BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge
Studio	Westwood Associates
Publisher	Infocom
Erstveröffent- lichung	1990
platform	MS-DOS
genre	Real time strategy game
Subject	BattleTech
Game mode	Single player
control	Keyboard , mouse
language	English

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge is a strategy game from the American development studio Westwood Associates . Like its predecessor BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception , it is a licensed game for the tabletop game world BattleTech by FASA . The game was released in 1990 for MS-DOS by Infocom . It is a forerunner of the genre of real-time strategy , which found its form in 1992 with Westwoods Dune 2 , which is still valid today.

action

The plot builds on the predecessor The Crescent Hawk's Inception and takes place during the Succession Wars in 3029. Jason Youngblood and his elite fighters of the Crescent Hawks are on the way to the home base of the mercenary group Kell Hounds. But their ship is shot down and forced to crash land. First, the Crescent Hawks have to defend their landing ship before they push back the aggressors of the warring Kurita dynasty step by step. They can also free Jason's missing father, who was imprisoned by the Kuritas.

The game then makes a time jump into the period of the clan invasion. Together with the Kell Hounds and the Kuritas, the Crescent Hawks fight back the invading forces of the clans and save the capital of the Kuritas from conquest.

Gameplay

In The Crescent Hawks' Revenge , the gameplay shifted significantly towards real-time strategy game compared to its predecessor. From a bird's eye view, you control your combat mechs in real time via the map, whereby the speed can be regulated in eight stages according to your own ideas. The player starts with a controllable mech. Later the number increases to four mechs that the player can control individually, and two more so-called lances, i.e. H. Groups of 'Mechs commanded as a squad.

The mechs are given instructions, for example the direction of movement or the speed, via a command menu using the keyboard or mouse. The 'Mechs then carry out their commands autonomously until they are instructed otherwise. There are different mission objectives, including defense and escort missions or hunting missions. In some cases different outcomes of the mission are possible, some of which can influence later missions.

development

The game comes from the transition phase of the disk formats and was delivered on both 5.25 "and 3.5" disks.

reception

reviews publication Rating ASM 7/12 CGW 3/5 Dragon 4/5 Power play 37%

“This game is good but is not the same as the first BattleTech game. Players wanting a role-playing game might be disappointed, but war gamers will thoroughly enjoy the variety of 'Mechs and vehicles available as well as the needed strategies for combat success. Infocom has produced a highly enjoyable strategic war game that happens to possess a great story line as well. ”

“The game is good, but not the same as the first BattleTech game. Gamers who want an RPG will be disappointed, but war game fans will thoroughly enjoy the variety of mechs and vehicles available, as well as the need for strategies for battle success. Infocom has produced a very entertaining strategy war game that also has a great storyline. "

- Kirk, Hartley and Patricia Lesser : Dragon test report

“Somehow, the programmers of the computer game versions of the Battletech board game series don't find a green branch. A nice SF story, a few colorful VGA pictures and a very good sound do not make a good game. While the first part wasn't exactly full of wit and originality, the parts that were still a bit of fun in Battletech I (e.g. role-playing elements), unfortunately almost completely disappeared in The Crescent Hawk's Revenge. The tactical brawls, which are rather dull in the long run due to the lack of variety, cause at most a yawn despite the different combat areas. "

- PowerPlay test report

In 1999 Computer Games Strategy Plus magazine rated the game as an influential title for the real-time strategy genre.

Web links

• BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=8905
2. ^ Brooks, M. Evan: Strategy & Wargames: The Future (2000 -....) . In: Computer Gaming World . No. 100, November 1992, p. 99. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Kirk Lesser, Hartley Lesser, Patricia Lesser: The Role of Computers . In: Dragon . No. 167, March 1991, pp. 47-54.
4. ↑ ^{a b} https://www.kultpower.de/archiv/heft_powerplay_1991-06
5. ^ Steve Bauman: 10 Essential Real-time Strategy Games . In: Computer Games Strategy Plus . November 15, 1999. Archived from the original on March 2, 2005.