A very clever name for a game which you'll soon recognise as taking its
inspiration from Beach Head. It's a multi-stage naval engagement in
which you control your nation's air and sea defences in a last desperate
attempt to destroy the enemy. The task is to blow up a research plant
that will otherwise produce atomic weapons to win the war.
The main cog in the nation's defence is "The Undaunted", which is the
only weapon capable of destroying the research plant. If you lose this,
the game will end. The game starts on a map of the battle area, showing
airbases, radar, ports and other installations. The action alternates
between this and several arcade sequences on the way to the target.
There are three airbases on the map under your control and these can be
used to attack the enemy's bases. All bases are boxes with a symbol inside.
They turn grey when damaged and black when destroyed by raids from your
bases. Enemy attacks can also knock out your bases so their airfields
should be hit first to lessen the threat both to bases and the Undaunted.
After raids have been exchanged, you enter one of the arcade sequences.
The first involves a torpedo plane attack on the Undaunted and her two
escorting destroyers. The planes appear in groups of three from the right
of the screen and drop torpedoes towards the three ships. They can be
swerved to avoid them or you can use the three ship's guns to shoot the
planes before they release the torpedoes. The escort ships can afford to
be lost, although this reduces firepower, but damage to the Undaunted is
the main danger. After several waves you return to the map screen for
another exchange of air raids.
The second arcade sequence is a battle against patrol boats which come in
from the sides of the screen and then turn towards you before releasing
more torpedoes that can again damage the ship. A pair of guns are your
defence at the bottom of the screen and can be moved left and right and
have their elevation altered. As a last resort, you can again swerve to
avoid the torpedoes as they slide menacingly towards you through the
water.
These early stages are initially very difficult but once the trick to
surviving them is found they become mostly routine. After another go at
the map screen you have to negotiate a minefield by steering the ships
through it. This is difficult with three ships so make sure it's the
escorts that get destroyed if anything.
The next stage is a naval engagement with three destroyers. The display
is as for the patrol boats but with the three destroyers, unmoving and
large in your sights. Hitting them is easy with the guns but it has to be
done very quickly or the enemy's own salvos will send the Undaunted to
the bottom.
The penultimate stage is pretty much a repeat of the torpedo planes,
except that they are now bombers swooping in to be avoided or shot down
in the same manner. Survive that and up comes the research plant in the
middle of a mountainside. Its doors are closing and you have to train the
ship's guns on the hole and fire through it before they shut. Succeed
and you get a big bonus, fail and you don't. Either way the game ends
there.
Some of the graphics are OK and the stages are quite testing but following
in the footsteps of Beach Head and the less impressive Assault On Port
Stanley I don't think it will get many pulses racing.
Second Opinion
Not much to say about this one. It's hard to
summon up any kind of enthusiasm for a
game as merely average as this. The
gameplay you've seen before in other
programs, the strategy is negligible.
Graphics are quite pretty and colourful, but
that's about the best I can manage, I'm afraid.
Good News
P. Several different types of stage.
P. A tough game for the first few plays.