over screen.
The levels are capped with a boss fight. This is where you can make good use of your cluster bombs. These powerful suckers are unleashed with a press of Button 2 and eat through anything in their path. You get three as you start your life and they refill at the start of a new level or if you die.
Graphics: 2.5
The graphics are colorful and pop, but the sprites are a little small for my liking.
Sound: 1.0
The song isn’t very good, but all you hear are the sound effects, anyway.
Gameplay: 1.5
There are powerups, but going back to completely unpowered when you die kind of sucks. I’d rather have one life with hit points than three lives where I’m powerless in the middle of a level after taking a stray bullet.
Difficulty: 2.0
It’s a shoot ‘em up without continues. There are only five levels, but I tapped out on number 3.
Fun Factor: 1.0
This isn’t a very fun shoot ‘em up. The slow down is horrendous, the powerup system is lame, it’s not blazing any new trails.
Overall Grade: 1.6
Bomber Raid earns a C-. It’s not a very good start for 1989 and I’m sad about that. You don’t have to bother with this one.