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Sky Target
PublisherSega Disc(s)1
DeveloperSega RAM CartNo
Players1 OriginUS

by S. Ives ([email protected])

Lowdown:

    Finally, another jet combat game from Sega. But does it live up to AfterBurner? Well.... as it was with the Master System conversion of After Burner, the speed, the excellent control, the graphics, the throttle etc. all get thrown into the trash bin. Not good.
When starting a game you choose from several fighters, like the F-14D, Rafale M, F16C, and the F15S/MTD. Choose your jet, then there's some cheesy FMV of it taking off. After this, go on to the 1st mission. Some lame looking enemy fighters will appear, so nail them with your missiles. Your control over the jet is limited; there's no throttle or after burner. Just dodge whatever they throw at you, and blast away all you care to with the missiles. At the end of each mission, there is a boss. The bosses are generally poorly rendered- blocky looking abominations, with bad textures. Kill the boss and get a bonus for enemy fighters & other targets you've trashed, as well as a time bonus. If the timer runs out, the boss will get away from you.

It doesn't get any better at all. There's also a ranking mode where you can play individual stages to get as high of a stage score as you can.

Category Comments
Graphics: 3
  • - The frame rate is jerky compared to some of Sega's other 3-D games like Manx TT, Sega Rally, Daytona CE, etc.
  • - Some of the enemy fighters are just plain ugly & hard to recognize.
  • - Some of the enemies' gunfire looks like a stream of puke or a spray of water. Oh my, the missile has just fired at me with its...SQUIRT GUNS?!? Egads, the 2nd boss is trying to spew on me with its barf cannon!
  • - Some major drop-out.
  • - The dotty smoke trails of the missiles and downed enemy fighters are just sick.
  • - The death-cam of the enemy boss going down is more ludicrous than awe inspiring.
  • - Pixelation galore.
  • - Enemy missiles are blocky.
Sound/Music: 1
  • - Exhibit one, sir: The first boss tune is utterly ridiculous crap, with an "Opera singer from hell" style wail in the background. Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick! Turn that DOWN! Or even better, off. Quick, before your neighbor's dog howls in agony.
  • - The 2nd boss tune is not much better at all. Just some banal synth-rock with an occasional chorus of "ding-ding-dings".
  • - Some of the tunes are insultingly bad ripoffs of certain Thunder Force 4 heavy metal tracks.
  • - One tune is not much more than an insipid looping guitar riff accompanied by some guy shouting "SKYYYYYY TAAAAARGEEEEETT!" over & over.
  • - The lock-on voice, "Fire!", sounds more like "LIAR!"
  • - Anyone thinking of composing video game BGM should have to listen to the soundtrack at least once (maybe twice) so they know what NOT to do. They'd have been better off letting a cat walk all over the keyboards.
  • - A lame remixed version of one of the After Burner tunes fails to impress.
  • - The game sounds generally stink.
Gameplay/Control: 3
  • - The jet handles sluggishly, unlike After Burner.
  • - You can't roll the jet or control its speed. I'd have liked to be able to slow down so I could take out a cluster of ground targets!
  • - Unlimited missiles.
  • + Several different planes to choose from.
  • - Just take the enemies down with missiles. Your guns don't do jack as far as I'm concerned.
  • + There are some ground targets for you to pick off.
  • + There's a ranking mode, but this doesn't really add much.
Lasting Power: 2
  • - Bupkis... I don't really play this game anymore. The level of cheese contained in this title kills any replay value. Unless you're playing it to laugh at how bad it is!
  • + There's an occasional fork in your route that lets you choose the next stage, like a Darius game.
Overall: 2.25
  • It really bites that this game is so horrible, given Sega's track record. The Sega Ages pack (with After Burner) is a "Direct Hit". Sky Target, on the other hand, is a "Total Miss"- NOT WORTHY of the Sega name.
-S. Ives

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