PixlBit

Blue Thunder

There comes a time in every reviewer's life when they have to push themselves to review a game.  It's not because the game is so near and dear to their heart that they find it difficult to be objective and honest. Nor is it because the game turned out to be unexpectedly challenging and keeps the reviewer on their toes. On the contrary, some games can be cringe-inducing because you can barely make it past stage one and they just aren’t very fun. Thunder Blade was such a game for me. I held off for months from reviewing this in part because it was so frustratingly difficult that I had to just walk away from it for weeks at a time. When I finally made it to stage two, my will was already broken.

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Thunder rumbles on the Genesis.

If there was one thing that Techno Soft did very well in the 16-bit days, it was shoot ‘em ups.  It all started when they created Thunder Force in 1984. It was released on the NEC PC-8801 and several other Japanese home computers at the time, but never saw the light of day in the US.  The game featured an overhead free-roaming viewpoint and the goal was to destroy the enemy’s shield generators, using your main shot for air targets and the bomb shot for ground targets in each stage. While it’s tough to gauge the game’s popularity from back then, it apparently did well enough to warrant a sequel. Thunder Force II was released four years later for the Sega Genesis in 1989, making it the very first shoot ‘em up on the system.

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The epitome of what a game shouldn't do.

I've had the pleasure of not having to play many terrible games. Unfortunately for me, Thor: God of Thunder added to my personal short list of gaming atrocities. Movie games are notoriously bad, and Thor does nothing to break the mould. With frustrating gameplay choices, unresponsive controls, mediocre graphics and presentation and to top it off, impossible scenarios that prohibit players from being able to finish the game, Thor is full of problems that result from rushed development.

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