Armada

BattleScapes

I wanted to pay my respects to the service men and women who have sacrificed to keep us safe. I'm not really into "military/war" games, so I wasn’t sure where to start. The Atari ST has a huge selection, and the closest I’d ever come to the genre was probably D-Day a few years back. But I knew I had to do something for our pride in #VEday80 - and then it hit me, like a cannonball fired from The Golden Hind! (geddit??)

Okay, I’ve got a bit of a "thing" for Atari’s ARC label. I've been slowly collecting their games over the years - I'm just waiting on a (decent) copy of Photon Storm to complete the set. Anyhow, that also means some games have been merely sitting idle on my shelf! Heck, I've never played Gettysburg, Armada, Prince, or Borodino. Well, I dabbled in Prince, but was blown away by its learning curve (I'm lazy). It was now that I realised how many "war" games I owned - maybe I’m more of a fan than I consciously realised. Ha, maybe!!

So, what to play for the big day? Well, I just flipped a (virtual) coin and took a chance...

Armada was the winner, which means I was about to set sail on the high seas around southern England for a war against the superpower, Spain. Armada was released in 1990 by Peter Turcan, the same developer behind Waterloo, Borodino, Austerlitz, and Gettysburg. Wow, I guess he really likes his history?

The game is based on historical events and is definitely one you will struggle to play without the manual. Not just for the backstory but for an understanding of how to command your fleet, as I discovered. The manual is great, providing a concise account of the historical events without becoming a long-winded chore to read through. I'm not much of a reader, but I set aside an evening to go through it. And I’m glad I did!

It’s a fascinating period in European history. I learned that the sheer numbers the Spanish managed to gather were impressive, becoming nothing less than formidable. But when you look back on these events, things did not go according to plan. It's an understatement to say the battles didn’t quite live up to their expectations - more like a soggy dud firework that failed to go off. Regardless, it’s surreal reading about these events, especially considering the limited technology, navigation, and communication of the time.

For me, that "dud firework" moment came early on. It became clear that, while the Spanish had an enormous fleet, they lacked the skill and experience of the English, who had the disadvantage of a smaller fleet. It’s hard to go into much detail without spoiling the game you will play. That said, it was heartbreaking to read how the men in the Spanish fleet ended up circling Britain, almost starving before facing their cruel and bloody fate. And then, how the English government appallingly treated their victorious veterans afterwards.

I hope this is proving as interesting for you as it is for me. Shall we pause for some screenshots...

The game introduces the opening moments of the war.
You are asked some questions that assist in your learning of this deep game!

The graphics draw before your very eyes and look pretty nice.
The ships are well represented, as is the coastline of southern England.

Reliving the War

It's 8am, July 31st, 1588, and the Spanish Armada have been sighted off the coasts of Cornwall. It's time to gather the brave men and head out into the seas to defend England. But wait, don't sail out yet because a few questions require answering. These help to configure your experience, especially for new players:

• Trail Fleets - Basically, lower the number of ships to make it quicker and manageable. Choose "Y".
• Two-Day Battle - A shorter game, so newcomers should choose "Y".
• Human/Computer - Either can be chosen for English and/or Spanish. (Y/N)
• Signalling - Used as a trainer, believe it or not, for new players, so answer "Y"
• Viewpoint - Another "cheat" for new players, but something I'd consider answering "N" to.
• Cannon firing - Of course, you must answer "Y" to see the action! (sarcasm)
• Existing Orders - Choose whether to keep things historically accurate, but you can still override.

From the perspective of the English, we play as Admiral Lord Howard. We will take command of our squadron along with those captained by Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher. The game begins at the battle's dawn, and depending on how you answer the human/computer question, you are either English or Spanish.

If you choose to be Spanish, you are Alonso Pérez, the Duke of Medina Sidonia (the computer could play the part of the English). Of course, you could attempt to play both sides or leave the computer to act out both sides of the conflict for you. But why you would want to do that is anyone's guess!

Now the game begins, and you are bewildered! Yep. So let's pause for a couple of screenshots...

You can request updates from particular captains or the squadron as a whole.

Use the mouse to identify places and any vessels.

A time to lead

The game begins, and you feel abandoned and left without a plan or any kind of assistance. Armada leaves you out in the cold!! So, grab the manual and also look at the underwhelming paper map inside the box. What? You have a cracked copy? Ha, play something else then - you don't stand a chance mate!!

I mean this - immediately, you are thrown in at the deep end. A visual representation of the day is drawn before your very eyes. You are instantly expected to command and give orders. If I'm honest, this is a truly bewildering moment. Quite mind-blowing, and I felt lost wondering where to begin. I'll say it again, you must read the manual. But, even then, you're left unaided with a fleet of men looking at you for leadership!

Armada is nothing like I expected. I thought I would have icons to click, but instead, we use a command-line parser much like a text adventure. Commands are structured and issued in a set format of [to whom] [when] [what to do] [timescale]. This is powerful but very difficult to understand, as I found out.

Here are the commands that I have come to use often. There are lots more commands apt at particular points in the conflict, but consider the following a list of the base commands you will probably use. There are two main types of commands: either you signal the squadrons (or ships) directly, or your own captain.

With that in mind, here are some examples...

signal all squadrons to sail to plymouth

captain sail to plymouth

These mean exactly what they say, everything heads in the direction given. The first, commands the fleet. Whereas the second, yours. You can tailor that to send Drake to Poole, for example.

signal Hawkins to sail in line astern formation

captain sail in crescent formation

You may wish to adopt a nice pattern to sail the seas? The first command directs Hawkins' squadron. Whereas the second is ours. You can also command all the squadrons.

signal drake to blockade Plymouth

This is mentioned in the manual and something to consider, but maybe not only Plymouth?

signal all squadrons to attack enemy

signal drake attack enemy

When the time is right and the enemy is closing in - fight (with lame cannon effects). The first commands everyone to attack. However, if you have left (as in the example above) Drake elsewhere, then you might direct him separately. It depends on how you direct the battle.

captain adopt short/long range tactics

signal all squadrons to adopt short/long range tactics

signal Frobisher to adopt grappling tactics

These commands are interesting. If you aren't close, then long-range tactics (cannons) are needed. Grappling is when you are close and you attempt to board an enemy ship.

signal all squadrons disengage

signal all squadrons send me your battle reports

The first command helps you to backtrack, if in trouble. The second command provides feedback provided by each squadron. It's slow and pre-internet speeds!

As you can tell, the manual is desperately needed. I personally think this game is impossible to play without it. The manual may have a fantastic backstory to the war and provides lots of technical details about the ships, and much more. But it's not great at assisting a (new) player. I felt it didn't help with the basics, so you spend the first few games blindly guessing what to do without much visual feedback to aid.

With that in mind, we definitely need a break! So here are a few images you will appreciate...

After reading all the above, you may be disappointed. Fear not, we have a mouse!

That's right, whenever the fleet requires commanding, use the mouse to identify ships/etc.

I had a play with formations, but I think I made things worse! lol

Here you can see my ships heading towards the distant Spanish fleet.

The CryptO'pinion

Beginning Armada is baffling. More than I realised, so I dug out the map and re/read parts of the manual - yet again. Learning the commands and their finicky structure was tough, very tough. So I don't think this war game will be for everyone. If you're brave enough to download it, then this is my humble advice:

Remember that you have your own Captain onboard (and your own squadron of ships). This means you don't need to worry about the finer details because you should leave the captain to worry about that. However, you still need to address your squadron as you would the others - Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher. Get an image of how that setup looks in your mind, and rather than directing commands at ships, use squadrons.

For a quick start, I figured Plymouth or Poole were destinations worthy of a Spanish attack. So my tactic was to flood these seas with my fleet. I blocked off Plymouth using Drake's squadron and left Frobisher nearby. That left two squadrons, which I took towards Poole. Well, that was my novice theory. And I felt it worked.

Regardless, this game is huge and with a technical command-based system. So that means its learning curve is massive and probably the biggest of any ST game I've played. I fear this could put many off it. Having said that, I rather enjoyed playing Armada a bunch. I ended up beating the Spanish after a handful of games. That was quite a proud achievement, considering the negative thoughts I had on my first attempt.

Armada is only for serious war fans. If that's you, I would easily rate this old seadog an apt 80%.

• Atarimania has scans of both the manual and game map (don't bother playing without these!) https://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-st-armada_11094.html
• 8BitChip has a version for hard drives https://atari.8bitchip.info/SCRSH/armada.html
• A few more Tactical/Strategies here https://ataricrypt.blogspot.com/TacticalStrategy

This doesn't happen often (and it didn't happen on my first "few" attempts!).
But eventually, I did it and stopped those Spaniards from invading my country. Woohoo!

Special Forces

I ain't gettin' on no plane!

Microprose Special Forces is the 1992 sequel to Airborne Ranger, which I have never played. Anyhow, this is also a semi-realistic action simulator that puts us in charge of an A-Team group of elite soldiers. These tough nuts love getting sent on various dangerous missions in the world's nicest places. They love it, trust me.

Hey, I posted about Special Forces in our Box Art section a few years ago, check it out :)

The game begins with what I can only describe as a wonderful intro! This animation illustrates the soldiers arriving by helicopter and then being dropped into a dense jungle. These guys have 16 missions throughout different parts of the world, be it desert, ice, jungle, or temperate. Only four from your team can be selected for each mission and it's your task to kit 'em out correctly according to mission requirements.

Special Forces is a combination of action & strategy; learning curves are usually tough for the genre. Thankfully, Microprose has provided four difficulty levels so it's worth starting out as a lamer - officially called 'conscript'. That means you have an upper hand with a more forgiving game that uses better weapons, easier enemies, and a map detailing targets. This is excellent as it allows you to master the game at speed.

This game will eat away the hours. Still interested? Good, read on...

Having cleared the area of all enemies, I feel a need for reconnaissance to see what lies ahead.

The entire southeast is now free from baddies but, looking at the map, I've still much to do!

Getting to grips

The action is controlled using the joystick so easy to manoeuvre my gang of elite soldiers. Unlike Gauntlet, these soldiers won't immediately face in the required direction but will rotate/turn around. Their current facing direction is indicated using an 'X' pointer which might be discerning at first, especially when the enemy is up close.

Optionally, the F10 key will toggle between snipping/movement mode which is worth experimenting with before rushing off like Rambo... See which method you prefer to use, especially during the heat of battle?

The keyboard is also used to provide extra functions, which is something I found particularly frustrating. At first, it was bewildering for my old brain, so I dug out pen and paper to jot down what I felt was a priority to get me started. Let's take a look at the basics to get you through the initial games without dying...

For any mission, get your bearings by hitting the UNDO key to display an overhead map of the warzone. As you will see, your men are shown along with the surrounding area with key places, be that the enemy complex, bridges, trucks, etc. Any red dots are enemy soldiers that are within earshot so beware. Hitting the 'I' key will show more of these red dots based on the latest Intelligence - use this feature as much as possible!

This map can also be used to travel great distances setting waypoints by hitting the spacebar and using your joystick. However, I wasn't fond of this feature because it left me unnerved as I prefer to be in control rather than watching my men wander off. But that's just me being a control freak?

As you can see, the map is an incredible tool and so invaluable. Use it for anything you can, planning safe routes, attacking, creating safe zones, it's all up to you. Of course, it helps with mission objectives like knowing just where to plant explosives for example. Basically, if you don't use the map then you're a fool.

Hitting UNDO again returns you to the action. Now press the HELP key for a map of the immediate surroundings as an in-game window - so helpful. Now you can select which team member you wish to view/control using function keys F1-F4 (press twice to control). Key 'A' will select automatic weapons, key 'R' for rifles, and key 'G' for grenades. The weapons your men have at their disposal depend on their individual skills:

Pistol - is a good weapon with plenty of ammo and a lot more accurate than I imagined.

Machine gun - it's fun spraying bullets like one of the A-Team. But it's also very loud...

Machine/Rifle - a good backup when other weapons have run out of ammo (IMHO).

Grenade - this blows stuff up very well. Just get your aim right!

Law Rocket - Holy Moly don't get too close!

LTD - Laser Target Designator, used for airstrikes.

Explosives - lay a bomb, walk away, and when ready, watch the firework display.

Don't be blown away by information because this game rocks. Let's check out some more screenshots...

I should use explosives to halt enemy soldiers from getting across the bridges and surrounding me.

As you can see, I've cleared the east and destroyed all bridges, but my team is hurting and tired!

Play the game

So let's begin a game. There are lots of missions but it's best to start at the beginning and work your way through in order. Read the dossier and note any details you think will be handy before deciding which soldiers are best for the mission. Each soldier has their own special abilities, skills, and fitness levels. Decide based on the current mission demands. Tool them up accordingly - guns, explosives, etc... Think carefully.

When in enemy territory, don't rush off like a headless chicken, seize the opportunity to view the map to get your bearings. Each mission takes place over a ginormous area with enemies hiding in the brush, patrolling, or haplessly wandering (argh, I hate those trigger-happy dudes manning the gun turrets). The map also displays essential places for the mission, like enemy bases, bridges, rivers, roads, supply convoys, etc.

Watch out that someone doesn't sneak up on you while you're thinking about your next move. If they do, why not use your explosives expert to destroy a bridge to cut 'em off? You won't want the fight coming at you from multiple directions so learn to control the action. Just a tip to get you started ;-)

Special Forces splits you in two: one part is a Commander deciding what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. The other is a capable soldier, blowing stuff up, and rescuing people. Hey, remember there is no 'I' in team, so think as a collective rather than solo. Why not lay traps or use a soldier for reconnaissance?

Whatever mission you send the boys on, get a grip on the joystick controls and the method of quickly flipping between soldiers. Not only that but also flipping between the different weapons that each soldier is carrying. Periodically check the map to see what dangers and points of interest are in your local vicinity.

The beauty of Special Forces is that you're in charge whatever the circumstances and that's all within a free-roaming world. There are different types of missions with each presenting a wide range of potential problems and their solutions. You will probably spend lots of time studying the map and planning? I hope.

And with that in mind, it's time for more screenshots that I took with my phone...

This sounds too good not to attempt, and it's a night so I need stealth and explosives?

Okay, the boys have arrived safely but it's dark and there are many dangers across the "water"

Graphics

I gotta say that I love the styles employed by Special Forces. Each terrain perfectly looks the part, especially the Arctic regions. Attention to detail is superb no matter where you happen to be so it's easy to tell that a lot of effort went into designing these locations. I also appreciate the subtle extras like shadows to add depth.

The sprites are well-animated but hardly a requirement for a game like this where you don't want the enemy to be hanging around too much! Thanks to our angled point of view, it's always funny to see the soldiers wobbling as they walk. Scrolling is good in all directions but you have the option to press F9 at any time for 60Hz.

However, the top-down view might work great, but it's a little close. I would have liked it zoomed out because this might prevent me from accidentally walking into a turret or hidden ambush. Perhaps I'm being picky?

Yeah, I usually am so with that in mind, let's view some more screenshots...

Another day, another mission. Unfortunately, I'm in the heat of the battle right from the start!

It's a heavily fortified island and I figured it might be a good idea to first cut two supply routes...

Sounds

After a fantastic intro, there is no music beating out from your Atari ST. Not even during the menus, which is where you spend lots of time tinkering before commencing a game. That's a shame, I'd have loved something YM'y to listen to whilst I kit out my men. The silence here is disappointing if I'm honest.

In-game, it needs to be all about the sound effects to help represent what's currently happening in the environment. Sadly, there are no samples of gunshots or muddy footsteps as you wade through a swamp or dense woodland. In fact, you will mostly get to hear gunfire from yourself and nearby enemies taking potshots. Regardless, I am glad there's no music as I would have needed to disable it to concentrate.

Argh, the audio could/should have been better so let's cheer you all up with a shot of my ST setup...

The manual isn't the most helpful and can feel bloated with unnecessary information.

The CryptO'pinion?

At first, I was unsure about Special Forces because there are so many keys to learn and the manual isn't the best (quite dispiriting if I'm honest). Plus I wasn't sure about the point of view as I often got attacked by off-screen enemies. Also, I was dismayed about the lack of health kits so once your soldier is critically injured you may as well keep him safe somewhere or send him to the drop zone - I guess that's realism for ya!

Once past the hurdle of learning the keys, I began to relax and enjoy the game for all the tactical joy it possesses. Each mission is its own giant adventure of pain and misery! Being out in the field is a thrill because the world is immense. It's up to you how to play, either devise a route or calculate how to cope against an overwhelming enemy. Or perhaps sneak through picking off the enemies one by one?

Special Forces isn't faultless but it's thrilling and captivating. An engrossing adventure deep in exploration, tactical strategy, and action. I rate it one of the best war games I've had the pleasure to play.

+ Atari Legend has all the floppies you need https://www.atarilegend.com/games/special-forces
+ 8BitChip has the hard drive version https://atari.8bitchip.info/SCRSH/specifo.html

United States Navy SEALs

Grab your big-boy pants for this game!

This is a game with few friends: Navy Seals is deceiving and, first impressions, are of an arcade-style platformer. However, this Ocean gem is anything but a typical run and gun 'em. It's more ruthless and requires stealth, strategy, and tactics. Extreme perseverance is the order of the day because this game requires a committed player willing to spend many hours mastering the levels. No spare time? Then don't bother!

Taking down scumbag terrorists is all part of the job when you're a member of the US Navy SEALS. The mission requires us to sneak into the lion's den, kill everyone, and plant explosives to destroy their stockpile of missiles. Each map is a layout of platforms within a maze of trigger-happy bad guys.

Use covert tactics - so play slowly and carefully to learn the enemy's location. Many practice games will be required to plan the best route from start to end, this is vital and the only way to successfully complete the mission. This is not easy so will not appeal to a casual gamer - who will run away crying!

Let's take a look at the first screenshot with gorgeous details and colour palette...

I love the layout of the first level. This is an absolutely fantastic retro gaming design!

Aesthetics

Navy Seals is a babe with gorgeous graphics that ooze a style I admire. I love the beautiful character animation as you run, leap, climb and sneak about. Each level compliments the environment and feels like something from a movie, a cheesy 80s B-movie! Heck, even the screen showing me dead is great. Yep, I said that.

Sound effects do their job well and the music is an excellent chiptune to bop along to. Liking it a lot!!

Hey, it's time for a screenshot. How about one you will see a lot? Here you go...

Don't expect to beat this game on your first attempt. Or second. Or third. It's rather hard!

The CryptO'pinion?

This is such a difficult game but I found myself enjoying the challenge. Each level requires the player to learn all aspects thoroughly, so don't expect a cakewalk. There are two drawbacks to Navy Seals: the time limit which is harsh. And I don't understand why Ocean didn't include a way to unlock each level with passwords?

Navy Seals won't appeal to the casual gamer as it requires much playtime with strategic planning to figure out an efficient route through - before the dreaded timer expires. Can you do it? I hope so because Navy Seals is a rewarding game albeit brutal. In fact, brutal might be too namby-pamby a description for this?

Gamers were tougher in the 80s and 90s. Navy Seals proves that!

Hard drive installable versions are available from both D-Bug and 8bitchip.

Floppy disk games can be found using Old Games Finder.

Cheating time:

             > Type in WOZZIE into the high score table to activate the cheat mode.

             > Begin a new game. Press W for weapons or RETURN to advance a level.

Some tips:

             > Dawdle when learning the maps - slow and steady wins the race.

             > Play draft games and make notes of the most efficient route!!

             > Practice! Practice! Practice! Practice! :-)