Thoughts by Mr Creosote (21 00 2005) – C64
It may seem unbelievable in these days, now that every computer game seems to be about war, spurting blood and severed limbs, but in the 80s, it was pretty much agreed on in the gaming press (here in Germany at least) that ‘realistic’ war themes are morally questionable and detract from the enjoyment of a game. So, the more otherworldly the story and the freakier the setting of a game about some sort of fighting, the better the ratings.
Raid on Bungeling Bay, the first game designed by Will Wright who went on to make the much more famous SimCity, tries itself at such a ‘workaround’. The plot tells us something about an aggressive race of aliens who are conquering the whole universe. For that purpose, they’ve built a ‘war machine’ which consists of several factories building weapons. These factories are spread across a few islands. Only the quick destruction of these factories can stop the Bungelings (as the aliens are called).
The player takes control of a helicopter which is equipped with a gun to take out enemies and bombs to destroy said factories. Supply of fuel and bombs is limited, but you can always restock (and repair your chopper’s damage at the same time) by landing on the carrier you launched from. This ‘base’ being destroyed by the Bungelings can prove fatal.
The range of enemies changes throughout the game. At first, there are just a few patrolling ships and stationary defense turrets. With every factory you destroy, fiercer opponents turn up: planes hunting you, heat-seeking missiles following you and so on.
It may already have become clear – the bay referred to in the title of the game isn’t all that ‘alien’. Quite the opposite: it’s a standard earthly war setting. Of course, the reviewers of those days when it first came out noticed this, too, and they weren’t all that happy about it. Well, it’s a wargame after all, and your goal is to kill living being and destroy things. If that’s OK with you, Raid on Bungeling Bay is an excellent choice: Fast action with a little tactics and a slowly rising difficulty level. If you have objections to such a theme, you probably haven’t read this far anyway.
