Software:BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Revenge

From HandWiki
Battletech:
The Crescent Hawks' Revenge
Developer(s)Westwood Associates
Publisher(s)Infocom
Producer(s)Scott Berfield
Tony Van
Designer(s)Tony Van
Programmer(s)David R. Dettmer
Barry Green
Artist(s)Chuck Austen
Scott Berfield
Joseph B. Hewitt IV
Jenny Martin
Rick Parks
Aaron E. Powell
Don Woo
Composer(s)Paul S. Mudra
Dwight Kenichi Okahara
SeriesBattleTech
Platform(s)MS-DOS
Release1990
Genre(s)Real-time tactics
Mode(s)Single-player

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge is a real-time tactics game based in the FASA BattleTech universe. It is a direct sequel to BattleTech, though the gameplay is considerably different from that of the first title, which was primarily an adventure/role-playing game. Developed by Westwood Associates for Mediagenic, and produced by Scott Berfield, the game serves as a prototype for what later became Dune II, the first real-time strategy title on the PC.[citation needed]

Gameplay

BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks' Revenge uses a proto-real-time strategy engine[clarification needed] that allows players to pause the game every time orders are issued to a unit. Players can also speed up or slow down time, allowing them to play the game at any desired pace. The combat is modeled modestly well after classic BattleTech rules, much more so than the later MechCommander, making The Crescent Hawks' Revenge one of the few BattleTech games to closely follow the rule set of the board game.

The main part of the game is a linear campaign of missions, where the player is presented with a tactical battle that can last anywhere from 5 to 50 minutes. The first mission involves a simple battle between a Jenner 'Mech and a Locust 'Mech, serving as a tutorial and story kick-off. Later missions give the player control of four 'Mechs in their "command lance" and two additional lances.

Battle scene

The 'Mechs in the command lance can be controlled individually or given orders together as a lance, while 'Mechs in the two other lances are controlled by issuing orders to the entire lance only. This is another major strategy milestone, as The Crescent Hawks' Revenge had the concept of allowing the player to control both individual units and groups of units using the same control scheme.

The campaign is noted for its variety, where the player is tasked with objectives ranging from defending a crashed dropship, to stalling enemy units for a set amount of time, to protecting a convoy that is attempting to load up with ammunition. Campaign missions sometimes have multiple endings, and the outcome of a battle can influence the following missions.

However, the campaign is also noted as being very difficult, with some early campaign choices making subsequent missions much harder without the player realizing it. While the game attempts to present the player with multiple ways to complete some missions, the methods often vary wildly in difficulty, and the player would not know this until after trying all options.

Plot

The story follows the protagonist of the previous Crescent Hawk game, Jason Youngblood, as he heads to the home base of the infamous Kell Hounds mercenary organization. The Hawks are attacked en route, crashland, and spend a good portion of the early game protecting their crashed dropship and helping the Kell Hounds repel the Kurita attack.

After repelling the attack, the Crescent Hawks go on a long series of missions to rescue Jason's father from his Kurita captors, at which they are successful. Jason is reunited with his father, who has been missing since the beginning of The Crescent Hawk's Inception.

The game then has a major timeskip to the period of the clan invasion. The Crescent Hawks join the Kell Hounds and fight alongside them in repelling the clan invasion, often alongside their former Kurita enemies. The Crescent Hawks, Kell Hounds, and Kurita forces are successful in defending the Kurita capital, and the game ends with the Hawks earning the respect of their new Kurita allies.

Notably, there is also a story crossover between the Crescent Hawks and the original MechWarrior game. In a short one-shot mission, the Crescent Hawks attempt to save the Blazing Aces, the mercenary group from the original MechWarrior game, from a Clan attack. They are unsuccessful at saving the main character, MechWarrior Gideon Vandenburg, who dies during the attack. However, Gideon has secretly hidden most of the Ace's 'Mechs from the clan, and the Blazing Aces survive despite their leader's death.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGWStarStarStar[1]
DragonStarStarStarStar[2]

Computer Gaming World in 1991 stated that BattleTech was an excellent conversion of the board game "without having to get out the tape measure and stack of charts", with good VGA graphics and sound card audio.[3] In a 1992 survey of science fiction games the magazine gave the title three of five stars,[1] and a 1994 survey of strategic space games set in the year 2000 and later gave the game two-plus stars out of five, stating that it "has strong role-playing elements, but still retains the tactical flavor of mechwarrior combat".[4] The game was reviewed in 1991 in Dragon #167 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.[2]

In a 1999 retrospective, Computer Games Strategy Plus named The Crescent Hawk's Revenge as a runner-up for its "10 Essential Real-time Strategy Games" list.[5]

Reviews

  • White Wolf #25 (Feb./March, 1991)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Brooks, M. Evan (November 1992). "Strategy & Wargames: The Future (2000-....)". Computer Gaming World (100): 99. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=100. Retrieved 4 July 2014. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (March 1991). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (167): 47–54. 
  3. ↑ Lambright, J. D. (February 1991). "Infocom's BattleTech: The Crescent Hawk's Revenge Unleashes Its "Lethal Heritage"". Computer Gaming World (79): 20. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1991&pub=2&id=79. Retrieved 17 November 2013. 
  4. ↑ Brooks, M. Evan (May 1994). "Never Trust A Gazfluvian Flingschnogger!". Computer Gaming World: 42–58. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=118. 
  5. ↑ Bauman, Steve (November 15, 1999). "10 Essential Real-time Strategy Games". Computer Games Strategy Plus. http://www.cdmag.com:80/articles/024/066/rts_feature.html. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari





Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:BattleTech:_The_Crescent_Hawk%27s_Revenge&oldid=770714"