Forums > Game Forums > Lost Patrol > Description mistake...
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 1/10/2008 3:51 AM · Permalink · Report
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.
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 1/10/2008 4:12 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
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".
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 1/10/2008 5:15 AM · Permalink · Report
Wait... U.S. soldiers returning to Hanoi from a party in Saigon?! I haven't seen the game's tagged as "war/comedy".
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 1/10/2008 6:35 AM · Permalink · Report
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).
DJP Mom (11333) on 1/10/2008 7:30 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start FrakesJoe wrote--] I'm surprised... didn't they teach the history of the Indochina War the time you were in school? [/Q --end FrakesJoe wrote--] 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
Indra was here (20755) on 1/10/2008 6:55 PM · Permalink · Report
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.
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 1/10/2008 8:23 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Indra Depari of the Clan Depari 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. [/Q --end Indra Depari of the Clan Depari wrote--] 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?!
[Q --start Indra Depari of the Clan Depari wrote--]Hell, they could say London is in Vietnam. God knows I've seen several historical mess-ups in game documentation before. [/Q --end Indra Depari of the Clan Depari wrote--] 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.
St. Martyne (3648) on 1/10/2008 8:27 PM · Permalink · Report
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.
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 1/10/2008 8:38 PM · Permalink · Report
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.
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 1/10/2008 11:27 PM · Permalink · Report
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?
DJP Mom (11333) on 1/11/2008 12:15 AM · Permalink · Report
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.
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 1/11/2008 2:49 PM · Permalink · Report
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.
Indra was here (20755) on 1/11/2008 7:48 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
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.
Shoddyan (15004) on 1/14/2008 4:09 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start FrakesJoe wrote--] 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! [/Q --end FrakesJoe wrote--]
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...
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 1/18/2008 8:52 PM · Permalink · Report
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.
DJP Mom (11333) on 1/18/2008 10:25 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start FrakesJoe wrote--]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. [/Q --end FrakesJoe wrote--] Well congratulations, that makes you a regular Moby person! ;-)
Depeche Mike (17455) on 1/19/2008 12:24 AM · Permalink · Report
well after all the game IS called LOST patrol.... har har...