The disappearance of flight Delta 9, a United Nations tank battalion and an undersea missile battery are the triggers for one of the most exciting and demanding combat shooters to come along in recent years - Firepower 2000.
Those incidents finally are laid at the feet of a bizarre underground race which is collecting weapons for the most awesome military force on Earth.This purloined powerhouse is being operated by a robot army programmed to destroy everything in its path.
Who gets to take on this military mega-monster?
One guess.
Yes, once again your planet needs you. At the controls of either a heavily armed jeep or helicopter, Firepower 2000 ($54.95 for SNES from Sunsoft) sends you on a suicide mission to defeat this evil subterranean Juggernaut before it can gather its strength and conquer the world.
Firepower 2000 is deceptive. The controls are extremely simple to use. The control pad moves your chosen vehicle and two buttons control your weapons. That's pretty much it.
But the battle you are about to begin is ferocious, furious and constant. Enemies attack in endless waves, and your weapons are constantly blazing as you fight for your life across six hostile stages: desert, jungle, riverbed, military air base, volcanoes and the enemy's home complex.
As you travel, you will come across yellow storage bins. Blast them for additional permanent weapons and collect them every time you can because you can increase weapon power up to seven times.
There also are icons for special weapons (missiles, a ring of fire and homing missiles) and for a shield that protects you from damage for a short time. Also, certain enemies release a star when destroyed; each is worth 100 points. At the end of each stage, you get an additional 1,000 points multiplied by the number of the level you're on for each star collected.
You get an extra life at 50,000 points, 100,000 points and every 100,000 points after that.
Each vehicle has its pluses and minuses. I found the helicopter more fun to control and more dangerous overall. It's faster and can avoid ground obstacles, although it only fires forward. The jeep can jump for short distances, can shoot in all directions and more easily avoids airborne foes, but it's slow and has to go around obstacles on the ground.
This one-or-two-player game has almost everything.
The lavish and amazingly detailed graphics are almost too good; you'll get blasted if you stop too long to enjoy them. Control is excellent and there's no noticeable slowdown in game play despite all the commotion on-screen. The sound effects are explosively good and tunes are entertaining.
Missing are continues, so if you lose all your lives - and you will - it's start again. This is especially frustrating when you move into the later stages, although points accumulate quickly to add additional lives.
Firepower 2000 is a frenzied, frantic cart that will wear out your fingers long before the enemy's armies breathe their last.