Cleared on April 25th, 2024 (SEGA Genesis Challenge: 61/160)

The first of the "Strike" trilogy, Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf is a top down helicopter shooter where you complete a series of missions given to you in a large desert map whether it'd be shooting down targets, rescuing allies and civilians, or just deploying your co-pilot to carry out ground missions.

Desert Strike isn't typical from your usual shoot em ups for the 4th console generation as you have an open world to roam rather than scrolling through an area and shooting anything in your way. The controls are much more clunky which is a deliberate choice although there is a setting that allows you to control "From Above" which is considered the "easy" mode as you are able to strafe while you shoot. For some reason, even though it would've made the game easier, I really did not like the feel of the setting as you can't go backwards, making picking up objects and people difficult. You feel slower, and I don't know if I'm crazy, but it feels like you're consuming more fuel. For this reason, I just ended up playing the whole game with momentum active and while dodging attacks are more difficult, sometimes requiring trial and error even, it does encourage a more strategic approach overall.

Even though the game is hard, there is a mercy aspect of being able to acquire resources that can replenish your armor and fuel which are both crucial for survival as well as ammo which is crucial for offensive missions. You have fuel cans, armor boxes with the option of unloading people at landing sites to regenerate armor, and ammo crates which refuel your ammo.

The weapons in your arsenal consists of Machine Gun, Hydra which are small missiles, and Hellseekers which are big missiles. The Machine Gun you will never run out of, but the damage it deals is very minimal and is more useful for damaging buildings and on-foot soldiers. Hydra and Hellseekers both serve the purpose of being able to take on vehicle units as well as destroying tougher buildings if time isn't on your side, and that's going to happen often as even if you are able to avoid attacks with ease, your fuel will deplete overtime and you need to decide whether you should take your time and conserve your ammo, or blow it away immediately and rush to the nearest can. Also, both fuel cans and ammo are limited and while you can find more in buildings, they are hidden from the map.

On that note, the map offers you insight on where you need to go which makes it much more useful for navigation as to what you need to do, so you don't get lost. Well, that is until at one point in the 3rd level where it doesn't tell you where you need to go for the final mission which is the one where you escort the buses.
Side note: I've had the game actually crash on me when I landed near the area. I don't know what happened, but then I tried clearing out nearby units and it bypassed the crash issue.
There was also another vague mission inquiry in the final level where it doesn't tell you where you need to go to deal with the garbage trucks holding the nuclear weapons. The game does at least give you a visual detail of the trucks, and there's a chance you might know if you somehow passed by the area while doing the 3rd mission, but I still thought it was strange.

Another one of my problems is just the lack of music. It does have an awesome opening theme and the mission briefing music is also good, but as you play the game itself, I was left with no choice but to use my own music. To be fair, each campaign is long, and it may be annoying to listen the same song for that period of time, but that didn't stop Outlanders from trying to make you listen to the same song for 3 hours on end.

But I like the more strategic approach of the game as you need to make out your surroundings, do some exploring for extra resources, and plan your every move in order to overcome your foes. Worst case scenario, the game does have a password system, so you can pick up where you left off or just keep trying until you nailed down the perfect strategy.

Complete playthrough. I loved the Strike games on Gameboy when I played them many years ago, but haven't until now ever played their full home console equivalents. I'm pleased to find that while the gameplay in Desert Strike isn't overly deep, the game is still just as fun and satisfying as it was, albeit still rather punishingly hard in places - I'm impressed at myself that I was able to beat it when I was younger! It was also quite a pleasant surprise to find that there's a whole extra mission here compared to the Gameboy release. A nice dose of nostalgia at the start of the year, and I'll need to revisit Jungle Strike next. before too long.

Bonus trivia: Amy Hennig (of Naughty Dog/Uncharted fame) has an "additional art" credit for the game!

I had far lower standards as a kid than as an adult, but here is a rare game I didn't care for as a kid but have a renewed appreciation for on a replay. As a kid I hated the clunky tank controls, the drab graphics and the slow-paced gameplay but the main issue was that I had gone in with the wrong expectations.

Despite the pulse-pounding kickass soundtrack, the campy cutscenes (one particular scene where the big bad's right hand man speaks up and promptly gets slapped would probably have become a meme if memes were a thing back then), and the premise putting a lone chopper against an entire country, the game is quite disappointing as an action shooter. You see, this is a game about resource management. You crash when you run out of HP, but also when you run out of fuel, and you also have limited ammo to contend with, which means you will constantly be making split-second decisions. Should you pick up the ammo refill now, or wait until you're running low and make a detour back? Since buildings don't fire back at you, do you destroy them slowly with the chaingun or just fire a missile to save time and fuel? Getting good at making these decisions, and getting to know the maps so you know which buildings house supplies and so you can take the most efficient paths to your objectives, are skills far more valuable in playing this game than simple reflexes and a quick trigger finger. While this necessitates a lot of trial and error the game thankfully has a password system so your mistakes never prove too costly.

The resource management aspect of the game lends it a surprising amount of depth, and the variety of mission objectives are also a plus. While many of them fall into the standard "destroy this building" or "rescue this hostage", some of them are truly unique and memorable. There's a set-piece where there are too many hostages to fit into your chopper, so they jump into a bus which you then need to protect from enemy fire, and it manages to be that rare escort mission that doesn't suck. So while the clunky controls and drab small graphics (that make it nearly impossible to spot human enemies) that I couldn't stand as a kid definitely still grate, but they are mitigated by the many things the game does quite well.

This was a solid game and I was ready to give it a 3-star rating. Then I watched the credits, where you shake President Bush Sr's hand while the First Lady and her dog watch in the background. As the credits draw to a close with a cheesy yet sweet thank-you to real life soldiers for their service, the last thing you see before the screen fades is the dog raise his leg...

Ok, an extra half-star for that.