Desert Falcon Review is up.

[gorfcadet]

I like this one a lot. Not to say I wouldn't have made some changes, but still a very solid GCC game.

 

 

 

[Inky]

I absolutely hate this game. Ugh.

[Jinks]

My childhood 2600 game. Needed a bit more to it but was fun.

[Lord Thag]

This and Xevious get the most play out of the original set for me. It's like Roguelike Zaxxon with an egyptian theme. Hard as nails too. This was the reason I got a 7800 back in the day, and it's the reason (until all the awesome homebrews came out) that I kept one around.

[DracIsBack]

I didn't mind it, but I was expecting more. As a kid, I thought it looked great on the back of the box and wondered if you could go inside the Sphinx to explore.

When I got it, I found it didn't hold my interest. The graphics were good and the high speed, isometric scrolling and many sprites really showed off the MARIA at times but it was never a go to for me to keep coming back to in the end.

As an aside, I often use this game and Xevious as example when someone (usually not too familiar with the 7800's library themselves) starts spouting things like "I hear the 7800 cant scroll" and referencing games like Ms Pac Man as the only types of games it can do. Out of the gate, GCC had two solid scrolling shoot-em ups from a technical level ... this and Xevious. While Xevious is by far my favorite of the two, Desert Falcon kind disproves that nonsense thinking.

Edited April 30, 2019 by DracIsBack

[+sixersfan105]

Nice review, as always! I agree that this game was well done and one of the more underrated of the original 7800 titles. On the rarity scale, I will say that for a GCC title, I'm always surprised by how few copies there seem to be floating on eBay at any one time. For example, right now on eBay in terms of NTSC, there are two sealed copies, two CIB and one loose cart - that's it!

[Trebor]

I went from hating this game to just about loving it. The big change was my approach. I actually found approaching it like a Zaxxon 'clone' was a big no-no for me. This title is plenty of stop and go; landing, hopping from side-to-side, and forward.

 

Sure, there is plenty of air time too, but the relic and jewel pickups, to play the game proper, require a stop and go approach. It's one of the console's best.

[gorfcadet]

Nice review, as always! I agree that this game was well done and one of the more underrated of the original 7800 titles. On the rarity scale, I will say that for a GCC title, I'm always surprised by how few copies there seem to be floating on eBay at any one time. For example, right now on eBay in terms of NTSC, there are two sealed copies, two CIB and one loose cart - that's it!

 

Yeah, I think the AA rarity listings need to be updated. This is listed as a 2 I believe. Feels more like a 4 to 6 now.

[7800JAGFAN]

I've said it before, but this game made me choose a 7800 over the NES, I own 2 copies of it and has kept my 7800 always hooked up and ready to go.

[ZylonBane]

Zaxxon itself isn't actually very fun to play due to the awkward perspective, and Desert Falcon is just a worse Zaxxon.