Durell Software both designed and published Harrier Attack, a single player flight simulator that was released to the public market in the early eighties. It was available for several home computing machines, including the MS-DOS operating system, the ZX Spectrum, the Amstrad and the Commodore 64. The 1984 remake for the PC was based on the original ZX Spectrum version. The PC version is a fanmade program.
The player will pilot a Sea Harrier fighter. The game will begin with the user aboard an aircraft carrier.
Taking off from this position is a much more crucial matter than what meets the eye. Launching into the mission is not so difficult and neither is controlling the Sea Harrier. The trick comes if you accidentally let fly your bombs a bit early. Yes, it is possible to bomb your own aircraft carrier, which will sink while you are on your mission, effectively stranding you out to sea. Eventually, you will run out of fuel and crash. So don’t bomb your own carrier. Another thing to beware of is firing your rockets. You need to be able to immediately get out of the radius of the explosion or you will do yourself in.
Harrier
Attack is loosely based on the events surrounding the Falklands War in 1982. You will dodge guided missiles that will be fired at you from ground sites, both on land and at sea. You will have to attack heavily guarded areas, such as islands, bomb the anti aircraft guns that thwart your efforts and beware of enemy dogfighters. The controls are pretty rudimentary. You can speed up and slow down and you can also control your altitude. While flying at a higher altitude is nice for avoiding ground fire, it also allows enemy jet fighters to detect your craft and will bring the enemy down upon you very quickly. Also, flying slowly allows you to take more deliberate aim at ground based enemies, but if you move too slowly you will run out of fuel before completing your run and reaching the safety of your aircraft carrier. You are also able to eject from your craft if you need to abort a mission.
This is not a bad little game, although it is obviously very dated. The graphics are still colorful and the game play has a very classic River Raid feel to it. This is a recommended shooter from the 8-bit era.
