Developer Electronic Arts
Publisher Electronic Arts
Genre Shoot ‘em up
Released 1992Desert Strike
Return to the Gulf
A tense final mission that sees you hovering above
twilit dunes is certainly worthy of mention, but
Desert Strike’s awesomely bad taste intro is one for
the ages, as the horrifying actions of this terrorist
‘madman’ are revealed.CLASSIC INTRO
W
ere it released for the first
time today, Desert Strike
would no doubt prompt
dozens of hand-wringing
op-eds for its questionable politics
and jingoistic depiction of war. Back in
1992, players barely batted an eyelid at
this isometric shooter which cast you
as an Apache pilot, tasked with blowing
up enemy radars and airports while
rescuing secret agents from a conflict
with a fictional dictator (who clearly
in no way resembled any real world
figure). Tactical, entertaining and steeply
challenging, Desert Strike was unusually
open and deep: a sandbox filled with
chunky toys that just happened to have
missile-firing capabilities.