Blue Lightning Review(Lynx)

Sega's got Afterburner, while Nintendo later countered with the marvelous Starfox. Atari fans lose out on nothing, because Blue Lightning is a Lynx exclusive, and the others have nothing on this color portable wonder.Blue Lightning is a straightforward first-person flight combat game along the lines of Afterburner and Starfox in that it's a "ride-on-rails" shooter where the view of the action is from behind your aircraft. You can use the obligatory barrel roll to avert enemy fire, and you even get a burst button that gives you a temporary speed increase for when the going gets tough. The object -- what else? -- is to destroy everything in sight, and you get to do this for nine epic missions. You're graced with an unlimited number of bullets, but the stronger missiles are not limitless, so you'll have to pick your spots when deciding whether to unleash the extra power that comes from a missle shot.For those who found the action in Warbirds to be too "simmish" and a bit on the tame side, Blue Lightning ups the ante with regard to its game speed. It's by no means a knee-jerk reaction contest, but neither is it a long, drawn out simulation that'll have hyperactive players yawning five minutes into the game.One of the best aspects of Blue Lightning have to do with its fantastic audio-visual effects. Graphics are top notch. Everything is drawn with great detail, and the Lynx's impressive hardware scaling capabilities are put to good use here. While the sound effects aren't as impressive, it's more advanced than most other Lynx titles out thus far. Complimenting the game's pizzaz is its varied terrain. Some levels will have you flying over corn fields, while you'll be going through canyons in others. Missions aren't quite as feature-rich -- it's mostly a matter of destroying tanks or ground targets.
Blue Lightning provides the perfect balance between strategy and action. There's no gimmicks with this game; just good, straightforward air combat action. Coupled with terrific graphics and tight controls, Blue Lightning should be on your short list of carts to get for the Lynx.