Laser Squad
| Laser Squad | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Developer(s) | Target Games |
| Publisher(s) | Blade Software Micro League Multimedia (PC) |
| Designer(s) | Julian Gollop |
| Composer(s) | Matt Furniss |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, MSX, ZX Spectrum |
| Release | 1988 (Spectrum/C64) 1989 (CPC/Amiga/Atari ST) 1992 (PC) |
| Genre(s) | Turn-based tactics |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Laser Squad is a turn-based tactics video game, originally released for the ZX Spectrum and later for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Amiga and Atari ST and PC computers. It was designed by Julian Gollop and his team at Target Games (later Mythos Games and Codo Technologies) and published by Blade Software, expanding on the ideas applied in their previous Rebelstar series of games.
Laser Squad originally came with five mission scenarios, with an expansion pack released for the 8-bit versions, containing a further two scenarios. Reaction from gaming magazines was positive, gaining it high review rating and several accolades. The legacy of the game can be seen in other titles like the X-COM series, especially the acclaimed UFO: Enemy Unknown which was also created by Julian Gollop and was initially conceived as a sequel to Laser Squad.
Laser Squad is a turn-based tactics war game where the player completes objectives such as rescue or retrieval operations, or simply eliminating all of the enemy by taking advantage of cover, squad level military tactics, and careful use of weaponry. The squad's team members are maneuvering around a map one at a time, taking actions such as move, turn, shoot, pick up and so on that use up the unit's action points. More heavily laden units may tire more easily, and may have to rest to avoid running out of action points more quickly in subsequent turns. Morale also plays a factor; a unit witnessing the deaths of his teammates can panic and run out of the player's control.
Including the expansion pack, there are seven scenarios in total, each one with its own difficulty settings and squad allocation:
The original Target Games 8-bit release came with the first three missions with an expansion pack offered via mail order for the next two. The subsequent Blade Software 8-bit release included these as standard; the mail order expansion pack now offered was for missions six and seven instead. Both offers covered cassette and floppy disk versions. As well as featuring new scenarios, the expansion packs included additional weapons as part of the scenarios.
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