U.N. Squadron

The Good
You play one of three pilots who have their own aircraft, which have their own characteristics. But no matter which pilot you choose, your mission is to destroy Project 4, a group of enemy planes that are sent to destroy the world.

There are nine missions in U.N. Squadron, and before each mission, you are given a briefing that outlines the target that you have to blow up. But you have to kill down several, smaller planes before you miss it. Shooting down these planes will get you some cash, which you can use to buy additional weapons and health. The more effective the weapons are, the most expensive they are. You have a limited supply to use up. One of my favorite weapons is the “ring of death” or whatever it is called. I found this weapon to be the most destructive against the enemies that are slightly bigger than the smaller ones. However, I would not mind using a couple of super bombs here and there.

When you have destroyed enough planes, then you finally get to meet the targets, which are huge in comparison. They have the more advanced firepower, which will kill you in one hit if you are not watching the action or have poor motor skills. Again, “the ring of death” is the most destructive against these targets After you have destroyed the targets, you always receive bonus cash.

As usual with any shoot-em-up, you get damaged if you come in contact with any aircraft. But what I like about getting damaged is that when you are, the damage is reflected on the pilot's face. I believe that this is not seen in any shoot-em-up that I have played so far.

You fly your plane through a series of environments such as desert and forest, and the structures in these can be destroyed. The graphics have more detail than the 8-bit versions, mainly due to the Amiga's graphics chip. The music is OK, though not the best compared to Team 17's Project-X. The best music from the game comes from when you select your pilot. The rest of the music is a pleasure to listen to as you play. The sound effects basically consists of you or aircraft getting killed or damaged.

The Bad
This is a horizontal-scrolling game, but I didn't like how the scrolling gets choppy as you fly through.

The Bottom Line
In U.N. Squadron, you choose one of three pilots that will join you in defeating Project 4's plans. There are nine missions, which have you destroying enemy planes to earn cash, and a much bigger plane at the end. The cash that you earn can be used to upgrade your weapons. A sequel for coin-ops was released called Carrier Air Wing, which has a similar look and feel to the original.