In Snowstrike, released in 1990, the war on drugs goes airborne. As ace pilot of the F-14-LCB “Rapier,” you’ve been recruited to carry out ten classified missions over Colombia and the open seas—attacking drug labs, convoys, and refineries while engaging enemy aircraft in fast-paced dogfights. Missions take place from airfields and the carrier USS Epyx, and include both air-to-air and air-to-surface combat. The game blends arcade simplicity with flight sim flavor. You’ll rely on radar to track incoming threats, use missiles and cannon fire for close-quarters kills, and dodge enemy fire with chaff and flares. Missions are affected by weather conditions—storm clouds can mask your approach—and your co-pilot keeps you updated on enemy activity. Should things go south, you can always eject and hope for a quick rescue. Snowstrike’s animated control room, mission briefings, and pilot progression system give it polish, while the focus remains on rapid, seat-of-the-pants action. With replayable missions, nose-cone camera replays, and medal tracking, it offers just enough structure to keep the pressure high and the action satisfying.

This was a great game for its time, but one genre where modern games have just excelled is in flight simulation and aerial combat (or other types of attacks).  The setup for the flight missions in this game are fine and some of the flight and combat experiences are pretty cool, but we think any kind of revival would have to be really creative, perhaps combining old pixelated aircraft with modern photorealistic scenery, or some other treatment.