1941: Counter Attack

1941 Counter Attack is a vertical shooter by Capcom and conversion of the arcade game of the same name originally released in 1990. The action takes place during World War II and depicts Capcom’s own fantastic vision of the historic battle between the American and Japanese air forces in the Pacific. The player’s mission is rather straightforward – on board a Lockheed P-38 airplane, he must fight his way through six varied stages, take down enemy installations, battleships and other huge rockets on their narrow launching pads. Unlike its predecessors in the series, 1941 Counter Attack traded the trademark and arguably monotonous level design for a more structured and diverse formula. Stages vary from an enemy infested canyon to city landscapes and fortified strongholds. Several powerups can be collected along the way, such as tiny wingmen widening the plane’s fire power, or destructive special weapons such as laser beams and side rockets. The main weapon can also be charged up by holding the fire button to discharge a powerful attack. Finally, the plane comes with a small life bar and can be hit three time before being blasted into oblivion – this bar however increases as the game progresses, and is used to release devastating special attacks as well. 1941 Counter Attack also features a two simultaneous player mode.