Solar Striker

"Earth is under attack? What do you do? Why, bake brownies, of course!"

Taking pleasure in simple-minded behavior is often look down upon, I've noticed. Just look how Tumble is regarded by some in the game Dual Hearts for actually entertaining himself by dancing around like a buffoon. I suppose that can also be said for me. I'm fairly easily entertained. Seriously. Give me a rubber bouncy ball and I'll disappear like an intern working for the US government. Okay, maybe I'm not that bad, but for someone to actually enjoy a simplistic time-waster like Solar Striker, you would really have to be easily entertained. This was one of the first overhead shooters for Gameboy, meaning it probably isn't stellar compared with other shoot 'em up titles like Xevious and Starship Hector, but does provide moderate entertainment. I would not go so far as to say that it's so packed with action, you'll need hemorrhoid cream. I think you get the point...

In this game, you play as one of Earth's finest up against aliens who plan to invade the world. Nothing really all that different. Nothing new or special, just Earth vs. The Flying Saucers yet again. I suppose this game doesn't really need a storyline, though. Although it would be nice. I think we'll just have to settle for this run-of-the-mill kind of stuff without any real drama. You know, stuff like the main character finding out his mother is actually an alien and his commanding officer is actually the final boss, or the main character falling in love with someone despite the fact that his only job is to fly an aircraft and kick the crap out of anyone who invades us, just like the good xenophobes that we are!

This one can be filed under dime-a-dozen or cookie cutter gameplay. This could have been any shoot 'em up in a past life. In other words, it's pretty unoriginal gameplay wise. You fly around and shoot at anything that moves. The first few levels provide little to no challenge. You can pretty much yawn your way to the boss, then beat the bejesus out of it and advance to the next level. That's it? No flashy bombs or special weapons? No, not really. You have to remember, this is a first or second generation Gameboy title. Okay, my mistake, you do get a special weapon. Well, sort of special. As usual, killing a particular enemy gives you an item that ''upgrades' the power of your shot. All it really does is double its power, and as soon as you die you lose it. Grab enough and you can power up your attack to a huge plasma shot. OOO! That's it. No other fancy attachments. No lightning spells, atomic bombs, hippie torpedoes, or copies of Super Mario Bros. on DVD to throw at the enemies. The game doesn't stop with just flashy bombs, either. The graphics really aren't the strongest point of the game. However, they are sufficient for the game. You really can't expect much from an early Gameboy title, particularly one like this.

Many of the enemy designs have suffered due to the lack in graphical power. Most of the enemies you fight either look incredibly basic or are just random parts thrown together. Almost reminds me of another scrolling shooter who did something like this *coughStarshipHectorcough*. Not only are we fighting your typical aliens that want to invade Earth, but boring and unoriginal ones. Couldn't they have found something better to design their ships after? The only designs worth remarking are the bosses, which look great for their time. They're not totally elaborate, but show great enough detail to make believable beings of mass destruction.

After a while, the difficulty does get a bit trickier. Enemies begin to shoot, come much more frequently, and maneuver a bit more skillfully. This requires you to summon up your dodging and reacting skills (or a Game Genie) and layeth the smacketh down on even more alien ass than ever before. Unfortunately, this also means you will probably have your behind kicked as well. Some may shudder or cry out in disappointment when they find out that you have to earn your continues. By the time you get to the real toughies, you should have a measly 1 saved up. Wow... All that work and only one more chance to save the world. Earth is screwed, the people will die violently, and the cities will burn brightly, but at least we won't have to hear anymore Air Supply.

Unlike Air Supply, the music in the game is actually a bit catchy. If you think about it, it fits the genre. The first two levels, for example, give us adequate music for the game type. There are other levels, though, like level 3 which just has boring as hell music. The sound is also quite entrancing. While it may just be simplistic beeps and pecks, the events are well placed and add that much more towards the shooter aspect of the game. Think of a scrolling shooter that didn't have any sound effects. The game would be devoid of most of its action. While this game may not totally be an action-packed ride, the sound effects at least help a little bit.

If you're the sporty type of person, then you better act quickly when fighting a boss. Why, you ask? Because if you take too long, the bosses will make like France and give up. This means you don't officially destroy them, they just run off with their tail tucked between their legs. This can serve as an advantage for others, though. If you can't really find an opening on the boss you're fighting, you could dodge around until it leaves. This is pretty much the cheap (and ineffective) way of doing it, but whatever works.

There really isn't much to this game. This review used to be 7/10, I bumped it down one notch as I remembered how nightmarishly repetitive this game can be. The thing you will notice about many of the first generation Gameboy games is that they were not the elaborate titles we have today. They are basically portable NES titles. Not that I'm downing NES, but how many mindless games were there for the system? Quite a few. This game can be easily filed with those in the annals of gaming. The only people who might even lightly appreciate a game like this are the old school scrolling shooter fans. Many of them would see this as being more primitive compared to today's shooters, but that's the times for you.

FINAL JUDGMENT
Graphics: Fairly good. Nothing spectacular, anyway. 6/10
Sounds: Catchy 7/10
Controls: Work like a charm 9/10
Plot/Storyline: Haven't we seen this all before? 2/10
Gameplay: It's a pretty good time consumer 8/10
All Together: 6/10

Perks
*Decent gameplay
*Okay sound
*Great controls
*Nice boss designs

Downers
*Repetitive
*Lack of graphics
*Lack of purpose
*Unoriginal premise

Recommendations
If you're a GameBoy owner who would like some shoot 'em ups, this one would be a nice addition. This game isn't a very complex one, so don't expect anything mind bending.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/21/01, Updated 07/30/03