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Operation Thunderbolt (video game)

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Operation Thunderbolt
Developer(s)Taito
Publisher(s)Taito
Platform(s)Arcade, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Commodore 64
Release1988
Genre(s)Shooting gallery
Mode(s)Single-player, 2 player Co-op

Operation Thunderbolt is a one- or two-player shooter arcade game by Taito made in 1988.

Description

Operation Thunderbolt is the sequel to Operation Wolf. Roy Adams and Hardy Jones, two green berets, must save American hostages from a hijacked airliner which was forced to land in the fictional African province, Kalubya. To accomplish their mission, they must capture six different bases, shoot enemies such as soldiers, jeeps, tanks, and helicopters using their machine gun or grenade launcher, and try to save the hostages along the way. The enemies will attack with bullets, grenades, or rockets. Once Stage 8 (aptly titled "Escape") is reached, the players must engage with the lead hijacker holding the pilot hostage. It is during this point where continues are no longer permitted and if the player dies, he will obtain a "Dead from lethal injury" game over screen which is commonly seen when the player isn't able to insert coins before the continue timer reaches 0. Aside from that ending, the player can accidentally kill the pilot which triggers a bad ending, and if he kills the hijacker, the good ending will be shown with the credits.

Ports

Operation Thunderbolt was ported to the following platforms:

The Super NES version also works with the SNES Mouse and the Super Scope. In addition, the player was able to choose from a variety of different characters. The storyline was altered in that the hijackers were members of a fictional country known as the Bintazi People's Republic, ruled by General Abul Bazarre, ruler for life. General Bazarre demands that his comrades be freed or else the hostages will be executed.

Reception

The game won the award for best graphics of the year according to the readers of Crash magazine.[7]

Connection to real events

Operation Thunderbolt was also one of the names used to refer to the Israeli Defense Forces' 1976 hostage rescue mission at Entebbe, Uganda, and also to a feature film dramatizing the same event. The game is arguably a very loose adaptation of the raid at Entebbe: The "North African province Kalubya" in the game is in a location in Africa that corresponds to the location of Libya in real life; the name of the province is an obvious corruption of Libya (possibly a portmanteau with Kaboom or Kablooey), and both involved hijacked airliners, hostages and a commando raid. (The hijackers had landed the plane in Libya to refuel before proceeding to Uganda; the game unifies the two locations.)

References

  1. ^ http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/operationthunderbolt.htm
  2. ^ http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=Crash/Issue71/Pages/Crash7100063.jpg
  3. ^ http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=SinclairUser/Issue094/Pages/SinclairUser09400103.jpg
  4. ^ http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=C+VG/Issue098/Pages/CVG09800100.jpg
  5. ^ http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=ACE/Issue29/Pages/ACE2900048.jpg
  6. ^ http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=TheGamesMachine/Issue25/Pages/TheGamesMachine2500086.jpg
  7. ^ http://www.crashonline.org.uk/75/awards.htm
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