| Harpoon | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | Three-Sixty Pacific, PSS |
| Designer(s) | Larry Bond |
| Series | Harpoon series |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, MS-DOS, Macintosh |
| Release | 1989 |
| Genre(s) | Real-time wargame |
Harpoon is a computer wargame published by Three-Sixty Pacific in 1989 for MS-DOS. This was the first game in the Harpoon series. It was ported to the Amiga and Macintosh.
Development history[edit]
Command at Sea is the second game of the Admiralty Trilogy, and is an adaptation of Harpoon to the WW II era. Like Harpoon, it emphasizes both playability and historical accuracy, drawing on many contemporary sources. The first volume of this game is The Rising Sun, which focuses on the war in. Sep 24, 2013 Game Review: ‘Command’ is A Worthy Successor to Harpoon. Given the nature of the personal computer game market, it’s rare for a commercial game to have the potential to act as an informal training tool. Games tend to trend toward the exaggeration of reality—if not totally fantastic in their premise. Enter to Search. My Profile Logout. Update your Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare game to version 3.9.4. Free Publisher: Matrix Games Downloads: 542.
In the late 1970s, a manual wargame called SEATAG was introduced by the United States Navy for exploring tactical options. It was available in both classified and unclassified versions. SEATAG was developed into a true tactical training game called NAVTAG that ran on three networkedmicrocomputers for the Red Side, Blue Side, and Game Control.
Former naval officer and future author Larry Bond's exposure to this system in 1980 while on active duty led to the eventual development of Harpoon.[citation needed]
Plot[edit]
The player is the commander of either NATO or Soviet forces, commanding ships and aircraft, selecting from over 100 different weapon systems, and taking responsibility for judgment calls.[1] The game mainly focuses on combat in the GIUK Gap.
Gameplay[edit]
Harpoon is a naval simulator that uses data reflecting real-world equipment and weaponry, based on a miniatures wargame. There are no preset battle algorithms that dictate combat outcomes, and no play balance between sides. The game includes a user's guide with an appendix on superpower politics and maritime strategies in modern warfare, a Harpoon Tactical Guide by Larry Bond, and a booklet by author Tom Clancy that deals with Russian destroyers.[1] Clancy used the simulation to test the naval battles for Red Storm Rising, which he co-authored with Bond.[2]
Reception[edit]
| Reception | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||
Sales of Harpoon surpassed 80,000 copies by 1993.[6]
Computer Gaming World's reviewer, a United States military officer, gave the game five stars out of five. He stated that 'there is no question that Harpoon is the most detailed simulation to appear in the civilian marketplace ... a must-have for the serious naval gamer', and that he had learned more from six hours with the game than one year at the Naval War College.[5][7][8] In 1990, Dragon gave the PC DOS/MS-DOS version of game 5 out of 5 stars.[1] In 1991, they gave the Macintosh version 5 stars as well.[3] The Amiga version received 5 out of 5 stars.[4]
The One reviewed Harpoon in 1991, calling it a 'combat simulation for purists', due to the lack of 'flashy action scenes' or joystick controls. The One furthermore states that the game requires 'careful' and 'arduous' strategic planning, and express that 'It's hard to fault the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the military hardware database which supports Harpoon, and it would be unfair to criticise the lack of more usual arcade-style sequences. The game makes no claim to be anything other than a realistic and heavily strategic representation of cold war conflict – as such it succeeds.' The One concludes by expressing that 'Even so, it's too dryly erudite to appeal to as wide an audience as most simulations.'[9]
In 1990, Computer Gaming World named it as Wargame of the Year.[10] In 1994, PC Gamer US named Harpoon the 36th best computer game ever. The editors called it 'probably the best known and most successful naval war game there's ever been. It's still selling today, even five years after its initial release, and military academies have been known to use the game as a training aid. Now that's realism!'[11] In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Harpoon the 40th-best computer game ever released.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ abcdLesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (April 1990). 'The Role of Computers'. Dragon (156): 89–95.
- ^'Harpoon Naval Warfare Simulation Game - AGSI - Harpoon Commanders Edition (HCE)'.[permanent dead link]
- ^ abLesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (April 1991). 'The Role of Computers'. Dragon (168): 47–54.
- ^ abLesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (October 1991). 'The Role of Computers'. Dragon (174): 57–64.
- ^ abBrooks, M. Evan (February 1990). 'Harpoon'. Computer Gaming World. p. 12. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- ^Ferrell, Ed (February–March 1993). 'Harpoon: Battleset Enhancer'. PC Games. IDG: 78.CS1 maint: date format (link)
- ^Brooks, M. Evan (June 1992). 'The Modern Games: 1950–2000'. Computer Gaming World. p. 120. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ^Brooks, M. Evan (January 1994). 'War In Our Time / A Survey Of Wargames From 1950-2000'. Computer Gaming World. pp. 194–212.
- ^Houghton, Gordon; Hamza, Kati (February 1991). 'No Cap'n Ahab!'. The One. No. 29. emap Images. p. 22.
- ^'CGW's Game of the Year Awards'. Computer Gaming World. September 1990. p. 70. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- ^'PC Gamer Top 40: The Best Games of All Time'. PC Gamer US (3): 32–42. August 1994.
- ^'150 Best (and 50 Worst) Games of All Time'. Computer Gaming World (148): 63–98. November 1996.
External links[edit]
- Harpoon at MobyGames
| Game | Harpoon |
| Size | 6.18 Mb |
| Runs On | Mac |
| Available Platform | Amiga |
| Language | English |
| Updated | 2019-07-17 |
While you download, remember to support GamesNostalgia
Help us with a donation
GamesNostalgia is a free site maintained by volunteers. Help us keep the site alive with a donation. Money will be used the pay the costs of the servers and improve the service
Harpoon Naval Game Download
File: harpoon_amiga_mac.7z
Click the button below to generate the download link
Harpoon Naval Game For Mac And Cheese
How to install and play the game
Files for Mac can be run on all versions of OS X.You need to uncompress the 7z archive using the proper software (please use Keka to avoid problems). If the archive contains a DMG, double click it to mount the disk.After that, drag & drop the game icon into Applications (or another folder, Desktop will be fine too).New versions of MacOS block applications from identified developers. If you have this problem, just press Ctrl while clicking the game icon, and select Open.Alternatively you can use the “Open Anyway” button in the General pane of Security & Privacy preferences. See the Help page for more info.
Need more info about this game? Would you like to download the other files? Go back to the Game Review page
You may also like
Theme Hospital (1997)
Theme Hospital is a business simulator developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by...
Sim City 2000 (1993)
Harpoon Naval Game For Mac Free
SimCity 2000 is the city building game subsequent to Sim City, developed and published by...
Sim Theme Park (1999)
Sim Theme Park (also known as Theme Park World) is the sequel to Theme Park and the second...