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1995-04-26
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*******************************************************************************
* STatus Disk Magazine *
* Issue 1, Volume 1 *
* *
* NOTE: This issue is to be copied freely by Atari ST users. We at STatus *
* strictly prohibit anyone selling this issue as part of a Shareware or PD *
* collection. *
* *
* STatus Disk Magazine *
* Suite 299 *
* 4431 Lehigh Road *
* College Park, MD 20740 *
* *
* STatus Disk Magazine (c) 1989, is a COMMERCIAL effort. *
*******************************************************************************
Falcon 1.1 and Operation: Counterstrike Mission Disk
I knew when I saw the packaging, this was going to be a
good game. A picture of a F-16 soaring through the sky,
enjoying freedom you just cannot simulate on ANY computer
(yet)...
The question now is... How good? When you approach Falcon,
whether the game is great, or just good. In this day and age,
with a dearth of really good and truly addictive games coming
out seemingly once or twice a year, ST gamers have really
suffered.
But enough ST prattling. Let's talk about Falcon 1.1 and
the mission disk, called "Operation: Counterstrike".
First of all, let's examine Falcon 1.1. There have been
changes in this program to allow for added excitement. First
of all, the most notable thing is, the enemy seems more
persistent and less predictable in the sky. A good example is
that, on Falcon 1.0, on Colonel level, Grand Slam with 3 enemy
ace MiGs up in the sky, all you had to do to was fly west
(heading 270) and wait. Enemies would just magically appear
around you. Now, you really do have to do as the manual says
and "fly around" until the enemy engages you. Also, Spectrum
Holobyte has improved the flight controls a bit. On Falcon 1.1
for the Atari ST, if you flew around, you got somewhat of a
jerky response, especially at higher speeds. Now, the control
is much more fluid, and you feel much more natural, although if
you are accustomed, as I am, to using that to your advantage
when going up against the MiG-21 (yes, they still use the MiG-
21 in the Falcon 1.1 disk), you will have to relearn
everything you know. Now, as if its not hard enough,
Spectrum Holobyte has apparently changed the algorithm used by
the enemy MiGs when they do finally engage your F-16 in
combat. The MiG ace pilots, like any human pilot, seem more
willing to fight in true 3d, and use their altitude as a means
of evasion more frequently. This usually means that if you
approach Falcon ST v1.1 with a cocky attitude, you will most
likely wind up in flames the first time or two until you
realize the game, indeed, has changed. And because the
authors knew there are masochists like me who enjoy landing
damaged planes, they tacked on that feature, which was sorely
missed from Falcon 1.0, and made landing the plane much
easier. And for good measure, enemy MiGs will no longer engage
you in combat when you're trying to land. There is nothing
worse than finding a missile in your afterburner while your gear
are down and you are "floating" in with flaps and wheelbrakes,
delicately maintaining an airspeed around 200 knots. Now, your
airstrip gets the proper respect, and you no longer feel like
MiGs can violate your airspace with an utter lack of respect
for you (and belive me, it does belittle you to have
three MiG-21s chase you past your own airstrip off the map!).
Falcon 1.1 also excels in the realism of the "timing" of
events. When you destroy a bridge, a SAM site, or any enemy
installation, it stays destroyed for however many missions the
enemy will need to repair it. Now you can mow down a few SAM
sites, and know that later on, you won't have to face a SAM site
on the way to Dragon's Jaw, for example.
As for the mission disk, Operation: Counterstrike, all I can
say is that, as good as Falcon 1.1 is, this somehow manages to
be even better. In this scenario, you have to destroy the
enemy's resource network to prevent not only the eventual
destruction your own airstrip and defense installations (which
are actually shown! You actually see a SAM site that is
"friendly!), but also to send a very simple message to your
antagonists that retribution for any attacks would not only be
swift, but incredibly destructive, and would offset anything
they could gain thru further attacks.
The first thing you notice when you prepare to take off is
that there is a lot of activity around your plane and the
ground is GREEN, not the desert brown from Falcon 1.1. So
the mood is set from the start for a good, solid sequel to
Falcon.
This world is a LOT different from the first one, and its
not just because you are fighting in a lush, yet somewhat,
"swamp-like" atmosphere (when you bomb a target, the the old
craters seem to be filled with water!), but you also see signs
of battle to your east as enemy tanks begin their land assault on
your side of a very large lake.
When the game starts out, on your first mission, three
Soviet T-80 tanks have just been released from enemy AAVs
(Amphibious Assault Vehicles). Your first concern is to
destroy the tanks using your AGM-65 Maverick missiles
(your 20mm cannon just won't do the job against
the tanks' armor!). Thankfully, you can now get a full
complement of Mavericks from "Sarge" with fewer problems than
you'll encounter in Falcon 1.1.
Now, each mission is set up to be a logical progression once
you destroy the immediate threat of the tanks. There are twelve
missions, but overall, your goal is to destroy four primary
industrial assets in order to "get the message across" to the
enemy. These are:
- Oil Refinery (three huge octagon shaped storage
tanks)
- Nuclear Power Station (the tell-tale cooling towers
are
what you REALLY need to concentrate on...)
- Armory (where the T-80 tanks are manufactured)
- Factory (where they manufacture components of the
enemy arsenal.)
Each of these targets will remain destroyed for five
missions. All must be destroyed simultaneously for a complete
enemy industrial shutdown to occur, and for you to win. This
is no easy task, but much easier than it seems at first.
To also add to the continuity of events, there are also
trucks that travel from the factory to the front to resupply
the enemy forces, as well as a train that chugs along a huge
rail line between many of the buildings, which also serves
the same purpose. Destroying the truck convoy or the train,
or, even better, destroying the bridges they cross can slow or
eliminate enemy efforts to resupply their tank forces on the
"front". This means that you may be able to take to the
skies knowing in advance that you will only be concerned with
completing a mission, and not having to play a defensive battle
against the T- 80s.
The manual helps incredibly, detailing the best methods to
approach and destroy the enemy installations, and one secret of
the game is, unless you really want all tweleve mission
ribbons, try eliminating multiple targets in one mission.
I find that after I destroy the Dragon's Jaw bridge, it is pretty
easy, if you have left over armament, to destroy the Factory
north of it. This also applies to attacks on other targets
that are close together, which I will leave to the
discretion of the player how to "mix and match" his strikes into
enemy territory. I do suggest taking out the tank factory as
soon as you can, or at least nailing both bridges before the
enemy gets a chance to resupply. That way, after you fight the
tanks for your first few missions, and destroy the AAVs also,
you should be able to concentrate on an offensive battle.
Now this is not a cakewalk. Enemy SAMs, especially at the
Colonel level, are much more frequent. When you approach
Serpent's Tail, it isn't uncommon to see a few SA-7s flying out
of what seems to be the bridge itself waiting for you. This is
among one of the many uncomfortable feelings I've had in this
game.
To add to the well thought out defensive posturing of the
enemy, Operation: Counterstrike adds a new player into the
fray: the MiG-29 Fulcrum. It looks a lot like the American
F-15, with dual afterburners, and capabilities that seem to be
near equal your own F-16, and to add to the fun, they can outrun
you at most altitudes where afterburners are most effective,
and they are not afraid to use them. They are harder than
the MiG-21s to hit and the MiG-21s are no breeze. However,
despite all this, once you're in the sky, and fully adjusted to
the "feel" of fighting the Fulcrum, you will get used to any
idiosyncracies of the enemy and correctly compensate.
The graphics of the MiG-29 are superb, and the 3d model used
is incredibly detailed, and I can only laud Spectrum
Holobyte's art team for a solid effort in creating what has to
be a very realistic enemy, and, trust me, the MiG-29s
graphics are equaled by the detail of the trees,
"pastures", and enemy installations that seem to be nearly
infinite in diversity.
Operation: Counterstrike, as of yet, overshadows all of the
efforts made by other companies to defeat Spectrum Holobyte's
firm claim of having the best combat simulator. F-16 Combat
Pilot from Digital Integration isn't quite up to par with
Falcon, but is a good alternative. However, with this mission
disk, it is hard to not enjoy the Falcon experience. If
you've been reading this to figure out if you really truly
need the Falcon mission disk, here's my opinion:
Get it.
If you have Falcon already, it is completely inexcusable not
to blow the additional $20-$25 for the Operation:
Counterstrike disk. The game is simply too engrossing, and
the playability is too good for it to be sitting on a dealer's
shelf somewhere.
