War in the Gulf Nintendo

The Gulf War wasn't even over when NTDEC a.k.a. Mega Soft delivered another unlicensed shooter based on the conflict for the NES, in an opportunist move that can't be taken for granted in their little corner of 8-bit history. War in the Gulf, or La Guerra del Golfo as displayed in the Spanish Gluk cover, is probably the first video game to use that particular piece of history as background, as much as that might mean for such a rudimentary shooter. On its behalf we can say it's got a true seal of authenticity in the presentation panel for the final level, which features a rendition of Saddam Hussein as you enter his "underground palace" to put an end to the war.

Given the game's main aircraft choice, there's certainly some confusion when you notice the cover shows a fighter jet in action instead of a badass chopper. Not much to comment on that front, but within Mega Soft's library of piss-poor games there's no denying that War in the Gulf is the best of them. With the exception of the occasional weird hit detection and a handful of cheap hits/deaths, the game at least manages to show a little variety throughout five stages graphically molded after clouds, ocean, desert, airport and fortress. It's a poor man's Silkworm meets Airwolf, but it's certainly above the inept results of Magic Carpet 1001 or Sea of Dreamland.