Space Harrier II review - Sega Megadrive

Space Harrier II box art It's the far future - the year 6236 to be exact - and the beautifully-named 214th Sector is under attack from hordes of alien creepies. Being the sort of guy that revels in a little alienocide, you grab a jet pack and the latest death-dealing mega laser and transport yourself to the area via your Cosmic Gate to see if you can gently persuade them to go away.

Like the original game, Space Harrier II is a 3D shoot 'em up in which you fly into the screen, blasting the baddies that fly towards you. There are twelve levels to clear of baddies, and any one of these may be selected at the start of the game.

Once you've made your selection, it's blasting time. The baddies instantly start to attack, and much dodging and blasting is required to survive. Just to make life even more difficult, obstacles bar your way - trees, columns, pipes, and even starfish on sticks! The result of crashing into one of these weird hazards is a lost life.

The end of each level is patrolled by an exotic guardian, including such delights as Medusa's head, a giant jellyfish and a three-headed turtle (not the Hero variety), and these are destroyed to progress to the next level.

What the Mean Machines staff thought

Space Harrier II is certainly an impressive game to look at - the sheer speed and smoothness of the 3D graphics is quite stunning. However, its beauty is only skin deep. The game itself is very simple indeed, and once you've seen all the different background graphics (and you can select any level at the start of the game) there's very little to keep you coming back. There are many people out there who love Space Harrier and are bound to go bonkers over this - but if you like your games to be more than just a pretty face, give this a miss.

Space Harrier was a sensation in the arcades because of its speed and sit-down cabinets. However its playability never really matched its looks and sound, and I'm afraid that's true of this game as well. Don't get me wrong, it's fast and furious and great fun, but lacks a variety of gameplay to make it a total winner. The aliens are brilliant, with the difficulty level pitched just right. Still, well worth a gander if fast shoot 'em ups are your thing.