Fire and Forget II

In the year of 1989, Titus Interactive released the sequel to the original Fire and Forget, a racing-shooting game.

Fire & Forget II: The Death Convoy was released initially as an arcade, then ported to Amiga, MS-DOS, Atari ST in 1990.

The game combines two of the most adrenaline-pumping activities for men, High-speed racing and violent firefights. Oh, yeah, the car can also fly in this game, by the way.

The story is simple and straight forward. There is an imminent terrorist attack expected on the 3rd conference for peace; the player is faced with the task of preventing a convoy of vehicles from reaching the City of Megapolis. To aid you in your treacherous journey, you are armed with your trusty sidekick of a car, the "Thunder Master II." Navigating at high speeds through the roads leading to Megapolis, the end goal is to disable the lead vehicle, armed with the "Life Thirsty," a nuclear weapon of mass destruction.

The gameplay is pretty simple: the player has to shoot down incoming obstacles with the two guns that are available for fire, a basic 'ionic phaser' gun which has unlimited ammo and the lock on missiles which are limited in number. Flying can be useful to dodge oncoming obstacles and shoot certain enemies from above. The game has a significant improvement compared to its predecessor; the player has an easier time seeing the approaching obstacles, giving one enough time to react, instead of praying and mashing buttons.

While driving to your destination, you are faced with the additional task of collecting fuel cans of two natures; the blue ones and the red ones. Blue ones are required to drive, while the red ones are needed to fly.

In my opinion, Fire and Forget 2 has quite a bit of rough planning as well with its dull environments and the sheer lack of the need to steer; yes, you don't need to steer as the car automatically follows the road. Steering is only necessary to aim and shoot enemies, not for those slick drifts as you cut a close corner!

Some crucial elements are also added into Fire & Forget II, which pose a challenge to the players, such as its flight dynamics, where if one forgets to release the wheels before landing, it will result in an explosive death. Each path carries its benefits, so it's essential to know when to take flight and when to stick to the road.

The sound system is praiseworthy, and the music added in surely does keep you company. The topnotch sound effects, along with its entertaining graphics/effects sure do leave a good impression on me.

Fire and Forget II is fun to play. Over a few levels, it can become a bit repetitive. But it's also thrilling because even a moment of distraction could leave you on the death screen. In other words, it is a pretty good game to play.