Space Megaforce

"Bombastic Intro"

SPACE MEDA..erm, SPACE METAFIGHTER, uh, SPACE MEGAFORCE is like drinking gallons of coffee and then attempting to do a rubix cube. You'll twist and turn, move up and down the screen like a jackass. You'll destroy the attack button on your SNES pad by hammering down on in the same rhythm of your freakin' heartbeat!

That's what SPACE MEGAFORCE is like. Well, for the first ten minutes or so. After that you realise that the once hardcore marathon that you running can be slowed down to a trod. The horrible decision to not only pack this game with more levels than necessary, but to make each level a tragic twenty minute long trek is just something that the bombastic action cannot handle. Even flying a fighter jet at supersonic speeds gets boring if you do it all day, but I digress, focusing on the negatives right now would be a little mean.

Ignore the hardcore shooter nerds that tell you that SPACE MEGAFORCE is an easy game. People who say this are the kind who do nothing but play shooters all day! SPACE MEGAFORCE has got enough challenge, while it's not as difficult, annoying and pointless as Gaiares, it's still packed with a barrage of enemy crafts, air to ground missiles and blockades. With a weak weapon, you'll be thrown to the dogs in no time. However, flying robots with power ups swerving across the screen, you'll have access to screen sweeping lasers, multiple direction shots and screen clearing bombs, each with varying levels of power. SPACE MEGAFORCE'S weapon selection hints towards that of the sense-obliterating classic DoDonPachi , which has been critically acclaimed for its intensity. However, while this game has the goods to be as acclaimed as that classic, it lacks any hint of intensity whatsoever.

It's hard to believe that a game that is packed to the brim with obstacles can be a boring one. Unfortunately, despite all of the action, SPACE MEGAFORCE can be a relatively monotonous experience. Instead of relying on skill, you are forced to the ultimate shooter last resort: the button mash! Yes, instead of being three steps ahead of the opponent, the only stratagem you have is to beat the fire button like it was an Islamic terrorist. The most shocking thing I found while experimenting with this game was that I did far better relying on the mashing method than I did when I actually thought about what I was doing.

Another horrible problem is the horrible length of the levels. While any other shooter would throw short action packed levels at you, SPACE MEGAFORCE does the opposite. At first, something did seem a bit odd when I first cleared area one and realised that it had taken me twenty minutes. No, it wasn't because I stink at shooters, it was because each level of SPACE MEGAFORCE is like running an uphill marathon. Enemies come at you at all angles, but after ten minutes of bombardment, any spark that it emitted from you burns out. The former blitz on your senses becomes a light shower of dust. Your fingers ache, your mind goes fuzzy and you begin to drift off towards more inviting situations.

If you have the guts, balls and stomach to make it past through the epic levels, a boss battle which is long as the preceding level awaits you. While these titanic aircrafts, looming space stations and mecha- monstrosities certainly look threatening, repetitive attack patterns and a combination of amateur button smashing are usually enough to bring these metal goliaths to their knees. Mode7 rape aside, the space horrors that approach look threatening at least, but the knowledge that they can be swept aside by even the most idlest of minds is something of a joke.

The fact that SPACE MEGAFORCE started off awesome but then was dragged unmercifully down, kicking and screaming, into a mediocre mess. is the most depressing fact. The weapons are fine, the intensity of the enemies is fine but they are horribly difficult to appreciate when thrown together into twenty minute long levels. With these levels, you suddenly begin to burn out, you become careless and you are prodded and poked into button-mashing. It encourages you to be lazy, and it drags you into a long downward spiral consisting of outstretched levels, sore fingers and dull bosses. It becomes an anticlimax, where the action is overshadowed by boring long levels. While it may be a haven for the hardcore, it's merely a frustrating experience for the rest of us.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 08/31/07

Game Release: Space Megaforce (US, October 1992)