Back in 1987, Taito's Operation Wolf hit the arcades like a storm. In the game, players take control of a single armed soldier who's mission is to infiltrate heavily defended enemy territories and rescue as many Prisoners Of War, or POWs, as possible.
The game was commercially successful. In Japan, Game Machine listed Operation Wolf on their December 1, 1987 issue as being the second most-successful upright arcade unit of the year.
Unlike many shooters back then, Operation Wolf offers a first-person view of the scene - this feature does not sound like much nowadays, but back in 1987, first person shooters (known today as FPS) were far from being the norm.
The scenery is shown through the eyes of our valiant soldier and the screen automatically side-scrolls while hundred of enemy soldiers throw anything they have at him. In order to protect his life, he is equipped with an Uzi gun and a grenade launcher with a limited stock of ammo. And watch out! Not everything on screen must be shot and characters like nurses or children will dramatically lower our soldier's precious life when hit. Power-ups and special items are of course available, sometimes just laying on the ground and sometimes hidden inside small running animals or coconuts.
Initial release date: 1987
Developer: Taito
Genre: Shoot 'em up
