"Dinner is served... with a side of alien annihilation."

Captain Skyhawk flew into my world in the strangest way. Well... I found it in the parking lot of a pizza restaurant. Who knew that this freak occurrence would bring such a great game into my possession? My copy still works to this day and I throw it in every once in awhile for sheer 8-bit greatness. As top-down scrolling shooters go, I doubt that Captain Skyhawk was a revolutionary benchmark, nor did it invent a new way to play games. But it did everything that classic shooter should, and it did it with finesse and style.

It's as exciting as getting that burning cheese off the roof of your mouth! But without the pain!

You are Captain Skyhawk, and your mission is clear. Shoot everything. Take no prisoners. Shoot everything again. Aliens are invading and you have been charged with the task of eliminating all of their bases and avoiding every one of their missiles (they definitely have a lot of them). Interestingly enough, the aliens fly jets that look a lot like yours… I guess imitation isn't the sincerest form of flattery. The mission based play never evolves past blowing up everything in your path and taking out an enemy base, or avoiding your antagonists' missiles, but the ride is always exhilarating and the pacing is superb. The speed at which the screen scrolls increases throughout the game and by the end, you'll be hanging on the edge of your seat. The enemies are always in the same spots, but it takes such precision flying to avoid crashing that it would be unfair if they were randomly generated. The enemy bases are all pretty similar, consisting of little more than several connected buildings that shoot at you, but they do get progressively harder, so they don't feel like repeat fights. I guess what I'm trying to describe is the fact that Captain Skyhawk's simplistic equation works perfectly.

A good old cheese and pepperoni pie is enough for me

Today's developers could learn a lot from some of the games for the NES. Captain Skyhawk is a great example of the simple NES formula at work. When all of the pieces fall together, the game shines. The graphics are basic and sometimes blocky, but they're bright and give the game a distinctive style. The music is pure 8-bit MIDI, but the songs are heart-pumping and they always suit the mood of the action. The objectives are few and the skills involved in accomplishing them are numbered, but the game will keep you riveted at all times.

When you're on a base-destroying mission, the action is seen from top-down view, and your movement is limited. The missions to destroy the bases will take you across many landscapes, including deserts, lakes, and cities. Each area has its own enemies and obstacles, to keep the environments fresh. Periodically, you'll be targeted by enemy missiles and you'll have to avoid them, destroy them, and take out the enemy crafts. These sequences take place with the view from behind the jet. This spices up the action, allowing you to aim in all directions and have more control of your jet's flight. Stopping at the space station is required for purchasing supplies and ammo. Docking could have been a simple act, but the developers made use of the opportunity to make it a skill challenge. When you dock, you must time your trip with the spinning of the space station so that you don't crash into it. Wait a minute… the space station? I know we're fighting aliens, but I thought we were flying jets? Hmm… maybe this is a sign of future advancements in airline capabilities. Oh well, it's illogical and can definitely be frustrating when you're running low on lives, but it's a creative way to make every aspect of the game interactive.

I'd like three toppings. Sausage, peppers, and old school shooting action

Around every bend in the missions, you'll be putting your reflexes and shooting to the test. The missions are sometimes non-linear, meaning that you can take different routes each time. Each mission will throw in little extra challenges, like mines that will jump out of the water just before you reach them. When your jet is careening past a mine filled lake (those mines are the bane of my existence…), you can only hold on, enjoy the ride, and say your prayers. The missions are always exciting without straying toward being frustrating.

You know that feeling when you win the fight for the last slice?

The boss battles, as I described before, are all pretty similar and for the most part they're not too difficult. But the final boss is completely different and is sure not to disappoint. The battle takes place in the same view as the missile avoiding missions and it can be pretty long and intense. This is the first time you'll actually see something that resembles an alien, and the plot actually seems important. You could easily make it to the end without knowing there even was a plot, but I guess it's just as well. The sense of accomplishment the game provides, in addition to the excitement it provokes, makes the game's conclusion extremely satisfying. The only thing more satisfying is putting your initials in the high score list, and suiting up for another trip.

Thank goodness we went to get pizza that night…

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/16/05, Updated 02/17/05