Final Assault


Final Assault, known as Chamonix Challenge in Europe, originally Bivouac in French, is a mountaineering simulation distributed by Infogrames and Epyx in 1987 for the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple IIgs, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Thomson and ZX Spectrum. The original release of the game was copy protected.

Gameplay

Gameplay in Final Assault takes place in the Alps. The player selects a trail to take, then packs a rucksack for the climb and sets the departure time and season. On the trail, the player will need to overcome crevasses, ice cliffs, and rock faces – as well as complications such as hunger, exhaustion, thirst, and the cold – through caution, dexterity, and packing and using supplies efficiently. The game allows players to save their progress by packing a Save Game Disk in their rucksack.

Reception

The MS-DOS version of the game was given 4 out of 5 stars by Dragon, who called it "innovating, exciting, and intriguing." The PC version of the game was given a 68% by The Games Machine, who criticized it for being tedious, but felt that "there is a great deal of satisfaction to be gained from conquering a peak." Likewise, the Atari ST and Amstrad CPC versions were given a 75% and 72% by the same magazine, respectively. Happy Magazine gave the Commodore 64 version a Happy Rating of 65, praising the amount of strategy present in the gameplay, but criticizing the limited use of music and sound effects. A more modern review from Jeuxvideo.com of the Amiga and Atari ST versions gave the game a 17/20, calling it extremely difficult and "particularly addictive".

Reviews