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The original Blue Lightning was, you'll recall, one of the first
Lynx releases and definitely one of the shining moments in
the brief life of the world's first color portable. The aerial
dogfight game was not only first-rate in the gameplay department,
it demonstrated the capabilities of the Lynx by utilizing such
features as scaling, rotation and stereo sound. Fans of the
game, therefore, waited with abated breath when news broke out
that Blue Lightning would be forthcoming for the Jaguar
CD -- for free!
In this flight combat contest, you take to the air
as part of the United Nations' Blue Lightning air squadrun
that has been summoned to battle General Drako
his private army and put a stop to his international
network of crime and corruption. You have several
different fighter planes to choose from, and you can better
jets by successfully completing missions.
The first thing you'll notice about Blue Lightning is
its absolutely horrid visuals. The best thing you can
say about the graphics is that you'll be able to
identify what you see. To compliment the eyesore-inducing
visuals, Atari has ATD has treated us to some of the
worst animations and framerate this side of a 2600
game by Mythicon. It's that bad. Although sprites
scale and there is a hint of texture mapping on the
ground, that's not enough to salvage what is otherwise
a mind-numbingly poor game environment.
I'm happy to report that the gameplay is absolutely
awful. It would have been a bigtime bummer if the
designers had decided to break with tradition now,
wouldn't it? The directional pad is used to both
control your jetcraft AND aim your fire, so be prepared
for countless instances where you'll be shot down
as you hopelessly try to get your fighter in position
to attack your enemies. Furthermore, the pathetic
framerate conspires to make it that much more difficult
to pull off deft maneuvers with your fighter.
Things don't get much better in the sound department.
The generic heavy metal tunes are ok, but quickly because
of the lack of variety. Similarly, the sound effects
barely get the job done, with scattered voice samples.
Somehow, tragically, something has gone TERRIBLY wrong
here. Blue Lightning for the JagCD is neither the hardware
showcase that its portable wonder was, nor does it possess
half the gameplay that Lynx BL offered. And if the uninspired
graphics don't diffuse your enthusiasm for this game, rest
assured that the gameplay will. To put it mildly, be prepared
for a monumental letdown. Thank goodness it's just a pack-in
and nobody has to pay for this.
Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:
-- Keita Iida
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