Ludography
PHM Pegasus cover

1986 · Lucasfilm Games · Ship simulation · Simulation

PHM Pegasus

PHM Pegasus is a naval combat simulation game developed by Lucasfilm Games and released in 1986. The game puts players in command of a U.S. Navy hydrofoil missile craft, specifically the PHM (Patrol Hydrofoil Missilecraft) Pegasus class.

Released
1986
Platforms
Amstrad CPCApple IICommodore 64Commodore C64/128/MAXMS-DOSZX Spectrum
Genres
Ship simulationSimulation
Developers
Lucasfilm Games
Publishers
Electronic Arts
Perspective
First person
Themes
ActionNon-fictionWarfare
Country
United States

About

PHM Pegasus is a ship simulation and action game released for the Commodore 64, Apple II, MS-DOS, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum. The title refers to USS Pegasus (PHM-1), one of the Pegasus-class hydrofoils which were used by the U.S. Navy in the 1970s.

The game was developed by Lucasfilm Games and published by Electronic Arts. The game has eight different missions in which players must maneuver helicopters, convoy ships, and patrol hydrofoil missilecrafts to survey areas, clear areas of enemy ships, and escort friendly ships.

Keywords

  • modern warfare

Media

PHM Pegasus screenshot 1

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

PHM Pegasus assigns players to the control of three different types of vehicles: Patrol Hydrofoil Missilecrafts (PHM), Seasprite and Seahawk helicopters, and convoy ships. The first two missions are time-limited where the player controls a PHM and must find nearby enemy crafts using the ship's 40-mile radius radar and sink them using the ship's array of weaponry. Players can fire from a manual maneuvering screen or use a pair of binoculars to identify and aim at ships. Two missions are seek-and-destroy where the player can use two helicopters to locate enemy ships in the Mediterranean and sink them using the PHM.

Another mission involves surveillance where players must navigate within 1500 feet of eight tankers suspected of carrying arms to photograph the vessels. The mission does not allow the tankers to be fired upon, so two SeaHawk helicopters must be used to scout the area before approach.

Reception

According to Noah Falstein, PHM Pegasus was Lucasfilm Games' biggest-ever hit at the time of its release, and the company's "first 100,000+ seller".

Compute! called PHM Pegasus "a worthy addition to even the casual game player's collection. It's a must if you are an action fanatic looking for a new challenge". Computer Gaming World consulted with a hydrofoil expert to review PHM Pegasus in 1987.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Commodore C64/128/MAX31 December 1987North America
Apple II31 December 1987North America
ZX Spectrum31 December 1988Europe
MS-DOS31 December 1988North America
Amstrad CPC31 December 1988Europe

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Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.