“Earth Defense, this is Earth Command.  Do you copy”

 

“Earth Defense here.  Turjah 2 and Skyforce reporting.”

 

“Good.  We’ve got inbound, and you’re the only thing between them and the total domination of Earth.  Good luck.”

 

“Skyforce, I see him on radar.  Claims to call himself Darklaga.  Lets show him we mean business.”

 

 

The forces of Earth enter the battle against the newcomer.  They let loose a devastating volley of graphics… Turjah 2’s colourful sprites catch Darklaga a glancing blow, and Darklaga counters with with his wild lighting effects and sometimes psychedelic visuals – Turjah 2 knows he is outmatched.  But wait - Skyforce enters the fray with the full might of his crisp, 3D graphics, and Darklaga is dealt a blow he’ll do well to recover from.

 

Round One to Skyforce.

 

 

“Good shot, Skyforce.  He’s wounded – let’s put him out of his misery.”

 

“Roger, Turjah 2.  Skyforce going in for the kill.”

 

Skyforce sees his wounded opponent, and goes in for the kill.  He lets loose what should be a dazzling symphony of audio effects, but the base techs forgot to load the really good stuff, and Skyforce’s feeble efforts bounce off Darklaga’s armoured hull.  Seeing his comrade’s ineffectiveness, Turjah 2 moves in to help.  He fires a torrent of meaty explosions and a sound track which rocks!  Darklaga replies with equally atmospheric explosions and thumping music… the two opponents cease fire – they are too evenly matched for either to prevail.

 

Round Two – Darklaga / Turjah 2 Draw .

 

 

“Impressive.  Skyforce, Turjah 2 here.  Let’s quite playing, and finish this.”

 

“Reading you loud and clear, Turjah 2.”

 

Sensing the battle is drawing to a close, the pair let loose their secret weapon – level missiles…  Darklaga dives, climbs and weaves – he dodges them all.

 

“Turjah 2, he dodged all 4 of my levels – I’m all out.”

 

“Me too, Skyforce.  All eight of my levels missed.”

 

Darklaga launches all 15 of his level missiles – again and again they hammer into Turjah 2 and Skyforce… but don’t quite finish them off.  But just when they think it’s over, Darklaga plays his ace – a daunting array of game modes…  At first, only 3 are visible, but as each of these detonate against Turjah 2 and Skyforce’s armour, a further 7 show themselves… Geo-Destruct… Time Attack… Extreme Mode… they just keep coming!

 

Round 3 to Darklaga

 

 

Seeing his opponents limping along, Darklaga moves in for the kill.  Wondering how to administer the final blow, he releases powerups.  A multitude of weapons upgrades and multipliers spew forth in the direction of Turjah 2 and Skyforce.  Finally, the devastating Fury is unleashed – rockets and energy fill space as far as they eye can see.

 

When everything clears, Turjah 2 and Skyforce are no more.

 

Darklaga is victorious!

 

 

Pros:

 

• Fast, smooth, colourful graphics and effects.
• Sound effects which draw you right into the game.
• Replay value in the form of unlockable levels and game modes.
• Simple stylus control.
• Challenging, yet beatable enemies and levels.
• Did I mention replay value..?

 

Cons:

 

• People wonder why you’re concentrating on your PDA so intently…
• Um… the installation took too long?

 

Final Score: 9/10

 

Reviewed by Red_Five