Macross: Digital Mission VF-X

VF-X

If you want a crazy flying game, then this is the game for you. Reminiscent of StarFox on SNES, you take command of a flying craft, which can change at anytime between 3 forms: a fighter jet, a jet walker, and a robot. The viewpoint is either 1st person cockpit view, or 3rd person ala StarFox. The mission's are pretty much go through the level wasting enemy robots and ships, then blow up a boss. It stays interesting for a few reasons. One, the ability to change forms does much more than change your appearance, it changes the way the craft controls quite a bit. The jet is the fastest, but not to maneuverable in close combat. The jet-walker form is a mid-way point between the 3 forms, you have a lot more maneuverability, and can fly up or down. The robot moves the easiest, and is great for close in combat, however can't fly upwards and has less powerful special weapons (ex. no missiles).

What makes this game so crazy is the way the missions are played out. You can fly around like a madman, shooting like crazy, and try to avoid a flurry of missiles headed your way. Or, you can proceed with a more calm approach, fly in and fire, then back out fast and avoid the enemy fire, etc. When using the jet form, it's easy to get into a frenzy of barrel rolls and go spinning out of control...luckily the ground doesn't give you much damage when you hit it. :)

All in all the game is pretty fun, but the difficulty level is pretty high, and you have to start all the way back if you die...and some of the levels are very large and time consuming. The game's nuttyness keeps it fun though, and although the first few levels are pretty boring, things get a lot cooler as the game progresses.