1942

"An average Capcom shoot 'em up."

GAMEPLAY
1942 is actually kind of fun to play, despite the fact that I've never been too fond of shoot 'em ups. Although the gameplay is flat, and doesn't have much to it, it does prove to have its moments. As you pilot a World War II airplane through several levels, blasting away the opponents in your path. The gameplay is simple, true, but it proves to be fun at points. Nothing particularly new here, though, even for the game's touchy era. 6/10

GRAPHICS
I was pretty surprised to see that the graphics were fairly well done. The airplanes have a fresh, cartoon-esque look to them that's actually somewhat attractive, and fit the game's atmosphere. The boring backgrounds aren't the best things ever, as they're usually only mere blue representing water, but the ''explosions'' and ''gunfire'' really seem to stand out, and clash well with the flat backgrounds. 7/10

SOUND
To be incredibly blunt, I really dislike the sound in 1942. The ''shooting'' sound is rather plain, and the background music doesn't fit the game at all. This is definitely one of the weaker aspects of 1942, but it doesn't affect the overall fun factor of the game, apparently. 7/10

CONTROL
1942's controls are pretty responsive. The controls are simple, which work well for this simple shoot 'em up. My only complaint is that it's sometimes rather difficult to maneuver your airplane away from enemies, especially when attempting to shoot at the same time. 8/10

REPLAY VALUE
Believe it or not, the replay value in 1942 is fairly decent. I found the game challenging, seeing as the stages get harder and harder as the game progresses. The difficulty of the game leads to wealthy replay value. If you even remotely like this game, chances are you'll probably play through it more than once. 8/10

OVERALL
If you like shoot 'em ups, and are looking for a classic example of the genre, then don't waste time attempting to find this game in a FuncoLand sale bin. However, if you prefer other video game genres, then I wouldn't recommend making this game a priority on your ''must play immediatly'' list. 7/10

HOW DOES THIS COMPARE TO THE OTHER GAMES IN THE SERIES?
I found this the best of the other games in the ''1940'' series, but since I haven't completed the other installments, I haven't yet reviewed them. So far, this seems to be the best, however, and I'd reccomend that if you like the shoot 'em up genre, you try this first off.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/08/01, Updated 10/08/01