Operation Neptune

About Operation Neptune

A team of astronauts and scientists have begun a secret research project on a distant planet. The research team's results were sent back to Earth on the "Galaxy space capsule", which malfunctioned, crashed into the ocean, and broke into many pieces. The capsule contained several data canisters, each with snippets of the scientists' story, revealed as the game progresses and data canisters are found. It also had toxic chemicals that began leaking, threatening sea life. A mission, Operation Neptune, was sent to recover the pieces.

The game consists of two campaigns, called Voyager Game and Expert Game; the player selects one when creating a new save file. In each campaign, the player must complete sixteen levels, called Sectors, which are distributed across five Zones: Dragon Reef, Fossil Trench, Limestone Ridge, Sea Forest, and Hammerhead.

In each Sector, the player must use the arrow keys to pilot a submarine (the Neptune) through maze-like passages, collect every data capsule, and reach the supply station at the end. The box cover illustration rendered by Marc Ericksen depicts the Neptune submarine recovery vehicle hovering above the basin of Fossil Trench recovering glowing toxic data capsules.

Each Sector comprises approximately a dozen screens, displayed in flip-screen fashion. Many screens are populated by hostile sea creatures and non-living hazards which deal damage to the submarine on contact. To avoid damage, the player must carefully pilot the Neptune around these dangers. Typically, hostile creatures patrol paths and perform actions on a set cycle; players are expected to stop and study creature movement patterns for a few moments before attempting to pass by them. However, some creatures have complex patterns designed to punish impatient players, initially appearing to follow very simple patrol paths but suddenly changing course after a few cycles. Other creatures may react to the player's movements, changing their routine in response to the Neptune entering invisible regions on the screen. Creatures that are identical in appearance can potentially have radically different behaviors.