Mobile Assault

Gunships are undoubtedly the king of cool when it comes to military equipment.

Tanks don’t hold a candle to armoured choppers, and even jet fighters struggle to drum up as much prestige as the gunship pilot enjoys.

Unfortunately, that distinction doesn’t automatically transfer to a game simply because it involves gunship combat, as Mobile Assault proves.

The game is a throwback to the days of Desert Strike on the Sega Mega Drive - an awesome game in 1992 that’s been tamed by time. By association it makes Mobile Assault feel dated from the outset.

In command of an armoured helicopter, you fly at a low, fixed altitude around a variety of battlefields taking out surface units. I say a variety of battlefields, but it’s probably more accurate to say a variety of missions on the same battlefield, as the game doesn’t really bother to set you up with a wide range of different environments.

The scenery might be a bit repetitive, but at least the missions have been given some proper attention. Admittedly, there are only nine to choose from, but these aren’t particularly quick or easy objectives.

Your tasks are quite varied. Objectives range from defending against a group of encroaching enemy tanks and taking out power stations to defending friendly towns and conducting assaults against supply depots.

Much of the action is very similar, of course, but the interesting objectives add a decent amount of weight to Mobile Assault.

Combat is somewhat let down by a lack of variety in the enemy forces, which consist almost entirely of tanks. Some shoot bullets, while others send homing missiles your way, yet it’s hard to claim much diversity when the basic unit is the same.

It’s all rather on the small side, too, which helps with your field of vision, but makes aiming critical enough that if you want to train your guns on something, you need to remain stationary.

While you might expect to find an accelerometer option for flying the chopper, it’s limited to a virtual analogue stick. In tame situations it functions as expected, but your helicopter will stall whenever you make aggressive, panicked motions, struggling to figure out if you want it to turn or reverse.

Since these manoeuvres are so critical, it’s almost impossible to hit any target smaller than a building while moving. Bringing the gunship to a halt when shooting is therefore your only option, and not only does this make you an easy target for the enemy, but it’s also a lot less interesting.

The beginnings of a great arcade shooter can occasionally be seen peeking out from behind this game, but it needs a considerable amount of work to really unleash its potential.

In the meantime, all we’ve got is a decent, though one-dimensional approximation of a retro classic that struggles to hold its own against the best that 1992 had to offer.