Operation Wolf
Encyclopedia
Operation Wolf is a one-player shooter
arcade game
made by Taito
in 1987
. It spawned three sequels: Operation Thunderbolt (1988
), Operation Wolf 3
(1994
) and Operation Tiger (1998
).
controller attached to the cabinet
, with force feedback to simulate recoil
. In order to complete each stage, the player must shoot as many soldiers, tanks, jeeps, choppers, and boats as the game requires. Soldiers can throw hand grenades and knives, and vehicles can shoot missiles and launch rockets. The player's ammunition and grenades are limited, but can be stocked up by shooting barrels and crates or by shooting animals such as chickens and pigs. Occasionally a high-powered machine gun power-up appears, allowing the player's gun to have unlimited ammo and an increased rate of fire for 10 seconds.
The player has a damage bar that increases each time he is hit. The damage bar also increases if a civilian or hostage is shot. Energy boost items randomly appear which, if shot, decrease damage by five points. Once the bar reaches maximum, the game is over. In addition, if the player runs out of ammunition, he/she is captured by the enemy forces, ending the game.
One of the most ported arcade games of all time, it has seen releases on everything from the CPC to DOS, as well as the NES, the Sega Master System
, the FM Towns
and the TurboGrafx-16
. Most of these ports lack any kind of light gun support (with the notable exceptions of the NES and the Sega Master System
) and must be played with a keyboard or a controller.
In 2005
, Operation Wolf was released on the Xbox
, PlayStation 2
, and Microsoft Windows
as part of Taito Legends
; however, light gun
support is unavailable. On February 4, 2008, the NES version of Operation Wolf was released on the North American Wii Virtual Console. Whereas the NES version allowed NES Zapper
support, the VC re-release does not feature any kind of light gun support (including the Wii Remote
's pointer functions), making the game only playable with the standard controller mode.
.
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...
made 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....
in 1987
1987 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* January 14, Nintendo releases Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in January for the Famicom Disk System in Japan only. The game would go unreleased in America for nearly two years afterwards.* February 20, Konami releases Contra...
. It spawned three sequels: Operation Thunderbolt (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....
), Operation Wolf 3
Operation Wolf 3
Operation Wolf 3 is an arcade game released in 1994 by Taito. It has no connection to the two previous games in the series, Operation Wolf and Operation Thunderbolt, other than the title and controls.-Plot:...
(1994
1994 in video gaming
-Events:*Nintendo calls this year "1994: The Year of the Cartridge".*Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd is established and opened by Hiroshi Yamauchi and effectively ends Mattel Australia's distribution of Nintendo's products throughout Australia.*"Project...
) and Operation Tiger (1998
1998 in video gaming
-Events:*Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts 1st Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo to the AIAS Hall of Fame*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 1st annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards...
).
Description
The object of the game is to rescue the five hostages in the concentration camp. The game is divided into six stages: Communication Setup, Jungle, Village, Powder Magazine, Concentration Camp, and Airport. Completion of each stage advances the story. For example, upon completing the Jungle stage, an enemy leader is interrogated and the location of the enemy's concentration camp is found. This was one of the first shooter games to feature a storyline, and it had some similarities to real special operations missions.Stages
The game is controlled with a fixed swivel mounted light gunLight gun
A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games.Modern screen-based light guns work by building a sensor into the gun itself, and the on-screen target emit light rather than the gun...
controller attached to the cabinet
Arcade cabinet
A video game arcade cabinet, also known as a video arcade machine or video coin-op, is the housing within which a video arcade game's hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the JAMMA wiring standard...
, with force feedback to simulate recoil
Recoil
Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law...
. In order to complete each stage, the player must shoot as many soldiers, tanks, jeeps, choppers, and boats as the game requires. Soldiers can throw hand grenades and knives, and vehicles can shoot missiles and launch rockets. The player's ammunition and grenades are limited, but can be stocked up by shooting barrels and crates or by shooting animals such as chickens and pigs. Occasionally a high-powered machine gun power-up appears, allowing the player's gun to have unlimited ammo and an increased rate of fire for 10 seconds.
The player has a damage bar that increases each time he is hit. The damage bar also increases if a civilian or hostage is shot. Energy boost items randomly appear which, if shot, decrease damage by five points. Once the bar reaches maximum, the game is over. In addition, if the player runs out of ammunition, he/she is captured by the enemy forces, ending the game.
One of the most ported arcade games of all time, it has seen releases on everything from the CPC to DOS, as well as the NES, the Sega Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
, the FM Towns
FM Towns
The FM Towns system is a Japanese PC variant, built by Fujitsu from February 1989 to the summer of 1997. It started as a proprietary PC variant intended for multimedia applications and PC games, but later became more compatible with regular PCs...
and the TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
. Most of these ports lack any kind of light gun support (with the notable exceptions of the NES and the Sega Master System
Sega Master System
The is a third-generation video game console that was manufactured and released by Sega in 1985 in Japan , 1986 in North America and 1987 in Europe....
) and must be played with a keyboard or a controller.
In 2005
2005 in video gaming
-Events:*March 6 — The television show 60 Minutes tackles issues within video game controversy. This segment of 60 Minutes has been criticized by video game players for encouraging video game censorship....
, Operation Wolf was released on the Xbox
Xbox
The 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...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The 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...
, and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
as part of Taito Legends
Taito Legends
Taito 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...
; however, light gun
Light gun
A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games.Modern screen-based light guns work by building a sensor into the gun itself, and the on-screen target emit light rather than the gun...
support is unavailable. On February 4, 2008, the NES version of Operation Wolf was released on the North American Wii Virtual Console. Whereas the NES version allowed NES Zapper
NES Zapper
The NES Zapper, also known as the Beam Gun in Japan, is an electronic light gun accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Japanese Famicom. It was released in Japan for the Famicom on and alongside the launch of the NES in North America in October 1985...
support, the VC re-release does not feature any kind of light gun support (including the Wii Remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...
's pointer functions), making the game only playable with the standard controller mode.
Other uses
Operation Wolf has been adopted as the project name to remove the large amounts of extraneous material held within the Energy and Communications Branch at the Ministry of Economic DevelopmentMinistry of Economic Development
Ministry of Economic Development may refer to:* Ministry of Economic Development * Ministry of Economic Development * Ministry of Finance and Economic Development * Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development...
.
External links
- Operation Wolf (video game) on the Amiga at The Hall of Light (HOL)