Halley Wars

"Handheld shooting excitement"

Halley Wars provides portable shooting action. It brings nothing new to the genre, but it does follow the formula well. There are the normal power-ups, options, and giant metallic bosses. There are not a lot of shooters for the game gear, and Halley Wars fills the void nicely.

You fly from an overhead view like Capcom's 1942. Along the way through the game's long missions, there is fast flying frantic action. You have one shoot button, and one button that launches any pods that you collect from power-ups.

Graphics: 7/10
Compared to the CG movies from Final Fantasy VIII and such, this is the graphics are very plain. But they are hand-drawn and clearly demonstrated. The game is simple so that nothing gets between you and the action.

Sound: 6/10
As in most hand held games, the sound is nothing special about the music, and the sound effects are mostly beeps and boops. There is nothing intolerable about the songs, and some of them are even good.

Replayibility/Lasting Appeal: 8/10
The missions are long, there are a good amount of them, and it is fairly difficult. The problem is, you'll probably be playing the first few missions over and over again because there is no way to continue from the point you left off at once you turn it off. It probably won't matter much because people usually play the Game Gear when they are on trips and have nothing to do.

Overall: 7/10
Overall, this game is a pretty good buy. It isn't anything to blow you away, but it is fun. If your itching for a portable shooter to take with you on a long road trip, by all means, track a copy of this game down.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/01/99