The Shmup genre is very well defined by this point, with standouts like Ikaruga or Deathsmiles bringing unique style and games like Space Invaders serving as foundation not just for this genre itself, but game design as a whole. So it's natural that there are several hundred games between these two poles, ones that don't bring extra visual flare to stand out and don't do much to redefine the genre's mechanics or traits.
Carrier Airwing is one of those games. Stuck in the middle of the "generic aircraft shmup" genre like most of the genre's titles released during this time, this title isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it will not feel fresh or surprising.
The base gameplay loop consists of shooting down enemy armor, either in the sky or on the ground, by using one of two different attack styles that target ground units and air units individually. However, weapons that excel at ground fire are restricted to specific plane models, so depending on your chosen ship you may mostly be strafing down to fire in a straight line instead of targeting for bomb drops. Then you defeat a boss vehicle, earn currency, and buy items for the next level. These items are incredibly limited, only including a few upgraded versions of the existing weapons and a standard shield upgrade in two efficiency ratings.
You do this for 10 stages, with a few more interesting boss fights towards the end (bosses sometimes require multiple passes from different directions to allow you to damage them in segments) but overall the games ends and you get your "good job" message and the day is saved.
The game does feel good to play, and excels at the basics, and the difficulty is incredibly generous for an arcade game. So I guess the best thing to say to summarize Carrier Airwing is that you'll have fun if you like these kind of games, it'll feel like a little bit of a slog if you don't. But overall it's a fine game and there are definitely worse ways to spend your time.
Carrier Airwing is one of those games. Stuck in the middle of the "generic aircraft shmup" genre like most of the genre's titles released during this time, this title isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it will not feel fresh or surprising.
The base gameplay loop consists of shooting down enemy armor, either in the sky or on the ground, by using one of two different attack styles that target ground units and air units individually. However, weapons that excel at ground fire are restricted to specific plane models, so depending on your chosen ship you may mostly be strafing down to fire in a straight line instead of targeting for bomb drops. Then you defeat a boss vehicle, earn currency, and buy items for the next level. These items are incredibly limited, only including a few upgraded versions of the existing weapons and a standard shield upgrade in two efficiency ratings.
You do this for 10 stages, with a few more interesting boss fights towards the end (bosses sometimes require multiple passes from different directions to allow you to damage them in segments) but overall the games ends and you get your "good job" message and the day is saved.
The game does feel good to play, and excels at the basics, and the difficulty is incredibly generous for an arcade game. So I guess the best thing to say to summarize Carrier Airwing is that you'll have fun if you like these kind of games, it'll feel like a little bit of a slog if you don't. But overall it's a fine game and there are definitely worse ways to spend your time.