M-1 Abrams Battle Tank

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M-1 Abrams Battle Tank
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Realtime Games Software, Sega of America
Licensor: Electronic Arts
Original system(s): MS-DOS
Developer(s) of original games: Dynamix
Sound driver: Sega Music Development System
Genre: Simulation
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code US 1991 1402 US ▼ (Sega Channel) 199x SUBsub EU 1991 1402 UK 1991-Q3 £34.9534.95 1402 SE (Rental) 199x AU 199x
Non-Sega versions IBM PC

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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 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

	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.
	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.

	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.
	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.
	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.
	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
	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.

	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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.
	AT-4 Spigot (Fagot)
	Wire guided SACLOS missile with much better accuracy. Used by enemy infantry.
	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.
	AT-6 Spiral (Shturm-V)
	Used only by Hind, this terrifying missile can devastate most armored vehicles with a single launch.

Production credits

• Composer: David Javelosa

Source:

Developer statements

Magazine articles

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

Promotional material

Print advert in Velikiy Drakon (RU) #38: "xxxx xxxx" (1998-04-12)

Photo gallery

• 

  A Mega Drive hardware development board hand-built by British programmer Ian Oliver for the game's production.

• 

  Oliver's development board would eventually became the SNASM68K Console, sold by Cross Products

• 

  A plaque presented to Ken Balthaser for producing M-1 Abrams.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1500 igr dlya Sega (RU) 70 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 50 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 50 Console XS (UK) PAL 80 Cool Gamer (RU) 70 Computer & Video Games (UK) 83 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU) 60 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 81 Games-X (UK) 86 Games-X (UK) 80 Game Zone (UK) PAL 85 Joypad (FR) PAL 78 Joystick (FR) 77 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 68 Mega (UK) PAL 76 MegaTech (UK) 81 Megazin (SI) 63 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 81 Player One (FR) 80 Play Time (DE) 63 Raze (UK) NTSC-U 85 Sega Power (UK) PAL 75 Sega Power (UK) PAL 84 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 80 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 76 Video Games (DE) 62

	74
Based on 26 reviews

M-1 Abrams Battle Tank

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, SE rental (Hent??)
Cover

Mega Drive, AU
Cover

Mega Drive, AU (alt)
Cover

Technical information

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

References

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