Sometimes a game can be so bland you are genuinely unsure as to why it was made and what it is doing in this world. This is exactly my thoughts on Pacific Wings – a retro-inspired shoot-em-up that just hasn’t got a personality. There’s no difficulty, no enemy variation, and no changes in level design and so after 20 minutes of tedium, you’ll not want to return.
To start off on a positive though, at least Pacific Wings runs smoothly without problems. Your plan moves around the screen quickly and easily and as you collect powerups that increase your firepower. Your ship continues to become all-powerful and this is really the main problem of the game. The levels just don’t challenge you and the enemies offer little to avoid or deal with. They come in small waves, occasionally from behind you, but never enough to really make you think about anything other than the odd movement as you keep the fire button down. So sadly, as you go through each level (which doesn’t change – it is an endless scroll with a percentage in the corner) you simply zone out.
Some games are also this mindless but they come with personality or tricks to break up the actions. Pacific Wings doesn’t. Instead, this is all there is and once you’ve completed the 20 levels of enemies, you’ll be left feeling full of regret. I was and I bought this on a deep, deep sale. It is possibly the blandest shooter I’ve ever played. Avoid it.
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