Operation Stealth
| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
| Founder | Paul Cuisset |
| Headquarters | France |
Key people | Paul Cuisset (programmer), Jean Baudlot (composer) |
| Products | Operation Stealth |
Operation Stealth, titled 007 James Bond: The Stealth Affair in the United States, is an adventure game released in 1990 by Delphine Software International. The development was spearheaded by programmer Paul Cuisset and composer Jean Baudlot. The American edition incorporated the James Bond license, which introduced some narrative contradictions, such as the MI6 agent receiving directives from the CIA.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Operation Stealth adopts a point-and-click style reminiscent of contemporary LucasArts adventure titles, blended with action sequences including an overhead maze and an underwater escape scenario. The cracked Amiga version featured basic synthesized voice dialogue if the system had at least 1MB of RAM, though a glitch caused the game to freeze when skipping these voice lines.
Plot
CIA operative John Glames (known as James Bond in the U.S. release) is assigned to recover a stolen advanced F-19 stealth aircraft in Latin America. While investigating the fictional nation of Santa Paragua, Glames uncovers deceit involving KGB Colonel Karpov, who tricks him into retrieving classified documents before abandoning him in a cave—though Glames manages to escape.
Mistaken for a doppelgänger named Otto, Glames faces assassination attempts and eventual capture. After being freed and taken to a jungle military facility, he discovers that President Manigua has been replaced by a puppet under Otto's control, while a Liberation movement aims to topple the regime. Disguised as performers during a festival, Glames and Julia Manigua, the president’s niece, attempt infiltration but are caught; Julia is detained.
Glames traverses mazes to secure documents from Otto’s office but is captured once more. Following a water scooter pursuit to retrieve stolen files from Karpov, Glames is saved by an American submarine. He learns that the Stealth fighter was hijacked by the criminal group Spyder, led by Dr. Why, who plans global attacks.
Glames infiltrates an underwater base, escapes captivity using various gadgets, and confronts Dr. Why and Otto, who are holding Julia hostage. The base reveals itself as an artificial volcanic island where the Stealth fighter is launched. Glames sabotages the base's systems, triggering its destruction and disabling the aircraft. Dr. Why escapes with Julia via helicopter; Glames commandeers and destroys the helicopter after ensuring their safety on an inflatable raft.
The mission concludes with Glames being celebrated as a national hero alongside Julia by General Manigua.
Reception
Computer Gaming World described the game as "somewhat of a disappointment," criticizing its hidden object-style interface, awkward parser, and graphics and audio that fell short compared to Future Wars. The publication also highlighted a weak link between the storyline and gameplay mechanics. In contrast, Judith Kilbury-Cobb from .info gave it four and a half stars, commending its innovative and accessible interface, crisp graphics, and high-quality sound and animation, recommending it especially to fans of Bond.
See also
- David Wolf: Secret Agent, another game from the same era featuring a stolen Stealth fighter
External links
- Articles with short description
- 1990 video games
- Adventure games
- Amiga games
- Atari ST games
- Delphine Software International games
- DOS games
- Interplay Entertainment games
- James Bond video games
- Point-and-click adventure games
- ScummVM-supported games
- Single-player video games
- Spy video games
- U.S. Gold games
- Video games developed in France
- Video games scored by Jean Baudlot
- Video games set in South America