Operation Crusader (video game)

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Operation Crusader
Macintosh
Release
Genre(s)Computer wargame

Operation Crusader is a 1994 computer wargame developed by Atomic Games and published by Avalon Hill.

Operation Crusader was among the first titles released in Avalon Hill's push to revive its computer game division during the 1990s, in an attempt to diversify its business because of falling board wargame sales. The company hired Atomic Games as a key to this initiative, and Crusader acted as the spiritual success to its earlier V for Victory wargame series, reusing and updating much of the game design and code from those titles.

Operation Crusader was the first game in the World at War series, and was followed by World at War: Stalingrad and D-Day: America Invades.

Gameplay

The player takes control of a military commander during World War II. The player is tasked with building up an army in order to destroy the opposing military. The player has the choice between being an Ally, or being part of the Axis.

Development

Operation Crusader was designed to simulate the historical World War II military operation of the same name (pictured in November 1941).

Starting with the hire of producer Jim Rose in December 1992,

North African Campaign. He speculated that this was "what would be the next V for Victory game in an Avalon Hill wrapper".[5] By January 1994, Atomic Games had revealed the World at War series as the successor to its V for Victory line under Avalon, and its first entry was entitled Operation Crusader.[10]

Alongside

Baltimore Sun reported that the company's first venture ran from 1983 to 1986, and ended "when its games began to lag those of competitors."[4] For Operation Crusader, Zabalaoui noted that Avalon Hill's president had informed him that " 'good' isn't good enough".[6]

Atomic and Avalon Hill experienced creative friction during the development of Operation Crusader.[12][13][14]Computer Gaming World columnist Alan Emrich wrote in 1995, "To say there was no love lost between [...] Jim Rose and Atomic's Keith Zabalaoui would be a gracious understatement."[14] However, the magazine's Terry Coleman noted that the "tensions" between the companies' design philosophies "worked positively" on Operation Crusader.[12]

Operation Crusader was released in 1994, between April and June.[4]

Reception

Operation Crusader sold fewer than 50,000 units globally. This was part of a trend for Avalon Hill games during the period; Terry Coleman of Computer Gaming World wrote in late 1998 that "no AH game in the past five years" had reached the mark.[15]

In

PC Gamer US, William R. Trotter called Operation Crusader "a thoroughbred and a champion", and awarded it a score of 94%.[11] Czech magazine Score rated the game 6 out of 10.[16]

Trotter went on to name Operation Crusader one of his favorite titles of 1994, and wrote that it "captured all the sweep, fluidity, and sudden reversals-of-fortune that characterized the desert war."[17] The game was also a runner-up for Computer Gaming World's 1994 "Wargame of the Year" prize, which ultimately went to Panzer General. The editors remarked that Crusader "one-ups Atomic Games' V for Victory series in terms of both graphics and gameplay."[18]

In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Operation Crusader the 110th-best computer game ever released.[19] The magazine's wargame columnist Terry Coleman named it his pick for the 9th-best computer wargame released by late 1996.[20]

References

  1. ^ Rose, Jim (1993). "Silicon Simulations". The General. 28 (4): 57.
  2. ^
    PC Gamer US
    . 2 (12): 303, 304.
  3. ^ a b c d e Greenwood, Don (1994). "The Avalon Hill Philosophy Part 161: A Tale of Two Companies". The General. 29 (2): 3.
  4. ^
    Baltimore Sun. Archived
    from the original on March 25, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d Emrich, Alan (November 1993). "How Goes the Battle?". Computer Gaming World. No. 112. p. 164.
  6. ^ a b Hawthorne, Don (1993). "Silicon Simulations". The General. 29 (1): 54, 55.
  7. PC Gamer US
    . 2 (2): 32, 33.
  8. PC Gamer US
    . 2 (3): 42.
  9. ^ Zabalaoui, Keith (December 4, 1998). "Designer Diaries: Close Combat III". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 28, 1999.
  10. ^ Zabalaoui, Keith; Wesevich, Jeff (January 1994). "Operation Crusader: Designer's Notes". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Atomic Games. Archived from the original on June 14, 1997. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  11. ^
    PC Gamer US. Atomic Games. Archived from the original
    on June 14, 1997. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  12. ^ a b Coleman, Terry (January 1999). "Close Combat III; Atomic for Power, Turbines for Speed". Computer Gaming World. No. 174. pp. 82, 83, 86.
  13. PC Gamer US
    . 2 (12): 303, 304.
  14. ^ a b Emrich, Alan (November 1995). "Turning the Telescope Around; G-2". Computer Gaming World. No. 136. pp. 253, 254, 256.
  15. ^ Coleman, Terry (November 1998). "The Buying Game". Computer Gaming World. No. 172. pp. 54, 55, 370.
  16. ^ "Operation Crusader :: Score 21 page 21".
  17. PC Gamer US
    . 2 (2): 133.
  18. ^ Staff (May 1995). "The Computer Gaming World 1995 Premier Awards". Computer Gaming World. No. 130. pp. 35, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44.
  19. ^ Staff (November 1996). "150 Best (and 50 Worst) Games of All Time". Computer Gaming World. No. 148. pp. 63โ€“65, 68, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 84, 88, 90, 94, 98.
  20. ^ Coleman, Terry (November 1996). "Command Decisions". Computer Gaming World. No. 148. pp. 277, 280.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Operation_Crusader_(video_game)&oldid=1156230878"