B-1 Nuclear Bomber

B-1 Nuclear Bomber is a flight simulator developed by Avalon Hill and Microcomputer Games and released in 1980 for the Apple II and other computers.[2][3] The game is based on piloting a B-1 Lancer to its target and dropping a nuclear bomb.[4] The USSR is one of the target countries.

This article is about the 1980 videogame. For the warplane, see Rockwell B-1 Lancer.
B-1 Nuclear Bomber
Developer(s)Microcomputer Games
Publisher(s)Avalon Hill
Platform(s)Apple II, Atari 8-bit, PET, VIC-20, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, TRS-80, CP/M, TI-99/4A
Release
1981: Atari
Genre(s)Flight simulator
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

The game box details a sample scenario set in the then-future of a bombing run over Moscow on July 1, 1991, which turned out to be just months before the official dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 26 of that year.

Reception

Larry Kerns reviewed B-1 Nuclear Bomber in The Space Gamer No. 33. Kerns commented that "Overall, I feel that the [...] price tag is too high and the game is quickly boring. The big fancy box is a waste and although putting all three languages on one tape is an innovative idea, two-thirds of what you bought is wasted. I expected more from Avalon Hill's baby but was disappointed. I hope their other new games are better."[5]

Chris Cummings reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World, and stated that "B-1 Nuclear Bomber [...] will bring hours of fun, especially to the war monger who has always wondered what it would be like to sit in the cockpit of a sophisticated flying machine and drop a nuclear load on the 'enemy'."[6]

In March 1983 B-1 Nuclear Bomber tied for eighth place in Softline's Dog of the Year awards "for badness in computer games", Atari 8-bit family division, based on reader submissions.[7] A 1992 Computer Gaming World survey of wargames with modern settings gave the game zero stars out of five, stating that "its play mechanics were embarrassing when it was initially released".[8] The magazine in 1994 said that AH's games such as B-1 "were dated even when they were released back on the old 8-bit machines".[9]

References
  1. B-1 Nuclear Bomber Release Information for Commodore PET - GameFAQs
  2. B-1 Nuclear Bomber for Apple II (1980), Moby Games
  3. Loguidice, Bill (2012-07-28). "More on Avalon Hill Computer Games on Heath/Zenith platforms". Armchair Arcade. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  4. Two Games Of Strategy, Dale F. Brown, COMPUTE! ISSUE 49 / JUNE 1984 / PAGE 72
  5. Kerns, Larry (November 1980). "Capsule Reviews". The Space Gamer. Steve Jackson Games (33): 36.
  6. Cummings, Chris (November–December 1981). "B-1 Nuclear Bomber: A Strategic Map". Computer Gaming World. 1 (1): 18–19.
  7. "Everybody Doesn't Like Something". Softline. March 1983. pp. 22–23. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  8. Brooks, M. Evan (June 1992). "The Modern Games: 1950 - 2000". Computer Gaming World. p. 120. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  9. Coleman, Terry Lee (July 1994). "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Sovereign". Computer Gaming World. pp. 110–111.
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