Lost Patrol
Encyclopedia
Lost Patrol is a survival action role-playing game
with strategy
elements developed by the team Shadow Development and published by Ocean Software Ltd for Amiga
computers in 1990 and the Atari ST
in 1991; a DOS
version was also released by Astros Productions. Despite their appearance, all graphical cut scenes except the black and white in-game animations are hand drawn, not digitized
.
, where on June 7, 1965, a U.S. helicopter returning troops from a R&R
break in Saigon crashes in remote Central Highlands
of Vietnam
. Seven American soldiers, survivors of the crash, face the task of trekking across 58 miles of harsh terrain infested with booby trap
s and enemy soldiers and make their way to Du Hoc, the nearest U.S. military base. The team has little food or ammunition and their chances of making it home are slim.
Charlie Weaver, the only man left to take charge of the surviving crew. The player must learn the characteristics of the team, as completing the mission may hinge upon character reactions to the player's decisions, and then try to keep the group's morale
high (or risk being fragged) and fatigue low, managing the dwindling resources (food rations, ammunition, hand grenade
s and Claymore mines) and fending off the enemy.
The game also features action sequences:
The player may always try to retreat from each encounter, but this is risky, too. The group may also encounter local Vietnamese (Montagnards
in the mountains) civilians, including while entering villages visible on the map. A range of options is then available, from searching area to killing one or even all of civilians. The player may also attempt to communicate with the locals (in a friendly talk or a hard interrogation
) using the key words typed from keyboard (for example, typing "VC" to ask for enemy forces).
Lost Patrol is also infamous for its copy protection
in the Amiga version. When players make it to the second section of the game map, if the game is pirated, all team members' morale drops to zero and they end up killing Weaver, thus ending the game.
, 83% in CU Amiga and 89% in Zero.
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
with strategy
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
elements developed by the team Shadow Development and published by Ocean Software Ltd for Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
computers in 1990 and the Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
in 1991; a DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
version was also released by Astros Productions. Despite their appearance, all graphical cut scenes except the black and white in-game animations are hand drawn, not digitized
Digitizing
Digitizing or digitization is the representation of an object, image, sound, document or a signal by a discrete set of its points or samples. The result is called digital representation or, more specifically, a digital image, for the object, and digital form, for the signal...
.
Story
The game is set during the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, where on June 7, 1965, a U.S. helicopter returning troops from a R&R
R&R (military)
R&R, military slang for rest and recuperation , is a term used for the free time of a soldier in the US military or International UN staff serving in non-family duty stations. R&R includes various forms, including mail, sports, film screenings, using the services of prostitutes and leave time...
break in Saigon crashes in remote Central Highlands
Tây Nguyên
Tây Nguyên, translated as Western Highlands and sometimes also called Central Highlands, is one of the regions of Vietnam. It contains the provinces of Đắk Lắk, Đắk Nông, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Lâm Đồng....
of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. Seven American soldiers, survivors of the crash, face the task of trekking across 58 miles of harsh terrain infested with booby trap
Booby trap
A booby trap is a device designed to harm or surprise a person, unknowingly triggered by the presence or actions of the victim. As the word trap implies, they often have some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. However, in other cases the device is placed on busy roads or is...
s and enemy soldiers and make their way to Du Hoc, the nearest U.S. military base. The team has little food or ammunition and their chances of making it home are slim.
Gameplay
The player assumes the role of SergeantSergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Charlie Weaver, the only man left to take charge of the surviving crew. The player must learn the characteristics of the team, as completing the mission may hinge upon character reactions to the player's decisions, and then try to keep the group's morale
Morale
Morale, also known as esprit de corps when discussing the morale of a group, is an intangible term used to describe the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal, or even in oneself and others...
high (or risk being fragged) and fatigue low, managing the dwindling resources (food rations, ammunition, hand grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
s and Claymore mines) and fending off the enemy.
The game also features action sequences:
- Hand to hand combat - Scouts would at times encounter lone VC guerrilla guarding an arms or supply bunker. The player must defeat the opponent in unarmed combat, using a choice of keyboard or joystick controls. If the player fails to defeat the opponent before a timer expires, that soldier is assumed missing in actionMissing in actionMissing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
and is no longer available. - Firefight - The player mans an M-60 machine gun against a group of the VC, trying to be neither killed nor over-run; hand grenades may be also used against the enemy.
- Machine gun nest - The squad encounters one or more entrenched machine gun positions of the NVAVietnam People's ArmyThe Vietnam People's Army is the armed forces of Vietnam. The VPA includes: the Vietnamese People's Ground Forces , the Vietnam People's Navy , the Vietnam People's Air Force, and the Vietnam Marine Police.During the French Indochina War , the VPA was often referred to as the Việt...
and the player must eliminate them by hurling hand grenades from the first-person perspective. - Snipers - The squad is pinned down by enemy sniper fire, requiring the sniper(s) to be located and disposed of. The player can chose which member of the team will assume the role of the shooter, with skill levels varying. To locate the position of the sniper(s), a magnified view of the terrain is visible through the scope of the player's rifle, which he must use to locate the flashes of enemy fire.
- Mine field - The squad would at times have to cross mine fields laid by enemy forces to defend an entry to a bunker. Mine fields are visible on the map, but the booby traps are not (the only solution is to move slowly in an areas that may be mined). To successfully navigate the mine field, the player must choose a member of the squad to crawl through the minefield, stabbing at the ground along the way to check for explosives, before time limit runs out.
The player may always try to retreat from each encounter, but this is risky, too. The group may also encounter local Vietnamese (Montagnards
Degar
The Degar are the indigenous peoples of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The term Montagnard means "mountain people" in French and is a carryover from the French colonial period in Vietnam. In Vietnamese, they are known by the term thượng - this term can also be applied to other minority ethnic...
in the mountains) civilians, including while entering villages visible on the map. A range of options is then available, from searching area to killing one or even all of civilians. The player may also attempt to communicate with the locals (in a friendly talk or a hard interrogation
Interrogation
Interrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Subjects of interrogation are often the suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime...
) using the key words typed from keyboard (for example, typing "VC" to ask for enemy forces).
Lost Patrol is also infamous for its copy protection
Copy protection
Copy protection, also known as content protection, copy obstruction, copy prevention and copy restriction, refer to techniques used for preventing the reproduction of software, films, music, and other media, usually for copyright reasons.- Terminology :Media corporations have always used the term...
in the Amiga version. When players make it to the second section of the game map, if the game is pirated, all team members' morale drops to zero and they end up killing Weaver, thus ending the game.
Characters
- Sgt. Charlie Weaver
- U.S Residence: Springfield, IllinoisSpringfield, IllinoisSpringfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
. Status: 5'9" ; 153 pounds - 29 years old, single. 10 months active service in Vietnam on W.H.A.M.Hearts and Minds (Vietnam)Hearts and Minds refers to a short lived campaign by the United States military during the Vietnam War intended to win the popular support of the Vietnamese people.-History:...
mission, intelligence. Decorated for valor during action in the An LộcAn LocAn Loc is a small town in Bình Phước Province in southern Vietnam, located approximately 90 km north of Saigon with a population of 15,000...
Province during October 1964. Weaver's death ends the game.
- Pvt. Richard Bachman
- U.S. Residence: Bangor, MaineBangor, MaineBangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
. Status: 5'10" ; 161 pounds - 28 years old, single. Six months active service in Vietnam. Highly proficient marksmanMarksmanA marksman is a person who is skilled in precision, or a sharpshooter shooting, using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at long range targets...
and thus useful in the sniping sections of the game.
- Pvt. William Blom
- U.S. residence: Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Status: 6'1" ; 168 pounds - 24 years old, married, one child. Six months active service in Vietnam. AikidoAikidois a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...
2nd danDanDan is a name. It refers sometimes to the short form of the name Daniel. Dan, or the acronym DAN may refer to the following:Persons* Fyodor Dan, a Russian Marxist revolutionary...
. Due to his background as a martial artist, Blom is useful in the hand to hand sections.
- Pvt. David Cain
- U.S. residence: West Liberty, KentuckyWest Liberty, KentuckyAs of the census of 2000, there were 3,277 people, 696 households, and 446 families residing in the city. The population density was 739.3 people per square mile . There were 758 housing units at an average density of 171.0 per square mile...
. Status: 6'0" ; 163 pounds - 27 years old, single. Seven months active service in Vietnam.
- Pvt. Robert Case
- U.S. residence: Columbus, OhioColumbus, OhioColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. Status: 5'11" ; 147 pounds - 31 years old, married, 2 children. Nine months active service in Vietnam. Case is also proficient with the rifle, making him very useful in sniping sections, just like Bachman.
- Pvt. Juan Gomez
- U.S. residence: Montgomery, TexasMontgomery, TexasMontgomery is a city located in Montgomery County, Texas. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 489. It is the birthplace of the Lone Star Flag of Texas.-History:...
. Status: 5'6" ; 132 pounds - 24 years old, married, two children. Nine months active service in Vietnam. Gomez is invaluable in the game as he is more likely detect booby traps in the map if made squad leader. He is also capable of entering Viet-Cong holes found around the game. (Like the one found in the first village.)
- Pvt. Harvey Moore
- U.S. residence: Fayetteville, North CarolinaFayetteville, North CarolinaFayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....
. Status: 5'8" ; 162 pounds - 22 years old, single. Six months active service in Vietnam.
Reception
The game received mostly positive reviews, including the scores of 79% in Amiga FormatAmiga Format
Amiga Format was a British computer magazine for Amiga computers, published by Future Publishing. The magazine lasted 136 issues from 1989 to 2000. The magazine was formed when, in the wake of selling ACE to EMAP, Future split the dual-format title ST/Amiga Format into two separate publications...
, 83% in CU Amiga and 89% in Zero.