text: iwo jima ( video game ) iwo jima is a turn - based strategy video game developed and published by personal software services for the commodore 64 and zx spectrum in 1986 . it is the second instalment to the strategic wargames series . the game is set during the battle of iwo jima in the pacific ocean theatre of world war ii and revolves around the united states marine corps ' objective to secure the island of iwo jima from the imperial japanese army . the game is a turn - based strategy and focuses on the player using their units to attack japanese forces in order to capture the island . the player assumes control of the marine corps and must eliminate all japanese forces by ground , air , or naval combat . the game received mixed reviews upon release . critics praised the game 's value for money and easy difficulty for novice gamers ; however , many criticised the graphics and mechanics . gameplay the game is a turn - based strategy focuses on the invasion and land battles of iwo jima . the player commands the united states marine corps against the imperial japanese army , who are occupying the islands as part of the pacific ocean theatre of world war ii . the game is menu - based and only allows the player to use four command functions ; move , attack , land and pass . depending on the difficulty set , the game lasts 32 to 36 turns and can only be won by eliminating all japanese forces from the island before the final turn ends . during the game , the enemy may fortify their positions , launch air strikes against the united states navy fleet or may perform suicide attacks if their unit is about to be wiped out . the player also has the ability to order air strikes against the enemy , if weather permits . at the beginning of the game , the player has to allocate a number of american troops in order to establish a beachhead on one of the six beaches of the island . however , many of the beaches are scattered with land mines and may provide an initial disadvantage to the assault . throughout the game , the player may call in air strikes and other assaults , however they are only available after the american forces are attacked or if the enemy retreats to an inaccessible location . at any time in the game , the player is also able to request troop reinforcements from the fleet . furthermore , japanese air forces may sink american battleships throughout the game , although the player will be given the opportunity to shoot them down . in addition , a japanese submarine will sink american gunboats at random intervals , and cannot be destroyed in any way . there is no save function in the game . background personal software services was founded in coventry , england , by gary mays and richard cockayne in 1981 . the company were known for creating games that revolved around historic war battles and conflicts , such as theatre europe , bismark and falklands ' 82 . the company had a partnership with french video game developer ere informatique , and published localised versions of their products to the united kingdom . in 1986 , cockayne took a decision to alter their products for release on 16 - bit consoles , as he found that smaller 8 - bit consoles such as the zx spectrum lacked the processing power for larger strategy games . the decision was falsely interpreted as " pulling out " from the spectrum market by video game journalist phillipa irving . following years of successful sales throughout the mid 1980s , personal software services experienced financial difficulties , in what cockayne admitted in a retrospective interview that " he took his eye off the ball " . the company was acquired by mirrorsoft in february 1987 , and was later dispossessed by the company due to strains of debt . reception the game received mixed reviews form critics upon release . both gwyn hughes of your sinclair and a reviewer of zx computing praised the game 's value for money and heralded it as a " good introduction " to the wargaming genre , although hughes believed that iwo jima was unlikely to provide established tacticians with a " major challenge " and the reviewer of zx computing was concerned that the game was " too easy " . sean masterson of crash criticised the graphics , stating that it was " let down by poor unit markers and terrain features " . gary rook of sinclair user asserted that the game was overall " competent " , however he summarised it as " failing to excite " . rook also added that the game was well implemented and " inspiring " . a reviewer of computer and video games criticised the game for having an " awkward mechanism " due to the lack of a save feature and neglecting historic realism . however , he compared the historical accuracy of the battle of iwo jima for being more accurate than falklands ' 82 's interpretation of the falklands war . mark reed of computer gamer stated that the game is " ideal " for novice players and also praised the simplicity of the controls , despite suggesting that experienced gamers of the genre would prefer " something more complex " . masterson similarly criticised the game 's suitability for experienced gamers , suggesting that any appeal for a more experienced player is likely to be " very limited " .