1993 · Core Design · Action · Shooter

Thunderhawk

Sega console exclusive

Thunderhawk (AH-3 Thunderstrike in North America) is a combat flight simulator video game developed by Core Design and released for the Amiga and DOS in 1992, for the Sega CD in 1993 and for Microsoft Windows in 1996. In the game the player flies a fictional AH-73M attack helicopter.

Also known as: AH-3 Thunderstrike · AH3 - Thunderstrike
Released: 17 September 1993
Platforms: Amiga MS-DOS Atari ST Sega CD Windows
Genres: Action Shooter Simulation
Developers: Core Design
Publishers: JVC
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: First person
Themes: Action
Country: United Kingdom
Languages: English French German Spanish N A

About

Thunderhawk, known as AH-3 Thunderstrike in North America (in Europe known as Thunderhawk AH-73M), is a combat flight simulation video game developed and published by Core Design and released for Amiga and MS-DOS in 1992. A remake was made and published by JVC Musical Industries for Sega CD in 1993 and for MS-DOS in 1996. An Atari Jaguar CD port was planned but never released. In the game, the player flies a fictional AH-73M attack helicopter.

Keywords

modern warfare
modern military

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The game consists of several campaigns for each one of ten world areas. The campaigns are themed around real events or activities in these areas (e.g., escorting a UN humanitarian convoy during the Bosnian War, fighting pirates in the South China Sea, etc.)

A typical campaign consists of four or five missions. Each mission has a primary objective that must be completed to successfully complete the mission, there are other targets in each missions such as tanks and SAM launchers but these are only used to help the player boost their score. The primary target is usually a major structure like an enemy base or a bridge.

Reception

The game received critical acclaim, and the Mega CD version was a bestseller in the UK. Mega placed the game at #1 in their Top Mega-CD Games of All Time, with the sequel Battlecorps being fourth on the same list. Retro Gamer included it on their list of top ten Mega-CD games. Next Generation called it the best game release for Sega CD.

German magazine Video Games regarded Thunderhawk as a showcase for the Mega-CD hardware, describing it as a compelling reason to own the add-on. In 1995, Flux magazine ranked the Sega CD version 27th on their "Top 100 Video Games".