
For about thirty years I had a pattern. Every couple of years I’d remember that I love Jungle Strike, which I’ve played on both Mega Drive and PC. This prompted me to pop it on, and play the shit out of the first level. Due to getting frustrated with the “bloody hovercraft” on level two I’d usually stop there.
It’s a long time to play a couple of levels, so that first one must have been pretty damn good!
But now I’m happy to inform you that I have broken the pattern.
I have completed Jungle Strike.
A childhood objective finally achieved! Not something I had on a list of things to do before I turned forty. But it’s a win! So I can talk about the game as a whole now.
Though I find the extra vehicles frustrating (I’ll get to them), the feel of tearing around in the Comanche is just cool. Especially once you get the hang of jinking. I do enjoy swinging the ‘copter round and using momentum to get in and out quickly. And who doesn’t love a bit winch work. I can only assume that the choice of helicopter is rule of cool, as the Comanche is a reconnaissance chopper of which only two were ever made.
When I was younger I saw everything as a thing I needed to face up to and shoot. No wonder I struggled. You can brute force your way through the first couple of levels for sure. But you soon need to think about you approach areas, especially danger zones. There’s a variety of enemies, most of which need a good strafing. I still struggle the the M1 Tanks though, bastards. As much as I’ve learnt better, I often fail to resist the allure of holding A/B/C to unleash a volley of machine gun, Hydra, and Hellfire rounds.
The dialogue in-between missions is laughable, but it is amusing. I remember the same scenes on PC being full motion video, but if anything those are worse. At least there’s some good music. The whole game has the feel of an early nineties action film, so whilst it’s playing well a lot can be forgiven.
I feel less forgiving when I’m not in the Comanche. The hovercraft, bike, and bomber all have their quirks, and leave me wanting to get back to the choppah. I understand wanting to break things up though. Perhaps if I play Desert Strike I’ll see the progression and feel better about it.
I’m so happy that I’ve been able to update this piece now that I’ve finished the game. Jungle Strike is a classic. I think Desert Strike is on the cards now.
Loved Desert Strike and Jungle Strike. Still remember them fondly.