Player Review-1944: The Loop Master (2000)
Developers-8ing/Raizing
Publishers-Capcom
Platforms-Arcade, GameTap
Series-194X
Genres-Vertical Scrolling Shooter
Modes-Single-Player, 2-Player Co-op
Arcade System-CP System II
1944: The Loop Master is undoubtedly the masterpiece of Capcom's 19XX franchise. As I stated in my review of 1941: Counter Attack, it feels like every game in the series is ACTUALLY the same game, getting better and better each time until they produce the final product, which would be this. This isn't Capcom's greatest effort in the vertical-scrolling shooter genre BUT it is definitely one of the best.
What makes this one so much better than it's predecessors? Let's start with the visuals. 1944 being created over a decade after the first game in the series means massive graphical upgrades, it means more detail, it means better looking stages, better designed enemy aircraft and that more can be happening on the screen at once which adds to the chaos and difficulty of the gameplay. There seems to be an actual art direction and an attempt to create an actual atmosphere around the game so it doesn't feel so empty and devoid of character. Each stage feels like it’s own battle and it's own moment within the war so there is some semblance of story here. Titles that ran on Capcom's CPS-II arcade system board used the Qsound processing algorithm so this game could have a legitimate soundtrack and vibrant sound effects. The background music has a very "Top Gun/80's action movie" flavor to it.
The problem with the previous games is that they were so tedious and repetitive that they almost didn't feel like games at all, they felt like tasks or chores..things you didn't want to do but you had to do. 1944 actually feels like a game. It's actually fun to play both alone and with a friend. Strategizing on how to take out each special target and how to get to it's weak points without taking substantial damage was actually entertaining as opposed to just mindlessly floating through level after level of boring enemies that barely offer a challenge. The game calculating the amount of enemies on the level you destroyed actually makes sense for this installment more than some of the earlier games in the series because it's actually hard to destroy some of the different tanks, warships and bombers. I actually ended up with less than 100% accuracy in 1942 or 1943 for some levels because I got tired of even pushing the fire button.
THE GOOD
-Capcom teamed up with Eighting/Raizing to create this title who you may know for creating the Bloody Roar franchise, but they are also absolute masters when it comes to the vertical-scrolling shooter genre. If you can't have any fun playing this...you just don't like these types of games.
-Although there is still isn't much of a story present in this game, they at least do their due diligence to create a unique and interesting atmosphere around it. I assume that because it deals with an event that actually happened (World War II), Capcom didn't want to put their own spin on it, which is understandable but at the very least the game feels like it's own world. It has it's own energy.
-If you are able to utilize the charge shot properly as well as the other power-ups, the stages actually go pretty quickly.
-The game is only 15 levels so even though right off the bat it's alot more fun than the games that preceded it, it doesn't give you a chance to get bored of it before it's over.
THE BAD
-1944 isn't as interesting as many of the other games in this genre and even some distributed by Capcom themselves because it deals with our own actual history so it doesn't have as much material to work with as titles that went the science fiction route. This is more of a nitpick than anything though because there is nothing actually wrong with using a more realistic atmosphere for a game.
I give 1944: The Loop Master a
7.9 out of 10
SOLID
