Operation Wolf

"Death to them all!!"

Shooters make up a good part of an arcade selection. You have your House of the Dead, a Time Crisis 2, even a Star Wars Trilogy, but then you have your older shooters, and they don't get much older than Operation Wolf. As a special forces soldier, your job is to eliminate as many terrorists as you can while saving as many hostages as possible within each stage. Through every stage, you're greeted with an onslaught of enemy fire, that includes armored vehicles, helicopters, gun boats, and machine gun toting muscle men that look strangely enough like Arnold!

While the game is simple to play, the later stages of the game increase with extreme difficulty. The more hostages you save, the better off you'll be and this isn't easy, because you'll have enemy opponents using them as human shields at one point. There is a path selection option at the end of every stage, but ultimately, you'll end up going through them all just to be able to finish the game completely.

-Game Play 7/10-

Mindless shoot 'em up action set in a third world country where it's you against a billion of them. You'll be forced to face off against armored tanks, helicopters and gun boats as well as sniping enemy soldiers out of windows and capping them off when they have a hostage in front of them. The main premise of the game is damage and saving the hostages. The more of them you kill, the worse the result at the end of the game, so you'll have either have to be careful, or suffer the consequences. The further into the game you get, the harder it is to complete, so be prepared to dish out some quarters for credits!

-Control/Cabinet Design 7/10-

The control is easy enough to use, with the gun being an Uzi machine gun that has a rocket firing option. The gun barrel is close enough to the screen, that there is no need to worry about a malfunction in the accuracy control. The cabinet is set for a stand-up only, and the game is long enough that you'll find yourself stretching your legs in between stages so your muscles don't cramp up. Set up for two players with a side by side configuration, the game is ultimately a team-work kind of game that can bring better results!

-Audio/Visual 7/10-

The audio here is focused mainly on the sound effect in game that include orders being barked at you in between levels, and the actual battle onscreen. Music really isn't much of an addition to the game, and if there is some, it's set so low because I've never heard it. One of the sound effects that stands out in my mind, is the beeping when your health is running very low...it gives the game a sense of urgency. That and it tells you to get your quarters out!

The visual aspect is simple and although not super detailed, it does leave you with the feeling that it's rather primitive. Enemy soldiers pretty much dance across the screen, vehicles look flat and undefined, but the explosions jump right out at you as does the bodies hitting the floor when you mow them all down with your trusty machine gun!

-Quarter Crunching: 8/10-

A little higher than average, you'll spend more money towards the end of the game than you during the beginning. The challenge goes up as you advance, so if you're ultra brave, and want to spend all the quarters first, tackle the advanced stages, and then breeze through the rest.

-Overall 7/10-

Operation Wolf isn't a bad game, but it's not a great game either. With plenty to shoot at, and plenty to blow up, you've got a decent shooting game that is addictive the first couple of times through. With the length of the game, your legs will give out before you reach the end..so go to the john first before you play through. While looking at the game itself, try to remember, that while it does look primitive, it was one of the first shooter out there than offered non-stop action....and don't be too critical!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/05/01, Updated 09/05/01