Operation Thunderbolt (Video Game 1988) Poster

(1988 Video Game)

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9/10
Thundering Machine Gun Action
hellraiser74 December 2020
This is another one of my favorite light gun games and a bit of an under the radar gem that despite being a sequel to "Operation Wolf" this game is hardly talked about. Personally, I really love this sequel which to me is just as good as its predecessor.

The premise is the same kind of game but slightly different setting as the plotline was obviously inspired by the movie "The Delta Force" which is cool as I like that film, let alone the fact I'm a Chuck Norris fan; in a way this game is the closest we'll have to a video game adaptation based on that film. Anyway the main character from the first game Roy (whom looks like Flint from "G.I. Joe") this time with a partner (whom looks like Stalker from "G.I. Joe") both have to go on a mission to this time fight of terrorist whom have just hijacked a plane. That's it in a nutshell, as I said light gun games were never known for deep story. But that's all the motivation you need, fighting against scumbag terrorists and saving lives in the process.

The game plays about the same except there are some difference that slightly improve upon the first. For one thing it's not a solo act anymore as this time your playing two player which I feel is even better because two people get to share in the fun being bad asses, but also it's just simply cool to play this kind of game with a friend helping you out. Your gun has the same kind of weapons which are of course discharging bullets and rockets and you must always restock whenever you can as those bullets and rockets run dry quickly.

The animation style is solid, looks about the same as the original but a little sharper in certain details. I always like it whenever we see the enemies close and just mowing them and seeing them go down in an expression of pain is just so satisfying. There are a decent/solid amount of enemies from the vehicles like tanks, fighter jets, helicopters, trucks, jeeps, cutters/gunboats. Along with enemies which consist of you generic enemy uniformed soldiers and masked terrorists.

There are also a couple of sort of boss battles in the game from a soldier that shoots with a grenade riffle and one enemy from the original "Operation Wolf" whom always wears the blue bullet proof vest and looks like Duke from "G.I. Joe" only he's lost an eye and he's armed with a gatling gun.

However, what stands out for me is in it's format. It's the usual shooting gallery like in the original but there are some things that are different. For one thing it's not just going left and right but you actually have moving levels where you are going forward on a jeep. This I thought was cool and was slightly unique at the time because for once you get to have the sensation of gunning while going in motion at a slightly high speed. It was cool because it was fast furious action as you are just trying to nail oncoming enemies to any of the enemy vehicles right in front of you in just mere seconds.

I even like the pacing of the game a lot more than in the original, it's actually a little faster probably because the levels actually lead somewhere and there is more variation where your not in the same kind of shooting gallery, well sort of.

You still have going left and right but this time it's an actually full level there is no looping where you have to fill a quote but you actually go from point A to B while surviving. Though it's true that enemies pile up on you almost faster than you can discharge you gun, but this was mainly because this was made to be a two player game which was a common thing with those games but that's something I honestly don't mind.

Overall, I feel about the same as I do about the first game. So, if you're a light gun game fan and are looking for some old vintage guns to fire, this sequel is worth a shot and proves lighting can strike twice.

Rating: 3 and a half stars
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