Solar Striker was one of the original launch titles for the Nintendo Game Boy, and oh boy, what a launch title. In your quest to defeat the.. ah, who cares? Scroll up the screen, shoot waves of baddies that fly in various patterns, and shoot back, collect the regular powerups and face end of level bosses that shoot back at you rather a lot and take quite some punishment.
Sound and graphics? The graphics aren't hugely imaginative, but considering when this was made, you can't complain too much, and they're certainly functional enough to support the fun gameplay. The scrolling backgrounds change for each level - different starfields, a highway setting, and so on. The music is pleasant enough, but nothing striking (heh). It appears to change every second level as well, so it won't get too annoying.
The difficulty level steadily increases without getting too ridiculous, and the power up system is rudimentary - single shot, double shot, fast double shot, triple shot, more powerful double shot, etc.
One good thing is that once you've upgraded your shot power a few times, when you die you aren't reset to nothing. You may find you're needing your powerups for some of the boss fights. The individual flights of aliens along the way aren't too hard to fend off once you learn the patterns, but the bosses aren't afraid to spray a few bullets your way.
Solar Striker is definitely a game worth picking up if you're a shooter fan, or if you see it at a reasonable price. Don't expect Mars Matrix or R-Type, and you may very well be pleasantly surprised.
Graphics 6
Sound 5
Gameplay 8
Overall 7
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