''Action Force: International Heroes'' is a

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

released by

Virgin Games Avalon Interactive Group, Ltd., formerly known as Virgin Interactive Entertainment, was a British video game distributor based within Europe that formerly traded as the video game publishing and distributing division of British conglomerate the V ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

for the

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...

and

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

, and in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

for the

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...

. The game is set in the world of the

Action Force Action Force is a brand of European action figures released in the 1980s that was based on the ''Action Man'' toyline. It was also used to introduce ''G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' toys to European markets. Several publishing companies have ...

(

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), A ...

) toys by

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

. The ZX Spectrum version of the game differs notably from the Commodore and Amstrad versions.

Gameplay

Cobra COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...

have launched a surprise attack on the island of Botsneda. In the panic of the evacuation, classified information has been left behind in the eastern sector. An Action Force team must cross to the eastern side of the island in a modified A.W.E. Striker to retrieve the data. Their path must be safely cleared of enemies and obstacles. The player controls a helicopter which must clear the path for the Striker and its occupants across a dangerous landscape. Rivers may be crossed by picking up pontoon sections and moving them to create

pontoon bridge A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, is a bridge that uses float (nautical), floats or shallow-draft (hull), draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the support ...

ZX Spectrum

The Striker contains

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

Lady Jaye Lady Jaye is a fictional character in the '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' toyline, comic books and animated series. She was originally created as a character for the ''G.I. Joe'' animated series produced by Marvel Productions and Sunbow Produ ...

and

Quick Kick In gridiron football, a quick kick is any punt made under conditions in which the opposing team would not expect a punt. Typically this has been a kick from scrimmage from a formation that is, or resembles, one usually used other than for puntin ...

, while the player controls Snake Eyes, who is equipped with a helipack and an

automatic rifle An automatic rifle is a type of Self-loading rifle, autoloading rifle that is capable of fully automatic firearm, automatic fire. Automatic rifles are generally selective fire, select-fire weapons capable of firing in Semi-automatic firearm, semi ...

. The Striker will automatically stop when it meets an obstacle, and will begin moving again when the path is cleared. There are no enemy aircraft but missiles and aerial mines must be avoided or destroyed.

Commodore 64/Amstrad CPC

The Striker contains

and

Crankcase A crankcase is the housing in a reciprocating engine, piston engine that surrounds the crankshaft. In most modern engines, the crankcase is integrated into the engine block. Two-stroke engines typically use a crankcase-compression design, res ...

, while the player controls Wild Bill and

in an XH-1 helicopter. The XH-1 is equipped with missiles and bombs. The Striker will not stop when it meets an obstacle and will crash if the path is not cleared. The player must fight off hostile Cobra aircraft.

Sequel

A sequel, ''Action Force II: International Heroes'', was released by

for the

home computer.

Gameplay

has taken a number of innocent citizens hostage and it is up to

to rescue them. They are being held in separate groups atop various urban buildings. Each block must be scaled by

while

Airtight A hermetic seal is any type of sealing that makes a given object airtight (preventing the passage of air, oxygen, or other gases). The term originally applied to airtight glass containers but, as technology advanced, it applied to a larger c ...

covers him from the helicopter. As with ''Action Force'', the player must shepherd a character across a dangerous environment, however the game is otherwise completely different. The player controls the crosshairs of Airtight's weapon, and must shoot enemies that appear before they injure Quick Kick as he ascends the side of the building. Quick Kick also loses energy as the level progresses; it can be replenished by shooting the

U.S. flags The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

on the walls of some screens. When Quick Kick reaches the roof the hostages are released and make their way to the rescue helicopter. At the end of each level Airtight may switch weapons; he can choose between a machine-gun,

bazooka The Bazooka () is a Man-portable anti-tank systems, man-portable recoilless Anti-tank warfare, anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", th ...

or bio-gun, each of which has different advantages and drawbacks. Every two levels the player must defeat a tank by shooting it a certain number of times within a time-limit.

Background

Martin Wheeler, one of the developers said:

I think ''Action Force 2'' was the game I was happiest with. We wrote it with instant arcade appeal in mind, deliberately playing on the tastes of the games reviewers who slated DD2. They gave it the 'Smash' we thought ''Dan Dare 2'' had deserved.

Reception

* ''

Sinclair User The ''Sinclair User'' was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was pub ...

'' on ''Action Force'':

The programming was done by the same people who did ''Rebel'' for Virgin, and it shows. ''Rebel'' looked big, bold and sharp, and so does ''Action Force''. It's one hell of a good game.

* ''

'' on ''Action Force II'':

Hey! This game is brilliant... After a bad patch Virgin seems to have regained its former glory. ''Dan Dare'' was brill, ''Dan Dare 2'' was exceptional and ''Action Force 2'', well it's transcended!"

* ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', originally ''Your Spectrum'' or ''YS'', is a discontinued British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was commercially published between 1984 and 1993. History The magazine was la ...

'' on ''Action Force II'':

''Action Force 2'' is full of wonderful little touches: bullet-holes appear in the brickwork, torches on the walls burn, your gunsight judders as you hold down the trigger. Quick-Kick expires convincingly if the enemy manages to shoot him or drop weights on his head. If you remember to shoot the dustbins, keep blasting the flags to restore energy, and keep your cool against the tank, the early levels are fairly straightforward. But as it gets harder and harder, ''Action Force 2'' just gets better and better.

References

External links

* * * * {{G.I. Joe 1987 video games Amstrad CPC games Commodore 64 games G.I. Joe video games Helicopter video games Single-player video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Virgin Interactive games ZX Spectrum games