Lost Patrol (video game)

Lost Patrol

Company type	Video game
Industry	Video games
Founded	1990
Founder	Shadow Development
Products	Lost Patrol
Parent	Ocean Software (publisher)

Lost Patrol, alternatively titled The Lost Patrol, is a survival-oriented action role-playing strategy game developed by Shadow Development and published by Ocean Software for the Amiga and Atari ST platforms in 1990. An MS-DOS version, developed by Astros Productions, was released in 1991. Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the narrative centers on a group of seven U.S. Army soldiers stranded behind enemy lines following a helicopter crash, with the objective of reaching a friendly military base for extraction.

Gameplay

In Lost Patrol, players command Sergeant Charlie Weaver and his squad as they traverse hostile terrain with scarce food supplies and ammunition. The primary interface includes a map indicating days elapsed since the crash and current time, alongside menus that enable actions such as scavenging for resources, resting, consuming rations, or deploying traps like Claymore mines and grenade-triggered booby traps. Movement is directional and influenced by terrain type, which affects travel speed.

The squad management screen presents information on each soldier’s health, morale, wounds, and specialized abilities—such as Private Richard Backman’s sharpshooting—and permits players to assign roles like squad leader or scout. Once a squad member is lost or killed, they are permanently removed from the current game session.

Combat sequences against Viet Cong forces occur through five unique interactive scenarios:

• Battle: Defend against enemy patrols in a shooting gallery-style encounter that requires balancing firing speed with accuracy and ammunition conservation.
• Sniper: Detect and eliminate enemy snipers by observing muzzle flashes along the horizon.
• Grenade: Destroy machine gun positions by accurately throwing grenades in a first-person perspective, adjusting for distance.
• Minefield: Carefully navigate minefields in a puzzle-like challenge to identify safe routes.
• Hand-to-Hand: Engage in timed close-quarters combat using keyboard or joystick controls.

Interactions with Vietnamese or Montagnard civilians introduce additional strategic considerations; players can communicate through keyword exchanges or opt to search, interrogate, or employ force. Civilians may offer valuable intelligence or supplies but can also present dangers such as ambushes or hostility. For instance, an elderly woman might approach carrying an object that could either be food or an explosive device, requiring tactical judgment on how to respond.

This blend of resource management strategy, diverse combat mechanics, and civilian engagement contributes to the intricate gameplay experience of Lost Patrol within its Vietnam War context.

Plot

On June 7, 1966 (notably June 1965 within the game), a U.S. Army squad returning from rest and recuperation in Saigon experiences a crash of their Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter in South Vietnam’s Central Highlands—a region heavily controlled by Viet Cong forces. Seven soldiers survive: Sergeant Charlie Weaver along with Privates William Blom, Robert Case, Harvey Moore, Richard Backman, David Cain, and Juan Gomez. With limited food and ammunition supplies and no radio contact, they must navigate enemy-occupied wilderness to reach the closest American outpost at Du Hoc, approximately 58 miles away.

Development

The concept behind Lost Patrol was inspired by Cinemaware’s interactive movie approach but sought to incorporate more extensive gameplay elements. Designer Ian Harling proposed the idea to multiple companies before Ocean Software’s Gary Bracey approved it in early 1989 as Ocean transitioned into the 16-bit market segment. Initially subtitled Platoon II, it was conceived as a sequel to Ocean’s 1987 title Platoon.

Harling integrated moral conflicts into the storyline after studying Vietnam War atrocities. Certain planned features—such as a tunnel sequence—were omitted due to technical constraints. Visual assets were created using Deluxe Paint II, combining hand-drawn artwork with digitized Vietnam footage for the Amiga version; these 32-color graphics were later reduced in quality for the Atari ST release.

Simon Cooke led programming efforts alongside Harling's prior collaborations. Nick Byron contributed additional coding and designed the hand-to-hand combat module. An incomplete Amiga version plagued by bugs was widely pirated before official release. Subsequently, Astros Productions handled the MS-DOS porting process. The soundtrack composition was undertaken by Chris Glaister.

Reception

Commercially, Lost Patrol achieved success by entering the UK's Amiga top ten charts toward the end of 1990. Critical reception was generally favorable: it earned scores such as 85% from The Games Machine, 73% from The One, 79% from Amiga Format, and 83% from CU Amiga. The magazine Zero rated it highly as well—89% for Amiga and 88% for Atari ST versions.

Conversely, Computer Gaming World gave it zero stars in both their 1992 and 1994 evaluations of contemporary wargames, citing poorly implemented joystick controls that rendered gameplay effectively unmanageable.

In his 2011 publication The Golden Age of Video Games, Roberto Dillon commended Lost Patrol as "a distinctive title among military simulations," emphasizing its unique portrayal of war that focuses on suffering and devastation rather than heroism or triumph.