DragonStrike (video game)

DragonStrike is a 1990 video game based on the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy tabletop role-playing game.

Gameplay
DragonStrike combines elements of role-playing video games and flight simulators. The player character is a knight who flies on the back of a metallic dragon equipped with a lance and various magic items (among other things a magic orb that acts as a radar in the game). The player's dragon can use its recharging magical breath to attack and can also attack with its claws if the dragon passes closely above enemies. Opponents in the game include evil dragons with and without riders and other flying monsters such as manticores and beholders. Flying too close to the ground is another hazard for the player as enemy archers are present in some areas.

Completing successful missions provides the character with more hit points and the opportunity to obtain a more powerful dragon. Depending on what dragon the player chooses (between a bronze, a silver and a gold dragon) the ending and missions become slightly different.

Plot
The game is set in Krynn, world of the Dragonlance saga, during the War of the Lance.

Publication history
This game was designed by Louis Castle and Brett Sperry, and developed by Westwood Associates. The game was first released in 1990, and published by Strategic Simulations. DragonStrike was also ported to the Sharp X68000 and Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992. The NES had a top-down perspective and played very differently from the other platform versions.

Reception
The game was reviewed in 1990 in Dragon #161 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 5 out of 5 stars. Computer Gaming World in 1990 called DragonStrike "a superlative and innovative product" that appealed to both fantasy and simulation gamers, although the magazine wished that it could import Gold Box characters. In a 1992 survey of science fiction games, the magazine gave the title four of five stars, stating that "Sadly this product did not receive the attention or play that it deserved".

A reviewer at GameSpy stated that "Westwood [Studios] was finally hitting its stride as a developer with another forgotten classic and badly underrated DragonStrike." The reviewer also stated that the game "looked great for its time, with beautiful VGA graphics and primitive fractals used as a terrain engine, and unlike later dragonflight games, it rewarded thinking, strategizing, and taking the time to assess the situation before striking rather than pure reflexes" and that while the flight model was a bit simplistic, "DragonStrike is long overdue for a remake."