Classic strategy geniuses, Strategic Simulations Incorporated, are responsible for the publication of Dragon Strike, an interesting simulation and action hybrid. It was developed by Westwood Associates and released for play on the Amiga and the personal computer running the MS-DOS operating system in the very early nineties. It is a fully licensed title that was based on the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons worlds, but not in the manner that one would think. Instead of being a standard role playing game, for which SSI was very well known, Dragon Strike was actually a dragon flight simulator, set in a great medieval and fantasy background.
The setting of Dragon Strike is the War of the Lance, made popular by other SSI games. The user will have to pilot different dragons throughout the war. Similar to more traditional combat flight simulators using fighter planes, the gamer will tackle a variety of missions while on dragonback. As he or she completes his quests, he will rise in the ranks of the dragon jockeys. His success is rewarded by gaining magical items and bolstering skills and attributes, such as the number of hit points. At some point, he may even earn enough credibility to acquire a bigger and better dragon for future flights.
There are a total of twenty different missions, which range from intercepting enemy dragons and destroying specific
enemy targets to flying as a guard unit to other, less equipped units and protecting the forces of good.
Of course, other aspects of the game have been changed from regular combat flight simulation to fit the flight patterns of a dragon. The flight models have been changed accordingly, and gone are the cannons and machine guns…replaced by the ability to breathe fire. You are a young knight instead of an aspiring air force pilot. The enemies and missions are altered.
There are a lot of neat extras that make Dragon Strike more interesting than the average shooter or flight simulator. There are some very cool cut scenes between each completed mission that help to propel the story and give the user a sense of real accomplishment. The elements of role playing game are very nice, and the gamer has something to look forward to with each new accomplishment.
Overall, Dragon Strike is a conventional style of game with a fresh theme that makes it new and interesting all over again. It is entertaining, challenging, and unique.
