One of the gold nuggets I uncovered while sifting
through Game Gear games is this oddly named cart. I wasn't expecting much more than a
Galaga or Space Invaders clone, especially since Taito published Halley Wars. Well,
surprisingly, it is a clone, but it's a powerful clone of the console shooters of the
early 90's, such as Blazing Lazers and Gaiares. As the screen slowly scrolls up, you're
assaulted with all means of ships flying at you and shooting familiar fatal little
bullets, collecting power-ups (usually found inside asteroids that you shoot open) and
holding button 1 in for dear life.
This is a trip most of us have been on, but I place Halley Wars at the top of the heap, mainly because it's portable. This game was MADE to be portable. Shmups aren't my genre but that kind of helps to make this game perfect for me. I made it through level 1 on my first try, which is obviously a big change from the likes of Gradius and R-Type. The game can be made even easier with the options you get before the game starts: Normal or Turbo fire (only difference is how rapidly you fire) and Normal, Easy, or Hard difficulty levels. Normal is smooth sailing, Easy is a lullaby, and I haven't tried Hard yet because Normal is so much fun.
I know this is a pretty shallow review, but Halley Wars is a pretty shallow game. It would've been a rip-off at full retail price but if you have a Game Gear I'd think about snagging this one cheap. Great price to pay for portable shmupping.
