Sea Wolf (video game)
| Sea Wolf | |
|---|---|
| 250px | |
| Developer(s) | Dave Nutting Associates |
| Distributor(s) | Midway |
| Platforms | Arcade |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Military shooter |
| Cabinet | Standard |
| CPU | Intel 8080 |
| Sound | Amplified Mono (one channel) |
| Display | Horizontal orientation, raster (Black and White with Blue color overlay) |
Sea Wolf is an arcade game by Midway, originally released in 1976.[1] It was a video game update of an earlier coin-operated electro-mechanical (em) Midway game, Sea Devil,[2] itself based on Sega's 1966 coin-op electro-mechanical arcade submarine simulator Periscope.[3] Midway's video game version was designed by Dave Nutting and eventually sold 10,000 video game arcade cabinets. A color sequel, Sea Wolf II, was released in 1978 that sold another 4,000 units.[4]
Gameplay
The player looks through a large periscope to aim at ships moving across the virtual sea line at the top of the screen, using a thumb button on the right handle of the scope to fire torpedoes. The periscope swivels to the right and left, providing horizontal motion of a targeting cross-hair. The cabinet features a mixture of video game and older electro-mechanical technology for player feedback. Using back-lit transparencies reflected inside the scope, the number of torpedoes remaining are displayed, as well as a red "RELOAD" light which lights up momentarily when the player has launched five torpedoes. Additionally, when ships are hit on the screen, an explosion "light" is reflected inside the scope. A blue overlay is affixed to the screen to provide a "water color" to the sea. Sounds include a sonar ping and the sound of the PT Boat racing across the screen.
Sea Wolf is time-limited, with the player having an opportunity to win bonus time by reaching an operator-set score. The player's score is shown on the bottom half of the screen as well as the high score, one of the first known instances of a high score in a video game. Targets include destroyers, a fast moving PT Boat, and mines floating across the screen can that serve as obstructions.
Legacy
Sea Wolf was followed by Sea Wolf II in 1978.
In 2008, Coastal Amusements released a "retro video"[5] redemption game based on the original Sea Wolf, released by Midway in 1976.[6] It is a 3D remake.[7]
Ports
In 1982 Commodore International produced ports of Sea Wolf for the Commodore VIC-20 and then-new Commodore 64 computers, released in cartridge form.[8]
In 1983 Epyx ported Sea Wolf II and another Midway game, Gun Fight, to the Atari 8-bit family, and released them in an "Arcade Classics" compilation.[9]
Highest score
The current world record holder for Sea Wolf is Alan Radue with a score of 11,300 points. The record was set on October 2, 2011 at the Tranquility Base Arcade and verified by Twin Galaxies International on October 9, 2011.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Steve L. Kent (2001), The ultimate history of video games: from Pong to Pokémon and beyond: the story behind the craze that touched our lives and changed the world, p. 102, Prima, ISBN 0-7615-3643-4
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ [1][dead link]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
