Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf (1995). Play Free Online

Summary

Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf on the Game Boy lets you pilot an isometric Apache helicopter and juggle three weapon types—a machine gun, Hydra rockets and Hellfire missiles—while watching a limited ammo counter. Fuel tanks, armor shields and ammo crates litter the scrolling terrain, forcing you to balance offensive thrust with careful refuelling; rescuing hostages or POWs not only adds points but instantly tops up armor when you air‑drop them at the landing zone. Lead designer Mike Posehn built the game around a momentum‑based camera that mimics real helicopter handling, and the sprites were first rendered in 3‑D before being hand‑pixel‑perfected for the handheld. Reviewers praised the portable version for preserving the original’s strategic depth and for packing surprisingly detailed graphics and realistic sound effects inside a tiny cartridge. Although the title’s Gulf‑War setting drew some criticism, most magazines awarded it scores north of ninety, cementing its reputation as one of EA’s best‑selling, most beloved early ’90s shoot‑‘em‑ups.

Storyline

The game opens with the self‑proclaimed General Kilbaba invading a small, wealthy emirate in the Persian Gulf and turning it into a fortified dictatorship, complete with nuclear weapons facilities. The United States responds by sending a single helicopter, piloted by an unnamed character and a co‑pilot, to strike his forces.
Four missions structure the action. In Air Superiority the player destroys enemy airstrips, support sites and rescues a pro‑American spy. Scud Buster tasks the pilot with locating a chemical weapons plant, blowing up scud launchers and evacuating civilians and POWs. Embassy City requires rescuing a UN inspection team, destroying a biological weapons plant and freeing embassy hostages before hunting Kilbaba on his yacht. The final stage, Nuclear Storm, involves protecting an oil refinery, disabling a nuclear power plant, stopping garbage‑truck‑disguised nuclear material, capturing a scientist and finally intercepting the bomber carrying Kilbaba, which is destroyed in a fiery crash.
The ending cutscene shows the surviving pilot and co‑pilot standing in the Rose Garden of the White House, greeted by President Bush and the first lady, who congratulate them on the mission’s success.

Edited by Maya Carter