Rescue Mission (SMS)

Rescue Mission Box Art

Rescue Mission

System: SMS

Release Date: April 1988

Developer: Sega

Publisher: Sega

Genre: Light Gun Shooter

Rescue Mission is a light gun shooter on the Sega Master System that will receive a short video today. You’re a top sniper in the armed forces and you’re on a mission to protect medics as they try to patch up wounded soldiers. They use a handcart to travel the rails and stop to heal the injured. It’s up to you to shoot away all the enemies attempting to kill your brothers-in-arms.

You get an overhead view of the map. Enemies walk or jetpack in from off screen. You need to shoot them before they shoot, or you need to shoot their missiles out of the sky. When the medic saves a soldier, he will drop a powerup. The first is a protector symbol that protects the medic from Special Forces weapons. Afterwords, they drop first aid kits which replenish one hit point for the medic, or act as a smart bomb that kills everyone on screen if their hit points are full.

Your medic has three hit points and bullet plink one away, whereas missiles and the like are instant kills. If your medic is knocked out of commission, you move to the next, then the last. Mike is the first medic, he works the handcart steady, but slow. Then Steve, he takes a rest from the handcart every once in awhile, but is quick at patching up the wounded. John is fast on the handcart and treats his patients quickly. If you lose all three medics, it’s game over.

Graphics: 2.0

Graphics are fine. Nothing truly special with a lot of browns and greens.

Sound: 1.0

Music is find, but sound effects are annoying.

Gameplay: 1.5

Gameplay works, but it doesn’t have a lot of room for growth as you play.

Difficulty: 2.0

I think the difficulty is middle of the road. You’ll probably get some cheap deaths as you play.

Fun Factor: 1.5

It’s sort of fun, but not greatly fun. I had enough of it pretty quickly.

Overall Grade: 1.6

Rescue Mission earns a C-. It’s not something I can recommend with a full heart, but it might be worth a shot if you like light gun shooters.

Rescue Mission Video Review on YouTube