Raid over Moscow
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| Raid Over Moscow | |
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| Developer(s) | Access Software |
| Publisher(s) | U.S. Gold |
| Platform(s) | Atari 8-bit family, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Apple II family |
| Release date | 1985 |
| Genre(s) | action game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | N/A |
Raid Over Moscow is a computer game for the Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum and Apple II family by Access Software published in Europe by U.S. Gold. It was also released with the title Raid.
Released during the Cold War era, Raid Over Moscow is an action game in which the player (an American space pilot) has to stop three Soviet attacks on the United States, then fight his way into and destroy Moscow's nuclear facility.
Curiously, the game is famous in Finland for the political effect its content had. During the era of Finlandization, a Communist-affiliated member of the Finnish parliament went as far as to make a parliamentary question about whether it is acceptable to sell the game.[1][2] The resulting debate and publicity made the game a top seller in the country after that.[3]
[edit] Description of the game
The game opens with an alert that a nuclear missile has been launched from a Soviet city toward a U.S. city. The player begins in the hangar where the American spacecraft are stored and must safely fly the craft out of the hangar. The view switches to the earth as seen from outer space, and the player guides the spacecraft to the city launching the attack. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking, and the time before impact is continually displayed.
From there, the pilot has to fly through the defense perimeter around the missile silo, dodging obstacles, heat-seeking missiles, and Soviet tanks and planes. If successful, the player proceeds to the next screen; otherwise, the player has to start the next "life" back at the hangar, with the clock still ticking.
The final part of this stage involves destroying the missile silo while avoiding Soviet planes trying to shoot down the hero. Destroying the missile silo (the one in the center) before the missile lands will thwart the attack. Destroying the other silos earns extra lives.
After the successful mission, the pilots in the space hangar can rest easy... or can they? The Soviets launch another missile, and another attack must be stopped in the same manner as the first. After three attacks are thwarted, the player is taken to a new screen - it's time to destroy the nuclear reactor.
The pilots become foot soldiers and are placed outside the front facade of the Kremlin. They must shoot their way into the building by blasting open the correct door (there are five doors, and the entrance to the nuclear facility is random) and clearing the area of Soviet soldiers. This is difficullt because reinforcements arrive if the player takes too long. When the player has the door open and the approach clear, it's time for the final scene of the game - the reactor room.
For this stage, the soldier has to destroy the robot that feeds the coolant into the reactor. He starts with several discs that he throws at the robot, which is moving and firing at him the entire time. To add to the challenge, the robot is reinforced in the front, so the only way to do any damage is to bounce the discs off the wall and hit the robot in the back. After a few hits, the robot will die and the reactor will begin to melt down. But the game isn't quite over - a backup robot comes out and starts firing at the soldier. The soldier has two minutes to destroy this robot and escape safely; if he fails to do so, the game is still won but none of the heroes survive the mission.
[edit] References
- ^ Iltalehti 1985-02-22: Hyökkäys Moskovaan. Videopeli kauhistutti kansanedustajan.
- ^ Printti 5/1985: Mikropelit nousivat päivänpolitiikkaan.
- ^ Petri Saarikoski - Wider Screen 1-2 / 1999: Tietokonepelit osana audiovisuaalisen kulttuurin moraalipaniikkia, accessed 2006-05-04
