Operation Thunderbolt
Encyclopedia
Operation Thunderbolt is a one- or two-player shooter
arcade game
by Taito
made in 1988
.
. 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, jeep
s, tank
s, and helicopters using their machine gun
or grenade launcher
, and try to save the hostages along the way. The enemies will attack with bullets, grenade
s, or rocket
s. 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.
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.
, 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.)
Shooter game
Shooter games are a sub-genre of action game, which often test the player's speed and reaction time. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing "on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun, or some other long-range weapon". A common...
arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
by Taito
Taito Corporation
The is a Japanese publisher of video game software and arcade hardware wholly owned by publisher Square Enix. Taito has their headquarters in the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo, sharing the facility with its parent company....
made in 1988
1988 in video gaming
-Events:*June — Nintendo releases the last issue of "Nintendo fun club news";*July — Nintendo releases the first issue of Nintendo Power magazine.-Notable releases:*January 8, Konami releases Super Contra....
.
Description
Operation Thunderbolt is the sequel to Operation WolfOperation Wolf
Operation Wolf is a one-player shooter arcade game made by Taito in 1987. It spawned three sequels: Operation Thunderbolt , Operation Wolf 3 and Operation Tiger .-Description:...
. 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
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
, Kalubya. To accomplish their mission, they must capture six different bases, shoot enemies such as soldiers, jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
s, tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s, and helicopters using their machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
or grenade launcher
Grenade launcher
A grenade launcher or grenade discharger is a weapon that launches a grenade with more accuracy, higher velocity, and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand....
, and try to save the hostages along the way. The enemies will attack with bullets, grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
s, or rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
s. 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 portedPorting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to the following platforms:
- Amstrad GX4000
- Amstrad CPC 464
- Amstrad CPC+
- ZX SpectrumZX SpectrumThe ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
- Commodore Amiga
- Commodore 64Commodore 64The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
- Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemSuper Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
- Atari STAtari STThe Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
- XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
(as part of Taito LegendsTaito LegendsTaito Legends is a compilation of 29 arcade games released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC in October 2005. The games were originally developed by Taito Corporation. The European release was published by Empire Interactive, who had licensed the games from Taito and developed the compilation...
) - PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
(as part of Taito Legends) - PCPersonal computerA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
(as part of Taito Legends)
The Super NES version also works with the SNES Mouse
SNES Mouse
The Super NES Mouse is a peripheral released by Nintendo in 1992 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . Originally designed for use with the game Mario Paint, the SNES Mouse was sold in a bundle with the game and included a plastic mouse pad...
and the Super Scope
Super Scope
The Super Scope, or Nintendo Scope in Europe and Australia, is the official Super Nintendo light gun. It was released in the European and North American markets, with a limited release in Japan due to a lack of consumer demand...
. 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.
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 EntebbeOperation Entebbe
Operation Entebbe was a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by the Special Forces of the Israel Defense Forces at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976. A week earlier, on 27 June, an Air France plane with 248 passengers was hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists and...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, 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
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
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.)