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Pearl Harbor: Defend the Fleet

Score: 40%
ESRB: Teen
Publisher: Infogrames
Developer: Wizard Works
Media: CD/1
Players: 1
Genre: Arcade/ Miscellaneous

Graphics & Sound:

With the release of Touchstone Pictures' Pearl Harbor, I was not surprised to get Pearl Harbor: Defend the Fleet for review. Where the movie was visually stunning, the game (which is not affiliated with the movie in any way) is not. I might have to clarify this a bit. Your environment is not very realistically rendered; the ships are too small and look like gray blobs. Also, the environment does not change with each mission, not a pixel. The one thing that is rendered well is the planes. They have clear lines and each one is easily recognizable from the others. When they are shot down, they just kind of disapear with no debris anywhere. Of course, what can you expect for a bargain priced game? The sound effects could use a little help. When the sound of the shells hitting the deck is louder than the planes flying by, something might need to be tweaked.

Gameplay:

Pearl Harbor: Defend the Fleet is an arcade style combat game that falls flat after a short while. You're on a ship in the Harbor during the attack on December 7th, 1941 where your main objective is to use your anti-aircraft guns at the attacking Japanese planes. These planes will consist of P-40's, Wildcats, Zeros, and two different versions each of Kates and Vals. You will be using various types of artillery that will magically be replenished by supply boats. The only thing that is halfway challenging is not shooting down your American comrades in the later missions. It's not hard to recognize the Japanese fleet due to the big red bullseye (that I think was called the 'meatball' by servicemen) on the side of their planes.

I really wanted to enjoy this game because of my family history. My grandfather was stationed at the Marine Base at Pearl Harbor and shot down a couple of planes himself. I wanted to enjoy the game because of him, not to say that I experienced anything that he did, but I did want to play a game that honored what he and so many others did at Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor: Defend the Fleet does nothing but bore you after a couple of missions.


Difficulty:

Pearl Harbor: Defend the Fleet is one of the easiest games that I have ever come across, and that makes it really boring. There are no difficulty levels to set, so you are stuck on mediocre for the whole game. While playing, I also never died, and believe me I tried a few times. I kept shooting down planes until I got tired and turned the game off.

Game Mechanics:

Pearl Harbor: Defend the Fleet is easily controlled by your mouse, which is the best thing for shooters sometimes. Use your left mouse button to fire and use your right mouse button to switch between your various guns. You might find that you might have to use your non-mouse hand to cover your mouth during yawns. When going to the store to buy the newest game, I hope Pearl Harbor: Defend the Fleet will inspire you to go see the movie Pearl Harbor if you haven't seen it, and to leave the game on the shelf.

-Wickserv, GameVortex Communications
AKA Eric Wickwire

Minimum System Requirements:



Windows 98/ME, Pentium 266MHz processor, 32MB RAM, 100MB free hard drive space, 3D accelerator with 4MB RAM, CD-ROM Direct X 8.0 (included on CD), Mouse
 

Test System:



GX-450xl running Windows 98, 256 RAM, Creative Sound Blaster 64CPCI with Boston Acoustic Digital Media Theatre, STB Velocity 4400 with RIVA TNT chip, DirectX 7, 32 Mb RAM, 6X24 DVD-ROM.

Windows Leadfoot Windows Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated