Gamesylvania

Nothing sells video games like war; real-world war. These days, we have games like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that use the conflicts going on in Iraq and Afghanistan as a backdrop for much of the plot that makes up these games. And while these modern shooters delve into realms so fantastic that the writers behind G.I. Joe would find them ridiculous, it’s worth noting that nothing much has changed — games have always had a fancy for the ludicrous. Enter the Strike series of games. Specifically, the game we’re going to be taking a look at today, Jungle Strike for the Genesis.

Ocean Software and Electronic Arts used elements of the First Gulf War to give us Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf in 1992. It was a multi-directional, helicopter-based shooter presented from an isometric view. It very quickly became a best-seller. Jungle Strike is the followup.

In Jungle Strike, after using the coolest helicopter since Airwolf to restore peace to the Middle-East, that crazy copter received orders to head state-side and defend the front yard of Democracy from a couple of angry terrorists who’d gotten their hands on some nuclear weapons. Those nasty boys were about to get an even nastier surprise!

Ibn Kilbaba and Carlos Ortega

Seen above are Ibn Kilbaba, son of Desert Strike’s main bad guy, and Carlos Ortega, a notorious South-American drug lord; just a couple of guys who were up to no good and started making trouble in the neighborhood. As a show of strength, they decide to blow up a tropical island in the Pacific. Nothing important, just some place teeming with birds and monkeys and lush plant life. The intro gives you almost enough time to start naming the animals before vaporizing them in a flash of hot hell. That’s where you and your Super Comanche helicopter come in, because handling a foothold situation with the terrorists paying a house-call on the President is just too big a job for any old military jerks. They need a nutcase with a helicopter to deal with this threat. And just what kind of threat are we talking about? Well, how about THIS??

Defend the Washington Monument!

That’s right, a couple of scumbags in Airstream trailers are shooting rockets at America’s tribute to the phallus — I mean, the Washington Monument  – and we just can’t have that! They got a whole bunch of tanks, VW buses and trucks together to go show the Yankees that they aren’t screwing around! Time to move into action and send these punks back to where they came from!

Game over, man! Game over!

Or not. Get used to this screen. Jungle Strike is pretty hard; mostly due to the fact that while the Super Comanche handles ok, and it takes a little bit of effort to really stay out of harm’s way, its one flaw is that they built it out of tinfoil and it goes down if a terrorist so much as sneezes at it. Everyone shoots missiles at you and they really aren’t screwing around. The controls do take a little bit of getting used to but you’ll be doing strafe runs and dodging missiles in no-time. That said, I still can’t get past the first two missions. Jungle Strike really is a tough row to hoe.

Finally, I went on YouTube and dug up the intro for Jungle Strike so you can see it for yourself in all its glory — every last, cheesy moment of it. I can’t help but wonder if, in a good 18 years or so, we’ll look back and cringe at the awkward cutscenes and overly dramatic tones in Modern Warfare 2 as much as I did watching this, although I’m sure most of what we’re seeing here was meant to be tongue-in-cheek to play up to the target demographic — teenage boys lookin’ to blow stuff up. Either way, enjoy the following, and ride on, you valkyries! This sure as hell ain’t no Apocalypse Now.

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Also, we do currently have a copy of Jungle Strike for the Genesis in stock if you’re interested.

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