Dev: Infinite State
Players: 1
Gaming is rarely as pure when its fighting against huge odds. Enter Rogue Aces from Infinite State, a nod to the purest arcade classics like Harrier Attack, SWIV and all the other hopeless-odds shooters, most recently Luftrausers.
From the driving intro guitars, Rogue Aces is fast and furious fun throughout 100 levels of campaign plus multiple arcade modes and extras. Take off and battle targets on land, sea and air, using right stick for power and direction on the left, guns assigned to the right trigger and bombs and missiles on the buttons.
A little banter from the excellently-mustached boss and its off into the blue yonder, flying what looks like a riff on a P-47 Thunderbolt. Getting used to the controls takes a minute, a set of quick tutorials will help, but mastering them so you can zip in between buildings or strafe multiple moving targets takes a little longer.
Fighters buzz around you in a constant battle, while streams of bombers or zeppelins will hove in on a particular target. Tanks and troops roam the land, protecting high-value targets like radar stations or enemy airfields, and naval forces pose a threat to your tinpot carrier.
A normal campaign throws sets of brief mission objectives at you wave after wave, while Frontline campaign sends you across a sprawling series of island challenges, limited by your three lives and parachute. In the Veteran campaign, the luxury of autolanding vanishes meaning you need to make perfectly judged landings every time!
Master more of the game and you open up the Survival mode or the scary Bomber Defence mode (below). While Rogue Aces is the game's purest form with one life to do as much damage as possible.
Gaining XP gives the game the "Rogue" in its title as you can upgrade your craft with better cannons, speed, turning ability and other goodies. The more levels you gain, the more boosts you can use. Shooting down fighters provide parachute crates with extra goodies, but mostly, you'll be desperately trying to avoid the ground and keeping an eye on your target with a quick nod at your damage levels.
Rivet counters will love the little details on the Switch's screen, with crystal clear pixel planes, smoke trails, light effects and explosions (a decent improvement over the Vita in resolution but not much else).
Packed with challenge and secrets to find across a good range of mission types, this is simply ace in short bursts, which can easily stretch to hours of fun. Remember that while Rogue Aces might sound hard, there are a few easy tactics to learn that will get you through most situations, until you truly are a flying ace.
Score 5/5
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