| Harpoon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) |
|
| Publisher(s) | Three-Sixty Pacific, PSS |
| Designer(s) | Larry Bond |
| Series | Harpoon series |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, DOS, Macintosh |
| Release | 1989 |
| Genre(s) | Real-time wargame |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Harpoon is a computer wargame published by Three-Sixty Pacific in 1989 for DOS. This was the first game in the Harpoon series. It was ported to the Amiga and Macintosh.
Harpoon is a game in which the player is the commander of either NATO or Soviet forces, making judgment calls and sending orders to ships and aircraft, armed with weapon systems selected from more than 100 available options. [1] The game mainly focuses on combat in the GIUK Gap.
Harpoon is a naval simulator that uses data regarding real military equipment and weaponry, based on a miniatures wargame. The game does not use preset battle algorithms to control the outcome of combat, and does not control play balance between sides. The game comes with a user's guide with an appendix of information on the politics between superpowers and modern maritime warfare strategies, a Harpoon Tactical Guide by Larry Bond, and a booklet by author Tom Clancy about Russian destroyers. [1] Clancy used the simulation to test the naval battles for Red Storm Rising , which he co-authored with Bond. [2]
In the late 1970s, a manual wargame called SEATAG was introduced by the United States Navy for exploring tactical options. It was available in both classified and unclassified versions. SEATAG was developed into a true tactical training game called NAVTAG that ran on three networked microcomputers for the Red Side, Blue Side, and Game Control.
Former naval officer and future author Larry Bond's exposure to this system in 1980 while on active duty led to the eventual development of Harpoon.[ citation needed ]
The original game was expanded with additional releases including Harpoon BattleSet 2: North Atlantic Convoys (1989), Harpoon Battleset 3: The MED Conflict (1991), Harpoon BattleSet 4: Indian Ocean / Persian Gulf (1991), and Harpoon Designers' Series: BattleSet Enhancer (1992).
A remake was released in 1994 titled Harpoon Classic. Another remake based on Harpoon Classic was released in 1997 titled Harpoon Classic '97. [3]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Dragon | |
| Computer Gaming World |  (MS-DOS) [6] |
| Games International |   (MS-DOS) |
| Info |   (Amiga) |
Sales of Harpoon surpassed 80,000 copies by 1993. [7]
In the February 1990 edition of Computer Gaming World , M. Evan Brooks, a United States military officer, gave the game five stars out of five. He stated that "there is no question that Harpoon is the most detailed simulation to appear in the civilian marketplace ... a must-have for the serious naval gamer", and that he had learned more from six hours with the game than one year at the Naval War College. [6] [8] [9]
In the April 1990 edition of Dragon (Issue 156), Patricia, Kirk and Hartley Lesser called this "is a true simulation with data reflecting real-world equipment and weaponry." They thought the game was "a graphical masterpiece". They concluded by giving the PC DOS/MS-DOS version of the game a perfect score of 5 out of 5, saying, "a simulation that is far more than a game – it's war!". [1] A year later, they gave the Macintosh version a perfect score as well. [4] Six months after that, the Lessers gave the Amiga version another perfect score. [5]
In the May 1990 edition of Games International , Mike Siggins noted the complexity of the game and said it "is not a game for wimps." He liked the graphics, saying, "Harpoon looks superb in high resolution colour." He also thought the user interface was "well-handled". He concluded by giving both the game and the graphics an above-average rating of 8 out of 10, saying, "If tactical modern naval is your field, this is the program you've been waiting for." [10]
In the December 1990–January 1991 edition of Info , Judith Kilbury-Cobb wrote that a preview copy of the Amiga version of Harpoon "looks killer", saying it had "more technical detail than any game has a right to." [11] In the next issue, her comments about the finished product were more nuanced. While she acknowledged that "the wealth of tactical and strategic data on weapons, ships, subs, etc., is overwhelming", she found performance on a basic Amiga was "unbearably sluggish". She concluded by giving the game an average rating of 3.5 out of 5, saying, "Long on realism, somewhat short on playability." [12]
The One reviewed Harpoon in 1991, calling it a "combat simulation for purists", due to the lack of "flashy action scenes" or joystick controls. The One furthermore states that the game requires "careful" and "arduous" strategic planning, and express that "It's hard to fault the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the military hardware database which supports Harpoon, and it would be unfair to criticise the lack of more usual arcade-style sequences. The game makes no claim to be anything other than a realistic and heavily strategic representation of cold war conflict – as such it succeeds." The One concludes by expressing that "Even so, it's too dryly erudite to appeal to as wide an audience as most simulations." [13]
In 1990, Computer Gaming World named it "Wargame of the Year". [14] The editors of Game Player's PC Strategy Guide likewise presented the game with their 1990 "Best PC Wargame" award. They dubbed it "the most detailed, authentic, and convincing simulation of modern naval warfare yet devised." [15]
Tim Carter reviewed Harpoon Battleset 3: The MED Conflict for Computer Gaming World , and stated that "Harpoon: Battleset Three: The Mediterranean Conflict is an entertaining and thought-provoking addition to the Harpoon system. The combination of imaginative scenarios with new (and/or outdated) platforms and situations give the battleset a distinctive style of play that sets it apart from the Atlantic battlesets." [16]
Tim Carter reviewed Harpoon BattleSet 4: Indian Ocean / Persian Gulf for Computer Gaming World , and stated that "Despite the lack of creativity in the generation of scenarios, Battleset Four: The Indian Ocean/Persian Gulf is a useful addition to the Harpoon system. Players who use the Scenario Editor will find that the new platforms make the package worth the price." [17]
In 1994, PC Gamer US named Harpoon the 36th best computer game ever. The editors called it "probably the best known and most successful naval war game there's ever been. It's still selling today, even five years after its initial release, and military academies have been known to use the game as a training aid. Now that's realism!" [18] In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Harpoon the 40th-best computer game ever released. [19] The magazine's wargame columnist Terry Coleman named it his pick for the third-best computer wargame released by late 1996. [20]
Abrams Battle Tank is a video game developed by Dynamix and published by Electronic Arts in 1988 for MS-DOS. Designed by Damon Slye, the game is a 3D vehicle simulation of the M1 Abrams tank. The 1991 Sega Genesis port by Realtime Games Software was renamed to M-1 Abrams Battle Tank.
M1 Tank Platoon is a tactical simulator of tank warfare developed and published by MicroProse for the Amiga, Atari ST and MS-DOS in 1989. The game features a mixture of first-person, third-person tank warfare, and tactical simulation gameplay. It was followed by a sequel, M1 Tank Platoon II, released by MicroProse in 1998 for Windows. M1 Tank Platoon was sold to Interplay Entertainment in 2009. M1 Tank Platoon is available on Steam and Epic Games services.
A-10 Tank Killer is a 1989 combat flight simulation video game for DOS developed and published by Dynamix. An Amiga version was released in 1990. The game features an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft. Following the success of Red Baron, version 1.5 was released in 1991 which included Gulf War missions and improved graphics and sounds. Several mission packs were sold separately. A sequel published by Sierra, Silent Thunder: A-10 Tank Killer II, was released in 1996.
Armor Alley is a computer wargame for DOS and Mac OS published by Three-Sixty Pacific in 1991. It is modelled on the Apple II game Rescue Raiders. Player can compete against the computer or other humans via LAN. The game supports cooperative multiplayer of up to two players per side. The player controls a helicopter armed with a limited number of munitions, such as missiles, bombs, machine guns, and napalm. As the player requisitions computer-controlled tanks, infantry, engineers. Mobile missile platforms, and vans round out available firepower.
Centurion: Defender of Rome is a turn-based strategy video game with real-time battle sequences, designed by Kellyn Beck and Bits of Magic and published by Electronic Arts. Originally released for MS-DOS in 1990, the game was later ported to the Amiga and the Sega Genesis in 1991. Centurion shares much of the concept and feel with Beck's earlier game Defender of the Crown (1987).
Strike Fleet is a 1988 video game developed by Lucasfilm Games and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for the Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and MS-DOS. Strike Fleet is the unofficial sequel to the war game PHM: Pegasus.
Task Force 1942: Surface Naval Action in the South Pacific is an MS-DOS video game released by MPS Labs (MicroProse) in 1992.
Nuclear War is a single player turn-based strategy game developed by New World Computing and released for the Amiga in 1989 and later for MS-DOS. It presents a satirical, cartoonish nuclear battle between five world powers, in which the winner is whoever retains some population when everyone else on earth is dead.
F29 Retaliator is a combat flight simulator video game developed by Digital Image Design and published by Ocean Software in 1989 Amiga and Atari ST, 1991 for the PC, and for the FM Towns and NEC PC-9801 in 1992-1993. Its working title was just Retaliator. The game was developed during the end of the Cold War, based mostly on speculations on then-future aircraft that were expected to be in use by the year 2002, in particular based on the design of the Lockheed Martin F-22 and the Grumman X-29A.
Empire: Wargame of the Century is a video game based on Empire developed by Walter Bright and published by Interstel Corporation in 1987.
Harrier Combat Simulator is a combat flight simulation game published in 1987 by Mindscape for the Commodore 64. Ports for Amiga, Atari ST and IBM PC followed in 1988.
Halls of Montezuma: A Battle History of the U.S. Marine Corps is a strategy video game developed by Strategic Studies Group in 1987 for the Apple II. Ports were later released for the Commodore 64, Amiga, DOS, and Apple IIGS.
Decisive Battles of the American Civil War Volume 1: Bull Run to Chancellorsville is a computer wargame developed by Roger Keating and Ian Trout and published by Strategic Studies Group in 1988 for the Commodore 64 and Apple II. Two sequels were released in 1988: Volume 2: Gaines Mill to Chattanooga and Volume 3: Wilderness to Nashville.
The Universal Military Simulator is a computer game developed by Rainbird Software in 1987 for the Macintosh, Tandy 4000, and IBM PC compatibles. In 1988, both Atari ST, Amiga versions were released. The game was created by Ezra Sidran. The PC and Amiga versions were ported by Ed Isenberg. The game spawned two sequels: UMS II: Nations at War and The War College: Universal Military Simulator 3.
PT-109 is a naval simulation video game developed by Digital Illusions and Spectrum HoloByte in 1987 for the Macintosh and MS-DOS. This game is roughly based on the events involving the Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109.
Breach 2 is a science fiction strategy video game developed by Omnitrend Software in 1990 for the Amiga, Atari ST and MS-DOS. It is the sequel to the 1987 game Breach, and was itself followed by Breach 3 in 1995. The game is set in the universe of Omnitrend's Universe and Rules of Engagement, and is compatible with both Rules of Engagement games.
Gunboat is a simulation video game developed and released by Accolade in 1990 for MS-DOS. Ports were released for the Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, Amiga and TurboGrafx-16. It is a combat simulator of a Patrol Boat, River (PBR).
Sword of Aragon is a turn-based strategy and role-playing game developed and published by Strategic Simulations in 1989. It is also considered to be of the 4X genre. Set in the fictional land of Aragon, the games casts its protagonist as the duke of a city named Aladda. After assuming rule over the city and avenging his father's death, the protagonist embarks on a quest to unify the land through conquest. Accomplishing this goal entails developing cities, recruiting armies, and directing the troops on the fields of battle to victory. First published for MS-DOS, the game was ported to Amiga machines. Reception towards Sword of Aragon tended to be more positive than negative; reviewers called it an exciting game, but criticized its method of copy protection and cited problems with its documentation. There were also opinions that the game was more of a niche product, catering to hardcore strategists.
Warlords is a computer wargame released in 1990 for the Amiga and MS-DOS compatible operating systems, then in 1992 for Macintosh. It was designed by Steve Fawkner and developed by Strategic Studies Group. Warlords was followed by three sequels and several spinoffs. The game was based on designer Steve Fawkner's Dungeons & Dragons campaign.
Stellar Crusade is a 4X strategy video game released in 1988 by Strategic Simulations. Players control one or both of two spacefaring empires at war with each other, depending on whether it is played in a single-player campaign or multiplayer.