''PHM Pegasus'' is a ship simulation and action game released 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 ...

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

DOS DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicatio ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. The title refers to , one of the s which were used by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

in the 1970s. The game was developed by

Lucasfilm Games Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game licensor that is part of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George Lucas as a video game development group alongside his film company; as part of a large ...

and published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

. The game has eight different missions in which players must maneuver helicopters, convoy ships, and patrol hydrofoil missilecrafts to survey areas, clear areas of enemy ships, and escort friendly ships. Mission locations include the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

, the

Eastern Mediterranean Eastern Mediterranean is a loose definition of the eastern approximate half, or third, of the Mediterranean Sea, often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It typically embraces all of that sea's coastal zones, referring to communi ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, and the

Gulf of Sidra The Gulf of Sidra ( ar, خليج السدرة, Khalij as-Sidra, also known as the Gulf of Sirte ( ar, خليج سرت, Khalij Surt, is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya, named after the oil port of Sidra or ...

. The developers of the game consulted with Boeing Marine Systems, a manufacturer of

hydrofoil A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains sp ...

s, to increase the realism of the simulation.

Gameplay

''PHM Pegasus'' assigns players to the control of three different types of vehicles: Patrol Hydrofoil Missilecrafts (PHM),

Seasprite The Kaman SH-2 Seasprite is a ship-based helicopter originally developed and produced by American manufacturer Kaman Aircraft, Kaman Aircraft Corporation. It has been typically used as a compact and fast-moving rotorcraft for Utility aircraft, ...

and Seahawk helicopters, and

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

ships. The first two missions are time-limited where the player controls a PHM and must find nearby enemy crafts using the ship's 40-mile radius radar and sink them using the ship's array of weaponry. Players can fire from a manual maneuvering screen or use a pair of binoculars to identify and aim at ships. Two missions are seek-and-destroy where the player can use two helicopters to locate enemy ships in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and sink them using the PHM. Another mission involves surveillance where players must navigate within 1500 feet of eight tankers suspected of carrying arms to photograph the vessels. The mission does not allow the tankers to be fired upon, so two SeaHawk helicopters must be used to scout the area before approach. The last two are escort missions: guarding a friendly vessel to its destination. The first involves protecting a convoy as it travels to port through the

. The second and final mission of the game has the player guarding a supply ship as it makes its way through the

out into the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. Two helicopters are provided and prolonged enemy incursions must be minimized.

Reception

According to

Noah Falstein Noah Falstein (born June 1957) is a game designer and producer who has been in the video game industry since 1980, winning "Game of the Year" titles for multiple games such as '' Battlehawks 1942'' and ''Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis''. ...

, ''PHM Pegasus'' was Lucasfilm Games' biggest-ever hit at the time of its release, and the company's "first 100,000+ seller". ''

Compute! ''Compute!'' (), often stylized as ''COMPUTE!'', was an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's ''PET Gazette'', one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET c ...

'' called ''PHM Pegasus'' "a worthy addition to even the casual game player's collection. It's a must if you are an action fanatic looking for a new challenge". ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'' consulted with a hydrofoil expert to review ''PHM Pegasus'' in 1987. The magazine stated that the game understated damage to the player's ship from missiles, but that the hydrofoil's velocity was realistic; the game also accurately modeled the possibility of shooting down a missile with gunfire. It concluded that "the game has a certain sameness and/or lack of elan which differentiates the truly outstanding product from the merely good one". 1992 and 1994 surveys in the magazine of wargames with modern settings gave the game two and a half stars out of five.

Reviews

* ''

Casus Belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...

'' #46 (Aug 1988) *'' Jeux & Stratégie'' #48

References

External links

* {{MobyGames, id=/phm-pegasus
''Zzap'' Review

at C64Sets.com 1986 video games Amstrad CPC games Apple II games Commodore 64 games DOS games Electronic Arts games LucasArts games Ship simulation games ZX Spectrum games Video games developed in the United States