Retronomicon 09.30.09: Desert Strike

Posted by Lee Price on 09.30.2009

This week the Retronomicon takes to the skies in the cockpit of an Apache helicopter to take out military installations and rescue hostages, all in the name of saving the world for a Middle Eastern madman. So strap in and get the blades whirling as this week the Retronomicon finds out how it feels to win the entire Gulf conflict in a whirlybird as it takes a look at Desert Strike.

How do to all of my fellow retro heads and I hope the day finds you all well. This is Lee Price back with another installment of the column that found out last week that Dinosaurs are no longer cool, the Retronomicon. Seriously guys not one comment for the awesomeness that was Dino Crisis? Why do I think that when the Resident Evil games get their inevitable entries that this turn of events will be radically altered. But its okay, I'm not too mad. I'm still busting my way through Yakuza 3 (or Ryu Ga Gotaku 3 if you want to get technical seeing as I'm playing it on import). I am still massively enjoying it but, despite the obvious graphical touch ups there isn't a whole lot to separate it from the other two entries in the series. I also found out that I shouldn't try to play KOTORII on my 360 because the slowdown is unbelievable. Still, a decent week for my personal gaming but I doubt you want to hear about that, and seeing as we have no comments lets get into the column shall we?





Banner courtesy of Max Power. Its the name you'd love to touch, But you mustn't touch!

As mentioned last week I looked at Dino Crisis which judging by the comments, or lack thereof, is massively under appreciated. Thus I decided that instead of going for a game that would be a guaranteed hit with the readers, I'd cast the Retronomicon spotlight on another great, but perhaps undervalued, title. So strap on those rose-tinted specs because this week the Retronomicon takes a look at Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf.



The Background

The year was 1992 and the US and its allies were celebrating a relatively hollow victory over Saddam Hussein's Iraq in the first Gulf War. Granted the invasion of Kuwait had been thwarted, but the job hadn't been completely finished and it would take another decade before Saddam was brought to justice. But this isn't about politics, this is about the inspiration for one of the best chopper games of all time.

But this wasn't the only war going on as the recent release of the SNES had forced a console war between it and the mighty Genesis that would, in due course, claim host to some of the greatest games ever released, as well as providing a talking point that endures to this day about which console was better. So from two unresolved conflicts comes a bright spark uniting both, and all it took was an Apache helicopter.

The game itself was conceived when developer Mike Posehn was inspired by another helicopter game, Choplifter, to make one of his own. And what better subject material than a very recent war? With emotions still running relatively high, Electronic Arts released another in what would become a large string of top quality titles in the 16-Bit era, Desert Strike



Similarly to last week's entry, Dino Crisis, there couldn't have been a better time to release Desert Strike. Operation Desert Storm and all the conflicts and personalities that were embroiled in it were still fresh in the people's minds, and both the Genesis and the SNES were experiencing purple patches with runs of superior quality games up to the release of EA's shooter. Desert Strike itself became a standout on both consoles during this era.

The storyline was pretty basic. A "madman" name Kilbaba has forced his way into power in a middle eastern country in the Gulf and is using his new dictatorial position in an attempt to increase his power base in the Gulf, as well as building his own army. Echoes of Saddam Hussein's rise to power and subsequent actions abound but the game doesn't go so far as to name name's, despite the obvious intention. Then again perhaps they feared a backlash from Saddam himself for using his name without permission.

Of course the US doesn't think too much of this idea so they send a helicopter. One, lone AH-64 Apache helicopter. On one hand it makes you think they weren't taking the threat all that seriously, but on the other maybe, just maybe, the helicopter and its pilot were so amazing that they could take out the entire army single handed.

As it turns out, the latter is true. The object of the game is to make swift strikes on a number of important military bases and installations in the desert. Along the way you can rescue POWs and drop them off at the various safe points, all while keeping an eye on both your fuel and ammo supplies.

This strategic element is the first thing that sets this game apart from other shooters of the period. The more serene pace of the game meant that the player must carefully plan their route through the level to make sure they complete all the missions without running out of fuel or receiving too much damage to their helicopter. Running out of fuel or armor are both game ending scenarios and so must be avoided at all costs as the player only has a limited number of lives to crack Desert Strike's four expansive levels.

Of course you aren't expected to complete the level on one tank of gas, as there are various fuel pick-ups, as well as much scarcer armor replenishment's, that can be gained via the winch that the Apache uses to lift up anything off the ground. Both knowledge of the positions and careful use of these items are absolutely key to beating the game as it is entirely possible to end up in the middle of the desert with no fuel, lamely searching for one of those precious barrels before collapsing to the ground in a heap, with only the wreckage of your chopper to show for it.

Fuel and armor aren't the only things in short supply however. Your chopper is equipped with three weapons of increasing power, machine guns, Hydra rockets and Hellfire missiles. And this ammo runs low too, lending the game another element of strategy that is so often absent from the shooter games that provide an unlimited stock of ammo for the player to dip into.

There are ammo crates dotted around just like fuel, and the map helpfully provides you with the locations of most of them. There are also secret ammo and fuel dumps which can be found with a little exploration, but the player must battle against their ever dwindling supplies if they are to be found.

Clever use of the ammo provided is also a must. Its no good going into a battle against a lone soldier with Hellfire missiles blazing as its a waste of rockets that is unneeded when a machine gun round would have done the same job. It is still funny to do mind, but generally not a good idea when it leaves you stranded and trying to gun down an armored tank with nothing but machine gun ammo to call upon.



The missions themselves are quite well crafted and varied, ranging from blowing up airports to scupper Kilbaba's air craft, to blowing up SCUD missiles before they can launch their cargo or collecting hostages, both hostile and friendly, to aid you in your quest by providing valuable information. The missions generally link together quite well in each level and the game's free flowing nature allows for the player to choose their own order of completion for each mission, lending another layer of strategy to the game, as often completing the missions in the order they are given to you can lead to a panic as you scramble around looking for the necessary fuel and ammo to continue. A good player will instead check the mission locations out for themselves, check their proximity to fuel and ammo stocks and also estimate how much ammo a mission is likely to cost before going ahead with the level. Of course some of the later missions are more dangerous if you haven't knocked out a satellite installation in an earlier mission, for example, and this all needs to be taken into consideration.

Picking up POWs and MIAs is also a handy little feature because, as well as providing the little feel good twinge that comes with saving a couple of pixels from certain doom, you also get your armor replenished for each drop off you make. Your helicopter can hold up to six extra passengers and the game provides another clever little balancing act as you must weigh up your need to replenish armor with your fuel deposits before making a run to the drop off points. So do you take only a couple of hostages and risk losing fuel for the sake of more armor refills, or do you conserve fuel and take the risk that you can avoid incurring too much damage. Its all up to you, which is the beauty of the game.

Talking of beauty, the graphics were phenomenal for the time. The isometric viewpoint is another thing which sets the game apart from its contemporaries and it is used to spectacular effect in aiding the game with its more strategic concepts. Desert Strike would simply not work with the typical 2D approach utilized by other games of the period as the scope for exploration would have become non-existent without some semblance of depth to the world provided. And its a damned site easier to discern your objectives, enemies and allies with the pseudo-3D of Desert Strike's isometric world than it would have been with either a top-down or side scrolling angle.

The isometrics themselves are superbly executed. The Apache helicopter looks suitably chunky, as does the massive frigate that you begin and end each mission on. Granted the soldiers and hostages all look like they are comprised of about 3 pixels each, but that's all that is really needed for them to be noticeable. The presence of the tiny guns the soldiers wield can sometimes be a little difficult to discern, leading to you attempting to winch in a guy who proceeds to greet you with a bullet, but generally you can pick out enemies from friendlies.

The buildings are the coup-de-grace of the game though, all of them being beautiful designed and displayed in glorious isometric vision for you destructive pleasure. Most buildings in the game can be destroyed and they are often the targets of the game's objectives. Their existence was probably a good reason in itself that an isometric viewpoint was used as a standard 2D display would not have given them justice, as well as seriously hindering the exploring aspect of the game.

The camera work is of special note as well, as developer Mike Posehn exhibited a huge amount of effort in ensuring the camera was up to task for the game. He created an elliptical curve for the camera to follow due to concerns about how much of the playing field would be visible to the player without having to reduce the graphical quality of the objects on screen. Thus an elliptical camera was put in place that rotated every time the Apache did, to show a little more of what was in front of the player than behind at all times. Not only this but Posehn also integrated momentum into the camera's movement, a relatively difficult concept to integrate into game's of the period under normal circumstances. With an isometric viewpoint though it became necessary to have the camera exhibit momentum rather than the sprite, especially with the elliptical curve that the camera was already traveling on.

The soundtrack was pretty much non-existent however. Apart from the start screen music which played throughout mission briefings as well, the game was generally silent on a musical front, with only brief flourishes playing upon completion of a level or during one of the short cinematics that the game used relatively infrequently.

The sound effects are all perfect however. The chopper's blades rotate with a satisfying "whoomp" noise, and all the weapons and explosions sound suitably meaty. However there is little attention paid to the game's sound beyond what was required and it certainly didn't push the Genesis' sound chip, never mind the SNES or Amiga's.

When push comes to shove though Desert Strike is a different breed to the usual shoot-em-up of the era. While the R-Types and Afterburners of the world were offering adrenaline fueled, high octane action, Desert Strike moved at a more sedate pace, forcing the player into relying on their wits as much as their trigger fingers to get the job done. Its is probably this fact that lead to the game's massive success and its standing amongst gamers as one of the finest shooters of the era.



The Aftermath

Despite some people's claims of exploitation of the recent Gulf War, Desert Strike shot to the top of the sales charts when it was released on the Genesis and it stayed there for a long time, becoming Electronic Art's highest selling game for a short period. Critically the game was also pretty much universally praised too, scoring high marks in just about every review written for it.

EA didn't keep the game exclusive to the Genesis though, and before too long conversions were made available on the SNES, Amiga and a number of other consoles, sometimes years after the release of the original game. Again these ports met with high marks and good sales, as well as having the added advantage of more graphical power behind them, as demonstrated with the various ports superior explosions and updated graphical models.

The game also spawned a number of sequels, including the arguably superior Jungle Strike, which featured more of the same action only with larger and more varied levels. This game also met with huge sales and critical acclaim but it became a downward slope for the series afterward, with Urban Strike offering yet more of the same and the jump into 3D offered by Soviet and Nuclear Strike never exactly set the world on fire either. As an interesting after note though, a final entry into the series was planned with Future Strike, but this eventually became the PS1 shooter Future Cop: LAPD signalling the death knell for the Strike series.

The Final Word

Desert Strike stands up with R-Type and its more adrenalized brethren as being amongst the cream of the crop offered by shoot-em-ups of the 16-Bit era. The focus on strategy was a tack that was difficult to execute at the best of times in that gaming climate but Desert Strike pulls it off with a panache that was rarely seen from EA's development studios afterwards. In fact it could be argued that, from a purely creative standpoint, the early to mid 1990s was EA's peak when it came to development, afterwards lurching towards the repetitive and rather lackluster games that led to its poor reputation amongst gamers as time went on. Desert Strike was one of the shining gems produced during this era and should definitely be played by anybody who likes a bit of thought put into their games.

The Price is Right

There were a number of ports of Desert Strike across various systems so luckily this, combined with the high sales figures it accrued, mean you should be able to pick a cheap copy of the game up quite easily. As usual high prices for good condition.

UK

Megadrive - £3 – 6
SNES - £5 – 7
Amiga - Approx £10 for a full copy of the game, if you can find one.
PC - £5 – 8 (Good luck getting it to run on a modern machine though. Try DOS Box if you do get a copy).
Master System - £4 - 6
Atari Lynx - £30 – 40 (Bit of a collector's item this).
Game Gear - £7 – 9
Gameboy - £4 – 6
GBA - I'm gonna go with a lot seeing as I can't find a blasted copy of this anywhere.

US

Genesis - $4 – 6
SNES - $5 – 12
Amiga - Approx $20
PC - $15 – 20
Master System - $6 – 9
Atari Lynx - Again I couldn't find a copy but the UK price suggests this is rare so I'll throw a ballpark $50 estimate in.
Game Gear - $10 – 13
Gameboy - $5 – 12
GBA - Approx $10

Spreading the Word

Another day another Retronomicon, but don't stop reading here. There's still plenty at 411 Games to take up your time.

Firstly be sure to bookmark the site or make it your homepage.

Also be sure to check out 411 Games on Twitter right here

And here's some more good reading to take up your time;

Rod Oracheski takes a look at pre-order bonuses this week in Achievement Unlocked.
Trace Aber presents issue 40 of Living LIVE.
Adam Larck checks in with a list of his top 10 Mario games of all time in The 10th Hour.

And finally we have the multi-staff efforts;

This week Rod Oracheski hosts the newest edition of Four Player Co-Op.
The 411 Games staff take a look at their Top 5 Dreamcast Games.
And Chris Lansdell and Rod Oracheski battle it out in Fact or Fiction.

The Guy Who Can do it Better Than You

I know I promised an awesome vid this week but guess I was wrong. This is somebody beating the final level of the game in style. Hey at least its not a speed run right?



Enjoy and catch you all next week.