Backbone via Capcom brings us back to 1984 with a completely different spin on the original 1942 video game. A host of new features including medals, new scoring system, coop, and detailed graphics present a fresh new look on this aged beauty. When all is said and done is this a legitimate replacement?

Upon loading the title screen fans of the series will undoubtedly notice something a bit strange. The music that beckons is from 1943. This isn’t an issue as the war anthem will bring about nostalgia. What really matters is the game stays true to its roots, right? Wrong. There are so few correlations with the original 1942 that this game may as well been named something else.

It’s refreshing when new ideas are implemented into a series. It leaves the game fresh and unpredictable, which is the case with this remake. Backbone had wanted to take a piece from each of the series and mold it into a new work of art. It’s a shame that only a few small things such as the barrel roll, Ayako (Bodan) and the large bomber planes made the cut from the original 1942. This will leave fans disappointed or torn right from the get-go.

The game itself is rather beautiful for an XBLA title. The textures used in the cityscapes and boats are unusual in the fact that they resemble pastel. Structures and boats have a hazy, yet softening effect, but are quite intricate and detailed. It’s easy to become engulfed in the surroundings while mowing down enemy planes.

Surviving the gunship mayhem. Boy it sure looks pretty, though.

The widescreen aspect was an interesting choice. Understandable, if 1942 were a horizontal-scroller. The problem lies not in how widescreen generally has a greater width than it does height, but in the fact that scaling wasn’t adjusted during boss battles. The level layout is enormous but with all the action onscreen you’ll soon forget how big the screen really is.

Widescreen vs. conventional 1943/XX aspect ratio. Much more room to breathe.

The overall layout of the game was done in good taste. Enemy locations become more and more excellent as the levels progress. Depending on which plane is selected will determine the ease of destroying air and ground units. Each level will have your plane scampering to pick-off ground and air units leaving less than ample time to situate and repeat. This tiny window of relaxation before even more enemies appear will leave the player in a bind, while pondering what method of strategy to utilize for maximum points.

A nice touch was adding coop. Here is where players will ping-pong the joint strike attacks to and from each others ship. Positioning of ships is critical for a successful attack. There are three attacks to choose from Chain Lightning, Shot Link and Cluster Blast. The coop attacks are not overly powerful by any means, but are fun to use for the hell of it. Be warned though, some enemies will have much more health creating a much different experience over multiplayer.

Another new and non-1942 feature taken from 19XX: The War Against Destiny, is the ability to select among three unique planes. The differences among each plane can be seen in speed, health, power and missile strength. These stats are relevant to game play and are not only for show.

There are several ways to score bigger than a ménage à trois. A new feature is the proximity multiplier. The closer you are to an enemy plane – the bigger the multiplier. The tutorial explains with a graph the distances required to target 2x - 4x… all the way up to 16x multipliers. Another feature taken from later installments of the series are medals. Medals are scattered throughout each level and can be collected by firing at certain planes, areas and structures. A special bonus will be added based on the number of medals collected in a level. Be careful though, dying will result in a loss of medals.

Going for the highest multiplier.

The two final mechanisms of scoring are your shot down percentage and boss kill time. Depending on the percentage of planes destroyed will determine the star rank for a given level. The highest rank for a level is four and the lowest is zero. These stars are cumulative and can greatly amplify score. Medals and the speed at which a boss is killed will be calculated by the star multiplier.

Those expecting to relive their youth will be disappointed that next to nothing remains from the original 1942. Backbone should have named this game 19XX: Joint Strike. With the charge shot, plane selection, medal drops, enemy types, level layout all being mimicked from 19xx: TWAD (not to be confused with something else). With only five levels and rather short ones at that, may leave regulars of the series wondering what happened to the other 27. Aside from some of these gripes, 1942 does have its shining moments with solid game play, beautiful graphics and that “it” factor when trying to accrue ridiculous scores. 1942 Joint Strike is a fun little shooter that should offer the serious players hours of replay value.

SCORING BREAKDOWN:

STORY – N/A

GAMEPLAY – 7.5/10

The game runs smooth except for the occasional slowdown, which really isnt horrible. Controls are simple and straight-forward. Enemies and bullets are often times distinguishable against the backdrops. Planes and bullet patterns can be a tight squeeze requiring a few rounds for familiarity. The game comes up short in the length and scarcity of levels.

GRAPHICS – 8.5/10

The water at times seems too glossy, but overall the graphics for an XBLA game are on-par if not better than the best games in the XBLA library.

MUSIC – 8/10

Orchestral war anthems… Marching band goodness…can’t blame Backbone for opting not to use the music from the original 1942. Ta, ta, ta-ta… beep, beep, beep-beep.

OVERALL – 8/10

The replay value will come from milking a level for all its worth with the proximity scoring, medal drops and other “secret” areas. 1942 is a welcomed addition to the XBLA catalog for a mere $10.