Rocketeer (Nintendo SNES, 1992)

Based on the 1991 feature film, The Rocketeer casts players in the role of America's number one pilot of the 1930s. The game is composed of eight stages, but two of the stages -- the airplane race and the hangar shoot -- repeat without good reason. Viewed from an angled perspective, the awkwardly controlled airplane race consists of circling around a pseudo-3D airfield, trying to stay close to pylons without hitting them or the other planes. The first-person hangar shootout has enemies barely moving and only popping up in a few places, while the final battle on a zeppelin features sluggish combat. Despite colorfully detailed graphics and pleasant and varied music, The Rocketeer never takes flight as an action game.