Heroes of the Pacific
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| Heroes of the Pacific | |
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| Developer(s) | IR Gurus |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Release date(s) | September 28, 2005 (October 2005 for PC) |
| Genre(s) | Aerial Combat Action |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Platform(s) | Xbox, Windows PC, PlayStation 2 |
Heroes of the Pacific is an aerial combat simulator game set in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.
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[edit] Overview
The game allows the player to assume the role of a combat pilot named William Crowe as he experiences the various phases of the Pacific War with Japan, beginning with the Pearl Harbor attack. There are six game modes: Campaign, Instant Action, Single Mission, Historical, Training, and Multiplayer. One or two players can play simultaneously on the console or up to eight players can play on the network via Xbox Live or using a Playstation 2 with network adaptor. There are two different control schemes for flying the planes, Arcade and Professional. The Arcade control scheme allows for easier control of the plane via a single joystick with automatic * rudders. There are also multiple difficulty levels: Rookie, Pilot, Veteran, and Ace. The higher difficulty levels allow more upgrade points, which can be used to upgrade your aircraft, after missions are accomplished.
[edit] Game Features
- Compelling and dramatic story through the war
- Dogfights with over 150 on-screen planes
- Arcade and professional control modes
- Four difficulty levels: Rookie, Pilot, Veteran, Ace
- Workshop to customize your plane's weapon loadout and plane setup
- Player-controllable wingmen, through a fast and intuitive menu system
- Cinematic replays of your missions
[edit] Graphics
- Over 150 planes fighting on screen, each with full AI and physics
- Realistic environments, including dynamic water and accurately recreated islands
- Incredibly detailed plane and ship models (15,000+ polygons), with complex lighting and environment effects
- Particle based 3D clouds
- Animated control surfaces and landing gear
[edit] Planes
- Over 35 WWII aircraft, including all major U.S. and Japanese models
- Bonus planes from the UK, Germany, and the U.S.S.R .
- Plane types include: Fighters, Dive Bombers, Torpedo Bombers, Bombers, and Experimental
- Upgradeable planes to actual models for a total of over 90 planes
[edit] Missions
- Ten campaigns, with 26 missions taken from real events of the Pacific campaign:
- Pearl Harbor (1 mission); Wake Island (3 missions); Marshall Islands (2 missions); Coral Sea (2 missions); Midway (4 missions); Guadalcanal (3 missions); Gilbert Islands (2 missions); Marianas (2 missions); Philippines (4 missions); Iwo Jima (3 missions).
- Five historical missions recreate actual acts of heroism in the Pacific: "Against all odds", "Flight of the Avenger", "Chain lightning", "Zeros over Rabaul", and "Escape over Rabaul".
- Five training missions: "Learning to fly", "Advanced flight and combat", "Wingman training", "Dive bombing training", and "Torpedo training".
- Varied mission types: Ground attack, ground support, escort, defense, patrol, torpedo and dive-bombing.
[edit] Characters
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
[edit] American Characters
- Lieutenant William Crowe: Main character. A young pilot who joined to the US Navy with his brother Charlie in order to support his family. He and Charlie used to ride their father's crop duster when they were young (and hence were nicknamed the "Dirt Duster Brothers"). After losing his brother in the Japanese air raid of Pearl Harbor he was transferred to Wake Island, and barely managed to escape with his plane while escorting an important US Navy admiral. His natural flying skills did not go unnoticed by the admiral, and he was recommended to the air wing of the USS Enterprise as a wing leader.
- Ensign Charlie Crowe: Crowe's brother. Unlike his brother he chose become a sailor and was assigned to the USS Arizona after graduation. He was killed in the Japanese air raid of Pearl Harbor when the forward ammunition magazine of his ship was hit by a Japanese bomb.
- Lieutenant Commander Callahan: Commander of the air wing of USS Enterprise. An experienced, grizzly veteran who somehow always manages to get his men back to the carrier in one piece.
- Lieutenant Tom Stuart: A navy pilot who was rescued from a POW Camp in the Marshall Islands and immediately joined Enterprise's flight crew. He was originally captured by the Japanese after ramming a "Betty" bomber in mid-air and bailing out. His skills in piloting make him one of the top pilots in the unit, second to Crowe. He was accused of treason later in the game and was grounded as a result. He proved his innocence after stealing a plane and protecting Crowe from a member of the Japanese 13th Squadron during the return from Battle of Marianas Islands. He managed to shoot down the Japanese Ace but he was shot down and killed as well.
- Lieutenant Murphy: An outspoken pilot, Murphy is somewhat of a comic relief within the Enterprise's flight crew. He annoys Callahan with his irresponsible actions.
- "Ox": A pilot with a distinctive southern accent, Ox is a talented and well-liked pilot with a strange sense of humor. He made a suicide dive into the Japanese battleship Mikuma when his plane got hit and lost control.
- Zak: Another pilot from Enterprise, he appears in the game to pilot a captured Japanese Betty bomber as a diversion to allow Lt. Crowe to steal a prototype Me-262 jet.
[edit] Axis Characters
- 13th Flight Squadron of the Imperial Japanese Navy: A squadron of highly trained and experienced pilots in the Japanese Navy. The 13th Squadron has five known members, although this excluded unnamed pilots who are fought over Tarawa, or unknown wingmates.
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- Shun Ogawa: Commander of the 13th Squadron, flies a J7W Shinden. Shun Ogawa is William's Crowe's nemesis, they finally meet and fight in the last mission of the game.
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- Ibuki Ishihiro: Pilot and second-in-command of the 13th Squadron, flies a Ki84 Hayate "Frank". He is the only character of the 13th Squadron not killed by Lt. Crowe. Rather, Ishihiro was killed by Tom Stuart, who also died in the process.
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- Taiki Hasegwa: Pilot of the 13th Squadron, flies a K102b "Randy".
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- Kaito Fujiwara: Pilot of the 13th Squadron, flies a A6M8 Zero "Zeke".
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- Kazuya Yamashita: Youngest pilot of the 13th Squadron, flies a J2M7 Raiden "Jack". The first to encounter, and be killed by, Lt. Crowe.
- Oberst Karl Heinz Krueger: A very experienced, highly skilled, somewhat cocky German pilot. He was sent from Nazi Germany to Japan with two new prototype German Me-262 jet fighter to demonstrate the plane to the Japanese. One of the planes is a standard prototype Me-262 that Lt. Crowe steals. The other one is most likely Krueger's personal Me-262, which is much more advanced than the standard prototype Me-262. Krueger was killed when his engine fuel exploded, burning him to death screaming: "Nein! Nein! I'm burning!" by Lt. Crowe in a dogfight between these two planes.
Spoilers end here.
[edit] Development Information
Heroes of the Pacific was developed by Melbourne development company Thatgame, who merged with IR Gurus shorty after the release of the game.
Many of the members of the development team previously worked together at Melbourne House, on titles such as Test Drive: Le Mans, Grand Prix Challenge, and KKnD2: Krossfire.
