BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception
Studio	Westwood Associates
Publisher	Infocom
Erstveröffent- lichung	1988
platform	MS-DOS , Amiga , Apple II , Atari ST , Commodore 64
genre	Computer role playing game
Subject	BattleTech
Game mode	Single player
medium	diskette
language	English

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception is a computer role-playing game from the American development studio Westwood Associates and a licensed product for the tabletop game world BattleTech from FASA . It was published by Infocom from 1988 for the MS-DOS , Amiga , Apple II , Atari ST and Commodore 64 platforms .

action

Jason Youngblood is a budding mech pilot stationed for training in the Citadel of Pacifica, a world in the Lyran Commonwealth. Jason's father, Jeremiah, is a legendary mech pilot and founder of the elite squad of the Crescent Hawks. When the citadel is attacked by troops of the warring Draconis Combine from House Kurita, Jason barely escapes. After finding Rex Pearce, an old comrade in arms of his father's, he gradually reunites the Crescent Hawks. Jason and his companions begin to recapture the planet Pacifica. To do this, he goes on a search for his missing father and follows up clues to a secret Lyran base.

Gameplay

At the beginning the player learns the basic principles of the game in the area of ​​the Citadel of Pacifica. From a bird's eye view, he steers his character through the game world by giving it directional commands in which to move. After a few practice missions, the action of the game begins and the player begins to conquer the world with his mech. He can visit localities, talk to residents, explore the area and upgrade his mech with the money he looted. The skills of the characters can also be improved in certain areas. In the course of the game he can also find allies and thus lead a group of several 'Mechs into battle.

The battles between soldiers and 'Mechs are more likely to be assigned to the genre of strategy games, but are still typical of role-playing games. The player first enters the commands and then ends his turn. Then all desired actions are carried out by the computer based on turns. After one of the opposing groups has been defeated or has fled, the fight is over.

reception

reviews publication Rating Commodore 64 DOS ASM 6/12 Power play 59% 59%

With BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception , among others , the text adventure specialist Infocom, which is now part of Activision , expanded its product portfolio to include additional genres. Contemporary tests repeatedly indicated that it was not a familiar Infocom game. Accordingly, the plot was compared to the earlier text adventures and criticized.

“The game is really a combat game with some story lines wrapped around. It's a good game, but definitely for the beginning to low intermediate players. It could be a great bridge to bringing new players into the computer field. "

“The game is actually a fighting game that has been packed with some narrative. It's a good game, but definitely for beginners and lower-middle-range players. It could be a great bridge that brings new players into the computer field. "

- Vince DeNardo : Test report Computer Gaming World

“The anticipation was great: a role play from Infocom! The pretty graphics, a good story, skillful gameplay and the good interludes in many parts of the game were wonderful. But then ... After playing happily for the first few hours and completing the pilot training, BattleTech takes a long time. A single mission and only one (albeit large) planet to explore are simply not enough. "

- Michael Hengst : PowerPlay test report

In retrospect , the gameplay was compared to Autoduel , which used real-time battles. This is where The Crescent Hawk's Inception was compared to Pool of Radiance .

In 1990, Infocom published the direct successor, BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge, also developed by Westwood . Unlike The Crescent Hawk's Inception , however, the combat system was switched to real-time and almost all role-playing elements were abandoned.

Web links

• BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Inception at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=9807
2. ↑ ^{a b} http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=6964
3. ↑ http://www.kultboy.com/index.php?site=t&id=8487&s=2
4. ↑ Vince DeNardo: Mech Wrecks . In: Computer Gaming World . No. 55, January 1989, pp. 36-37.
5. ^ Matt Barton: Part 2: The Golden Age (1985-1993) . In: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games . Gamasutra . February 23, 2007. Archived from the original on March 20, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2009.