| Background: You are a
Skyhammer pilot and must defend your corporation's holdings. Under the
Mission mode, you complete a multitude of tasks and earn credits with
the eventual goal being to completely control three cities. With your
credits, you can upgrade your engines, fuel tank, and ECM - anti
rocket device - and purchase additional ammunition.
The battle mode is a never-ending game where you
defend your parts of the city and attempt to capture the enemy's
holdings.
Either mode puts you in a flying craft and
allows you to interact with enemy and friendly units in several 3D
cities populated with skyscrapers.
Game Play: I initially wrote this game
off due to its sluggish frame rate and lack of enemy detail.
However, I did like the polished menus and nice opening sound effects.
But I stuck with the game and was greatly
rewarded. As you upgrade the engines, the speed of the ship and
the game greatly improves. The 3D environments are impressive - you
can look up as you climb a skyscraper or go plunging towards the
ground.
The ability to upgrade ship systems and the wide
variety of weapons are a big plus - gattling guns, bombs, homing
missiles, smart missiles, and smart bombs are at your disposal.
You really get sucked into the 3D environment as
tanks appear on the ground and enemy ships come at you from the air -
all the while you hover over the ground between buildings.
Skyhammer has such a bold and lofty vision:
create a 3D world, let you go anywhere in that world, and at the same
time put in a multitude of enemies. Because the game pulls this
concept off so well, it deserves my highest rating.
Pros: upgrade
ship, 3D environment, great concept, many weapons, dual modes of play
Cons: frame rate is slow at times, lack of detail on enemy
ships, missions can become routine |