United States, Operation Wolf was one of the top five highest-grossing dedicated arcade games of 1988. The home computer conversions topped the UK sales charts in late 1988 until it was replaced by RoboCop which held the number one position for most of 1989. Critical response Upon release in arcades, the game received wide acclaim from critics, particularly for its gameplay, graphics, and controls. However, it also received some criticism for its violence, particularly in the UK press following the Hungerford massacre that had occurred a few months before its release. Commodore User said it beats Sega's After Burner as "the game of the year and much of next year too" but that it may draw some controversy from tabloids for its Rambo-like violent content. Clare Edgeley of Computer and Video Games called it one of the best new releases, stating that, though excessively violent, it was an "extremely playable" and "powerful" fast-paced action game. Your Sinclair called it a "fast and furious" action game, and said it "broke a bit of new 'ground' for arcade games 'cos the 'nasties' fired directly at you through the screen". The home computer conversions also received positive reviews. Your Sinclair gave the ZX Spectrum conversion a highly positive review. The NES version received more mixed reviews. In Electronic Gaming Monthlys review of the NES conversion, three critics scored it 6/10, one 8/10. Accolades Sinclair User gave the arcade game the "Over The Top Game of 1988" award, for the "shooting game most likely to push you over the edge" in 1988. The home computer conversions won several awards at the 1989 Golden Joystick Awards for 1988, including overall Game of the Year (8-bit), Best Coin-Op Conversion (8-bit), and Best Coin-Op Conversion (16-bit). It was later voted number 26 in the "Your Sinclair Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time" poll. Crash awarded it a Crash Smash. Computer and Video Games awarded it a CVG Hit. Legacy Operation Wolf influenced the market upon release. It is credited with evolving the light gun shooter genre. It departed from the shooting gallery, carnival, and cartoon themes that had previously dominated the genre for decades, from electro-mechanical games in the 1960s until Nintendo's Duck Hunt in 1984, and moved the genre toward more realistic, violent, and military shooter themes. In contrast to Taito's earlier gun games including Attack (1976), N.Y. Captor (1985), and Cycle Shooting (1986) which