Red Storm Rising (video game)
Encyclopedia
Red Storm Rising is a computer game based on Tom Clancy
's novel Red Storm Rising
and released in 1988 by MicroProse
. The player is put in charge of an American SSN submarine in the Norwegian Sea
Theater with the overall role of a hunter killer performing various missions in the context of the global conflict described in the book representing a campaign.
in the book, the game concentrates on the Norwegian Sea theater, placing the player as captain of a single USN nuclear-powered submarine tasked to disrupt Soviet forces in the area between the Kola Peninsula and the Greenland-Iceland-UK barrier. Missions may include interdiction of tanker fleets, stopping amphibious landing forces, eliminating Soviet Wolf pack submarines and many others. The background story remains true to the book's plot but the final mission is always to prevent the Soviets from launching nuclear missiles by locating and eliminating their ballistic-missile submarines or SSBNs.
, Sturgeon
or early Los-Angeles
class submarines, but the Soviets have weak sonars, whereas starting in the late 80s allows the player to use the improved Los-Angeles class and even the new Seawolf
subs. Weapons improve accordingly, with Tomahawk Missile
s and improved Mark 48 torpedo
es included in later timelines but the Soviets begin deploying nuclear powered Aircraft Carrier
s and much better ASW
ships.
No matter what timeline or which class of Submarine the player commands, the ultimate goal remains the same: Inflict as much damage as possible on the Soviets in the Norwegian Sea, thus allowing safe passage to supply convoys coming from America and preventing amphibious forces from conquering Norway and Iceland.
arrays to detect the Soviet forces. The speed and direction of closing in to make contact would be the initial speed and direction in the battle map
allows for easier target acquisition but would also reveal your own location, as it would in the real world. Different sound-convection patterns can make a difference as can the strength of the Thermal Layer
. Although older boats have a hard time keeping up with the Los-Angeles class submarine, the more modern ones, particularly the Kirov
, Kara
and Kresta II
cruisers and Alfa
, Victor III
and Sierra
submarines can hold their own and in certain conditions prove more than a match for an unwary captain. Tactical considerations such as speed, approach vector, weapon selection and range of firing are all major factors in the success of an attack and a bad decision could lead the player to being chased by four ships and a helicopter.
Success or failure of the missions impacts the progress of the war depicted by shifts in the front line on a simple map of Europe
. In the end of the war, your score is calculated and you are awarded a rank (anything between Captain and Admiral) accordingly.
The campaign follows roughly the plot of the novel Red Storm Rising
but the performance of the player's sub determines the outcome of the campaign and the type of the generated missions. The campaign engine generates a variety of missions, which are described in the Plot section.
commended the game for balancing realism and gameplay, noting deviations from realism, such as the durability of the player's submarine. The reviewer noted the game is "relatively easy to learn and win. This reviewer does not mean
that the challenge is absent, but while the challenge is omnipresent, it is surmountable."
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
's novel Red Storm Rising
Red Storm Rising
Red Storm Rising is a 1986 techno-thriller novel by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond about a Third World War in Europe between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces, set around the mid-1980s...
and released in 1988 by MicroProse
MicroProse
MicroProse was a video game publisher and developer, founded by Wild Bill Stealey and Sid Meier in 1982 as Microprose Software. In 1993, the company became a subsidiary of Spectrum HoloByte and has remained a subsidiary or brand name under several other corporations since...
. The player is put in charge of an American SSN submarine in the Norwegian Sea
Norwegian Sea
The Norwegian Sea is a marginal sea in the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of Norway. It is located between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea and adjoins the North Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a...
Theater with the overall role of a hunter killer performing various missions in the context of the global conflict described in the book representing a campaign.
Plot
As with the USS ChicagoUSS Chicago (SSN-721)
USS Chicago is a Los Angeles-class submarine, the fourth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city of Chicago, Illinois. The contract to build her was awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia on 13 August 1981 and her keel was laid down on 5...
in the book, the game concentrates on the Norwegian Sea theater, placing the player as captain of a single USN nuclear-powered submarine tasked to disrupt Soviet forces in the area between the Kola Peninsula and the Greenland-Iceland-UK barrier. Missions may include interdiction of tanker fleets, stopping amphibious landing forces, eliminating Soviet Wolf pack submarines and many others. The background story remains true to the book's plot but the final mission is always to prevent the Soviets from launching nuclear missiles by locating and eliminating their ballistic-missile submarines or SSBNs.
Gameplay
The player may choose any of four different timelines. Starting in the early 80's limits the player to PermitThresher/Permit class submarine
The Thresher/Permit-class was a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines in service with the United States Navy from the 1960s until 1994. They replaced the class...
, Sturgeon
Sturgeon class submarine
The Sturgeon class were a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines in service with the United States Navy from the 1960s until 2004. They were the "work horses" of the submarine attack fleet throughout much of the Cold War...
or early Los-Angeles
Los Angeles class submarine
The Los Angeles class, sometimes called the LA class or the 688 class, is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines that forms the backbone of the United States submarine fleet. With 43 submarines on active duty and 19 retired, the Los Angeles class is the most numerous nuclear powered...
class submarines, but the Soviets have weak sonars, whereas starting in the late 80s allows the player to use the improved Los-Angeles class and even the new Seawolf
Seawolf class submarine
The Seawolf class is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines in service with the United States Navy. The class was the intended successor to the , ordered at the end of the Cold War in 1989. At one time, an intended fleet of 29 submarines was to be built over a ten-year period, later...
subs. Weapons improve accordingly, with Tomahawk Missile
BGM-109 Tomahawk
The Tomahawk is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile. Introduced by General Dynamics in the 1970s, it was designed as a medium- to long-range, low-altitude missile that could be launched from a surface platform. It has been improved several times and, by way of corporate divestitures...
s and improved Mark 48 torpedo
Mark 48 torpedo
The Mark 48 and its improved ADCAP variant are heavyweight submarine-launched torpedoes. They were designed to sink fast, deep-diving nuclear-powered submarines and high-performance surface ships.-History:...
es included in later timelines but the Soviets begin deploying nuclear powered Aircraft Carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s and much better ASW
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
ships.
No matter what timeline or which class of Submarine the player commands, the ultimate goal remains the same: Inflict as much damage as possible on the Soviets in the Norwegian Sea, thus allowing safe passage to supply convoys coming from America and preventing amphibious forces from conquering Norway and Iceland.
The Nav Map
In order to make contact with enemy forces, the player must navigate the sub in a map of the northern sea, depending on his sub's sensors as well as allied airplanes, satellites and SOSUSSOSUS
SOSUS, an acronym for Sound Surveillance System, is a chain of underwater listening posts across the northern Atlantic Ocean near Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom — the GIUK gap. It was originally operated by the United States Navy for tracking Soviet submarines, which had to pass...
arrays to detect the Soviet forces. The speed and direction of closing in to make contact would be the initial speed and direction in the battle map
The Battle Map
Once contact is achieved, the game turns into a crude graphic battle map where all units are displayed as small squares. While graphically inferior, the simplistic graphics are more than made up for by the tactical realism and intensity. Acquiring targets without being detected is not easy, as you are limited to using Passive Sonar and, if facing surface ships, periscopes. Use of Active Sonar and RadarRadar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
allows for easier target acquisition but would also reveal your own location, as it would in the real world. Different sound-convection patterns can make a difference as can the strength of the Thermal Layer
Thermocline
A thermocline is a thin but distinct layer in a large body of fluid , in which temperature changes more rapidly with depth than it does in the layers above or below...
. Although older boats have a hard time keeping up with the Los-Angeles class submarine, the more modern ones, particularly the Kirov
Kirov class battlecruiser
The Kirov-class battlecruiser is a class of nuclear-powered military ships of the Russian Navy, the largest and heaviest surface combatant warships currently in active operation in the world. The Russian designation is heavy nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser...
, Kara
Kara class cruiser
The Kara is a class of Cold War era Soviet guided missile cruisers. The Soviet designation is Project 1134B Berkut B - Беркут Б and the Soviet mission description is "large anti-submarine warfare ship" and not "cruiser".-Design:...
and Kresta II
Kresta II class cruiser
The Kresta II Class, Soviet Designation Project 1134A, Berkut A were Soviet guided missile cruisers of the Cold War. The ships entered service in the late 1960s and were rapidly decommissioned after the end of the Cold War...
cruisers and Alfa
Alfa class submarine
The Soviet Union/Russian Navy Project 705 was a class of hunter/killer nuclear powered submarines. The class is also known by the NATO reporting name of Alfa...
, Victor III
Victor class submarine
The Victor class is the NATO reporting name for a type of nuclear-powered submarine that was originally put into service by the Soviet Union around 1967. In the USSR, they were produced as Project 671. Victor-class subs featured a teardrop shape, which allowed them to travel at high speed...
and Sierra
Sierra class submarine
The Sierra I class or Project 945 nuclear submarine was the Soviet Union's successor class to the partly successful Project 705 Lira class submarine...
submarines can hold their own and in certain conditions prove more than a match for an unwary captain. Tactical considerations such as speed, approach vector, weapon selection and range of firing are all major factors in the success of an attack and a bad decision could lead the player to being chased by four ships and a helicopter.
Success or failure of the missions impacts the progress of the war depicted by shifts in the front line on a simple map of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In the end of the war, your score is calculated and you are awarded a rank (anything between Captain and Admiral) accordingly.
Dynamic Campaign
The highlight of Red Storm Rising is its dynamic campaign engine, which is capable to generate a random campaign on the fly. It ensures unlimited re-playability.The campaign follows roughly the plot of the novel Red Storm Rising
Red Storm Rising
Red Storm Rising is a 1986 techno-thriller novel by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond about a Third World War in Europe between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces, set around the mid-1980s...
but the performance of the player's sub determines the outcome of the campaign and the type of the generated missions. The campaign engine generates a variety of missions, which are described in the Plot section.
Reception
Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
commended the game for balancing realism and gameplay, noting deviations from realism, such as the durability of the player's submarine. The reviewer noted the game is "relatively easy to learn and win. This reviewer does not mean
that the challenge is absent, but while the challenge is omnipresent, it is surmountable."