| Introduction
The original Thunderbirds game for the GBC was a
hit during Christmas 2000 and now just over a year later,
we have the GBA version. Let's see then if the people
over at SCI have succeeded in duplicating their success
on the better endowed GBA.
GamePlay
Like its GBC cousin Thunderbirds - International
Rescue follows a familiar story line. The Hood, once
again, is planning to take over the world and it's your
job as International Rescue's newest recruit to put
a stop to this. During the game you get the opportunity
to pilot all of the various FAB crafts and even some
new ones. Every level has a mission objective which
is usually relatively easy as nearly all levels come
with a Radar of some description. In addition the developers
have taken a great deal of care to make it feel like
the series so everything is broken down into parts and
episodes. The actual style of game differs from one
level to another and this title contains them all including
driving, platformer, side scrolling shooter and underwater
exploration.
Unusually for a game of this type you'll occasionally
be asked to make decisions about which path to take
making for an interesting, non-linear gaming experience.
This is first evident in one of the earlier Thunderbird
2 levels where you must rescue hostages whilst avoiding
enemy fire. Here, two of the grateful hostages give
you valuable information and coordinates leading to
various landing sites and depending where you land you
are led to very different types of challenges. One of
these is a stairway which leads you to an underground
platformer whilst the other takes you to a bomb defusing
exercise in the Mole.
Thunderbirds is blessed with not one but two password
systems. The first is for the various levels and is
presented as four pictures which, while it isn't always
the easiest way to save a game, does look very nice.
The other is for the high score, here you have to deal
with a multitude of digits in order to see your standing
amongst the International Rescue ace pilots. This is
a little too complicated for its own good as a battery
backup would have been a better and far more user friendly
option.
Controls
The control method is a little bit of a tricky one
as the various areas are navigated in very different
ways. Fortunately, before you even enter the main game
there's a huge tutorial area where you can try out each
section before risking life and limb for International
Rescue. Everything is very logical, however, and if
you've encountered any of the genre types before, the
control issue shouldn't pose a problem.
Graphics
After one of the more disappointing FMV intros we've
seen, it's off to the game where it's immediately obvious
that all the graphics have been rebuilt from the ground
up. Every section of the game has a deeper and far more
colourful presentation than the original making the
whole experience a great deal more realistic. In addition
the driving and speed boat sections that were previously
'top down' have now been give a 3D feel which enhances
the overall gameplay and makes for a greater illusion
of speed. Everything is linked together with some wonderful
photos from the original series making a well presented
and great looking game.
Sound & Music
Things kick off with a brilliant Thunderbirds theme
tune which will immediately bring back all that excitement
that this music used to instill. Everything else is
well above average for this type of title and both level
music and in-game sound effects have had considerable
care taken over them.
Final Comments
This version of Thunderbirds has undoubtedly been
given the Advanced treatment and anyone who's played
the GBC version will see huge improvements in both presentation
and gameplay. The variety of gaming on offer here is
truly outstanding and although none of the various engines
could be considered the best example of their type it's
all very playable. In addition to this add the tightly
woven plot and hours of gameplay and you've got a title
that no Thunderbirds fan can possibly ignore.
|
Hardware
Reviews 
Game
Title
