Airborne Ranger

The Good
This was such a great game. You begin by dropping supplies over enemy territory and then parachuting out. From there you have limited supplies and often limited time to complete mission objectives.

One of the great features was the diversity of missions, stealing information, sabotage, diversion. Although the map changed very little, different objectives required different playing methods. In some levels you had to avoid enemies and in others you could be Rambo.

The Bad
If this game had been designed today, the different levels would have been tied together by some narrative link. There was no story in the game, but back then it didn't matter.

The Bottom Line
A thoughtful war game with emphasis on stealth and concealment.

The Good
Well when I was a kid I wanted to be a soldier so bad. I dreamed of the day that I would be a Airborne Ranger and jump into battle. This game had a lot to do with that dream

 This game had great replayability and great challenges.  I loved the Destroy a plane mission.  If I could figure out a way to play this on a P3 I would probably still be playing this one.  As for my dream of being a ranger.  Well.... I did join the army but none of that jumping out of a plane nonsense.  <br><br>**The Bad**<br>If you landed your bag of equipment on anything it would be destoryed.  (I guess that is reasonable)  <br><br>**The Bottom Line**<br>Great Classic.  But for arcade and military types only.

The Good
A "stealth" shooter, where emphasis is on avoiding enemy detection (even if it's just 2D sprites), this game is very different from your typical game. Distract enemies by using timed explosives or rockets, manage your supplies carefully to last through the entire map. The "career" is very nicely done, as the missions tie together. If one of your rangers were captured (ran out of ammo and surrounded), another ranger may get a POW rescue mission which can recover that ranger!

The Bad
The missions are a bit repetitive, some of the missions are really hard as you run into robot tanks, flame throwers, etc. where one shot and you're dead, no mid-game saves, etc.

The Bottom Line
Airborne Ranger is the earliest tactical shooter, long before Rainbow Six reinvented the genre in 3D. As a ranger, your job is to infiltrate enemy territory in parachute, glide to a landing without alerting enemies, then sneak through the many defenses (pill boxes, patrols, concertina wires, etc.), killing the enemy if necesary, accomplish your mission (which could be steal documents, demolition, take pictures of new enemy jet, capture, rescue POW, and more), and be extracted. The graphics are rather plain 2D, as this game is long before the advent of 3D graphics. Yet the action holds up quite well, as you tensely wait for the enemy patrol to walk by before you continue on your way, staying out of site, only use your weapons when absolutely necesary. You have your trusty Ka-bar knife, CAR-15, demolition charges, and even LAW rockets. You also have first aid kits to heal wounds. While not quite "one shot and you're dead", you can only take three hits, which means death CAN come swiftly when they do. As you sneak through the enemy territory you may run into some supplies dropped by earlier flights, which adds to the fun factor, as you had to choose where to drop those supplies. The game is a lot of fun then, and it's still a lot of fun now, and nothing has really came close (except Rainbow Six, but in a different way).