Gain Ground article taken from ECM,
September 2000.

I love it when ECM lets me write Graveyard... I definitely rate as one of the grumpiest gamers in the office, and I reminisce about the days when developers had to rely on gameplay instead of licenses and graphics to woo gamers. Oh, I could talk all day about Pirates!, Rescue Raiders or Gunstar Heroes (and I have), and fond memories of titles like Seven Cities of Gold, Shinobi and General Chaos also dance in my mind as I search desperately for the same kind of satisfaction from today's games. Then reality comes crashing down around me, and I have to continue playing the current cookie-cutter Playstation title- which, this month, just happens to be the Colony Wars rip-off Star Trek Invasion. Sure, it looks great and has good engine, but where's the fun?

Urgh. After toiling (and boy, did I ever toil) over my preview of that game, it came time to retreat into the comfortable , secure arms of an old friend for the medicine that I needed. This month, that antidote was Gain Ground, one of the all time best Genesis titles. Gain Ground was one of the platform's more obscure games, but it boasts a near-perfect blend of action and strategy that begs to be played over and over again...

"...a near-perfect blend of action and strategy that begs to played over and over..."

The premise of the game is simple: To advance through the levels, players must either move their men from the entrance to the exit of the map, or kill all enemies on screen. The objectives are as straightforward as they come, but actually accomplishing them requires a great deal of skill and strategy. Each level features a wide variety of enemies and obstacles to navigate, and brings its own set of daunting challenges.

Along the way, you're given the opportunity to rescue additional warriors to round out your force. Each new warrior brings his or her own strengths to the arsenal, but numbers are important, too: The more soldiers one has, the more soldiers one has to reach the exit. And, if a player gets hit while trying to rescue a trapped comrade, then that player, too, must be rescued. Soldiers can only rescue one character at a time, and in order to gain access to new warriors, you must get those characters to the exit.

The strategy of the game is based on sizing up the lay of the land, and then figuring out which fighters are best equipped to deal with it. If there are enemies perched on walls or behind grave stones, then someone with the ability to lob grenades or shoot a longbow will be needed, while open areas with enemies require characters with a faster rate of fire, better foot speed or area-effect weapons. If there are fighters in need of rescue, you'll have to take into account the number of men necessary to pull them to the exit, and whether or not you can sacrifice those men to get to them.

"If you have yet to try this priceless title, then I urge you to get a copy of the game."

Gain Ground is also playable as a two-player game (three player on the arcade version- evil exidy). In this mode, gameplay changes very little... Gamers play together, and must decide whose squad needs what trapped fighters to best round out his team. A greedy partner that leaves his friend with a couple of spearmen and grenadier will ultimately hurt his chances of competing all of the missions.

If you have yet to try this priceless title, then I urge you to get a copy of the game. Few next generation titles come anywhere close to offering the same kind of exciting and skillful challenge as Gain Ground, a hard-core gamer's game. The Judge

Manufacturer: Sega
Year: 1988
Class: Wide Release
Genre: Scrolling Fighter
Type: Video Arcade/Home Console

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Gain Ground Screen Shot (Genesis)

Gain Ground Flyer

Click On Picture to Enlarge.

 

Gain Ground Screen Shot (Genesis)