1942: Joint Strike (PS3, 360)

seiatsu · Post by **seiatsu** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 11:17 pm

If anyone cares...this is due out this wednesday. Personally, I'm pretty curious. Too bad my 360 died yesterday (RROD, hopefully they replace it with one that has the issue resolved this time =/ ). Guess I'll have to wait until my replacement get here.

I guess the upside is that hopefully I can hear some reputable impressions by then.

(Heard rumors of Galaga Legions this week too but not sure how true that may or may not be....if not this week, very soon.)

kemical · Post by **kemical** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 12:27 am

instant purchase for me...

junkeR · Post by **junkeR** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:33 am

I was excited at first, but now it's all 'meh' to me. I'd save my money for Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty.

Kaspal · Post by **Kaspal** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:55 pm

i'll have to wait til aug. since right now i cant connect my X360 to the internet (my modem has not enough ports, and lacks WIFI)... but as soon as i can get back online with it, i'll be downloading it, and maybe purchasing it (i need ot get a prepaid card for that).

hermosaguy · Post by **hermosaguy** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:19 am

Its up! So far I'm kind of liking it...the yoko on my wide screen though is kinda weird at first.

320x240 · Post by **320x240** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:50 am

Are there any new vids of this game anywhere?

Daigohji · Post by **Daigohji** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:55 am

I enjoyed the demo, but can't buy it until I get another MS points card (I'm not trusting MS with my credit card details). The proximity based multiplier is a good idea, albeit ripped from the Shikigami series.

Daigoro · Post by **Daigoro** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:14 pm

no controll config options in demo = no sale.

otherwise it wasnt terrible.

hermosaguy · Post by **hermosaguy** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:19 pm

I played on Live for the first time and the game is seriously broken...when we got to the second stage, the background turned to black and I was dying without even seeing what was killing me! I had paused it (you can pause in 2 player mode across Live) and after unpausing, the backgrounds were flying at 10X speed every which direction and all the sounds dropped out except gunfire. I think I was just happy to play a new shooter...I guess its 'kinda' worth its price.

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:05 pm

Just finished playing through the demo with all the ships. I'll just list what popped into my head.

-Pink bullets are sometimes difficult to see due to the drab background

-Long-ass chase sequence at the end of the level is completely unnecessary.

-Difficulty was low, even on the hardest setting (a Backbone trademark)

-No dedicated button for auto-fire? Jeezus...

-Virtually nothing fired at me until the boss. I realize it was the first stage, but damn...

Anyone with the full game want to answer a few questions? I've noticed that the original shmups on XBLA (not arcade ports) are all really easy. Does this one follow that tradition? Actually, that's the only question I have. If it's not hard, there's no point.

...was that a pun?

subcons · Post by **subcons** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:05 pm

@hermosaguy, Have you played it single player at all? Impressions?

It sounds weird that the game would mess up like that over Live. I know these things have to pass rigorous testing before MS will release them. Curious to see if anyone else has problems with it.

Kogen · Post by **Kogen** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:13 pm

subcons wrote:It sounds weird that the game would mess up like that over Live. I know these things have to pass rigorous testing before MS will release them. Curious to see if anyone else has problems with it.

Haha, this is a joke, right?

Online is messed up on like half of my XBLA titles. They do not test it much at all. Also I see many people reporting the 'black screen' on Live.

seiatsu · Post by **seiatsu** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:15 pm

subcons wrote:@hermosaguy, Have you played it single player at all? Impressions?

It sounds weird that the game would mess up like that over Live. I know these things have to pass rigorous testing before MS will release them. Curious to see if anyone else has problems with it.

IMO, doesn't sound too weird. He said he paused...when he un-paused, it probably had to re-sync since it sounds like he was playing co-op.

Assuming I'm understanding correctly, that's no reason to deem the game broken.

Then again, i haven't played the game and won't be able to give judgment until ms sends me (another) new xbox.

Tigershark · Post by **Tigershark** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:17 pm

I like the graphics and the style but the movement of your ship ruins the game for me. It's far too slow and feels like you're flying though treacle. No doubt the developers were going for an arcade semi realistic flight mechanic but for me it's a bit shite.

subcons · Post by **subcons** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:18 pm

I don't really buy many XBLA titles, but I had never heard of black screens and such before, so no, I was being sincere.

Sounds like I may not get this. Slow ship movement (is it like Raiden III or something?) and no challenge a good game does not make.

seiatsu · Post by **seiatsu** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:30 pm

I've never really had any issues with xbla games (I have a good amount but not so many).

I agree with the no challenge thing..that wouldn't be good. However, i gotta think that there must be some challenge there as most of the vids i've seen have the screen full with enemies and bullets. Unless your ship is somehow invincible, i don't see how that could equal no challenge. I don't really think anyone can claim easy until it is 1cc'd though. Again, this is pure speculation.

In regards to not being able to see pink bullets on drab backgrounds (someone said it in this thread), sounds weird. Pink against drab should stand out more than pink against vibrant. In all the vids, the pink bullets definitely stand out the most. I would've thought the white bullets would have had this problem if any.

I could just be overly excited for a (sort of) new stg as well.

I dunno about everyone else but for 10$, I'll get it as long as it's semi decent because somehow I am still hoping that the more stg's we buy in the US, the more likely we are to get more / better ones. I'm sure i've spent 10$ on far worse things.

I'm Alec · Post by **I'm Alec** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:56 pm

ooh, this is out already? i need to look for it on the ps store. Any idea what the ps3 version costs and if the bugs are the same as the xbox ver?

kinda funny how this was anounced well after street fighter 2 hd and yet came out first. i don't understand the delay in that particular title.

can't wait to drink a beer and fuck around with this title tonight.

seiatsu · Post by **seiatsu** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 12:04 am

PS3 is out tomorrow. I think i'm going to get that one as well so I don't have to wait for my 360 to return. Should be the same price i think (around $10)

TodayIsForgotten · Post by **TodayIsForgotten** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:52 am

Damocles wrote:Just finished playing through the demo with all the ships. I'll just list what popped into my head.

-Pink bullets are sometimes difficult to see due to the drab background

-Long-ass chase sequence at the end of the level is completely unnecessary.

-Difficulty was low, even on the hardest setting (a Backbone trademark)

-No dedicated button for auto-fire? Jeezus...

-Virtually nothing fired at me until the boss. I realize it was the first stage, but damn...

Anyone with the full game want to answer a few questions? I've noticed that the original shmups on XBLA (not arcade ports) are all really easy. Does this one follow that tradition? Actually, that's the only question I have. If it's not hard, there's no point.

...was that a pun?

Whats up guys? This game is certainly a cake walk for avid shoot em' up players and probably even above average. I beat the game my first go.

The enemies on level 1 are a joke. But, in the later levels there are more bullets. A few bosses and "sub bosses" have bullet hell-type patterns, which is deviation from 1942, but still welcomed.

Bosses are reused and there are only 5 levels. The game is extremely short, clocking in somewhere between 15-20 minutes. The first stage is 2 minutes.

The chase sequence is actually a bonus round as there are medals to be had.

Scoring works on proximity, which could lead to a new challenge and it does. This would alleviate the too easy comment. I dont like some of the plane patterns as they just seem a bit ridiculous to 16x.

Bosses are huge and at times seem a bit cramped. I think i see now why widescreen is a bad idea for these games or atleast the aspect ratio they chose.

Planes do not feel entirely smooth like the entire 194x series.

Planes are almost or are too big for some patterns at first and occasionally just, too big.

I didnt have an issue with not seeing bullets.

and finally, the different difficulty settings - i dont think this changes the game at all only reduces or increaes (depending on selection) the number of lives you have. The bosses may actually take longer to kill though. As im noticing i cant S rank as easily on the 2nd star, but can with no problem on the first.

Daedalus · Post by **Daedalus** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:45 am

Man, what's with Capcom letting this team handle their classic franchises? I picked up both this and Commando 3, and they share some major problems:

1. Like TodayIsForgotten said, these games are -easy-. I could 1 cc Commando 3 on the highest difficulty shortly after getting it (I'm pretty sure that game was the same, in that the difficulty level only affects your number of lives). 1942 is slightly harder, but not by much. I'm not very good at shooting games and I can clear it with only a couple deaths.

2. Both of the games take some obvious shortcuts with the presentation. In both of them, if you lose your final life, you don't get any death animation, fanfare, or even a decent game over screen. As soon as the bullet hits you, it cuts to a screen with text saying "Game over." and "Press A to continue."

Scoring works on proximity, which could lead to a new challenge and it does. This would alleviate the too easy comment. I dont like some of the plane patterns as they just seem a bit ridiculous to 16x.

In addition to that, you get a bonus multiplier by your rank (which itself is determined by how many planes you shoot down - You need 95% to get the full 4 ranks for each level). So, you can't just focus on proximity shots if it's gonna cause you to miss planes (This is a huuuge step over Commando 3 - The scoring in that game involved sitting around and killing infinite waves of enemies. Blargh.)

However, i gotta think that there must be some challenge there as most of the vids i've seen have the screen full with enemies and bullets. Unless your ship is somehow invincible, i don't see how that could equal no challenge. I don't really think anyone can claim easy until it is 1cc'd though.

I have no doubt that someone better than me could 1cc it. In fact, I'll probably do it soon enough. There are a lot of bullets in some parts, and you do have a large hitbox... but the game uses a health meter, so you can take several hits. On top of that, health and bomb powerups are plentiful.

I've noticed that the original shmups on XBLA (not arcade ports) are all really easy. Does this one follow that tradition? Actually, that's the only question I have. If it's not hard, there's no point.

I guess we've already covered that it's easy

But what original shmups are you talking about? All I can recall are this and Omega Five.

Finally, I'd like to say the ending is pretty weak. At least Commando had a short cartoon sequence... this has no text, no ending, no second loop. You kill the boss, see your mission complete stats, and then it cuts to "FIN. Press A to continue."

Yeah, I'm hard on this game. I actually like it - it's fun to play (and really, I'm happy to see any shooting game on Xbox Live, particularly unique ones). But they did take some shortcuts and it is an easy game.

kemical · Post by **kemical** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:55 am

i have some problems with this game but at the same time I enjoy it, been playing this evening, i don't see how the game is 15-20 mins total length, seriously it feels like stage 4 lasts a long time.

stage 1 and 2 kind of suck, stage 3 is awesome, same with stage 4 and 5..

the slowdown on stage 3 is absolutely pathetic though, this isn't Crysis!!!! Seriously, there is more stuff going on in old games running on 25mhz cpu's that hardly slow down as much as this game does in stage 3.
Not to mention the slowdown totally screws up your plane's movement.

This game could be really good with some minor tweaks and more polish, but I still think it is worthy of a purchase -especially to support shooters, but at the same time i don't see why it couldn't have been more polished and solid feeling, the gloss on the graphics really doesn't serve much purpose, without style, and because even with the graphics abstracted down to simple fundamental shapes, the gameplay and feedback/controls would still feel a bit wrong and fucked at times... Now if that was all solid with simple shapes, then you could worry about graphics and if your water is normal mapped with specular etc..

Also if you have trouble with the backgrounds being so light and faded, if you pull the gamma down to 0 things look better and pop out more, it probably depends on your tv though.

name on live is XRA

*edit*
stage 3 seriously feels so right, it seems like all the ground enemies are in great spots, rushing around getting x16's, its pretty cool.. the stage also reminds me of donpachi stage 3 a lot, in theme and also how it feels suddenly intense compared to the first 2 stages.

Post by **system11** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 8:58 am

I'm struggling with the controls but even I got to the last stage on my second run. The analogue is too floaty, the D-pad on all 360 pads I've tried is horrible.

-Bridget- · Post by **-Bridget-** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:09 am

Daedalus wrote:Man, what's with Capcom letting this team handle their classic franchises?

It's Capcom.

Im sorry, but they're dumber than stumps. Have been for awhile. Didnt USED to be, but they are nowadays.

Remember them shutting Clover down? Yeah, stuff like that.

I COULD make a whole list (a long one) of braindead things I've seen them do, but that'd just end in a flaming rant of angry doom, so I'll keep it to myself this time......

Strider77 · Post by **Strider77** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 12:12 pm

screw this game and just wait for resident evil 5

MX7 · Post by **MX7** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 12:40 pm

Lol, 'Joint Strike'.

Now we know why it's shit anyway.

szycag · Post by **szycag** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:04 pm

<#####* ~~~

PsikyoPshumpPshooterP · Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:46 pm

i like it, i dont know why everyone here is saying this game is easy..try beating it on Wing King, my friend

hermosaguy · Post by **hermosaguy** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:50 pm

subcons wrote:@hermosaguy, Have you played it single player at all? Impressions?

It sounds weird that the game would mess up like that over Live. I know these things have to pass rigorous testing before MS will release them. Curious to see if anyone else has problems with it.

I like this game. I played another match over live, and I didn't have any issues. I don't know where the location of who I was playing against, but maybe that had something to do with it. We have Fios, so its normally a decent connection.

I really am noticing how the 3 different planes are balanced. The system is interesting in that the multiplier is based on distance of a kill and the controls and graphics are par for the course. The music is something you will forget, but thats not a big deal.

Its well worth the price in my opinion. In terms of shooters on xbla that i'll play, here is where it will stand...

Ikaruga>Rez>Joint Strike>Trigger Heart

Taylor · Post by **Taylor** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:29 pm

Apparently this is coming to PSN but it seems Sony are continuing to retain the higher standard of the European store by not putting any content onto it until it has passed an extensive trial period on US/JP stores first.

I played the 360 demo before but the whole thing bugged-out during the bonus stage of the first level, so I’ll buy the online play might have a few glitches. It seems from the reviews from metacritic it's too hardcore, too difficult, too short and should have continues.

seiatsu · Post by **seiatsu** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:45 pm

Well..finally got to try this (on PSN, I assume it's the same as XBLA). I've only played a short time but I don't see what the crying is about. ;p Based on that, I want to offer my take on some of the points. Keep in mind, didn't get to play much yet (first two stages)

The speed / movement felt fine to me. I didn't find it to be slow. I think it's just the larger area to move about in which creates the "slow" feeling (as opposed to the aspect ratio that we are used to for verts). Once you are used to the wider range of movement...it feels pretty normal. Never felt like I couldn't dodge or catch up to something though. Granted...this is early stages though.

While not a crazy challenge early on, it's not a cakewalk either. I'm not used to playing many stg's with a lifebar though so I was a bit suprised not to die from taking a hit. Would be nice if there were a toggle for that but such is life. I have a feeling the liffebar is what is making it feel easy for some....none the less, I try not to take any hits as the one hit kill is ingrained from most of the other games I play.

No bullets in the first level until the boss? I dunno that we're playing the same game then as there were plenty of fast moving homing shots coming at me. Again...not that they were difficult patterns or anything but they were definitely there and definitely an obstacle.

Risk / Reward seems very very key here. The way the system is set up, it definitely becomes far more challenging when playing for score. Trying to 16x everything is tough as bullets appear quick at close range. After playing a round for survival and then playing a round for score, you can definitely feel a drastic difference. Seems as the devs were pushing for score based play here with this type of system. (you have to get pretty close to get the 16x multiplier).

Boss patterns are interesting and kind of unique. Not really "bullet hell" but sort of. Plus, the attacks are quicker than your typical boss attacks which kind of make them feel more bullet hell like. Additionally, there is really not much lul between each boss attack so you sort of have to be on your toes in that regard.

Also, I like the huge scale of everything.

Overall, while maybe not the best stg there is, it is definitely not bad especially for $10. Seems it gets better the deeper you dig into the system. One thing to note is it doesn't really seem like 1942 to me (although in some ways, yes). Seems more like a medley of popular war based stg's (1942, Strikers, etc). I found it to be quite fun and could become more challenging as you try to push your scores through the roof.

Again, keep in mind that I only played the first two stages on default so my opinion could change with a little more playtime. My biggest gripe (although minor) is the lifebar and the fact that I can't move my bomb to the O button. So far, I have not found anything that makes the game broken in terms of gameplay (wether it be in the game or the players favor)

I think I'll have fun with this one,