Fun little distraction for fans of the series
1942 is back with an awesome new coat of paint. The game has excellent graphics and really makes the game shine. The terrain will change as your plane travels and the enemies as well as yourself look pretty solid. Explosions and gunfire are insanely huge and awesome.
Those wanting to go back and remember the frantic music of the old series will not find it here. The game takes itself a little to seriously as it brings more dramatic music which would fit perfect for a game with some exploration, but as 1942 is on rails, you don't get that sense of adventure. Although the gunfire and blazing planes look great, the sound isn't there to match. I'm not sure if its just lack of memory, but the sound just feels muffled and uneventful. It is nice here the smack of bullets against enemy armor, but all other sounds seem a lot lower in tone and volume than the games makes them look. I felt as if the epic look this game was trying to create a game much more than what it is and suffering as it couldn't be done probably. So instead of an arcade style sound you have a sound that tries to be much bigger than it is and fails.
You have the option to choose between 3 plans, they are divided by name, but really by style as one is balance, heavy, and light. There are also the additions of joint strikes that can only be activated during co-op multiplayer. This addition does give some depth to the gameplay, but for those who were really into the older versions the joint strike seems a little useless, since by the time you got ready to use it as you both had to have the enemy in between you, you could have just flew up and blasted them to bits. The joint strike option seems better in single player as the action is replaced by a bunch of small missiles that are much easier and quicker to fire.
The game also has no autofire button as when you hold the fire button down you just get a more powerful charge shot which feels as strong as you maxed out weapons which get to their strongest point only after 2 pick ups. The upgrades are now 3 different types: stronger default weapons, larger shelled fire, and lasers. Co op is fun and challenging, but the game lasts under an hour so you really don't even have to to wear your thumb out. All in all this is an ok title that is lacking in a lot of ways.