Dogs of War (1989 computer game)

"Dogs of War" is a run and gun game developed and published in 1989 by Elite Systems for the Amiga and Atari ST. The name "Dogs of War" is probably taken from the 1981 movie "The Dogs of War".

The acclaimed game music was made by David Whittaker.

Plot and gameplay

The main character, who bears a striking resemblance to Rambo, is a mercenary who is asked to carry out assignments all over the world. Dogs of War is very similar to Commando, another Elite Systems game, which in turn was inspired by a 1985 Schwarzenegger film named "Commando". In that film, Schwarzenegger plays a mercenary who must fight a lot of bad guys to rescue his daughter.

The levels in Dogs of War are built in a similar way, a multi-directional scrolling shooter where the player must overcome enemies who drift along in certain patterns on the screen, ultimately reaching his goal. People from around the world ask the player to conduct missions for them. Examples include saving someone's kidnapped son, retrieving a valuable piece of art or killing a criminal. Note that all missions end in the same way - to accomplish it, the player only has to "approach" the goal. All missions are available to play from the start, although some levels are harder than others. Accordingly, those missions tempt the player with a larger bounty. Killing enemies during the missions gives the player more money. Money is imperative as the player must buy all his weapons as well as ammunition before each mission. Weapons in the game include pistols, Kalashnikovs, chain guns, grenades, rocket launchers and a flame thrower. Rocket launchers are needed to take down heavy obstacles such as turrets, military jeeps and tanks. A two-player mode is also available.

External reference

* [http://emunalysis.iwebland.com/a500/dogsofwar/ Review at Emunalysis]
* [http://www.classicgaming.com/amigareviews/dogsofwa.htm Review at Classicgaming.com]
*moby game|id=/dogs-of-war_|name="Dogs of War"