Navy SEALS (video game)

Last updated
Navy SEALS
Navy SEALS cover art.jpg
Developer(s) Ocean Software
Publisher(s) Ocean Software
Programmer(s) John Meegan
Artist(s) Stephen Thomson
Composer(s) Matthew Cannon
Platform(s) Amstrad CPC, Amstrad GX4000, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Game Boy
Release
Genre(s) Platform, shoot 'em up
Mode(s) Single-player

Navy SEALS is a shoot 'em up platform video game developed and published by Ocean Software. It was first released in the United Kingdom for the Amstrad CPC, Amstrad GX4000 and Commodore 64 in 1990. It was later re-released in the rest of Europe for the ZX Spectrum, Atari ST and Amiga home computers in the following year. It was then ported to the Game Boy on 1 September 1991 in the United States. The game is based on the film of the same name and follows the protagonist, Lieutenant Dale Hawkins, progressing through five side-scrolling levels.

Contents

The game was developed by Ocean Software, renowned for creating video games based on films and other licensed properties. Navy SEALS focuses on Hawkins recovering caches of Stinger missiles from Arab soldiers in the Middle East. The game received positive reviews upon release, with critics mainly praising the graphics, presentation and challenging gameplay, but the criticism was directed at the ZX Spectrum port, which received disapproval over its monochrome graphics.

Gameplay

A screenshot from the first level of the game. The interface displays Hawkins' health, time remaining, selected weapon, and number of lives. Navy SEALS gameplay.png
A screenshot from the first level of the game. The interface displays Hawkins' health, time remaining, selected weapon, and number of lives.

The game is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up [1] and revolves around the protagonist, Lieutenant Dale Hawkins, recovering caches of hidden Stinger missiles from Arab terrorists in Oman. [2] The game features a total of five levels with varying locations and begins with allocating five lives to the player. The main objective of the game is to locate and place time bombs on boxes containing Stinger missiles, in which the player is required to escape before the time runs out. [2] The enemies featured in the game are Arab terrorists; the player must neutralise them by shooting them with their selected weapon, which is a handgun by default. Other weapons available in the game include machine guns, rocket launchers, and a flamethrower, which are only accessible through finding hidden crates. [2] [3]

The second level of the game is in Beirut, and focuses on the player, along with a group of Navy SEALS, rescuing hostages in a 3D presentation of the city. If the player is successful in rescuing the hostages and recovering all missiles, the remaining forces will rendezvous at a submarine. [4] [5] During the game, the player-character may grapple onto ledges, climb ladders, crawl, and jump in any direction. [2] The player can also push large crates in order to reach higher platforms. [6] Combat is focused on shooting an enemy with a weapon on sight, but the player can crawl at any time in order to avoid the oncoming bullets of an enemy. [4] [3] The player is also able to neutralise enemies by dropping down onto them whilst dangling from a higher platform. [6] In every level, the game sets a time limit when a bomb is placed on one of the crates containing Stinger missiles. [2] [6]

Background

The music for Navy SEALS was composed by Matthew Cannon, an employee of Ocean Software. [7]

Reception

The game received mostly positive reviews upon release. Richard Smith of Crash heralded the graphics for their detail, colour and smooth animation, summarising that it was a "landmark in every aspect". [2] Chris Jenkins of Sinclair User wrote that the graphics and animation were "fabulous", whilst focusing particular praise on the game's background details. [4] Jeff Matthews of Raze praised the graphics for both Amstrad GX4000 and Commodore 64 ports, heralding them as "nicely detailed" and "super-smoothly animated", respectively. [6] Matt Bielby of Your Sinclair praised the presentation and gameplay, citing them both as "out of the ordinary", whilst also praising the developer's attention for detail. [8] Steve Fielder of Commodore Format praised the game's ability to fully utilise the colour palette of the Commodore 64, in which Fielder praised the "smooth" side scrolling levels and "wonderfully" detailed backdrops. [5]

Two reviewers of Mean Machines praised the sprites and background drops, calling both "cleverly animated" and "atmospheric". However, the other reviewer criticised the game's hard difficulty. [9] Robert Swan of Computer and Video Games criticised the playability of the ZX Spectrum version, calling it "less playable" due to its presentation in monochrome and hard difficulty. Reviewing the GX4000 port, Swann praised the "colourful" graphics, but expressed scepticism over the difficulty. [3] Fielder also praised the game's soundtrack as "mystifying". [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Operation Thunderbolt</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Operation Thunderbolt is a light gun shooter video game developed by Taito and released for arcades in 1988. As the sequel to Operation Wolf, changes include two-player gameplay with two positional gun controllers mounted on the arcade cabinet, and a new forward-scrolling pseudo-3D perspective combined with side-scrolling sections.

<i>Tornado Low Level</i> 1984 video game

Tornado Low Level is a multidirectional flight game developed by Costa Panayi and published in 1984 by the company he co-founded, Vortex Software. The game was released for the ZX Spectrum in 1984, with ports for the Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 in 1985.

<i>Cauldron</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Cauldron is a video game developed and published by British developer Palace Software in 1985 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC home computers. It contains both platform game and horizontally scrolling shooter sections. Players control a witch who aims to become the "Witch Queen" by defeating an enemy called the "Pumpking".

<i>RoboCop 2</i> (video game) 1990 video game

RoboCop 2 is a platform shooter video game based on the 1990 film of the same name. The game was released for several platforms, including Amiga, Amstrad GX4000, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System, and ZX Spectrum. Ocean Software developed and published several versions, and Data East manufactured an arcade version.

<i>RoboCop 3</i> (video game) 1991 video game

RoboCop 3 is a video game based on the 1993 film of the same name. Amiga, Atari ST and DOS versions were developed by Digital Image Design beginning in September 1990, and published by Ocean Software in December 1991. The Digital Image Design version includes multiple gameplay styles. During 1992 and 1993, other versions consisting of side-scrolling platform gameplay were released for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, NES, Super NES, Game Gear, Master System, and Sega Genesis.

<i>Cauldron II: The Pumpkin Strikes Back</i> 1986 video game

Cauldron II: The Pumpkin Strikes Back is a video game developed and published by British developer Palace Software as a sequel to their 1985 game Cauldron. The 2D platform game was released in 1986 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC home computers. Players control a bouncing pumpkin that is on a quest of vengeance against the "Witch Queen". The roles of the two were reversed from the first game, in which the witch defeated a monstrous pumpkin.

<i>Cybernoid</i> 1988 video game

Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine is a shoot 'em up developed and published in 1988 by Hewson Consultants for the ZX Spectrum. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amiga, and Nintendo Entertainment System. It was programmed by Raffaele Cecco. The ZX Spectrum, Amstrad, and Atari ST versions have a main theme by Dave Rogers, while the Commodore C64 version has a different theme by Jeroen Tel.

<i>X-Out</i> (video game) 1989 video game

X-Out is a horizontally scrolling shooter with eight levels set underwater. It was released by Rainbow Arts in 1989 for the Commodore 64, and in 1990 for the Amiga, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC.

<i>Warhawk</i> (1986 video game) 1986 video game

Warhawk is a vertically scrolling shooter published in 1986 by Firebird software. It was released for the Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit family, Amstrad CPC, and Atari ST.

<i>SWIV</i> 1991 video game

SWIV is a vertically scrolling shooter released in 1991 for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MSX, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC computers. A Game Boy Color conversion was published in 2001.

<i>Starfox</i> (1987 video game) 1987 video game

Starfox is a video game published by Ariolasoft on their Reaktor label in 1987 for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. The player assumes the role of Hawkins, a space fighter pilot charged with protecting the Hyturian star system from invading alien forces. The game uses wireframe and shaded vector graphics to depict combat, in a similar fashion to games such as Elite and Starstrike 2, which was also created by Realtime Games. Ariolasoft had previously published the Electronic Arts titles Skyfox and Arcticfox and the name was chosen to build on the success of those titles. The US Commodore 64 release was titled The Rubicon Alliance.

<i>Light Force</i> 1986 shooter game

Light Force is a 1986 vertically scrolling shooter designed by Greg Follis and Roy Carter, developed by their company Gargoyle Games, and published under their Faster Than Light imprint. It was released for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum platforms.

<i>The Real Ghostbusters</i> (1987 video game) 1987 video game

The Real Ghostbusters is a 1987 shoot 'em up arcade game developed and published by Data East. It is loosely based on Ghostbusters. In Japan, Data East released it as a non-Ghostbusters arcade game under the title Meikyuu Hunter G. In 1989, Activision published The Real Ghostbusters for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>Switchblade</i> (video game) 1989 video game

Switchblade is a 1989 side-scrolling action-platform run and gun video game originally developed by Core Design and published by Gremlin Graphics in Europe for the Atari ST home computers. The first installment in the eponymous two-part series, the game is set in a dystopian future where players assume the role of Hiro from the Blade Knights as he embarks on a journey to defeat Havok, the main antagonist who broke free from his imprisonment after the sacred Fireblade was shattered into several pieces. Its gameplay consists of run and gun action mixed with platforming and exploration elements, with a main single-button configuration.

<i>Battle for Midway</i> (video game) 1984 video game

Battle for Midway is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services. It was first released in the United Kingdom and France for the MSX in 1984, and was re-released for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum in 1985. It is the second instalment of the Wargamers series. The game is set during the Battle of Midway in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II and revolves around the United States Navy attacking a large Imperial Japanese fleet stationed at Midway Atoll, in retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor.

<i>Ace</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Ace is a combat flight simulator video game published for the Commodore 64, VIC-20, and Plus/4 in 1985 by Cascade Games. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, Amiga, and ZX Spectrum.

<i>P-47: The Phantom Fighter</i> 1988 video game

P-47: The Phantom Fighter is a 1988 horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed by NMK and published by Jaleco. Set during World War II, players control a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft to face against the Nazis, who are occupying multiple countries around the world. Its gameplay involves destroying waves of enemies, picking up power-ups and new weapons, and destroying bosses. It ran on the Mega System 1 hardware.

<i>Top Gun</i> (1986 video game) 1986 video game

Top Gun is a 1986 combat flight simulation game based on the film of the same name. It was developed and published by British company Ocean Software, and was released for several computer platforms. In the United Kingdom, it was released for Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum in December 1986. The following year, it was released for Atari ST. In the United States, it was published by Thunder Mountain. In 1989, it was published by The Hit Squad as a budget re-release for ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64.

<i>Ghostbusters II</i> (computer video game) 1989 video game

Ghostbusters II is a 1989 action game based on the film of the same name. It was published by Activision for various computer platforms. British studio Foursfield developed a version for Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum, which also got ported to the MSX by New Frontier. It features three levels based on scenes from the film. Dynamix developed a separate version for the DOS, also based on the film. The non-DOS versions were praised for the graphics and audio, but criticized for long loading times, disk swapping, and the final level. The DOS, Commodore 64 and Amiga versions were the only versions released in North America.

<i>Judge Dredd</i> (1991 video game) 1991 video game

Judge Dredd is a 1991 platform shoot 'em up video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by Random Access and published by Virgin Mastertronic. It was released in Europe in 1991, for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Critics found the gameplay repetitive.

References

  1. ↑ "Navy SEALS overview (Game Boy)". IGN. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Smith, Richard (December 1990). "Navy SEALs review - Crash". Crash (84): 74. 75. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Swan, Robert (February 1991). "Navy Seals review (CVG)". Computer and Video Games (111): 45, 46. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Jenkins, Chris (March 1991). "Navy SEALS review - Sinclair User". Sinclair User: 12, 13. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Fielder, Steve (January 1991). "Navy Seals review (CF)". Commodore Format (4): 63, 64.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Matthews, Jeff (December 1990). "Navy SEALS reviews". Raze (2). Newsfield Publishing: 40, 41. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "Matthew Cannon interview". Acast. 13 July 2009. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  8. 1 2 Bielby, Matt (February 1991). "Navy SEALS review". Your Sinclair (62): 70, 71. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Navy Seals review" (PDF). Mean Machines (3): 86, 87. December 1990. Retrieved 6 January 2016.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.