Blue Lightning

The graphics and gameplay are of a high standard and the smoothness of the game makes it a pleasure to play. If you haven't got this game already than all I can say is "Why not?" Afterburner, eat you heart out!

Worse, other than a great soundtrack and some pre-rendered cut scenes, there's really nothing to distinguish this as a CD-ROM game. It's not all that bad, but this is the sort of thing best taken in small doses for a quarter - given all the gear you have to buy to play it. I really gotta wonder if it's worth it.

What went wrong? The Lynx-to-JagCD conversion went off without a hitch, but this simply isn't worthy of a high end system. Blue Lightning is a fun ride, but is utterly shallow and uneventful.

Blue Lightning was one of the best titles on the Atari Lynx... the Jaguar CD version is a remarkably similar translation. Unfortunately, the original Blue Lightning was released years ago on a portable system, and the Jag CD version is just TOO similar to the sorely outdated game. I expect MUCH more from a 64-bit CD system. The graphics are bitmappy and the gameplay is way too linear for today's standards. The thought was there, but this one is a no go.

Jet fighting has never been more mundane. If you feel the need for speed, try a flight sim for your old 16-bit system. This game will just give you the blues.

I'm sorry, but this game doesn't cut it. Blue Lightning looks and plays like a bad Commodore 64 game. Heck, even the Lynx version was better. The gameplay is surprisingly slow and when you do a barrel roll, the whole game slows down. The audio is average for a CD game, nothing special. If you're going to have a game on a 64-bit CD-ROM system, it should at least be able to compete with 16-Bit flight sims. Give me AfterBurner or Air Diver any day.

Blue Lightning for the Jaguar is a sad, sad game. As a pack-in game with the Jaguar CD add-on, you're not actually paying for it, but it's still not worth your time. The best things in life aren't necessarily free.

When I pick up a hand-held game, I'm only expecting to play for just a few minutes, but Blue Lightning seems to go on for hours (or maybe it just feels that way). Enemy missiles are easy to avoid (just keep moving side to side) and you get a whopping five lives! Since each stage is basically the same with new scenery, it doesn't take long for the boredom to set in. Had Atari put as much effort into the gameplay as the flashy visuals, Blue Lightening could have been something special.

Your planes are equipped with machine guns, missiles, and special weapons like cluster bombs. The machine guns are surprisingly effective against ground targets, but are tough to aim at aircraft. Using the missiles is a no brainer - just fire them when a "lock-on" square appears on a target. The bombs are hard to judge, but create some cool looking explosions. Your best evasive maneuver is the barrel roll, but the graphic representation of this is heinous. Instead of just spinning your plane, the entire screen rotates in a slow, choppy manner that looks ridiculous and slows the action. So why is this game on a CD? The in-game graphics are certainly not CD-worthy. There are a few boring full motion video clips, but you'll skip through these after the first viewing.

I've played a lot of bad games in my 15 years as a gamer. Who could forget such atrocities like Total Recall (NES), The Crow (PSX), or of course, E.T. (2600). Another game can now be officially included into the video game hall of shame. Just like the games mentioned above, nothing is done right in Blue Lightning and there are no redeeming features that make it worth popping into your system. As a final nail-in-the-coffin, they couldn't even spell "world" correctly on the back of the case. At least the Jag CD has a really cool CD player...