1942: Joint Strike is a five-level romp through anything but traditional fare for the series. First off, it’s really short, which might not be too terribly surprising considering its genre, downloadable format, and the low price point—but seriously, the five levels are anything but lengthy and varied. It’s also in widescreen, which is a daring move for any shoot-em-up. While the widescreen format does provide more real-estate for plane maneuvering, the fact that all on-screen objects are as small as they are also results in a situation (in single-player) where moving from one side of the screen to the other feels exceedingly slow. This is unfortunate considering the style of gameplay, which emphasizes quick maneuvers and high visibility. In co-op, this problem doesn’t exist, as two planes instead fill the large pixilated expanse rather handily.
Aside from these complaints, however, the gameplay is actually quite different from the older games. Joint Strike sees an evolution of the aged formula toward mechanics more comparable to that of modern shooters, with streams of bullets sometimes flooding the screen and proximity-scoring design (where the closer you are to the enemy when you defeat them, the more points you earn). There are still hints of the original game design intact—from the choice of three different ships, to the loop-de-loop bombing technique, to even the percentage-destroyed grading system—but for the most part, Joint Strike feels thoroughly contemporary and reworked. Whether or not that’s a good thing is debatable, but I found the new format to be fun at least, especially with two players.
Joint Strike differs from modern shooters in that you’re also provided with a life meter. This might sound like blasphemy to classic shooter fans, but the way it’s done in Joint Strike actually is more of a matter of semantics than anything else—so it doesn’t feel too fundamentally different from the usual. It is possible to acquire power-ups throughout that refill a portion of your meter, and after completing a level, you receive a typically small life bonus, but none of this works to diminish the game’s downright punishing difficulty. While there are only five levels, getting through them is hard enough that it doesn’t feel too thin on content. And if you’re a shmup fan, you’ll be captivated enough by the high score competition that you’re unlikely to be too concerned with length anyway.
Speaking of which, scoring is calculated, as previously mentioned, on an exponential scale as you get nearer to the targets you destroy. You’re also awarded for destroying groups and waves of baddies with weapons power-ups and extra lives/life replenishments. In addition, efficient destruction produces the occasional group of collectible medal icons, each of which yields a different point bonus. At the end of every level, you’re graded separately based on time completion and percentage of enemies destroyed.
These weapons power-ups range include gun enhancements (such as spread shot, 4x bullets, and lasers), as well as bomb pick-ups which, when activated, destroy everything on the screen. In co-op mode, the two planes can build up a meter for a special massive Joint Strike attack that requires them to work together for maximum effect. There are three selectable Joint Strike attacks in all. For instance, one of the attacks is an electrical current running between the two ships that destroys anything in its wake; the two pilots must move accordingly in order to guide the current into the enemy ships. You can even play online co-op, though this mode seems a bit buggy at the moment, resulting in occasional lock-ups and issues that seem to have more to do with coding than connection quality, which is too bad. Two-player local co-op is tons of fun, however, while it lasts.