Raid over Moscow
Cold War action game with political controversy.
Raid Over Moscow is an action game developed by Access Software and published in Europe by U.S. Gold for the Commodore 64 in 1984. Set during the Cold War, the player controls an American space pilot who must thwart Soviet nuclear attacks and destroy a facility in Moscow's Kremlin. The game sparked political controversy in Finland, where a member of parliament raised a question about its sale, leading to widespread publicity.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Access Software
- Publisher
- Access Software (NA); U.S. Gold (EU)
- Designer
- Bruce Carver
- Released
- 1984 (C64)
- 1985–1986 (ports)
- 2020–2022 (new ports)
- Genre
- Action
- Modes
- Single-player
- Platforms
- Amiga
- Amstrad CPC
- Apple II
- Atari 8-bit
- BBC Micro
- Commodore 64
- Plus/4
- ZX Spectrum
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The game begins with an alert that a nuclear missile has been launched from a Soviet city toward a North American city. The player starts in a hangar, must fly a spaceplane out, then guide it from low Earth orbit to the launch site. The player may launch multiple spaceplanes from the space station before attacking; surplus planes dock outside. A timer shows the time before impact. At the launch site, the player flies through a defense perimeter, dodging obstacles, heat-seeking missiles, tanks, and planes. If the player loses a life, the game restarts at the hangar unless spare spaceplanes are parked outside, allowing continuation on the current screen. The final part of this stage requires destroying the missile silo while avoiding Soviet planes. Destroying the primary silo before the missile lands thwarts the attack; secondary silos earn extra lives and points. The Soviets launch four missile attacks from Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, and Saratov, all stopped similarly. After the fourth, the player progresses to the second stage. There, pilots become foot soldiers outside the Defence Centre, depicted as the State Historical Museum. Using a mortar, they blast open one of five randomly chosen doors. Bonus points come from destroying parts of the building and defeating troops. Once the door is open, soldiers proceed to the nuclear reactor for the final stage.
Releases
Originally released on the Commodore 64, the game later appeared on Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit computers, BBC Micro, and ZX Spectrum. A reissue changed its title to Raid. An Amiga version, started in the late 1980s, was cancelled before finally arriving in 2020 from Reimagine Games, programmed by Erik Hogan.
Reception
Raid Over Moscow was Access' second best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987, after Beach-Head. It received generally positive reviews; Computer and Video Games praised the graphics and sound of the Commodore 64 version, while Crash gave the ZX Spectrum version an overall score of 92%. The nuclear war theme drew questioning, with Computer and Video Games publishing letters for and against its publication. Unauthorized copies circulated widely in East Germany, despite the Stasi describing it as having a particularly militaristic and inhumane nature. The West German Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons indexed the game in 1985, stating it could lead to physical tension, anger, aggressiveness, and other effects in older adolescents; the ban ended in 2010. In Finland, the game was presented on YLE's A-studio on 13 February 1985 after a review by MikroBitti. On 20 February, the newspaper Tiedonantaja criticized the review and called for a ban. The Soviets sent a petition on 7 March 1985 asking for a ban, claiming the game presented a distorted view of the Soviet Union. The Minister of foreign trade Jermu Laine answered on 14 March, stating legislation only allowed restricting imports hazardous to health. On 11 April, Minister of foreign affairs Paavo Väyrynen gave an official answer expressing a friendly attitude toward the USSR and apologizing for negative publications; the USSR settled on the answer.
More in Commodore 64 Game Library
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced