Airborne Ranger

Brillant and far ahead of its time. When I played this as a kid, I only understood half of the genius of the game and played it mostly as a shoot‘em up. Yet, even that was fun. Looking back at it now, I‘d say, it’s one of the real classics for the 64er.

Maybe its hyperbole to say that without Airborne Ranger there would be no SOCOM games today, but I don't think it is.
Airborne Ranger was a revelation in 1987 and it's innovative game mechanics; like the ability to drop supply bags along your path, the potential to mask your identity by stealing an enemy's uniform and many more could easily be thought of as precursors to the work of Hideo Kojima and other contemporary game developers of today.
Just an outstanding product of the highest quality, both in terms of gameplay and graphics!

I always felt this was over rated, on playing it again I still think that. Amazing packaging but the game itself isn't much fun to play.

Really enjoyed this as a kid. Could have been better with a campaign system.

Is this game a multiloader? I cannot see it, but it makes quite the difference if you can buy the tape or the disk version if it IS a multiloader.

After some more thinking, I still believe this is one of the better C64 games, there's a couple of things the game could have done better. If the viewpoint scrolled around you to always show much more of the world in front of your sight, you would have better opportunities to react. And there would also be the tension of not seeing behind you as good. I also believe (correct if wrong) the enemy spawns are simply randomized some distance away from you, instead of truly simulating the positions of enemies on the whole map. Hearing the enemies before seeing them is a neat mechanic still, even if random.

Ambitious effort but the action lacks tension, there is little challenge in getting to the objective. The sounds are crude and very limited for this kind of game. This could have been so much more... The obsession in making the player as big as possible once again ruins the gameplay by making you come up against enemies with minimal planning possible. Even Commando did this better with it's simple shoot'em up gameplay.

One of my big regrets in life is the fact I never played Airborne Ranger back in the day. It looks like the kind of game I would have obsessed about as a kid, compared to Command and Ikari Warriors this looks quite sophisticated for the era. Looking forward to checking it out via emulator, better late than never.

A decent strategy / action hybrid but I never rated it as highly as many people thought at the time. After replaying it recently I've not changed my mind on it. Some good depth in there and varied missions but the action itself left me a bit cold. Still a good game though just not a stellar one.
7 out of 10 for me.

This is a fun game and the first I recall with a stealth mechanicnthat worked.

Monk, calm down mate. Why don't you go and set your own website up and you can be responsible for the pictures on there.

The first game I played that involved stealth and I loved it. Sneaking up behind the enemy and then knifing them was great fun. You could also create diversions by blowing something up so that the guards would investigate whilst you got on with your business. The game was different to other MicroProse games in that it was action orientated. Good stuff!

Why are the screenshots in Lemon64 so lacking? There are no screenshots of the ACTUAL GAME screen, only the tactical stuff that happens before, and the maplike "drop screen".

I have noticed that in many other games, not ALL game screens are featured (though it would only take seconds to get to them). Just look at Archon II for a good example.

Is there a way to upload screenshots?

Anyway, this is a bit too militaristic game for my taste - they should have stuck with flight simulators, and not try to make a Commando-clone. The concept is kind of interesting in a limited way, and on paper, a lot of the features are pretty cool, like being able to shoot in so many directions.

But in practice, the isometric perspective doesn't work completely well, and it's hard to know exactly what height you are on, and which direction you are supposed to shoot to hit the enemy, etc.

Also, the stealthy factor is just not fun in games in my opinion - I never understood the popularity of Metal Gear (Solid) games. I mean, if you are going to kill them anyway, why do you have to torture yourself by playing a boring game of hide-and-seek for a couple of minutes every time first? It's just artificial lengthening of the shallow gameplay.

Well, at least this game doesn't have annoying cutscenes or misandristic plot that you have to sit through.

Payed this game loads. Liked that you could drop supplies around the battle field before you start 10/10

Really good game! a kind of soldier sim with a little tactical planning. I remember playing this to death when I had it, but I hate to think of the time I must have spent waiting for the tape loads.

The neat little things you could do in this game like ducking into a trench to avoid enemies detecting you and setting off a time bomb as a diversion put it way ahead of it's time

Good game to play but difficult and the graphics arent that good

I spent a lot of hours playing this one! Perfect gameplay and idea in that time !

One of Microprose's greats. With a flexible set of missions and a 'campaign' or career option, this game had huge amounts of playability.

Back in the day I really pored over my (photocopied) manual until the pages were worn out. It was a thinking man's Commando. Each mission was very unique and required some planning to pull it off right.

Awesome game - took an arcade feel, and added great tactical touches to it like the sound of soldiers footsteps, limited supply of weapons, running for cover, etc.

I used to play this on tape and I never found the short loads for missions too much of a pain. It also benefited from the Microprose personnel rosters. Trying to rise your rangers rank and gain all the medals gave the game a lot of long term appeal

A friend had it and I must say it was very difficult for a 8 year old without any english knowledge. But I think It was fun anyway!!! I never completed any missions lol

Had to score this one a 10. The hours I wasted on this game...

Escellent replayability, great contol and varied gameplay. The C64 is way better than the Amiga/ST version... Yes really.

Absolutely fantastic game, with lots of strategic depth for its time. Unfortunately the Amiga conversion was nowhere near as good as this.

If Commando was over in a few minutes, this one lasts forever! 9/10

I still play this great game. I have a fantasy league of rangers in which all of them have to play the "campaign" mode on the hardest level. My favorite mission is "Cut a Pipeline", but the toughest mission is "Knock Out Enemy Radar Array".

I really loved this game. Also spent a lot of time playing this and doing all the missions over and over again.

One of my favourites on the C 64! Very good graphics, very good playability, played it for weeks and didn't get bored. Probably the best C64 game I ever bought.

I'd reserve the title of 'best game I ever played on C64' for Elite, but this game comes definitely into my top 10. I spent a lot of time on it.

For real?

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Probably the best game what I've played on C64...

Awesom game... 10/10

I loved this game so much. Really felt immersed in the game universe whilst playing. Was pretty tough too but the way the game looked kept it replay value right up there, until I lost the loading card, LOL. That card where you had to match the insignia to the one onscreen so it would actually load the game, which took from what I recall, up until yesterday to load. Once I lost that card, it was hit and miss if it loaded or not becasue I'd have to blindly guess the insignia, lol. It didn't let me in 99. 9% of the time of course.

Just excellent !! This game will keep you company for hours and hours. Better than the Amiga version I think. And finally, I agree with you humourguy "seal team" was great. 10/10 !!

If you love this game, I am, for the first time, going to recommend a PC game from Electronic Arts to play as well!!! That game is SEAL Team. A Vietnam tactical game of unparalleled playability! Totally reminds me of a team based Airborne Ranger! Graphics are quite good for this 1991 game, with 3D graphics and 1st/3rd person view. The detail is incredible and the playability sublime! I still play Airborne Ranger, but SEAL Team is the one and only time I am going to quote a PC game as a good follow-up!

An excellent game... Killed by loading time !!! Too bad...

One of my favourite C64-games. I just love the atmosphere in this game! And I can't understand why Zzap only gave it 73%... It's better than that! One of the few times they got it wrong.

Excellent game. Special place in my memory. My dad used to fix air conditioning and got called one time to Microprose (they were in Maryland USA). He met some of the employees and he told them he had a son (me) with a C64. One of the employees gave Dad a fresh copy of Airborne Ranger and I was so happy when he came home from work. Not only that, but the game was the bomb back then, nothing like it. My friend Tom and I were into guns and shit and this game rocked our worlds. About 10 years later, I met Ken Legace face to face (after Microprose had dissolved) and it's like an impression burned in my head. Sigh. 9/10

I bought this game/sim when it first came out and was instantly hooked for life. No other game has come close to holding my attention, interest and fun. I have not gotten tired of this game at all. I gave my C64 away in the 90's (and was sorry due to missing this game) and went to the Amiga. The Amiga version was not as good as the C64. Now thanks to emulators I am back again playing this great game, and I love it. I wish someone would copy the original and make the graphics better and release it again. But keep the exact gameplay as the original.

I spent quite a few evenings with this one and really loved the tactical nature of the game. You had to be careful about where and when to drop your supplies, when to jump out of the plane, where to land, and of course be as stealthy as possible trying to get to your objective point. A great combination of strategy and planning, with a wonderful combat aspect. You very rarely could just run around with your guns blazing, and had to pick and choose your battles. Great graphics, good sound, and tense moments. A winner by any standard!

Only the cracked version takes long to load

Loading was offputting although when I got it on disk it was far more bearable. That aside, I totally loved this game, graphics were just OK but the variety in missions was a real comeback factor. Brill.

Takes WAY too long to load! That's one of the reasons I didn't play it too long. I also didn't like the way the soldier moved around. And the graphics are not a 10!

This is my all-time favorite! We played this till our thumbs got sour or our moms pulled the plug! It was great to use the terrain. Didn't see a game in those days that had trenches for example.

Aiiiii the legendary Micropose Simulations Games! One hit after another.

One of my all time favourite C64 games! Very nice weapons and amazing atmosphere makes that game a real classic.

The terrific gameplay makes it possible to still have great fun with it.

Very good action-game. Never played this one back in the old days, heard of it, but spent my time for other classics. But this one is a true classic! 8/10.

Played this game for ages, and one of the few games that is still playable today because of the terrific gameplay.

This is a neat game. But damage system is still quite forgiving for a "realistic" combat game. I don't think the ranger's armor would stop assault rifle bullets...

Keep your time while playing this game... Its better than metal-gear1 becouse it has better missions.. I nearly solved all of the missions.. Hint: Drop your stuff wisely... Try to sneak around... Try to shoot as less as you can.. Use the pits and walls to hide!!! Its better than the Amiga version... One of the best sneek, seek and Destroy-Games for the 64!!!

One of the best and successfullest game in C64.
I played it very often but never get tired of it. That's why I still play it sometimes.

After all these great reviews, how come it only scores 6. 3? A nice little game, but by no means a classic.

Nice game, nice gameplay, cool atmosphere. I think an important classic of 3D shoot'em ups today!

Brian, you said it! Medal of honor and Battlefield lovers, Who's your Daddy!

Ha, Ha, Haaaah! This game Rocks your hinies!

One of the best ever. All you Medal of Honor fanatics take note, this game was your baby's daddy.

What the hell? 10 for graphics?

What was the reviewer smoking?

I think PC game called "Commandos" is based in Airborne Ranger. A great GREAT game

This is a great game. The sound and graphics were terrible even for the time, but the gameplay is excellent and holds up very well. A classic game from a classic company.

This game is just so much better than Commando I remember the game package was heavy and full of stuff... A C-64 classic from the Microprose golden era.

So this is the famous Airborn Ranger game were everybody talked about.

I want it too... Sob sob!

Nothing special, repetitive and overrated. Not a C64 classic at all IMO

Great game with quite a bit of variety in mission tactics. Some had to be completed with absolute stealth. Other times you let your rockets do the talking! From the moment you jump out of the plane you are planning your route to the target. Guards were even attracted to noise you'd make - long before "Solid" did it.

I loved this game and my first memory playing it was awful too. I bypassed reading the think manual and started to play... I landed on landmines. When, I took my first step, ***BANG! ***game over. I thought I got sniped by the enemy and it was a incredibly difficult game to play! I then read the manual. I laughed for an hour after I realized I landed on mines! The gaphics from Iris were quite superb! You can even see the soles of his boots while he's crawling! The characters are a decent size and the installations are nicely detailed. The game rocked and I played it for hours marvelling at the graphics and animations alone. Read the manual to understand the thought that went into this game to appreciate it all the more. Still a 10 man!

This was a supreme game. Average GFX, but the characters and scenery looked great all the same. This would translate superbly to more powerful machines... Unfortunately I have yet to find an attempt at this kind of thing that's half as much fun. 9. 5 out of 10.

This game was absolutely fantastic. I remember spending entire evenings playing this game back in 1988. I had no life, but lots of fun with video games.

One of those games where you'd sit there with your buddies and after they screwed up you'd be like, 'dude let me try! '

Great stuff!

It's my all-time favourite game. This was a milestone, the best game, that ever written to C46!!

One of my all-time favourite Commodore 64 games! Still play it today on my trusty ole C64!

Fantastic game. Superb sound, marvellous graphics and excellent game-play. One of the best war-games ever.

This is the first game I played and loved as a kid... Still looking for somthing as good. No. 2 sucked!!!

Cool game... But different from the other microprose stuff ... Finally they did an action game... But of course a tactical one ... I rate it as one of there best games ... Along with Gunship, Pirates and Kennedy Approach

This was an awesome game! One of my favorite.

This game was GREAT, right along with most of the other MicroProse games like Gunship and F19 StealthFighter. My hat is off to MicroProse for their games back then... THANX!!

This was indeed, a cool game. It was a little while before I learned how to use the medi packs in the kits you dropped before parachuting however! Oh the joy when I learned how...

Solid Snake had nothing on the Airborne Ranger. Hours and hours of my life spent with this tactical espionage action game are still fresh in my mind. The only problem was the "out of sight out of mind" guards. Oh well, can't have everything I guess.

Man! I used to love this game, when I was 13 I used ta play the crap outta this game It was one of my top 10, back in the day. The graphics were good for back then.

Amazing at the time - can't wait to shatter the illusion

I played it when I was 25 or so and had served in the army for 6 years and it was still hard. Great game. Definately worth a good effort.

I used to love this game when I was 13. It was hard then. I wonder if would be hard if I played it now.

Yea right. Great and atmospheric game.
But the GFX isn't THAT great (as said in the review).

Yea right. Great and atmospheric game.
But the GFX isn't THAT great (as said in the review).

I played this game forever when I was 10.
As far as I can remember it rocked!!!