Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Bottom of the Barrel (no.5): Wild Pilot

It's been a while since I last did one of these so here we go:

Does anyone remember an arcade game called Wild Pilot?
I do. And I hated it.

First a description: Wild Pilot was one of the shooter arcade game where the player controlled a cross-hairs and shot things. Wild Pilot's gimmick was that the players were situated in an airplane the targets were all forms of aircraft. And the ultimate goal for each area was to hunt down some criminal, also in an airplane, and bring them down to claim a bounty.

However, what annoyed me about this game was the airplane the players were using was a World War 1 Biplane.
Yes you heard me: A biplane.

This annoyed me on two levels: Firstly, I was confused by why the PCs were using a biplane. Didn't they have enough money? Is that why the PCs were resorting to bounty hunting - because they really needed the money?
And secondly, the odds here are just absurd:
Your foes range from Harrier Jump-jets, Helicopter Gunships and F15's. You have a biplane.
Your foes have the best military aircraft hardware. You have a flying crate.
Your foes have the best weaponry they can find. You have something that will be shot out of the sky in mere minutes.

Granted I'm just irate that I was never any good at this game - I would rather shoot the target then the aircraft in front of it (because that was the aim of the game right?) - but looking back years later, this is not a game that has aged well. Never mind the near impossible odds, the visuals don't look that crash hot either. 

True this game may have it's fans but I'm not one of them.
Dammit, just talking about this game makes me angry.
Just look at this video and draw your own conclusions (dig that crazy scaling!):

Original video located here. Accessed 12th November 2014

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