Digital Press's review describes this better than anywhere else on the ‘net:
“If something isn't dying or exploding every 10 seconds, you're not doing something right.”
Prior to this, there was never a game to feature this sheer level of destruction. It was simply unparalled. In fact, in terms of 2-D titles, it still stands out. The level of animation is completely off the charts, adding extra pop to the explosions and environments. Who cares if the backdrop is a generic alien invasion? Michael Bay would have trouble finding room for this many explosives in his latest Hollywood blockbuster.
Facts and Notables
The M92 has a very distinct visual style - gritty by default yet able to produce stunning color and shading. The highlights of the hardware include submarine shooter Into the Hunt and another lost gem, Undercover Cops, a beat-em-up.
Where’s the first Gunforce? It was a sluggish 1991 release, amazingly for the same arcade chipset as its sequel. It would find a home on the Super NES, though in an unplayable, slowdown riddled port. Gunforce II never found a place in gamer’s home unless they paid for the full cabinet.
The title is called Geostorm in Japan.
How much did Metal Slug borrow? A lot. Rescuing hostages for end level bonuses, alien invasion on a mass scale, airplane shooter segment, vehicles, weapon styles, vivid animation and a keen eye for over-the-top action.
Personal Reflection
I fully admit that I’m part of the crowd that missed this one in the arcades. Had a buddy and me not been going through the list of titles in the arcade emulator MAME one Sunday, I likely never would have noticed it.
I had played the ugly Super NES port of the original, which, of course, left a sour taste in my mouth. We ran through the first level and gave up when it came up in MAME. In fact, we almost skipped Gunforce II as well. Since quite a bit of what were playing was junk anyway, we figured this might as well get a chance.
Article comments
1 - Doug
Yes indeed a great game, but i think it's debatable whether or not this game surpasses metal slug due to the main fact that metal slug has like 10 games and its very well known where as gun force 2 is one game and anyone who is trying to decide which is better would be like what's gunforce 2? Im not saying its a bad game at all i think its s great game.