HARPOON II from Three-Sixty Pacific

Reviewed by Lawrence D. Matson

See also the review by Ken Fishkin

          Computer        Graphics             Memory      Disk Space
Minimum    386SX    512k VGA VESA-Compat.     4 Mb RAM*    25 Mb Hard Drive
Max/Rec.   486/33   1 MB VGA VESA-Compat.     8 Mb RAM     25 Mb Hard Drive

Control: Microsoft or Logitech Mouse
  Sound: Sound Blaster & compatibles only; conflicts reported with others
  Notes: Uses built-in 32-bit DOS-Extender, so no memory manager needed (or
         allowed).  *DOS-Extender uses hard drive for Virtual Memory if
         system has only 4 Mb of RAM.  No modem play.

Reviewed version 2.0.1 on: Swan 486DB/33; 1 Mb Video(14" screen); 4 Mb RAM
Reviewer recommends  : As fast a system as possible!  "On a 386/25, the
                       game is playable, but unbearable."  Easily playable 
                       on a 14" monitor, but a larger monitor would likely 
                       be truly awesome!

Shakespeare began his play HENRY V wistfully and apologetically: "Oh, for a muse of fire..." Lamenting his inability to bring to the stage the full scope of his tale, he begged his audience to immerse themselves in the spirit of the play, letting their imaginations envision the "kingdom for a stage, princes to act, and monarchs to behold the swelling scene." Three- Sixty Pacific begins the manual to its latest release, HARPOON II, with the same words. But although Three-Sixty has eschewed "glitz" for realistic simulation, Harpoon II does not at all lag behind other recent releases for the IBM-PC compatible market.

In fact, Harpoon II leaves competitors in the dust when it comes to the sheer scope of the project. Harpoon II attempts to recreate modern naval warfare from a commander's point of view. From small missile boat engagements up to multiple task force operations, Harpoon II provides the feeling that you're "really there" -- not from an individual strike pilot's perspective, but from the perspective of your flagship's Combat Information Center.

Using accurate maps of the battle areas, including land elevations, water depths, and highly realistic weather models, the player can display his units at whatever level of detail he desires. Players of its predecessor, HARPOON (hereafter referred to as Harpoon I, for clarity), will appreciate the ability to customize the interface through the use of windows that are moveable, resizable, and zoomable. Want to take a close look at that enemy Surface Action Group? There's no need to scroll your current window over to it; you can just create a new zoom window (which, by the way, can be renamed, and you can select what categories of information it shows). The color palette can be changed to resemble pre-set displays -- such as the one used by the Aegis cruisers -- or whatever the player wants.

When giving orders to units, their individual courses, speeds, and altitudes/depths can be plotted. Each segment of the course is marked by a waypoint, at which altitude and speed changes can be pre-set; additional course changes can be added or adjusted by a simple "click-and-drag." As in Harpoon I, units are still collected into groups, which can be adjusted with the updated Formation Editor. The new Formation Editor includes the ability to define "Threat Axes" for Air and Surface threats, while your units assume the major Submarine threat is in the direction of travel. The behavior of your ships in a formation is determined, in part, by what direction -- even if it's a large arc -- you believe a threat will come from. The Formation Editor windows can be very cluttered, making the resizable windows a godsend.

Three-Sixty seems to have spent a lot of effort trying to remove so much of the micromanagement that was necessary in earlier versions of Harpoon. One of the most noticeable features is the addition of Missions, which give the simulation's AI more autonomy in controlling the assigned units. Combined with the ability to place Reference Points, your units can be assigned to patrol selected areas on their own, with orders to engage any enemies they find, or just to observe. The mission types include Transit missions; Area Missions, such as Patrol ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare); and Strike Missions. Patrolling aircraft will automatically return when their fuel runs low, being replaced by another unit assigned to the mission.

This leads to another good feature. When you assign a Patrol ASW Mission, for example, a Submarine Threat Navigation Zone is created around the patrol area. Your submarines will not enter without direct orders for them to ignore the Navigation Zone. This is a good thing, as those patrolling units will attack any submarines on contact. If you try to plot a course through land or a Navigation Zone, your navigator will attempt to plot a course around the obstacle. He seems to be better going around land, but I haven't observed any severe difficulties with this, just some extra waypoints. Five types of Navigation Zones can be set, allowing you to warn your units away from various categories of threats/areas.

Unfortunately, the AI for the strike missions does not seem to be perfect, although I might not have learned its subtleties yet. Players seem to have the best luck in launching the planes manually toward the target, and assigning the mission en route. Often the best technique for an attack is the simultaneous arrival of all weapons, which I have found is easier to achieve through some player intervention. However, the computer seems to launch weapons at the moment when their chance of hitting is highest. Regardless, when compared with Harpoon I, Harpoon II includes individual base facilities, underway replenishment and air-to-air refueling, better Electronic Warfare modelling (including jamming equipment and chaff), better Anti-Radiation Missile (ARM) modelling, etc. Although later versions of Harpoon I improved the submarine warfare (in early versions, submarines were easily detected), Three-Sixty claims to reworked the submarine models even more in Harpoon II.

I can recall -- way back before Harpoon was a computer game -- my excitement when the first boxed set of the miniatures version was released. The core of that set was, more than the rules, the Data Annex. Harpoon II contains an even more extensive database, providing greater details on each platform (ship, sub, or aircraft) and weapon, and includes a photograph of nearly all platforms. The database even contains a fictitious American Nuclear-powered Guided-missile Battlecruiser, dubbed the Alaska class (photo included!), included to demonstrate the flexibility of Three-Sixty's Object-Oriented approach.

Despite the details, the database has some shortcomings. It can be a bit slow, and it lacks a method of referencing by individual weapons or sensors. When you detect emissions from a "Strut Curve" model radar, for example, there's no way to look up a list of the ships that carry it. You either search through all the ships in the database, or have the information memorized. If you have the database memorized, maybe you should think about joining the navy so you can get paid to play these games!

Likewise, the manual can be unhelpful for looking up specific information. It contains no index, and is not a very good reference tool. Although it contains both sections about the game and chapters on naval strategy, more information about the game would have been appreciated. For example, Michael Mortimer of Three-Sixty advises that the firing arcs of weapon mounts are used in the game, but the new database doesn't list them. The player is left wondering if the AI attempts to change a platforms course to best intercept incoming threats [Note to readers without Harpoon experience: this often means turning your ship so that overlapping fields- of-fire allow you a greater rate-of-fire at incoming missiles, or turning so your better weapons face the threat], or whether it just takes the arcs into account when a platform happens to attempt to fire in a given direction. These omissions are not for a want of space -- the box measures 9"x10"x2", and the manual is only 7"x9"x0.5", with only a 4.5" wide text block! Not only does this mean there's less room for text, but it leaves a 2" outer margin. This combines with an indistinctive layout to make a very hard-to-use manual.

Fortunately, it is better as a textbook than a reference manual. Because of the new approaches to old concepts, even experienced Harpoon I players should read it cover-to-cover. Very helpful tutorial scenarios -- which give step-by-step instructions on using the game interface -- are included. Online help is available, and although it is just blocks of the manual referenced and cross-referenced by keywords, it's the index that should have been included in the manual. In addition, extensive errata and addenda files are put into the install directory. READ THESE BEFORE PLAYING! Although there are few major errata, many minor ones are covered, and answers to 56 frequently-asked-questions are included. Another helpful feature is the ability to use pre-set or customized difficutly levels, allowing automatic identification of contacts, for example. This can be a useful learning tool.

Although the scenarios included with the "Global Conflicts-I" battleset are imaginative and unusual (e.g., Ecuador vs. Peru), only one large "NATO vs. Warsaw Pact" type of scenario is provided. Many players will miss the massive shoot-'em-ups with huge American and Soviet fleets slugging it out. First, the good news: Three-Sixty will be releasing a Scenario Editor and Battlesets (the first battleset planned will cover the Western Pacific). Now, the bad news: the small scenarios seem to be a necessity at this point, as the bigger scenarios slow the game to a crawl. Even on a 486/33, which Three-Sixty recommends, the game gets painfully slow in big scenarios. I found massive sonobuoy deployments can make a scenario unplayable.

The music accompanying the introduction is very good. Small sound-bites accompany small multimedia style videos of missile launches and hits, with additional sound effects for minor events such as aircraft launches. Wel -executed voice clips are played when your staff detects contacts, although they get repetitive during a large confrontation. Harpoon II directly supports the Soundblaster family of cards, and any 100% compatibles. However, some people have had difficulty getting the game to work while other cards are installed. No sound is available without a sound card, but I found there to be no major loss to game play or enjoyment.

A very big congratulations is due for the logistics aspects of Harpoon II. While logistics have always been one of the major aspects of warfare, games are supposed to be fun, and rare are the players who find logistics to be "fun." As Harpoon II is a simulation, as well as a game, logistics could not be ignored, but also could not interfere with game play. To accomplish this, Three-Sixty has automated reloads and refueling, but has included a rarely-needed logistics button on the toolbar, in case a player wants to manual reload his weapons.

Harpoon II will require some more work before it is perfect. For example, one of my sonobuoys somehow made radar and visual(!) contact with overflying enemy aircraft and missiles. Often, my units seem to have spotted contacts using their laser target-designator alone. Sometimes the aspect ratio of the range circles gets thrown off, making them "range ellipses." However, the stability of the program is astonishing, for a game of this size. I have had no crashes or lockups, no major errors or bugs.

Buildups of tension, interrupted by disappointment or followed by gratification, would be my description of playing Harpoon II. Much of naval combat has always been finding the enemy. Ideally, you find your opponent will reveal himself before you find yourself on the defensive. Probably the most overriding, important decision one makes is how much you should risk revealing your position by use of your own sensors. Readers of books such as Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising will recognize this concept -- author Tom Clancy worked with the designer of the Harpoon board game, Larry Bond, while writing them. Harpoon I included manual supplements by each of them.

I was ecstatic when Harpoon was computerized. Some people are complaining that the new version is too far from the Harpoon of the mid-to-late-80's. While it's certainly a different game -- focusing more on strategic movements and fleet actions than its predecessor -- it is just as good in its own right. Maneuvers of individual ships to unmask mounts was a large part of the miniatures game of Harpoon; in Harpoon II, as mentioned earlier, these tactics might not even exist in the computer's AI. But the "big picture" comes through better in the computer version, and the bookkeeping is a lot easier!

I'm reminded of the Olympics as I consider this simulation as a whole. While it's not a perfect 10, this project's difficulty rating with so few problems puts it into the upper rankings. Those who have read my other reviews know I'm a picky consumer. With Harpoon II's replay potential (the scenarios do not replay the same each game, and Three-Sixty has supported Harpoon I well with add-ons) and great fun, I forsee long hours of play -- I'd bet that Harpoon II will be a permanent fixture on my hard drive. Harpoon II might not be the flashiest program on the market, but it is definitely -- in Shakespearean prose -- a "worthy scaffold."

This review is Copyright (C) 1994 by Lawrence D. Matson for The Lionhearted and Game Bytes Magazine. All rights reserved.