Harrier Combat Simulator

Harrier Combat Simulator (also known as High Roller[5]) is a combat flight simulation game published in 1987 by Mindscape for the Commodore 64. Ports for Amiga, Atari ST and IBM PC (as a self-booting disk) followed in 1988.

Harrier Combat Simulator
Developer(s)H+H Software[1]
Eigen Software[1]
Rowan Software (DOS)[2]
Publisher(s)
Designer(s)Rod Hyde[1]
Platform(s)Atari ST, Amiga,[3] IBM PC,[3] Commodore 64[4]
Release
Genre(s)Flight simulator
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

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Gameplay screenshot (Atari ST)

Harrier Combat Simulator is a game in which the player assumes the role of a pilot in a Harrier-jet.[6] The player needs to become proficient in flying the jet, including its horizontal and vertical thrust and its advanced weaponry.[6] The player pilots the only jet fighter that was not destroyed in a saboteur attack, and will need to destroy the headquarters of the enemy before they can launch a successful attack to destroy the Sixth Fleet.[7] Most of the missions take place in Grenada, which was undergoing an American-led military invasion during the year 1984.[6]

Reception

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Harrier was reviewed in 1988 in Dragon #131 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.[7] The Palm Beach Post that year said that the game "would have been a pretty impressive simulator a couple of years ago", but compared to Falcon, Fokker Triplane, Gunship, and F/A-18 Interceptor, Harrier was "primitive" and "silly".[8] Computer Gaming World rated the game a 2 of 5 in 1991[9] and 1992.[10][11]

Reviews

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See also

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  • Strike Force Harrier, a 1986 video game by the same designer and publisher, simulating the same aircraft
  • Rowan Software, the company that Rod Hyde founded after designing Harriet Combat Simulator

References

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  1. ^ a b c H+H Software (1988). Harrier Combat Simulator (Amiga). Mirrorsoft. Level/area: Title screen. ©1988 Mirrorsoft Ltd, ©1988 Rod Hyde, Design: H+H Software, Code: Eigen Software
  2. ^ H+H Software (1988). Harrier Combat Simulator (MS-DOS). Mirrorsoft. Level/area: Title screen. ©1988 Mirrorsoft Ltd, ©1988 Rod Hyde, Design: H+H Software, Code: Rowan Software
  3. ^ a b Warner, Jack (August 12, 1988). "Lucasfim's Strike Fleet has feel of real warfare". The Palm Beach Post. p. 192. Retrieved March 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ L.r. Shannon (July 26, 1988). "Peripherals; Call of the Dogfight Beckons Armchair Pilots". The New York Times. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  5. ^ "Back of the game box (DOS)". Harrier Combat Simulator. Mindscape. 1987. C64 and Atari ST Harrier Combat Simulator are enhanced versions of programs formerly known as High Roller.
  6. ^ a b c Harrier Combat Simulator at MobyGames
  7. ^ a b Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (March 1988). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (131): 78–86.
  8. ^ Warner, Jack (August 12, 1988). "Lucasfim's Strike Fleet has feel of real warfare". The Palm Beach Post. Cox News Service. p. 192. Retrieved March 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Survey" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. June 1991. p. 123. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  10. ^ Brooks, M. Evan (June 1992). "The Modern Games: 1950 - 2000". Computer Gaming World. p. 120. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  11. ^ Brooks, M. Evan (January 1994). "War In Our Time / A Survey Of Wargames From 1950-2000". Computer Gaming World. pp. 194–212.
  12. ^ "Aktueller Software Markt (ASM) Magazine (February 1990)". February 1990.
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