Triple Pack: Beach Head II, Beach Head, Raid Over Moscow / games / cm










From: Michael Current (aa700@cleveland.Freenet.Edu)

Date: 04/21/92-07:44:23 PM Z









From: aa700@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Michael Current)
Subject: Triple Pack: Beach Head II, Beach Head, Raid Over Moscow / games / cm
Date: Tue Apr 21 19:44:23 1992

Reprinted from the A.C.E.C. BBS (614)-471-8559


NOTICE: This article originally appeared in the December, 1988 issue of
Michigan Atari Magazine (now called Atari Interface Magazine) and may be
freely distributed or reprinted in non-profit User Group publications as long
as the article's author and Atari Interface Magazine are credited AND this
notice is reprinted with the article.  All other publications must obtain
written permission from Unicorn Publications, 3487 Braeburn Circle, Ann Arbor,
MI 48108, Phone: (313) 973-8825 before using this article.

Triple Pack
by Tim Feenstra (GRASS)

The evil Dictator is back, known now as "The Dragon," and he has taken several
hostages.  As Commander J. P. Stryker, you lead a commando paratroop group in
an assault to free the captives.  Jumping from a helicopter, your force is
taken under fire from a machine gun.  The advance causes loses, but once in
range, the machine gun can be knocked out with a hand grenade, only to be
replaced quickly with another one.

Once past the machine gun and in the sanctuary, you must provide cover fire as
the hostages cross the courtyard.  With tanks, trucks, trapdoors, and a
soldier throwing rocks from above, the captives break for their freedom across
the court.  Those that survive the courtyard are then flown off the island by
copter, which must run the islands automatic defenses.  Finally, you are left
to face "The Dragon" alone in the ancient caves below, for the final
showdown.

Beach-Head II is a one or two player game in which you may play the allied
commander or the dictator's evil forces in an animated commando scenario.  It
is the best of the three games that come in the Triple Pack package.  The
graphics are quite good, the movement of objects is pretty smooth and the
action is nonstop.  You can also skip to any of the four screens to practice
before taking on the entire game.  Most of the game layout is new, and the
four screens are not repetitious of each other.  Game control is good (if your
joystick isn't worn out).  The main complaint is with only four screens to
work with the game does run out of surprises fast.

Also included in the set is Beach Head and Raid Over Moscow.  Beach Head also
puts you in command of an assault force out to defeat the Dictator.  This time
you start with the task of destroying the enemy air force, and then the navel
fleet.  To achieve a surprise attack, you will also have to run your fleet
through a narrow channel that is mined and has torpedoes shot at intervals. If
you do not wish the advantage of surprise, you will be awarded more points to
engage and defeat the enemies forces, which will be more prepared for you then
if you had surprised them.

Once ashore, you use tanks to assault the islands defenses and attempt to
destroy the Dictators fortress.  The five action screens of this game are very
repetitious, with the shooting screens using the same action three times.  The
air and navel screens, being exactly the same, should have been combined to
reduce the repetition and provide more of a challenge.  The graphics aren't
bad, but boredom sets in quickly.  Easily mastered, this game will probably
end up in the disk box with the cobwebs on it.

Raid Over Moscow, the third game, can easily be described in one word. ZAXXON.
Upon starting, the game (playing the Russians, of course) launches a nuclear
strike against the United States.  To stop the attack, your first task is to
launch your stealth fighter from the orbiting space defense station. Though
not too difficult, this screen seems a little silly, for if I were to park my
stealth up there, I would park it facing the exit door, wouldn't you? Anyway,
once launched, using the strategic world overview, you proceed to the missile
site that launched the strike.  Once near the launch site, the second action
screen lets you blast your way ZAXXON style to the silos. There are five
silos, but if time is running out, just blast the large one in the center and
the missiles will be destroyed.  Do this two more times for the other launch
sites and then you can attack the main control site in Moscow, if you caught
the other three sites before they hit.  Let the strike hit the US before you
destroy the silos, and you get to do it again for that site.

Once in Moscow, you are put afoot to assault the defense center from behind a
wall with a rocket launcher.  Don't stay still for long or you get blasted by
enemy troops or tanks.  Blow the blue door in the defense center building and
you're in the reactor room.  The reactor will go critical mass and explode if
you can destroy the maintenance robot that injects coolant into it.  To do
this, you use special discs, and you bounce them off the back wall to hit the
robot from behind.  Of course, the robot is going to defend himself, so don't
stop in one place for long.  Did I tell you each robot (yes, there are more
than one) must be hit four times to be destroyed?  Perhaps I mentioned you
only have a limited number of discs?  You can catch discs that don't hit the
robots, but once they're gone, you go backwards a screen to fight your way
into the defense center again (if you have any surviving men that is). One
more thing, the last robot will be very angry with you.  He will not keep the
reactor cool.  You can only escape the upcoming explosion by destroying the
last robot in time to get away.  The graphics are ok, but playing brings on a
desire to play the above mentioned game.

In general, the box looked nice, but the instructions are the discount fanfold
type, adequate to learn the games, but easily lost in any drawer that contains
more than a few other instruction books.  If you can find Triple Pack at a
discount price, it should be money well-spent.  I don't play arcade games much
anymore, but I will keep my eyes open for a good deal on it to get Beach Head
II.  Use the other two games (and your old joysticks) when friends invite
themselves over to play your new games.

-- 
 Michael Current, Cleveland Free-Net 8-bit Atari SIGOp   -->>  go atari8  <<--
   The Cleveland Free-Net Atari SIG is the Central Atari Information Network
      Internet: currentm@carleton.edu / UUCP: ...!umn-cs!ccnfld!currentm
     BITNET: currentm%carleton.edu@{interbit} / Cleveland Free-Net: aa700









-----------------------------------------
Return to message index