Well well well, now this is a blast from the past. Desert Strike, the very pinnacle of 90s helicopter assault sims. Never heard of it? Urgh, kids these days! Well, consider yourself told! As EA have filed a new trademark for the franchise! And if, like me, you're thinking this came right out of left field, you'd be right. Nothing has been done with the series since Nuclear Strike the heady days of 1997. Well, 99 if you count the Nintendo 64 port. But that was a port, not a new game so...

Now, there were plans to produce another title, called Future Strike, which would have transforming robot helicopter whatchamabobs. But that, for whatever reason, never came to pass. At least, not as a strike game. It was later renamed Future Cop LAPD, and was a pretty pimpin' game to be fair. But beyond that, the franchise has seen nothing for close on fifteen years. Until now. With Desert Strike.

Does this mean, perhaps, a reboot of the series? An entirely new entry, going back to the beginning and bringing it up to date with all the modern bells and whistles? Honestly, probably not. I wouldn't get your hopes up. Even if that is EAs plan, I still wouldn't get your hopes up. Despite all the noise to the contrary, as a publisher, EA are pretty obviously in the worst shape they've ever been. Rushing out half finished games, reneging on promises and, in the case of SimCity, flat out lying about what their products can and cannot do.

So why is this something I'm still tauting as a good sign you ask? Wait, you didn't? Probably because the tone has been so negative to this point. Well, allow me to rectify and end on a high note. Whilst it is unlikely this will be a completely new game, which would have a high chance of completely missing the mark even if it was. What this news is far more likely to mean is a faithful, straight up HD repackage of the original Desert Strike. Probably as a budget, download title across all the usual suspects. And that, that would be very good news. Not only would it allow an entirely new generation to appreciate what made the game so great to begin with, it will allow us older gamers to relive a slice of our childhood, it will look a lot prettier...and this time it will (touch wood) even go to the PC!

Of course, all of this, beyond the trademark itself, is pure speculation. But one thing is certain. EA are planning something with the Strike franchise. Whatever it is, I will be watching most closely. To you, dear reader, we of Pixel Judge, young and old alike, bequeath you to watch this space. We stand on the cusp of history being made.

Again.

Let's go rescue Jake!