Operation Wolf

39 Years old Arcade Video game Taito Corp. [Japan]

Operation Wolf © 1987 Taito Corp.

Operation Wolf is a light-gun controlled shoot-em-up in which the player takes on the role of Special Forces operative 'Roy Adams' and must infiltrate and capture six heavily fortified bases, with the ultimate aim of rescuing five trapped hostages and guiding them to safety.

In order to complete each stage, the player must shoot as many enemy soldiers and vehicles as that stage requires. Enemy soldiers can throw hand grenades and knives, while enemy vehicles can shoot missiles and launch rockets. The player's ammunition and grenades are limited, but can be stocked up by shooting barrels and crates. Occasionally a high-powered machine gun power-up appears, allowing the player's gun to have unlimited ammo and an increased rate of fire for 10 seconds. Completing the 'Powder Magazine' stage fills the player's ammunition and grenade supplies to maximum.

The hostages do not appear until the 'Concentration Camp' stage. Here, the player must protect them from harm as they run to safety. During the 'Airport' stage, the player must fend off enemy attacks as the hostages run toward the open hatch of an airplane as it taxis along a runway. A bonus is awarded based on the number of hostages that successfully board the plane.

A damage bar is displayed to the right of the main play screen, this increases each time the player takes a hit. The damage bar also increases if a civilian or hostage is shot. Energy boost items randomly appear which, if shot, decrease damage by five points. In addition, the player recovers a large amount of damage after completing the Village stage, and a small amount after completing each of the others. If the damage bar fills completely or if the player runs out of ammunition and grenades, the game ends. Farm animals, in the form of chickens and pigs, will occasionally run across the screen; Shooting these will reveal bonus items such as health or ammunition.

Once the game is completed, the player is returned to the first mission, but with an increased level of difficulty. The game's six stages are:
* Communication Setup
* Jungle
* Village
* Powder Magazine
* Concentration Camp
* Airport

Click to enlarge
(members only)

TECHNICAL / MACHINE PICT.

Board Number : M4300189A
Prom Stickers : B20

Main CPU : Motorola 68000, Zilog Z80 (x2) (C-chip is a z80!)
Sound Chips : Yamaha YM2151, OKI MSM5205 (x2)

Players : 1
Control : lightgun
Buttons : 2

Machine Picture
(members only)

TRIVIA

Operation Wolf was released in November 1987.

Mark Twitty holds the official record for this game with 212350 points.

A bootleg of this game is known as Operation Bear.

Pony Canyon / Scitron released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (The Ninja Warriors : G.S.M. Taito 1 - D28B0001) on June 21, 1988.

TIPS AND TRICKS

* Time your grenade shots to wipe out more than one enemy vehicle at a time. It is rarely smart to use a grenade on a single vehicle. Grenades are not plentiful enough to use in this fashion.

* When the large, blond enemy soldiers (with toting large machine guns) appear in stage four (Ammo Dump), shooting them in the face will take them down quickly. Otherwise, a grenade or lots of bullets will be required. Also in stage four, keep a stream of fire going just to the right corner of the mortar behind the sandbags. You will plug the guy shooting at you early and you will not be distracted by incoming mortar fire.

* Each round cleared heals three damage points and the village round heals twenty damage points. If you are playing on a generous machine (mucho power drinks) or an easy machine and you are a great shot, you may have less than three damage points near the end of the first stage (enemy radar) or less than twenty damage points near the end of the village scene. If so, leave one helicopter alive. When it flies on screen, pump it with nine bullets. This gives you points and you can finish it with one shot if you need to. The helicopters often take just one damage point and take a long time to deliver their damage. All the while they do this, power drinks, grenades, and ammunition may show up so you can stock up before the round has to end. Blow-up the helicopter when you have three or twenty damage points depending on the round.

* On the fifth stage (Concentration Camp), you are likely to finish this round shooting foot soldiers. If you are a good shot, wait until they flash. Sometimes, the enemies do not flash or shoot. The longer you delay the end of the round, the more likely you are to have ammo, grenades, and power drinks drift into the scene.

* If you play a game that allows you to select the scene in which you fight, choose the village when you have 15-20 damage points so you can make the most of the village's healing bonus where twenty damage points will be removed. Also, do not select the ammo dump. It uses more ammo than it gives, delivers inevitable damage to you, and the three helicopters the ammo dump sends to reinforce the final round are nothing compared to the onslaught you face at the ammo dump.

SERIES

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1. Operation Wolf (1987)
2. Operation Thunderbolt (1988)
3. Operation Wolf 3 (1994)
4. Operation Tiger (1998)
5. Operation Tiger - Second Mission (1999)

STAFF

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