
	Platform DS Genre Air Combat Developer Nintendo Publisher Nintendo ETA TBA 2007
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Jet Impulse

For all of the genres to hit the DS up to this point from Nintendo, there hasn’t been much in the way of air combat games. Perhaps with so much focus on training brains, taking care of puppies, and generally trying to find new ways to make use of the handheld’s touch screen, developers have been otherwise indisposed. Whatever the case, DS owners craving to hop in the cockpit while out and about haven’t much longer to wait, as Nintendo will be releasing a flight combat title for the system later this year called Jet Impulse.

For some reason, though, Nintendo is considering renaming the game DS Air for North America. It’s a little strange that the game is getting such a harmless sounding, friendly name. It sounds more like a commercial passenger airline, not your typical, adrenaline inducing mach 10 air combat game. With a name like DS

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Air, I half expect to be offered a back of peanuts and a blanket when picking the game up at retail. Hopefully Nintendo will come to their senses and stick with Jet Impulse.

Getting back on track, the game itself is looking a lot like Namco’s Air Combat series, as players try to stop a dictator from taking over the world.

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Players will take to the skies on a variety of sorties against enemy forces, while various cut scenes that are interspersed amidst the action bring context to the whole adventure.

Combat itself is divided between the DS’ two screens. The top screen shows all of the action, while the bottom screen displays a HUD. The HUD shows enemy positions on radar, weapons status, and other vital data. Players can toggle much of what is here by tapping on it, such as selecting targets with a simple tap. Also, if players get tired of fighting the computer, they can challenge real people online via the DS’ wifi capability.

At the moment, there is no firm release date given for Jet Impulse in North America. All we have to go by at the moment is a delightfully vague TBA. The game was recently released in Japan, though, so hopefully the wait won’t be too terribly long.

Jeff Nash

February 27, 2007