PixlBit

PEW PEW PEW!

I believe I found this at the bottom of a bin at GameStop a while back, but I have not played this game before trying it here and now. AeroFighters Assault is an air combat game which is basically all dogfighting. Each level is a free-form area containing one or two "bosses" that you must defeat to clear the stage, and they are things like armoured aircraft, battleships, giant robots, and more. They are supported by an unspecified number (possibly infinite) of lessor enemies such as F-type fighters, bombers, and ships, but since you have a time limit then you can't waste too much time dealing with them.

There are four different air craft to choose from, which each have slightly different weapons. There may be more crafts to unlock, but I didn't play that far. You have three wingmen along with you, who presumably take up the three planes that you don't choose -- I say "presumably" because not once did I ever see any of them, so I've no idea if they actually help you in any way. Oddly enough, despite that crashing into the ground or a building causes your craft to completely explode, you'll reappear high up in the air with absolutely no damage suffered. If only they could incorporate this technology into commercial airliners...

The environments are pretty scarce and consist mostly of a flat plain beneath you which represents the ground, water, or cloud cover. Fortunately this comes with a good draw distance, and the ability to spot enemies when they're quite a ways from you. Some stages may have a gray block building or two, but there is never any detailed or complex scenery. The enemy planes and ships actually do have some texture work on them, but if you're that close to them then chances are it means you're crashing into them. Stop sucking!

There is a noticeable drop in framerate whenever there are a lot of enemies and gunfire on screen, so it definitely takes some adjusting to get used to it. The sound effects are your standard fare, though the variety is pretty limited: all machine gun fire sounds the same, all missiles sound the same, etc. Strangely, there seems to be no sound for when your craft is hit by anything, or when you shoot an enemy with machine gun fire.

For someone who likes air combat games, this one could provide an enjoyable challenge assuming the slowdown can be overlooked. As for me, it just isn't my type of game, so I don't think I'll be continuing it.