Summary
The Commodore 64's greatest game.
The Good
For its time, the graphics of Raid on Bungeling Bay were very good. Like Wil Wright's Sim City games, you had a tile based top-down view of the terrain below. The animation was smooth. The controls were intuitive and helicopter-like. Pushing the joystick up made you go forward and increased speed, while pulling it back slowed you down, hover, or moved you backwards slowly. Turning the joystick to the side would bank the helicopter.
The game had a high fun factor, and kept you coming back for more. I loved the way enemy missiles would seek your helicopter out, and you had to spiral and bank frantically in order to avoid being hit. I also loved the very sinister way in which the enemy battleship was slowly manufactured in the shipyard.
It was necessary to employ a fair amount of strategy in order to win the game. You could take out the ships bringing in supplies to the enemy installations, and slow the enemy's economy, affecting arms production. On the other hand, you also had to tackle the problem head on by bombing factories and the ship-yard.
Winning the game produces a nice splash screen animation of a ticker-tape parade, along with the front page of a newspaper describing your heroics. I once crashed my last helicopter into the enemy's last factory, effectively destroying both of us. The newspaper headlines then described my ultimate sacrifice.
The Bad
The sounds were adequate, but not noteworthy, consisting of bomb blasts, gun fire, and missile effects. The helicopter's engine sound was somewhat grating. There was no music.
The Bottom Line
Raid on Bungeling Bay is my favourite C64 game, and has a high fun factor. Check it out for its historic importance (Wil Wright's first game); come back for the game play. I still do play it.
