released as ''Boot Camp'' in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, is a 1987

arcade video game An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arca ...

produced by

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

. The player takes control of a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

recruit who is undergoing

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique deman ...

at a

United States Marine Corps Recruit Training United States Marine Corps Recruit Training (commonly known as "boot camp") is a 13-week program, including in & out-processing, of recruit training that each recruit must successfully complete in order to serve in the United States Marine Corps ...

camp, also known as a boot camp. The arcade game uses

trackball A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down ball mouse with an exposed protruding ball. Users roll the ball to position the on-s ...

controls. In 1987,

Ocean Software Ocean Software Ltd was a British software development company that became one of the biggest European video game developers and video game publisher, publishers of the 1980s and 1990s. The company was founded by David Ward and Jon Woods and wa ...

released ports of the game for the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

, and

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

in Europe. Konami themselves later released the Commodore 64 version in North America under the ''Boot Camp'' title in 1989 alongside an

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

version. An

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

version was announced, but never released.

Gameplay

The control panel consists of a

and two buttons with different functions depending on the event. The game can be played against a CPU-controlled opponent or a second player. Player 1 takes control of Nick, a brown-haired recruit in an orange shirt, while Player 2 is Joe, a blond-haired recruit in a blue shirt. The game is composed of seven training events whom the player must complete. Upon a near-success failure to complete an event (failing too severely results in game over), the player must do a set number of

chin up A pull-up is an upper-body strength exercise. The pull-up is a closed-chain movement where the body is suspended by the hands, gripping a bar or other implement at a distance typically wider than shoulder-width, and pulled up. As this happens, t ...

s as punishment (this chance is given only once) in order to continue into the succeeding events, or it's game over. The events are as follows: # Obstacle Course – Set in a side-scrolling segment, the player must reach the end of the stage under the allotted time while climbing walls and clearing bars. Losing to the CPU or to one another does not mean game over as long as the players cross the finish line within the allotted time. # Shooting Range No. 1 – The player must shoot as many targets as possible under the allotted time. If played against a second player, then the one who shoots the most targets win. # Iron Man Race – Similar to the obstacle course, but set in a top view angle. The player must reach the goal while avoiding mines and other obstacles. Eventually the player must cross a lake by either swimming or rowing a boat. Losing to the CPU or to one another does not mean game over as long as the players cross the finish line within the allotted time. # Shooting Range No. 2 – Same as the first one, but now with moving targets. #

Arm Wrestling Arm wrestling (also spelled armwrestling) is a sport with two opponents who face each other with their bent elbows placed on a table and hands firmly gripped, who then attempt to force the opponent's hand down to the table top ("pin" them). The s ...

– The two recruits are pitted against each other in a match of strength and stamina. This is more like a bonus stage than an actual course: the player is not penalized for losing. # Shooting Range No. 3 – The third and final shooting range stage features penalty targets. # Fighting – The player faces his instructor in hand-to-hand combat in the final event. There is no make-up punishment in this event; if a player loses, it is game over no matter what. If played with a second player, then the two players must fight each other. Only the victor is allowed to graduate. After all seven events are cleared, the player graduates from basic training only to be sent on a mission (the 8th and final stage) to rescue the

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

from armed terrorists. The final stage consists of a single side-scrolling level where the player must fight off terrorists using all the skills acquired during the course of training. This stage can only be played by one player. Without a continue feature or spare stocks of lives, and because the player dies with one hit (minus the part that pits the player in a hand-to-hand combat against the terrorist leader) from anything, the final stage is extremely difficult to clear.

Reception and legacy

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Combat School'' on their July 1, 1987 issue as being the fourth most-successful table arcade unit of the month. ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993. History The ...

'' magazine gave the arcade game a positive review, comparing "Konami's new military arcade game" favorably with Konami's earlier Olympic video game ''

Hyper Sports ''Hyper Sports'', known in Japan as is an Olympic video games, Olympic-themed sports video game released by Konami for Arcade game, arcades in 1984 in video games, 1984. It is the sequel to 1983's ''Track & Field (video game), Track & Field'' and ...

'' (1984). ''

Cabal A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state, or another community, often by intrigue and usually unbeknownst to those who are outside their group. Th ...

'', released several months later, had similar trackball controls to ''Combat School''.

Notes

References

{{reflist

External links

''Combat School''
at ysrnry.co.uk
''Combat School'' flyer
1987 video games Arcade video games Amstrad CPC games Commodore 64 games Konami games Konami arcade games Ocean Software games School-themed video games Trackball video games Video games about the United States Marine Corps Video games scored by David Whittaker Video games scored by Martin Galway Video games set in the United States ZX Spectrum games Video games developed in Japan