OPERATION COUNTERSTRIKE

 OPERATION COUNTERSTRIKE is a mission disk for use with FALCON, Spectrum
HoloByte's F-16 fighter simulation. Newly designed (though hardly unrecognizable
as FALCON), OC offers outstanding 3-D graphics and animation; twelve missions
(meant to played as a campaign); improved keyboard, mouse, and joystick
controls; and no copy protection. (This review is based on the Atari ST
version.)

 OC features an all-new landscape and twelve new missions. The MiG-21s of FALCON
have been upgraded to MiG-29s; tanks, trains, amphibious landing craft, and
trucks are the ground vehicles. The goal of the OC campaign is to destroy enemy
SAM sites, bridges, oil refinery, landing strip, factory, power station, and
arsenal; in other words, destroy the enemy's offensive capability by causing a
total industrial shutdown. While doing this, you must also protect your home
base and your aircraft.

 The missions are meant to be played in succession, which means that the
factories or SAM sites you've destroyed will eventually be repaired and
operational. Each mission is vital to the campaign. The five difficulty levels
(First Lieutenant to Colonel) and the award system (Purple Heart to Medal of
Honor) are the same as in FALCON. The Medal of Honor is awarded when you cause
total industrial destruction at Major level or higher.

 Landing has been made easier in that touchdown needn't be perfect, although the
revamped keyboard (and mouse/joystick) controls certainly help. The craft
handles much better overall; it's responsive rather than sluggish -- as FALCON
sometimes seemed to be. An auto-leveling feature works after slight banking
maneuvers; it can be toggled. Keystroke "D" toggles auto-view: When a MiG is
near, this feature provides the most useful look.

 The only bug I encountered froze the program at the "Insert Disk Two" prompt.
You can overcome this by write-protecting the OC boot disk, which replaces the
FALCON boot disk (you'll still need Disk 2). The OC package comes with a manual
(which you should use in conjunction with the FALCON manual) that explains each
mission.

 To run OC, you'll need a color monitor and at least 512K of RAM; with 1
megabyte of memory, the Black Box recorder and additional sound/graphic
enhancements become available. Lest you think Spectrum has slipped its moorings
by dropping copy protection on an ST game, it should be noted that the OC
program comes on a 400K disk. You'll need either a commercial copy program or
Twister (available from Antic): Format a 400K Twister disk, copy the OC files to
it, and you'll be flying.

 Since only FALCON owners can use OPERATION COUNTERSTRIKE, to review FALCON here
again would be superfluous. If you already have the Atari ST version of FALCON,
all you need to know is that OPERATION COUNTERSTRIKE is as much FALCON as FALCON
itself, with a lower price, more challenge, and no copy protection. If you do
not have FALCON, read the complete TEG review (GO TEG-6491) to find out what
you're missing, and then purchase the package immediately: It's one of an elite
group of contemporary software classics. FALCON is a showcase for the work of
Spectrum's top-notch designers and programmers, and it makes excellent use of an
excellent machine. OPERATION COUNTERSTRIKE will then sell itself.

 OPERATION COUNTERSTRIKE is published and distributed by Spectrum HoloByte.

*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253