M-1 Abrams Battle Tank

From Sega Retro

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M1AbramsBattleTank title.png

M-1 Abrams Battle Tank
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Licensor: Electronic Arts
Original system(s): MS-DOS
Developer(s) of original games: Dynamix
Sound driver: GEMS
Genre: Simulation

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
US
1402
Sega Mega Drive
EU
1402
Sega Mega Drive
UK
£34.9534.95[2] 1402
Sega Mega Drive
SE
(Rental)
Sega Mega Drive
AU
Non-Sega versions

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M-1 Abrams Battle Tank is a 1989 tank simulation game for computers by Dynamix and Electronic Arts ported to the Sega Mega Drive by Realtime Games Software and Sega. It was released alongside 688 Attack Sub in the extremely short-lived "Simulator Series" in 1991. The game uses an enhanced version of the Motorola 68000 engine used in Realtime Games Software video game Carrier Command.

Like, 688 Attack Sub, M-1 Abrams Battle Tank was licensed by Sega of America[3] in 1990, shortly before EA began publishing Sega games for themselves.

Gameplay

Player is a US Army tank commander in charge of an M1A1 Abrams main battle tank. World War III has started and players must overcome eight different missions around France and Germany, trying to stop the numerically superior Soviet forces.

Missions

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Moselle Defence
War has broken out. Massive numbers of Soviet armored vehicles are approaching to your location. Destroy all of them to win the scenario.

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Moselle Intercept
An allied unit has been ambushed across the Moselle River and suffered heavy damage. Your mission is to find the missing unit and escort them to the friendly lines before they are attacked by a small but well armed Soviet patrol. Besides this said patrol, enemy unit in the area is limited.

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Siegen Infiltration
Supply convoys from Essen are being destroyed by an unknown Soviet assault force. Intelligence suggests that at least one secret Soviet base might be around the Siegen Hills. Find and destroy Soviet bases but be very careful: Area is full of hills which makes surprise attacks easy to pull off, especially if the enemy has attack helicopters.

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Nuremberg Highway
Soviet ATGM teams are wreaking havoc around a NATO base that is starving for supplies. Eliminate all Soviet units along the highway and re-open the road for supply convoys.

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Mass Destruction
Your base is in a very precarious position. Soviet forces are pouring down the area from North and West, threateing to flood the area. Destroy three enemy forwards bases in the area before your are overwhelmed. Heavy enemy presence is reported.

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The Road to Bonn
Frankfurt has fallen and West German capital of Bonn is under direct threat. Soviet forces seem to avoid heavily defended Koblenz and move directly towards Bonn through Mainz Bridge over Rhine River. Destroy the Mainz bridge and get rid of as many Soviet advance guard units as you can.

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Hanover Push
Hanover has fallen and a large Soviet base has been set up just outside of the city with a fully functional communications center nearby. If completed, a fully operational force will invade Cologne and cause signficant setback for NATO plans. Primary objective is the destruction of this base. If you have time and ammo, deal with the comms center as well.

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Convoy
Back to Siegen. Despite NATO patrols, supply convoys which are critical for civilians across the Germany, are being ambushed by Soviet forces. You are required to escort a five truck supply convoy to friendly base at Weller.

Weapons

M1A1 Abrams is armed with a Rheinmetall 120mm smoothbore cannon and a Co-axial .50 caliber heavy machinegun.

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Sabot
Armor piercing, fin stabilized, discarding round with high muzzle velocity. Effective up to 2500 meters. Very effective against armor but ineffective against everything else.

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HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank)
Multi purpose round with a hollow round and shaped-charge explosive. Effective range is 2000 meters. Very effective against infantry and buildings, effective against armor.

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AX
This is an experimental wire-guided projectile with guidance capabilities. Because of its large size and wire components, it reloads more slowly than other shells. Very effective against helicopters. Somewhat effective against everything else. Effective between 800 to 4500 meters.

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COAX
.50 caliber rapid fire heavy machinegun. Mostly used for lightly armored targets at close ranges. Use against infantry, light armor and helicopters at close range and only when you have nothing better to use

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Smoke Discharger
Abrams has on board smoke grenade launchers to obscure vision. Only enemies with thermal imaging (which is very rare among Soviet vehicles) can see through smoke. Effective within 100 meters for about 20 seconds. Great to block enemy Sagger and Spigot missiles.

Enemies

Soviet forces use "strenght in numbers" doctrine compared to NATO's "Quality over Quantity" philosophy. Even though players will face seemingly endless waves of Soviet vehicles, Soviet technology is about 6 years behind NATO in terms of armor protection, speed, accuracy and other crucial equipment such as night vision. Soviet vehicles are also rarely equipped with stabilizers, which prevents them from firing while on the move. Due to poor state of Soviet ecenomy most Soviet vehicles also lack thermal imaging equipment. (Thermal systems on Abrams accounts for 10% for its cost of 1 million dollars)

Soviets do however have advantages in numbers. Since their vehicles are more lighter, they can be transported very quickly and have generally better maneuvrability.

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ARCV-2 Command Vehicle
A command and control vehicle to co-ordinate enemy forces. With no weapons and light armor, it has no chance against Abrams.

Threat Level: None

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BMP-1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle
This lightly armored Soviet IFV has better weapons and armor compared to the US M113. It is quite fast and carries a slow firing 73mm cannon along with Sagger missiles with an effective range of 1500 meters.

Threat Level: Moderate

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BMP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle
A somewhat slower but much better armed and armored vehicle than its predecessor, BMP-2 has a lower caliber but faster firing 30mm cannon, a 7.62mm machine gun and most importantly deadly, 2500 meter range Spandrel missiles.

Threat Level: High

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BRDM-2 Tank Destroyer
This wheeled armored vehicle is quite fast, especially on roads. It is however, lightly armored and carries low performance Sagger missiles.

Threat Level: Moderate

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BRDM-3 Tank Destroyer
An update to its mediocre predecessor, BRDM-3 maintains the previous model's speed, light armor but armed with dangerous Spandrel missiles.

Threat Level: Extreme

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BTR Armored Personnel Carrier
This lightly armored wheeled amphibious APC is used for transportation and has only a machinegun for defence. Abrams can easily defeat this opponent.

Threat Level: None

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Mi-24 Hind Attack Helicopter
This fast and maneuvreable large attack helicopter is armed to the teeth with a 23mm cannon and Spiral Missiles which has a range of 2750 meters. AX is the only sure way to reliably get rid of this menace.

Threat Level: Extreme

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FST-1
Besides Hind, this will be your toughest opponent in the game. This turretless tank has an automatic loader so it has a surprisingly high reload rate, a 135mm cannon with 2250 meter range and a very tough reactive armor. Use your superior mobility and hit and run tactics to flank this vehicle: since it has no turret it needs to turn towards you every time.

Threat Level: Extreme

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T-62 Main Battle Tank
Soviets produced about 20000 of this tank so expect to see them often. While it has a heavy armor, its speed is limited and its 115mm gun has a range of only 750 meters.

Threat Level: Very Low

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T-64 Main Battle Tank
This tank is somewhat faster than T-62 and has a 125mm cannon with a range of 1250 meters and an automatic loader. It is a tougher opponent than T-62 but that doesn't say much.

Threat Level: Low

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T-72 Main Battle Tank
This was the main tank of the Soviet Forces during the 80s. Its performance is equal to M60A3 so it should not be much of a threat to Abrams, as Israeli troops can attest to during the 1982 Lebanon War. 125mm cannon is powerful but suffers from accuracy problems at ranges greater than 1000 meters. A basic stabilizer allows T-72 to fire its weapons while moving

Threat Level: Moderate

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T-80 Main Battle Tank
This is the only mass produced tank in the Soviet armory that can go (somewhat) toe to toe with Abrams. Its main gun has a range of 1750 meters, it is quite fast and maneuvrable for its size and equipped with a rangefinder and electronic warfare system, making it more accurate and harder to destroy.

Threat Level: High

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AT-3 Sagger (Malyutka)
First used during the Yom Kippur War of 1973, this wire guided MCLOS missile has quite a destructive power even though it can be distracted rather easily. Used by enemy infantry and some other older vehicles.

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AT-4 Spigot (Fagot)
Wire guided SACLOS missile with much better accuracy. Used by enemy infantry.

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AT-5 Spandrel (Konkurs)
This formidable wire-guided SACLOS missile has much greater firepower and range than both Sagger and Spigot missiles. Used only by BRDM-3 and BMP-2.

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AT-6 Spiral (Shturm-V)
Used only by Hind, this terrifying missile can devastate most armored vehicles with a single launch.

Production credits

Source:
Developer statements


Magazine articles

Main article: M-1 Abrams Battle Tank/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

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Print advert in Velikiy Drakon (RU) #38 (1998-04-12)
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Photo gallery

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1500 igr dlya Sega (RU)
70
[5]
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
50
[6]
Aktueller Software Markt (DE)
50
[7]
Console XS (UK) PAL
80
[8]
Cool Gamer (RU)
70
[9]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
83
[10]
Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU)
60
[11]
Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)
81
[12]
Games-X (UK)
86
[13]
Games-X (UK)
80
[14]
Game Zone (UK) PAL
85
[15]
Joypad (FR) PAL
78
[16]
Joystick (FR)
77
[17]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL
68
[18]
Mega (UK) PAL
76
[19]
MegaTech (UK)
81
[20]
Megazin (SI)
63
[21]
Mean Machines Sega (UK)
81
[22]
Player One (FR)
80
[23]
Play Time (DE)
63
[24]
Raze (UK) NTSC-U
85
[25]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
75
[26]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
84
[27]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
80
[28]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
76
[29]
Video Games (DE)
62
[30]
Sega Mega Drive
74
Based on
26 reviews

M-1 Abrams Battle Tank

Mega Drive, US
M1AbramsBattleTank MD US Box.jpg
Cover
M-1AbramsBT MD US CartTop.jpg
M1AbramsBattleTank MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
M-1 Abrams Battle Tank MD US Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, EU
M1AbramsBattleTank MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
M1AbramsBattleTank MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
M-1 Abrams Battle Tank MD EU Manual.pdf
Manual
M1ABT MD EU pcb.jpg
PCB
Mega Drive, SE rental (Kanal10)

Mega Drive, AU
M1ABT MD AU cover.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, AU (alt)
M1ABT MD AU alt cover.jpg
Cover

Technical information

Main article: M-1 Abrams Battle Tank/Technical information.

References

  1. Computer Trade Weekly, "" (UK; 1991-07-01), page 16
  2. Raze, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-08-29), page 45
  3. New Computer Express, "1st June 1991" (UK; 1991-05-30), page 50
  4. http://javelosa.com/DJ/production.htm (Wayback Machine: 2022-12-25 00:07)
  5. 1500 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 12
  6. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 120
  7. Aktueller Software Markt, "November 1991" (DE; 1991-10-11), page 154
  8. Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 126
  9. Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 6
  10. Computer & Video Games, "August 1991" (UK; 1991-07-15), page 44
  11. Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 286
  12. Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 67
  13. Games-X, "27th June-3rd July 1991" (UK; 1991-06-27), page 38
  14. Games-X, "19th-25th September 1991" (UK; 1991-09-19), page 38
  15. Game Zone, "November 1991" (UK; 1991-10-08), page 44
  16. Joypad, "Octobre 1991" (FR; 1991-09-17), page 54
  17. Joystick, "Septembre 1991" (FR; 1991-0x-xx), page 176
  18. Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 93
  19. Mega, "February 1994" (UK; 1994-01-20), page 65
  20. MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 79
  21. Megazin, "Letnik 1, Številka 1, September 1993" (SI; 1993-xx-xx), page 40
  22. Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 139
  23. Player One, "Octobre 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 70
  24. Play Time, "2/92" (DE; 1992-01-08), page 91
  25. Raze, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-08-29), page 44
  26. Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 53
  27. Sega Power, "December 1991" (UK; 1991-10-30), page 24
  28. Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 66
  29. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 6
  30. Video Games, "3/91" (DE; 1991-09-06), page 87
M-1 Abrams Battle Tank

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Simulator Series games for Sega systems
M-1 Abrams Battle Tank (1991) | 688 Attack Sub (1991)