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The Genesis is widely known for its shooter library, and among the many titles available is a relatively unknown arcade port of Task Force Harrier Ex. Toned down a bit but still retaining the essential gameplay and feel of the coin-op original, the Genesis version is a competent little game that far too few people know about.
Today, Sega-16 hits another milestone. Our latest review, for After Burner II, is our 600th! What better way to celebrate than by taking a look at the Sega classic? For an early port of such a powerful arcade machine, the Genesis does a pretty good job, and all that’s missing is a flight stick (something Sega remedied with the superb Mission Stick for the Saturn version).
Those lucky enough to play Sega’s G-LOC in the arcades were treated to an awesome spectacle, filled with intense graphics and sound and an interactive cabinet that would yaw, pitch, and roll with the yolk’s movements. It simply had to be experienced. Sega eventually brought the game home, but the effort was considerably different, as much of what made the original so special was the dynamic arcade unit itself. I suppose you can move to and fro in your recliner as you play the Genesis version, but something tells me it’s just not the same.
The Genesis is a choice console for shooters, and few companies produced the library that Renovation did. In addition to Gaiares, Arrow Flash, and Granada, it also gave us Whip Rush. Quite the fun little shooter it is, too!
Remember Battlezone? The first-person experience of driving a tank through a battlefied was revolutionary for its time, and the formula has cropped up now and then since the ’80s. Dynamix used it for its Sega CD space fighter Stellar Fire, though it seems the company forgot to include the most important part of the experience: the fun. Stellar Fire offers a different type of gameplay, compared to other shooters on the Sega CD, but just how much it has to give we’ll leave to you to determine.