Mean Machines Sega
1st August 1995
Publisher: Sunsoft
Machine: Sega Mega Drive (EU Version)
Published in Mean Machines Sega #35
Aero The Acro-Bat 2
After apparently knocking Ektor to a splat-impending demise in his first outing, Aero decides to take a gander at the deceased's museum of horrors. Whilst wandering past the sadistic collection of blood-stained goodies (chuckling occasionally) Aero discovers a tall, red curtain, behind which floats a large... erm, floaty thingy. Not being the type to shy away from large floaty thingies, the winged warrior leaps inside. Unfortunately, the naïve young bat failed to realise that this was a disappearing large floaty thingy, and to his astonishment it vanishes in a cliched puff of smoke-taking Aero with it.
Re-appearing in a grimy castle Aero now faces the task of battling through evil minions in a daring attempt to reach an exit. But who is the obscure Batisha who turns up after the first level? What relevance does she pose to the game? And why oh why does she insist on wearing a skin-tight latex suit?
Ektor Smhektor...
A type of bonus game is available, if Aero collects the four letters of his name which are hidden around the maze-like terrain. Doing this results in you playing Ektor in a cup-guessing antic. Hurrah!
Origin
Game Aim
Dive, spin and shoot the hapless minions that Aero stumbles across, as you search for a mysterious Batasha... Aero's bird!
Gus
Sunsoft are beginning to build quite a name for Aero the Acrobat, what with the original faring quite adequately, and Zero The Kamikaze Squirrel having released his own console jaunt. Thus, Aero 2 has inherited a solid base of programming to sink its roots into.
Unfortunately, it appears that the root-sinking fest has sunk a little too deep this time. You see, whilst the cart provides a decent, playable platform romp, one can't help feeling that it suffers from a certain type of originality-deficiency.Having said that, it is a fairly enjoyable game with loads of little features to keep you playing on to the next level. Finally, the difficulty level is neatly staggered - game experts might find it a tad easy, but to the drooling masses it'll pose a fair challenge to the old button-pressing abilities. If you're desperate for a new platform outing you could do worse than to purchase this, but otherwise save the cash and get something a little less repetitive.
Paul
As the 16-bit market slowly, but surely, dries up, we're going to see less and less of titles along the lines of Aero 2. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is personal taste. I quite like these colourful platform escapades, especially when you take a peek at their budget price tags.
Aero 2 comes from quality Sunsoft stock, and is full of all the quirks you'd expect. The visuals and sound are of a good standard, and the gameplay is sufficiently challenging. If I have one complaint, it's with the difficulty level. This is a game for platform fans, most of which would find it way too easy. Worth a look.Verdict
Graphics 85%
P. Plenty of cutesy sprites with big eyes and sweet little faces...
N. But the backgrounds get a bit samey.
Animation 83%
P. Aero's jaunts are fairly well animated and the overall fluidity is one of the game's better aspects.
P. Lots of dinky little melodies...
N. Most of which are pretty crap.
Effects 74%
N. Nothing special really.
Playability 80%
P. The cart plays smoothly and provides an enjoyable game for all who try it.
Lastability 78%
P. The overall game has a fair challenge.
N. Unfortunately, once you complete it there's little to entice you back again.
Overall 79%
A decent platformer that suffers from the age-old originality complex, making it suitable for platform-addicts only.
