Random MAME Review #3

I know its been over a week since I last did a MAME review but other things have been taking my time, but alas it is that time again The Random MAME review for this week is Twin Cobra II published by Taito. Twin Cobra is a vertical scrolling shooter a la "1942". Released in 1995 Twin Cobra II is the follow up to 1987's Twin Cobra. Although 8 years separate the two games they are suprisingly similar both feature two player co-op play and the features you expect in a vertical shooter. As with most games of the genre Twin Cobra is a quarter muncher. The screen at times is completly filled with bullets and if you run out of bombs (wich destroy all bullets on screen when deployed) you can kiss your copter goodbye. Although Twin Cobra is a typical shooter I like the fact that they went with helicopters instead of the standard planes usually found in these games. The game does look beautiful and has a couple aspects that set it apart visually first off is the size of the playfield, unlike 1942, there is a wider playfield than what is shown on screen, also at certain points in the game the screen will some in and give you a tighter feild of play...I really liked these areas as the added to the feel of the game and broke up the gameplay a little bit. Overall the game is very well done as with most shooters you collect power ups to boost your weapons what sets Twin Cobra apart is that you have 3 different gun systems wich can change when you collect different colored power ups, Im not sure I was crazy about this mechanic as the player has no control over the change its just a matter of what coller the power up is when you pick it up, so your weapon can change at random wich can throw you off as each one performs a little differently. Overall I enjoyed my play through of the game, though it was a totall revamp of the vertical shooter genre it did offer a few different aspects wich set it apart a bit from the crowd.

Overall Rating

3 Rotor Blades out of 5