Lost Patrol

I doubt those U.S. soldiers want to return to Hanoi after their slick got zapped... I'd change the description but I've never played the game.

Heh. No, I think the description is correct.

Wow... that was fast! Anyway...

Quoting the description: You and your squad are on their flight back to Hanoi when Vietcong forces shoot down your helicopter. With your helicopter totally wrecked and your pilot dead it is your task to bring your men back to Hanoi, directly through more than 100 miles of Vietcong territory behind enemy lines.

Since when was Hanoi (in the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam) an American base during the war? Is this game set in an alternate reality?

Edit: Neither the text on the boxes nor the intro screenshot mentions anything about "returning to Hanoi".

Ok, I'm looking around and it seems the squad was returning to Hanoi from a "rest and relaxation" break in Saigon, so I guess, returning to the fray.

Wait... U.S. soldiers returning to Hanoi from a party in Saigon?! I haven't seen the game's tagged as "war/comedy".

Well, if you really feel it is incorrect, do a little research and submit a correction :-) There's a link from the Game page to edit the description :-)

It is incorrect. The soldiers have to make it to Duc Ho, the nearest U.S. base (according to Wikipedia... and perfectly logical)... and not to Hanoi, the capital of their enemy. I'm surprised... didn't they teach the history of the Indochina War the time you were in school? Just curious. I'll put up a new text, but I have to get the game first (it's abandonware AFAIK).

We're actually not talking history here, we're talking video game, remember?

You might be able to cobble together enough info about the game with some judicious googling to submit a decent description (though personally I do need to play a game to describe it). Just don't assume that Wikipedia is the last word :-P

Correct. Hanoi isn't even marked on the map.

No ad blurb, screenshots provide no additional background. Can't say which is right and wrong. If the game developers for example in the ad blurb or introduction said Hanoi, then its Hanoi. Hell, they could say London is in Vietnam. God knows I've seen several historical mess-ups in game documentation before.

Indra was here... Wrote:

No ad blurb, screenshots provide no additional background. Can't say which is right and wrong. If the game developers for example in the ad blurb or introduction said Hanoi, then its Hanoi.

I can't believe it... Can me someone explain how U.S. soldiers at the height of the Vietnam War, crashed in the central highlands of Vietnam, trying everything to elude their enemy are supposed to go back to... the very heart of their enemy, to have a meet 'n' greet with Uncle Ho in Hanoi Hilton?! Where the fuck is your common sense?!

Indra was here... Wrote:

Hell, they could say London is in Vietnam. God knows I've seen several historical mess-ups in game documentation before.

Fascinating! I'm really eager to learn about examples of historical mess-ups in games tagged Historical (specific/exact) that are similar or even top the description of that one!

I've already checked the game (ST and the DOS versions) and the manuals (Amiga/ST). I'm writing a new description text and adding some trivia for submission within the next days. After that's done I'd kill the thread.

Relax. Indra is just implying that if the game developers haven't bothered to be accurate in the first place, we shouldn't be doing their job for them.

So if it is Hanoi in the ad blurb or the game, than we should write Hanoi without any changes, except for adding a [sic!] tag perhaps.

Everything's fine! Except the description. And I thought the game description should describe the actual game in a nutshell... and not some fantasies from ad writers.

"So if it is Hanoi in the ad blurb or the game". Again, relax!

Thanks for your care, but I'm relaxed. But maybe you, as old hand here, can help me to get some things straight. The lovely city of Hanoi is never mentioned in the game - another contributor already pointed that out, too. If an ad blurb would indeed mention Hanoi (as opposed to the actual game)... what the heck has this to do with the actual description of the game?

P.S.: How can you accurately describe a game based on (a) historical event(s) without discussing the related historical event?

Forget the ad-blurb for gods sake :-D Go with the game! If the historical information in the game itself is incorrect (though you were likely correct in the beginning, and it is just the current description that is inaccurate) then you would want to make mention of that fact.

Are you autistic or something? Wow.

Uh, pardon me?

I guess he means me. I'll have to admit things got a little outta hand here. Anyway, the game description will be changed for sure. Thread over. Nothing to see here.

I didn't mean you DJP Mom.

Quoting with bold text obviously looks much more appeasing. Must mimic this in the future.

P.S. I thought Hanoi was in Italy.
/doh

P.S.S. Any informational screw-ups by developers (if any) should be mentioned in the trivia section. Like Texas being the capital of Singapore.

/doh2.

It's very catching.

While it better not be marked specific/exact, the first Iron Aces game on Dreamcast makes a mess of World War 2. I'm not sure who thought it would be a good idea to redesign the continents of the world to put Japan within a stone's throw of Germany but... it makes it hard to take the game seriously. Edit: Okay, the game description says it's a group of islands somewhere in the pacific... whereas I had always thought they merely redesigned the world map. Lack of reference points on the briefings I guess...

I finally made it! The description's changed and I got my first two points with being an obnoxious asshole about a game normal people don't give a shit about.

Well congratulations, that makes you a regular Moby person! ;-)

well after all the game IS called LOST patrol.... har har...