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Battlehawks 1942

January 01, 1970

Battlehawks 1942 is a naval air combat combat flight simulation game released in 1988 by Lucasfilm Games. It is set in the World War II Pacific air war theatre, and was the first of Lucasfilm Games' trilogy of World War II flight simulations, followed by Their Finest Hour (1989) and Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe (1991). The 127-page manual for Battlehawks 1942 includes a 100-page illustrated overview of the Pacific War. The preface to the manual was written by Richard Halsey Best, who commanded the dive bomber squadron that sank two Japanese aircraft carriers during the Battle of Midway.

Gameplay edit

In Battlehawks 1942, the player can participate in four pivotal naval battles of the Pacific war:

In each of these battles, the player can experience the same situation from the U.S. side or the Japanese side of the battle. The player can fly authentic aircraft of the era such as Grumman F4F Wildcats, Douglas SBD Dauntlesses and Grumman TBF Avengers on the U.S. side and Mitsubishi A6M Zeros, Aichi D3A "Vals" and Nakajima B5N "Kates" on the Japanese side. Realism settings such as invincibility, unlimited ammo and unlimited fuel, starting altitude and the caliber of the opposition pilots were present, so Battlehawks was customizable.

Each mission started with a briefing, giving the pilot a general outline of what was needed to do. In a departure from the usual flight-sim standards requiring players to perform take offs and landings, Battlehawks 1942 allowed players to get immediately into the action.

As with most flight simulators, Battlehawks has a cockpit view, switchable with the keypad for a look around the aircraft. Instruments are few: airspeed, altimeter, bank and pitch, fuel, rate-of-climb, RPM, compass and indicators for fuel and engine/airframe damage. The cockpit also had levers for landing gear, speed brakes (if equipped) and flaps.

The Battlehawks 1942 manual includes details Fighter Tactics instructions, such as deflection shooting or how to perform overhead approaches from the same or the opposite course. Mission types included escorting bombers as well as fighter interceptions, which were generally quite challenging and gave a great view of the diversity of the missions that were flown in the Pacific in 1942. Allied players flying Grumman F4F Wildcats would find themselves often vastly outnumbered in a desperate attempt to save their carriers from waves of Japanese Aichi D3A Val dive bombers.

There are also dive-bombing and torpedo-bombing missions on both sides. Dive-bomber and torpedo-bomber tactics were also discussed in the manual.

The graphics throughout the game use a sprite-based (so-called) 3D engine, which is based on bitmaps which are rotated and scaled depending on the player's view. Muzzle flashes and tracers were present, the aircraft took hits and caught fire, smoked or exploded with the pilot bailing out with a parachute.

Enemy artificial intelligence (AI) also was of high quality. Enemy aircraft would twist, turn, jink and realistically evade enemy fire. The performance characteristics of the various aircraft were realistically modeled so that, for example, the more nimble Japanese Zeros were very good at outmaneuvering U.S. fighters such as the F4F Wildcat.

Excellent pilots achieved promotions and several medals in Battlehawks (Air Medal, DFC, Bronze Star, Silver Star, Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor - if the player's own aircraft received severe hits, the Purple Heart was awarded).

Pacific theater air combat simulation successors of Battlehawks include: Aces of the Pacific (1992), 1942: The Pacific Air War (1994), Pacific Strike (1994), WarBirds (1997), and Pacific Fighters (2004).

Reception edit

Computer Gaming World very favorably reviewed the game, citing its graphics, historical accuracy, and innovative replay feature, giving the player a free-roaming camera with which to view the action.[2] The magazine later awarded the game as "Action Game of the Year", reiterating those praises,[3] a 1991 survey in the magazine of strategy and war games gave it four stars out of five,[4] and a 1993 survey gave the game three stars.[5] Compute! also praised the game's graphics, accuracy, and replay, and also cited its unpredictable enemies as a virtue.[6] According to the review in STart, "if you're an aviation enthusiast at all, you'll want Battlehawks 1942 just for its extensive manual. It's 127 pages of history, tactics, theory and aviation lore and includes fold-out maps of the battles in which you can fly. It's truly a spectacular production and almost worth the price of the game by itself."[7] The game was also well received by the reviewers of Dragon, where it was given 5 out of 5 stars.[8]

According to the game's designer Lawrence Holland, Chris Roberts told him at an industry conference that he had reverse-engineered Battlehawks 1942 to create the game engine for Wing Commander. Holland said: "Many years ago, while working at Skywalker ranch on Battlehawks 1942, I overheard two people talking over my shoulder about the game I was working on. Imagine my surprise when I turned around and saw Steven Spielberg and George Lucas discussing it and learning further that Steven Spielberg was playing and enjoying it. He was an early video game convert."[9]

Reviews edit

References edit

  1. ^ Part One: The Early Years, 1982 - 1989 (2006-04-28). . Archived from the original on January 27, 2007. Retrieved 2013-11-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Sipe, Russell (November 1988), "IBM is my Co-Pilot", Computer Gaming World, pp. 32–33
  3. ^ "Game of the Year Awards", Computer Gaming World, p. 8, October 1989
  4. ^ Brooks, M. Evan (November 1991). "Computer Strategy and Wargames: The 1900–1950 Epoch / Part I (A-L) of an Annotated Paiktography". Computer Gaming World. p. 138. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  5. ^ Brooks, M. Evan (September 1993). "Brooks' Book of Wargames: 1900-1950, A-P". Computer Gaming World. p. 118. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  6. ^ Guerra, Bob (April 1989). "Battlehawks 1942". Compute!. p. 63. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  7. ^ STart Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 4, November 1989, page 44.
  8. ^ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (February 1989), "The Role of Computers", Dragon (142): 42–51.
  9. ^ Larry Holland December 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Asimov's v13n06 (1989 06)".
  11. ^ "Jeux & stratégie 58". May 1989.

External links edit

  • Battlehawks 1942 at MobyGames
  • Battlehawks 1942 at Amiga Hall of Light

January 01, 1970
battlehawks, 1942, naval, combat, combat, flight, simulation, game, released, 1988, lucasfilm, games, world, pacific, theatre, first, lucasfilm, games, trilogy, world, flight, simulations, followed, their, finest, hour, 1989, secret, weapons, luftwaffe, 1991, . Battlehawks 1942 is a naval air combat combat flight simulation game released in 1988 by Lucasfilm Games It is set in the World War II Pacific air war theatre and was the first of Lucasfilm Games trilogy of World War II flight simulations followed by Their Finest Hour 1989 and Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe 1991 The 127 page manual for Battlehawks 1942 includes a 100 page illustrated overview of the Pacific War The preface to the manual was written by Richard Halsey Best who commanded the dive bomber squadron that sank two Japanese aircraft carriers during the Battle of Midway Battlehawks 1942Developer s Totally GamesPublisher s Lucasfilm GamesProducer s Noah FalsteinDesigner s Lawrence HollandProgrammer s Lawrence Holland Michael BreenArtist s Ken Macklin Martin CameronWriter s Victor Cross Richard Halsey Best Noah FalsteinPlatform s MS DOS Amiga Atari STReleaseOctober 1988 1 Genre s Combat flight simulatorMode s Single player Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Reception 3 Reviews 4 References 5 External linksGameplay editIn Battlehawks 1942 the player can participate in four pivotal naval battles of the Pacific war The Battle of the Coral Sea May 4 8 1942 The Battle of Midway June 4 5 1942 The Battle of the Eastern Solomons August 23 25 1942 The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands October 26 1942 In each of these battles the player can experience the same situation from the U S side or the Japanese side of the battle The player can fly authentic aircraft of the era such as Grumman F4F Wildcats Douglas SBD Dauntlesses and Grumman TBF Avengers on the U S side and Mitsubishi A6M Zeros Aichi D3A Vals and Nakajima B5N Kates on the Japanese side Realism settings such as invincibility unlimited ammo and unlimited fuel starting altitude and the caliber of the opposition pilots were present so Battlehawks was customizable Each mission started with a briefing giving the pilot a general outline of what was needed to do In a departure from the usual flight sim standards requiring players to perform take offs and landings Battlehawks 1942 allowed players to get immediately into the action As with most flight simulators Battlehawks has a cockpit view switchable with the keypad for a look around the aircraft Instruments are few airspeed altimeter bank and pitch fuel rate of climb RPM compass and indicators for fuel and engine airframe damage The cockpit also had levers for landing gear speed brakes if equipped and flaps The Battlehawks 1942 manual includes details Fighter Tactics instructions such as deflection shooting or how to perform overhead approaches from the same or the opposite course Mission types included escorting bombers as well as fighter interceptions which were generally quite challenging and gave a great view of the diversity of the missions that were flown in the Pacific in 1942 Allied players flying Grumman F4F Wildcats would find themselves often vastly outnumbered in a desperate attempt to save their carriers from waves of Japanese Aichi D3A Val dive bombers There are also dive bombing and torpedo bombing missions on both sides Dive bomber and torpedo bomber tactics were also discussed in the manual The graphics throughout the game use a sprite based so called 3D engine which is based on bitmaps which are rotated and scaled depending on the player s view Muzzle flashes and tracers were present the aircraft took hits and caught fire smoked or exploded with the pilot bailing out with a parachute Enemy artificial intelligence AI also was of high quality Enemy aircraft would twist turn jink and realistically evade enemy fire The performance characteristics of the various aircraft were realistically modeled so that for example the more nimble Japanese Zeros were very good at outmaneuvering U S fighters such as the F4F Wildcat Excellent pilots achieved promotions and several medals in Battlehawks Air Medal DFC Bronze Star Silver Star Navy Cross and the Medal of Honor if the player s own aircraft received severe hits the Purple Heart was awarded Pacific theater air combat simulation successors of Battlehawks include Aces of the Pacific 1992 1942 The Pacific Air War 1994 Pacific Strike 1994 WarBirds 1997 and Pacific Fighters 2004 Reception editComputer Gaming World very favorably reviewed the game citing its graphics historical accuracy and innovative replay feature giving the player a free roaming camera with which to view the action 2 The magazine later awarded the game as Action Game of the Year reiterating those praises 3 a 1991 survey in the magazine of strategy and war games gave it four stars out of five 4 and a 1993 survey gave the game three stars 5 Compute also praised the game s graphics accuracy and replay and also cited its unpredictable enemies as a virtue 6 According to the review in STart if you re an aviation enthusiast at all you ll want Battlehawks 1942 just for its extensive manual It s 127 pages of history tactics theory and aviation lore and includes fold out maps of the battles in which you can fly It s truly a spectacular production and almost worth the price of the game by itself 7 The game was also well received by the reviewers of Dragon where it was given 5 out of 5 stars 8 According to the game s designer Lawrence Holland Chris Roberts told him at an industry conference that he had reverse engineered Battlehawks 1942 to create the game engine for Wing Commander Holland said Many years ago while working at Skywalker ranch on Battlehawks 1942 I overheard two people talking over my shoulder about the game I was working on Imagine my surprise when I turned around and saw Steven Spielberg and George Lucas discussing it and learning further that Steven Spielberg was playing and enjoying it He was an early video game convert 9 Reviews editIsaac Asimov s Science Fiction Magazine v13 n6 1989 06 10 Jeux amp Strategie 58 11 References edit Part One The Early Years 1982 1989 2006 04 28 LucasArts Entertainment Company 20th Anniversary Archived from the original on January 27 2007 Retrieved 2013 11 17 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link Sipe Russell November 1988 IBM is my Co Pilot Computer Gaming World pp 32 33 Game of the Year Awards Computer Gaming World p 8 October 1989 Brooks M Evan November 1991 Computer Strategy and Wargames The 1900 1950 Epoch Part I A L of an Annotated Paiktography Computer Gaming World p 138 Retrieved 18 November 2013 Brooks M Evan September 1993 Brooks Book of Wargames 1900 1950 A P Computer Gaming World p 118 Retrieved 30 July 2014 Guerra Bob April 1989 Battlehawks 1942 Compute p 63 Retrieved 11 November 2013 STart Magazine Vol 4 No 4 November 1989 page 44 Lesser Hartley Lesser Patricia Lesser Kirk February 1989 The Role of Computers Dragon 142 42 51 Larry Holland Archived December 9 2006 at the Wayback Machine Asimov s v13n06 1989 06 Jeux amp strategie 58 May 1989 External links editBattlehawks 1942 at MobyGames Battlehawks 1942 at Amiga Hall of Light The Legacy museum Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battlehawks 1942 amp oldid 1224485597, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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