PixlBit

I have to give props to Last Duel, a 1988 vertical-scrolling shmup, for trying something different. Your vehicle each level changes between a car and a ship, drastically changing how you play the game. The ship portions are pretty standard for the time. There are plenty of power ups but you lose everything  when you die (one hit kills). The standard gun is an annoying one-shot-per-button-push affair but this collection includes a rapid fire option (woot!) and continues start you right where you left off, so powering through the game is pretty easy. There is also a limited-use barrel roll of sorts that makes you briefly invinsible. These levels are nothing special but are fun to play.

I wish I could be so kind to the car levels. Rather than going straight forward, the levels are usually narrow playfields that veer to the left or right. One hit, whether from a bullet or collosion, blows your car apart and it is difficult avoiding either death due to the small amount of lateral space you have. The car doesn't have invinsibility like the ship but it can jump, a necessary tactic to get through these levels without dying constantly, but it can be tough to avoid landing on a bullet or in a pit as well. Oh yeah, and you can fall off the sides.

I gotta admit, that is some really cool promo art

Overall Last Duel is not a great game. The flying sections are fine but the car levels really drag it down. One thing I will say for the game, however, is that I enjoyed the music more than most of the games I've played so far. Not really digging the Capcom arcade tunes much but it was pretty good in Last Duel. And if you play co-op, one player flies and one drives and then they switch for the next level. That's cool but does not address the fundamental problems of the game.