Initial release date 1992 Genre Combat flight simulator | Developer Core Design Mode Single-player video game | |
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Platforms Sega Genesis, Amiga, Microsoft Windows, DOS, Atari ST, AmigaOS, MS-DOS, Sega CD Publishers Core Design, Microsoft Corporation, JVC, Victor Interactive Software Similar Core Design games, Other games | ||
Thunderhawk, known as AH-3 Thunderstrike in North America, is a combat flight simulator video game developed by Core Design and released for the Amiga and DOS in 1992, for the Sega CD in 1993 and for Microsoft Windows in 1996. In the game the player flies a fictional AH-73M attack helicopter.
Contents
Gameplay
The game consists of several campaigns for each one of ten world areas. The campaigns are themed around real events or activities in these areas (e.g. escorting a UN humanitarian convoy during the Bosnian War, fighting pirates in the South China Sea, etc.)
A typical campaign consists of four or five missions. Each mission has a primary objective that must be completed to successfully complete the mission, there are other targets in each missions such as tanks and SAM launchers but these are only used to help the player boost their score. The primary target is usually a major structure like an enemy base or a bridge.
Usually the player is equipped with a standard set of weapons - 16 missiles, 76 rockets, and a machine gun with unlimited ammunition. On some special missions the rockets are replaced by a weapon that is critical to the success of that particular mission, such as a runway cratering system when the primary objective is to destroy an airbase or a bomb when destruction of a bridge is the primary objective.
The control system for Thunderhawk was fairly unusual for the platforms supporting a mouse. It used the mouse for basic control, plus some keyboard input for rarely used commands. Moving the mouse would tilt the helicopter in the specified direction, and make it start moving in that direction. Pressing the left mouse button fires weapons. When the right mouse button was held, moving the mouse up and down changed altitude, while side to side yawed the helicopter side to side.
Reception
The game received critical acclaim, and the Sega CD version was a bestseller in the UK. Mega placed the game at #1 in their Top Mega-CD Games of All Time, with the sequel Battlecorps being fourth on the same list. Retro Gamer included it on their list of top ten Mega-CD games. Next Generation went farther, calling it "easily the best game ever released for the Sega CD."
Sequels
Thunderhawk spawned two sequels, Firestorm: Thunderhawk 2 and Thunderhawk: Operation Phoenix. Firestorm was created using the same game engine as the original Thunderhawk. Another Core game, Shellshock, also used the Thunderhawk engine.