Hellfire - Sega Megadrive

Review comments

Hellfire box art Those double-crossing alien slime have gone too far! In a fit of ruthless destruction they've completely taken over six strategically vital, horizontally scrolling sectors of Earth-Space and fortified them to the max. It's down to a real hero to go in and clean up the alien mess. The whole of civilisation needs one man to pilot a Hellfire class attack craft into the danger-zone and meet the whole of the alien fleet in a battle to the last.

But these aliens aren't a bunch of thickies. They've drafted in the best battle-crusiers their alien money can buy, and add to that the terrfying legions of swarming alien craft - this isn't going to be easy! But not everything alien is totally hostile. Certain alien craft are shot to release power-ups that provide Hellfire pilots with the necessary blasting power in order to overcome even the most well-armoured alien battle-craft.

But it's not just the enormous enemy fleet that has to be destroyed. Marauding aliens don't hang about, and they've created plenty of nasty installations that are blasted in order cleanse the sector of all alien occupation - as well as getting a huge amount of points into the bargain.

Even with a huge amount of mega-weaponry at the Hellfire's disposal, the aliens have still got one horrific trump card up their collective sleeve. They've created huge end-of-level guardians with one aim in life - to kill any plucky hero-types who think they can stand up to the alien empire!

Staff comments

Toaplan's coin-op was simply superb and I'm glad to say that this Megadrive conversion not only captures the amazing graphics, sound and playability of the coin-op - but even adds to it! The music must get a special mention. The game's full of groovy tunes that suit the frenetic blasting action perfectly. Everything about the game is just so polished and feels so good - I defy you not to be addicted by this shoot 'em classic! Hellfire is a flamin' good arcade classic. Put it at the top of your shopping list - NOW!

My local arcade has a Hellfire coin-op, and many ten pees have I pumped into it - it's a brilliant blast! And so is this conversion. It's not arcade perfect - in fact, it's arcade better. The graphics and sounds are indistijnguishable from the original, but there are more weapons available than in the coin-op and two different difficulty levels! The gameplay is truly superb, and I love the four different modes of firepower. On later levels the baddies attack from all directions, and you have to use them all to survive! If you've got an imported Megadrive and are after a superlative shoot 'em up, this is it!

Retrospective comments

It's a testament to the quality of this title that people still speak highly of it even today. It's one of the Megadrive's finest shooters and is an essential purchase for any fan of the genre. Although the visuals are decidedly average when compared to stuff like Thunderforce IV and Gyoung, Hellfire's weapon system must rank as one of the greatest in any game of this type - and it's thanks to this system that the game is so damned playable. Considering how cheaply you can pick this up for these days, there really is no excuse not to own a copy, especially if you consider yourself a shooting nut. On a side note - this was also released on the PC Engine Super CD-ROM under the name 'Hellfire S', with added anime-style cut scenes.