U.N. Squadron is a 1989 side-scrolling shoot 'em up game released for the arcades by Capcom and later converted to the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64/128, Atari ST, Amiga OCS ans Super Nintendo.
Review
STORY / GAMEPLAY You are a skilled combat pilot and member of the U.N. Squadron that sets off to fight terrorist enemy forces and protect the world. The game is a typical side-scrolling shoot 'em up going against the trend of other Capcom shooters like 1942 and 1943. The player has a life / energy bar that is depleted over the course of a single life as the aircraft takes damage, a trait highly uncommon among other comparable arcade shooters that normally use a system of reserved and collected lives. Your have the choice among 3 different characters and aircrafts like Mickey Simon and his F-14 Tomcat, Shin Kazama with the F-20 Tigershark or Greg Gates and the almighty A-10 Thunderbolt! Also, the game features a simultaneous 2-players option, adding more to the fun.
GRAPHICS / SOUND This is a very brave attempt for an arcade conversion to the 8 bit home computers. The C64 conversion has nice visuals although I do prefer the CPC version that handles better colors, larger sprites and more detailed backgrounds. But the C64, although the sprites are comparably tiny, runs way faster and smoother than both ZX and CPC counterparts. As for the sound, the C64 includes a great intro music theme that plays much like the Amiga and Atari ST! Unfortunately, there is no in-game music beyond some basic sound effects.
GAMEPLAY SAMPLE VIDEO On our video below you may watch the original arcade and all home conversions of the game.
The C64 conversion is at 08:21.