Lost Patrol (video game)
| Lost Patrol | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Shadow Development |
| Publisher(s) | Ocean Software Ltd |
| Designer(s) | Simon Cooke, Ian G.Harling |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Atari ST, DOS |
| Release | 1990 |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Lost Patrol is a survival action role-playing game with strategy elements developed by the team Shadow Development and published by Ocean Software Ltd.
Lost Patrol was released for Amiga computers in 1990 and the Atari ST in 1991; a DOS version was also released by Astros Productions. Despite their appearance, all graphical cut scenes except the black and white in-game animations are hand drawn, not digitized.
Story
The game is set during the Vietnam War, where on June 7, 1965, a U.S. helicopter returning troops from a R&R break in Saigon crashes in remote Central Highlands of Vietnam. Seven American soldiers, survivors of the crash, face the task of trekking across 58 miles of harsh terrain infested with booby traps and enemy soldiers and make their way to Du Hoc, the nearest U.S. military base. The team has little food or ammunition and their chances of making it home are slim.
Gameplay
The player assumes the role of Sergeant Charlie Weaver, the only man left to take charge of the surviving crew. The player must learn the characteristics of the team, as completing the mission may hinge upon character reactions to the player's decisions, and then try to keep the group's morale high and fatigue low, managing the dwindling resources and fighting the enemy.
The game also features action sequences:
- Hand to hand combat - Scouts would at times encounter lone VC guerrilla guarding a supply bunker. The player must defeat the opponent in unarmed combat, using a choice of keyboard or joystick controls. If the player fails to defeat the opponent before a timer expires, that soldier is assumed missing in action and is no longer available.
- Firefight - The player mans an M-60 machine gun against a group of Viet Cong, trying to be neither killed nor over-run; hand grenades may be also used against the enemy.
- Machine gun nest - The squad encounters one or more entrenched machine gun positions of the NVA and the player must eliminate them by hurling hand grenades from the first-person perspective.
- Snipers - The squad is pinned down by enemy sniper fire, requiring the sniper(s) to be located and disposed of. The player can chose which member of the team will assume the role of the shooter, with skill levels varying. To locate the position of the sniper(s), a magnified view of the terrain is visible through the scope of the player's rifle, which he must use to locate the flashes of enemy fire.
The group may encounter local Vietnamese (Montagnards in the mountain areas) civilians, including while entering villages visible on the map. A range of options is then available, from searching area to even killing one or all of civilians. The player may also attempt to communicate with the locals (in a friendly talk or a hard interrogation) using the key words typed from keyboard (for example, typing "VC" or "Viet Cong" when asking for enemy forces).
The squad would at times have to cross minefields laid by enemy forces. To successfully navigate the minefield, the player must choose a member of the squad to crawl through the minefield, stabbing at the ground along the way to check for explosives. Stabbing or crawling directly onto a mine would result in the player being killed. At times mines would disappear from view due to the soft nature of the ground, making the task of backtracking through the minefield difficult and requiring the player to remember where mines were located.
Minefields are visible on the map, but the booby traps are not (the only solution is to move slowly in an areas that may be mined). The players may also set Claymore mines or tripwire grenades when followed by an enemy patrol after escaping from a combat encounter.
Characters
- Sgt. Charlie Weaver
- U.S Residence: Springfield, Illinois. Status: 5'9" ; 153 pounds
- 29 years old, single. 10 months active service in Vietnam on W.H.A.M. mission, intelligence. Decorated for valour during action in the An Lộc Province during October 1964. Weaver's death ends the game.
- Pvt. Richard Bachman
- U.S. Residence: Bangor, Maine. Status: 5'10" ; 161 pounds
- 28 years old, single. Six months active service in Vietnam. Highly proficient marksman.
- Pvt. William Blom
- U.S. Residence: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Status: 6'1" ; 168 pounds
- 24 years old, married, one child. Six months active service in Vietnam. Aikido 2nd dan.
- Pvt. David Cain
- U.S. Residence: West Liberty, Kentucky. Status: 6'0" ; 163 pounds
- 27 years old, single. Seven months active service in Vietnam.
- Pvt. Robert Case
- U.S. Residence: Columbus, Ohio. Status: 5'11" ; 147 pounds
- 31 years old, married, 2 children. Nine months active service in Vietnam.
- Pvt. Juan Gomez
- U.S. Residence: Montgomery, Texas. Status: 5'6" ; 132 pounds
- 24 years old, married, two children. Nine months active service in Vietnam.
- Pvt. Harvey Moore
- U.S. Residence: Fayetteville, North Carolina. Status: 5'8" ; 162 pounds
- 22 years old, single. Six months active service in Vietnam.