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Special Forces

Review

This top-down tactical shooter blends real-time squad combat with stealth and demolition missions.

Special Forces by Sleepless Knights was published by MicroProse for DOS in 1992; no earlier version of this exact game exists on another platform.


							Special Forces cover
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Platform
MS-DOS
Released
1992
Perspective
Top-down
Size
1.67 MB
Version
autorun.bat
Rating
0 votes

About Special Forces

Special Forces is a top-down arcade shooter that follows Airborne Ranger. Players direct a four-soldier team through 16 missions across global settings like arctic and jungle environments. The gameplay emphasizes continuous, real-time action over stealth, with objectives including air strike targeting, rescues, and assassinations.

Before deployment, a squad is assembled from eight unique specialists, each with distinct skills, and equipped accordingly. Mission briefings provide essential details, as the game offers no warnings for unsuitable gear. The chosen difficulty level affects mission intelligence, with higher settings providing less accurate target information and requiring area searches, aided by an in-game map.

Enemies reappear and ammunition is finite, creating a challenging pace where squad losses can occur. Surviving soldiers may receive promotions and medals, which improve their statistics and morale.

Special Forces Screenshots

10 images
Title screen.
The elite soldiers. Only four can go on each mission.
Choosing equipment for each team member.
Mission briefing.
Region 1: The Tropics.
Region 2: The Desert.
Region 3: The Arctic.
Region 4: Temperate.
Night mission. Not much different, but screen's green.
The excellent overview map. Red dots show enemy positions, the grid helps locate the mission targets.