by Rich Cunningham

My orders have just come in. Time to report to the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a nuclear aircraft carrier somewhere in the South Pacific. My mission, should I decide to accept it, is to convince the commanding officer that Harpoon Classic 97 is only a game, and his ship and task force is not in any real danger.

Catching a plane from Portland, Oregon, I fly to Sydney, Australia. From there, it is by tramp steamer to Bali Hai, where I meet the mail plane for the Roosevelt. My contact, dressed in civilian clothes, demands to see my ID. I show him the brand new CD ROM from Interactive Magic, and the enclosed documentation that comes with the game.

"See, I told you this was only a game......", I started to say.

"Silence, Mister. Speak only when you are spoken to. You are on very thin ice here", my contact replied.

"What thin ice, it's over 90 degrees here".

"The thin ice of what can happen if the information contained in this game is as important as we think it is", he replied, " So just park your behind in this chair while I make sure of what we have here".

So I sat in the bar, thinking that what we have here may be a failure to communicate. While my contact, whom I will call Mr. Personality, left with the game, claiming he had to show it to the Captain, who was down at the pier, looking after the resupply of his ship. As I sat here and waited in a stinking, hot, slimy bar, I thought about the game that was responsible for my being here.

It is called Harpoon Classic 97, and it is the latest reincarnation of a strategic military game that has been around in one form or another since the early 1980's. It started as a board game, and my contacts tell me that is still exists in that form. It was first released on computer in the late 1980's and became an immediate best seller. It is a simulation of Cold War military and political situations that are resolved by a military means. Remembering the old days of us versus them brings back a lot of memories just thinking about it. The original game featured scenarios from the North Atlantic theatre and the GIUK Gap (Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom).

The scenarios presented a lot of what-if situations that required the player to take control of sea and air units. This includes carrier task forces, destroyer reconnaissance squadrons, supply ships, and air bases, among others. Utilizing all the modern technology at his/her disposal, mission objectives must be met, or the player faces the wrath of his immediate superior. Each scenario is divided up into several smaller scenarios, that break down the action into bite size chunks that are not as sophisticated. Think of a scenario as a full meal, and the analogy of bite size chunks becomes more understandable.

The attraction of this game is not super-whiz-bang graphics, although what is here is very pleasant and realistic to look at. It is the mental stimulation that provides the fun here, not the graphics. It is safe to compare this game to a chess match, with more sophisticated playing pieces (can the knight on your chess game launch a Harpoon missile?). The fascination and addiction to this game is the realism of how a player can simulate real world military naval situations and bring them through to a conclusion.

This version of the game, in the form it is in now, is an improvement over the original game that was released. It has been given a minor facelift, to take advantage of Windows 95 features such a variable sizing of windows, etc. It includes an updated database, to include the latest ship commissioning and decommissionings that have occurred. (Yes, sadly my home for over 2 years, the USS Saratoga (CV 60) is waiting for the razor blade heap in Philadelphia). It takes into account the latest political climate, such as in Bosnia and the Middle East. It also features some very interesting what-if scenarios (50 new missions with 250 scenarios). One of these scenarios has the United States against the rest of the world and our only ally is Israel.

The latest owner of the game (I-Magic) seems to be committed to continuing the high standards of this game. It is featured prominently on their web site, and several of the testers and designers are active on the Harpoon mailing list (to subscribe, send an email to Majordomo@lists.stanford.edu with the message subscribe harpoon as the body of the message). The exact status of this game since it was cast adrift from the original publisher has been a gray area for a several years, and this incarnation seems to have lifted that cloud.

Other features include a redesigned user interface, and introductory quick start mode; upgraded artwork and terrain graphics (now featuring geographically correct maps and photographs) and includes the Scenario Editor on the CD. Probably the most major change is the ability to play the game online against real live opponents, via America Online. The package includes 15 hours of on line time and all the software needed to set it up. It would be nice if this was available to the entire Internet, but right now it is only available via AOL.

Well, I've been in this stinking hell hole for 2 hours and Mr. Personality hasn't shown up yet. Suddenly, a messenger, a small boy from the streets, brings me an envelope. I give him a tip (stay off the streets after dark), and look at the envelope. I see it is written on the stationary of the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

I open it, and glance at the contents. It is a letter from the Commanding Officer of the T.R. It was brief, simple, and to the point.

"Sir, the contents of the disk you sent me are very interesting. I am afraid that due to their nature, they present a very grave danger to my ship and my men. As such, I will have to confiscate your program. I assure you that it will come to no harm, as it will be stored on the hard drive of my computer, which is in a secure location. I thank you for taking the time to let me look at it and wish you continued success in your endeavors. Sincerely, etc.,etc.,etc."

Humph. Well, it looks like I was left holding the an empty box here in one of the hottest places in the world. I looked in the envelope again and found a hand written note. A message from Mr. Personality.

"Good luck, kid.

The old man really likes this gem of a program. It will help us in our upcoming mission. Good luck, and your transportation home has already been arranged. Enjoy the movie and the food. Fair winds and following seas".

As I left for the airport, I reflected on my trip and what had brought me here. It was a tough way for a person to get a copy of the new Harpoon Classic 97. But then I don't think there are any Egghead or CompUSA stores in the South Pacific. So maybe it wasn't such a tough way to get a copy. It is much easier for those of us in the United States to get one. Just go to your local computer store, and buy it. It is a game that you will not regret buying.