Return Fire
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| Return Fire | |
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| Developer(s) | Silent Software, Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Prolific Publishing (3DO) Williams Entertainment (PC) Midway Games (PSOne) |
| Designer(s) | Baron R. K. Von Wolfsheild |
| Release date(s) | 1995, 1996 |
| Genre(s) | Capture the flag |
| Mode(s) | 1P, 2P split-screen |
| Platform(s) | 3DO, PC/Win, PSOne |
| Media | 1 CD |
Return Fire is a 1995 video game developed by Silent Software, Inc. for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer and later ported to Windows personal computers and PlayStation in 1996. It was preceded by Fire Power (1987) and followed by Return Fire 2 (1998). Return Fire is a vehicular shooter from an isometric perspective, in which the player's goal is to capture the enemy flag and return with it to their base. It is remembered as one of the 3DO's best games in its Home of the Underdogs entry.
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[edit] Vehicles
Return Fire has four selectable vehicles, each one more suitable for one kind of mission. Each one can carry a limited amount of fuel and ammo (which can be refilled at ammo tents and fuel depots) and can take different amounts of damage.
The helicopter, given its ability to fly over all kinds of terrain, speed and light armor was more suitable for recon missions. While it could destroy a turret with just two missile shots, if outnumbered could be destroyed as each hit forced a direction change. It was also able to safely clear mines by directly firing rockets at them. The Armoured Support Vehicle had the strongest armour and could take on a turret with three shots, and also at a safe distance, and in the two player mode, is also able to lay mines. On the other hand, it is slower than the tank, and the lower mobility makes it easy to take on by the sides. The tank, while less capable of attacking turrets due to less armor and weaker firepower, it faster in both movement and firing than the ASV, and can rotate the turret 360ยบ, allowing it to continue firing while moving away from the target. The final vehicle is the jeep, which while lacking any kind of firepower (the only weapon is a grenade, which is only of some use to destroy the remains of a flag tower or a tree), is the fastest vehicle in the game, and the only one able to carry the flag. Another advantage is the ability to inflate the tires, allowing the jeep to float in deeper water. When losing a vehicle, a skull with an army helmet laughs menacingly.
[edit] Enemies
As the game is focused on the two player, split-screen mode, the game lacks real AI opponents. Only rotating missile turrets and drone helicopters (which appear if the player stands for too long without moving) are a regular threat to the player in the single player mode, except if he moves to the edges, where a submarine emerges and fires a heat-seeking missile against the player. However, if the missile finds another target (a drone or the other player helicopter) between him and the player, it will start chasing it instead. Of lesser danger are infantry troops, which appear when the player crucially hits a building. Only armed with grenades, they attempt to flee the area, either running to the walls near the turrets or swimming to deep water. They can only be killed by helicopter fire or after being run over by a vehicle.
[edit] Music
Also notable was the game soundtrack, composed exclusively by classical pieces such as Richard Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries when using the helicopter (in homage to Apocalypse Now), Flight of the Bumblebee when driving the jeep, Holst's Mars when driving the tank or the William Tell Overture by Gioacchino Rossini when riding with the flag. When driving in the Armored Support Vehicle, Edvard Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King plays. During the opening title screen Verdi's "Dies Irae" plays as the "Return Fire" logo appears, engulfed in flame. At the completion of each level, a sequence of unrelated vintage black and white short clips greets the player.
[edit] Compatibility
When trying to run Return Fire under Windows XP Home or Pro edition: first install the game and double-click on RUNME; a message screen will appear with 'not compatible with Windows NT'. Then check the new "Drive Z". Inside will be a copy of where you saved Return Fire to. You have to go under properties of RFIRE and _RUNME and change the compatibility to Windows 95 and tick all the boxes except the last one. Then run the game through RFIRE in the 'Drive Z'.
[edit] Video
When a level is completed in the PC or Playstation version a short video clip is shown. One of these is a clips features Lou Gehrig's famous Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth speech.
[edit] Levels
Level 1
The Cakewalk
Level 2
Cornered
Cross Hair
Curl Up And Die
Davy Jones' Jeep
Hamerhead
Mystery Island
Powder Puff
Shortcut
Snake Eyes
Token Resistance
Wading Pool
Will's Agony
Level 3
Chess One
Fool's Goal
Green's Revenge
Long Island
No Man's Land
Road To Ruin
Rocky Road
Surroundabout
The Mineland
The New World
Level 4
Bloodshot
Gator Bait
Go North
High Noon
Lost Keys
Shoot Me Now
The Crusher
The Mission
The OK Corral
Three Ways
Level 5
Against The World
Castaway
Chicken Parts
Fireballs
Forest Fire
Hurts Donut
Irish Spring
No Es Bueno
Ol' Man River
Razor's Edge
Shallow Grave
Shaved Weasel
Level 6
Campgrounds Of America
Chain Of Fools
Dead End
Endless Summer
Little Walls
No Gas Up
Outflanked
Reaper's Realm
S-O-S
Level 7
Boat Race
Break-Out
Coral 1
Deja Vu
Down In Flames
Enormous Camp
Eye Of The Storm
Jeep Thrills
Three Kingdoms
Truckin'
Up A Creek
V Is For Victim
Walking The Dog
X-Factor
Level 8
???
Level 9
???
