I remember pumping quarters into the arcade playing the 194x series. They were by far the best top scrolling WWII shooters ever made. The game has made its way through platform after platform and we now find it in the next-gen era via Xbox Live Arcade. Is this rehash of a classic worth your MS points or should it be enjoyed on the modded Xbox you know you still have?

1942: Joint Strike knows exactly what it’s about, which is refreshing for an XBLA game. The gameplay has not deviated from its winning formula and this makes the game worth playing. The updated graphics make the game look slick and the environments, which are 2D, have a great multidimensional feel to it. An example is when you fly over a volcano or a mountain. You feel like you are going to crash. The weapon upgrades are what you would expect from a shooter and you have missiles that can be used when charged as well as the inevitable super bomb that affects the entire screen.

So why isn’t everyone clamoring to buy this game? First, the sound is not great. It’s very average and this is noticeable. In any war game, sound is a paramount aspect and this sounds like a last, last gen game as opposed to something recent. The menus are very plain and the game seems like it spent all of its time on the missions and nothing else. It’s just not that polished. People don’t buy games for the menu, I know that. Its like the purple elephant in the room. Most noticeably is the length of the game. It’s short. Very short. You could beat the game in under 45 minutes. That is not want people want to spend 10 bucks on. I’m not asking for Elder Scrolls longevity here, but under an hour is just not enough.

1942: Joint Strike as solid gameplay and is true to its predecessor, but it’s way too short to be considered a top notch XBLA title. There is online co-op, but little else to warrant many play-throughs. Besides getting a higher score, not many reasons to revisit. Is the game fun? Yes. Will it give you 10 dollars worth of fun? No. Therein lies the problem for many XBLA games. Not enough game for your buck.

Overall: 6.5 of 10