STRIKERS 1945-3

Gamer reviews for STRIKERS 1945-3

Modern Strikers

Modern Strikers

Strikers 1945 III is the 1999 sequel to Psikyo's popular vertical scrolling shoot 'em up, Strikers 1945 II. This game chronologically takes place 54 years after the first two games. A port to the Android platform was released by Mobirix on March 19, 2015. The mobile version of the game still retains the outstanding arcade action featuring some of the popular modern planes like the F22 Raptor, F-117 stealth bomber, F-18 Super Hornet and a fictional experimental aircraft. Some tweaks and additional features are also enabled in the Android port, not found on the original arcade version.

The game takes place 54 years after the events in the first two games of the series. Players have to conquer eight stages, the first four of them are randomly-arranged stages while the remaining four are arranged in a fixed succession. Players will engage various ground, air, sea, and even space-faring targets, with each stage guarded by a boss that can transform up twice or up to three times.

The game has four difficulties: Easy, Normal, Pro, and Master. The difficulty affects how many and fast the projectiles the enemies will release and will also increase their firing rate. If you want to tackle these higher difficulties, upgrading your planes, buying Boosters and having partners will increase your chances of survival.

The game features six different modern jets, each with its own unique power-up, sub-weapon, Super Shot, and bomb. The Android version has the F-18 Super Hornet as the starting planes. You can unlock more planes by meeting the various requirements. You can also spend Rubies to unlock them instantly. You can get very small amount of rubies by playing through the missions and you can buy a bulk of them via microtransaction. Also, using the random plane selection before starting a mission gives you a chance to use one of the locked planes.

Each plane has three upgrades available. These upgrades increase the starting level of the Charge Shot gauge, increase the power of the sub-weapons, and puts a shield to your plane that can absorb one enemy attack. These upgrades can be purchased by rubies as well.

Like its predecessors, destroying specific enemies often yields power-ups that increases the damage and range of the plane's projectiles and support unit. Every plane has a unique sub-weapon and charge shot. For example, the F-18 Hornet fires homing missiles while the F-117 fires forward-traveling air mines that explode on impact. When your plane destroys targets or deals damage, the Charge Shot gauge will slowly fill up. Pressing the Charge Shot icon on the touchscreen will activate the plane's charge shot. The higher the level of your charge shot gauge, the more powerful and longer your charge shot becomes.

A plane's attack can be upgraded up to four times. Collecting succeeding power ups will add 4000 points to the score. Sometimes, larger targets or structures drop “bomb” icons that can be used to replenish you very limited supply of bombs or special attacks. Bombs are very powerful attacks that can block enemy projectiles, instantly destroy most enemies within its range, and deal massive damage to bosses. Players can only have nine bombs. Collecting additional bombs will add 10,000 points to the score. If a plane is shot down, power ups and sometimes a bomb is dropped so when planes respawn, they can collect them again. Players only has three lives. If they are shot down three times, they can opt to continue by spending coins. Continuing will retain the score you have collected and will fully restock your lives and bombs. The “revival” amount will increase gradually as well, discouraging you from over-using the Continue option.

The Android version doesn't have onscreen D-Pad controls and only features two buttons; one for the bomb and one for the charge attack. The planes will be firing their normal weapons automatically. Players just need to drag their finger on the touchscreen to control the planes' movements. The sensitivity can be adjusted though the game tracks the player's fingers very precisely that making surgical-accurate movements is very possible. The game is still fast-paced and this can be a problem for players using devices with smaller screens since their fingers will most likely block the view.

When playing with a CPU-controlled partner, the partner plane starts fully-upgraded and is very manueverable that it's almost impossible to be hit by enemy projectiles. Additionally, you share the same charge shot gauge. That means that the damage done by your partner will count towards the same gauge. However, tapping the Charge Shot button will trigger your partner's charge shot, not the plane you control. In the other hand, when you use a Bomb, the main plane's bomb will be activated instead of the partner plane. This provides a very good balance.

Since this is a port, players who are familiar with the title will appreciate the nostalgic and outstanding 2D visuals, animation, and effects. The soundtracks and BGMs are immersive as well. The controls are very responsive, and there are no lags or framerate issues even when there's a lot of things going on at the same time.

The game can be played offline. However, in order to claim your daily coin prize, compare leaderboards, or save/load your game file to the online server, you have to be online. Also, if you play online, you'll tend to see intrusive ads popping in front your screen without warning. These ads won't appear if you're playing offline so after getting your daily reward, you can turn off the connection to avoid seeing these ads.

The game also connects to your Google Play profile, which adds up experience to your gamer profile as you unlock the game's achievements. You can also see the leader board, multiplayer, invite friends, and receive invitations.

Strikers 1945 III is one of the best and unfortunately, one of the last few shooters as well in its era. The android port is solid, reliable, and also free. However, the restrictions and the upgrade options may force impatient fans to just buy rubies to unlock and upgrade their planes. If you miss great classic shoot 'em ups in the 90's, give this one a try. However, do expect some limitations since not everything is unlocked.

4.1 / 5.0
 
Review by vhayste | Apr 10th 2015

Total Reviews: 1

Played this game? Add your Review
Need Help? Ask a Question

Showing all reviews:


Review by GuestSep 24th 2016

In multiplayer, some player can cheat the score and win the competition. Hate them and tarnishing the image of this game

Do you agree? 0   1   REPORT
 

 

Comments & Replies

ADD YOUR REVIEW
Your Rating:
 
GAME RATING
 
 

AppGamer - Mobile Game Guides and News since 2008.

AppGamer.com is owned by Web Media Network Limited, UK company number 3783771.

© 2023 Web Media Network Limited, 86-90 Paul Street, London. EC2A 4NE. United Kingdom.

All rights reserved. No part of this website or its content may be reproduced without the copyright owner's permission.

This site is not affiliated in any way with Google, Apple or any video game publishers.

About Us | Contact
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service

Promote your Game
 
Thank you for your addition to AppGamer. Please complete the sign up form below to create a free account and track your posts.