Release Date: 1982
Publisher: 20th Century Fox
Controller: Joystick
Players: 1
Genre: Shoot’em Up
Alternate Title: N/A
Model #: 11005
Rarity: 2
Programmer: Doug Neubauer
Based on the 1982 Barry Bostwick movie, Mega Force puts you in control of the world’s most dangerous weapon, the flying jet powered motorcycle. Your mission is to protect the city of Sardoun, which is under attack by an unknown enemy. Once the city is out of immediate danger, you must navigate the desert wasteland in search of their home base and destroy it.
As the game begins you are on the outskirts of town, watching your fuel deplete even before you have control. Shortly after taking off you’ll be under assault from UFOs as well as ground based rocket bases. There will also be a trio of fuel depot tanks that can be destroyed to keep your gas guzzling vehicle in the sky. While you may be tempted to shoot down everything in sight, you are on the clock as the enemy will inevitably sneak by you and begin destroying your city. Your only real hope at survival is to make a suicide dash through the enemy defenses.
Your jet cycle can both fly in the sky as well as drive on the sand. When you are in the air your projectiles will fly straight ahead, allowing you to fight off other airborne enemies. On the ground however you will lob missiles in an arc, which allows you to strike objects on the ground. Missile bases, fuel depot and ultimately the high rises of the enemy city will all fall victim to your explosives.
Each level continues until one of the two empires have crumbled, so it’s possible to defeat the enemy while leaving every one of their ships in the sky. In fact, your best bet at victory is to skim along the top of the sand, making it so the UFO’s can’t hit you, and giving you enough leeway to clear the ground based missiles. If you do try to fly, expect to be shot down or kamikazed. Defeat your enemy and be sent on to the next level, which is identical to the last only with slightly sped up enemies.
While the game is short, repetitive and ultimately forgettable, the movie it’s based on is another story. Sure it has some of the worst reviews of any film ever, but the flying jet bike scene needs to be seen to be believed. It’s peak 80s distilled down to a single two minute clip, a must see.
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Derek began playing video games in the early 80s, cutting his teeth on every Atari 2600 game he could get his hands on. This kickstarted a lifelong love of games, which continues to this day. No matter how advanced the systems and games become, the love for Atari remains supreme, which is why the Atari 2600 Encyclopedia project was done. With this massive project completed, Derek looks to begin work on another system encyclopedia, hoping to pay tribute to the games that shaped his childhood.
