Aero Fighters 2

"1940 Series anyone?"

In a long line of overhead shooters, most gamers will remember the 1940 series for its constant action and all of the wide destruction all over the screen. With this series, Aero Fighters, you take control for a more modern fighter jet, and gather power-ups to clear the constant screen full of enemies! You can select from eight different fighters, and barrel through the different waves of oncoming fighters, and most of the visuals look pretty well designed. The sheer amount of difficulty in later stages will test your ability to keep up, so get your quarters out and get ready!

-Game Play 7/10-

Most of the game will be played through trying to figure out which pilot and which plane has the best type of offense and defense to get your through the stages. You'll find that the computer is aimed to kill, and the amount of shots as well as the accuracy alone will frustrate you to no end! The problem with all of this, is the fact that isn't anything that you haven't played before, and you'll find that it looks and plays strangely familiar to the 1940 series with just some cosmetic face lifts to mask this plain fact! One slightly noticeable addition is the fact that you have to collect power up items in order to make your original weapon stronger than it was before. While this does add slightly to the game play, the fact that it wears off after just a few minutes makes for some pretty frustrating play, because you need that power up in order to clear what ever is coming at you!

-Control 7/10-

Nothing super special here, you pilot your plane, fire off your weapons, and dodge incoming bullets while trying to keep yourself alive. Anyone who has played an overhead shooter like this won't find anything worth complaining about and in the end, they'll be right at home with the controls!

-Visuals 7/10-

Even with the high tech designs and the detail located in each level, it's pretty cut and dry on that the visuals follow that of the 1940 series, but feature a more modern look! The bomb explosions and all of the other effects look good, and even the enemy detailing is neat, but you're still looking at more of the same!

-Audio 7/10-

With the sound effects taking most of the precedence over the music of the game, what can be heard is upbeat and pounding. You'll find that the music matches and keeps the pace of the game in high gear. The sound effects sound great, and everything comes out with earth shattering explosions and the high hum of a machine gun firing all blends in nicely with what's going on with the game!

-Quarter Crunching 7/10-

With eight different characters, you've got several different mission endings and plenty of funny things that each of them say after every mission. You'll find that the game takes on a whole new meaning when you play through with each character, in which you'll have to find which character and plane does its best in what situations!

-Overall 7/10-

Aero Fighters 2 hasn't really taken anything to a new level, and most overhead shooting game fans will find that they've played this before, only it's a new modern look with some visual face lifts thrown in for the hell of it! With several visual effects, a pretty decent soundtrack and effects and easy to use control, the most important feature here that is missing, and it runs in along the lines of original game play! Even with that being said, this game is worth stepping up to, even if it's just to experience the different characters and some good old fashioned overhead shooting!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/05/01, Updated 10/05/01