ELITE - FIREBIRD SOFTWARE
WHAT MORE CAN YOU SAY ABOUT THIS GAME? AN ABSOLUTE CLASSIC. PUBLISHED BY ACORNSOFT IN 1984 EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE BBC MICRO AND ACORN ELECTRON, IT WAS LATER RELEASED FOR A MULTITUDE OF DIFFERENT COMPUTERS UNDER THE LICENCE OF FIREBIRD SOFTWARE.
IT IS A SPACE COMBAT/TRADING GAME WHERE THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF ANY SPACE PILOT IS TO REACH THE DIZZY HEIGHTS OF THE "ELITE" RATING! NOT AN EASY TASK AS ANYBODY WILL TELL YOU!
A TERRIFIC GAME WHICH SET A NEW STANDARD IN GAME DEVELOPMENT.
THE TATUNG EINSTEIN VERSION IS NOT THE BEST I HAVE EVER SEEN. I ORIGINALLY BOUGHT THIS 20 YEARS AGO IN ANTICIPATION OF ELITE BEING RELEASED ON THE EINSTEIN, BUT I REMEMBER I WAS DISAPPOINTED! IT DOES THE JOB THOUGH, BUT THERE IS NO FINISHING TOUCHES TO SOME OF THE GAMEPLAY WHICH CAN BE UNFORGIVEABLE. FOR EXAMPLE, SHIPS DON'T EXPLODE INTO LITTLE PIECES WHEN DESTROYED, THEY SIMPLY VANISH. IF YOU ATTACK A PLANET'S SPACE STATION, NO VIPER POLICE SHIPS WILL COME OUT TO ATTACK YOU. COME ON!
OTHER THAN THAT, IT'S STILL ELITE AND LITTLE NIGGLES ASIDE IT PLAYS FINE. I AM AWARE THAT THERE ARE DISK IMAGES OF THIS GAME ON THE INTERNET, AND I SUCCESSFULLY MANAGED TO TRANSFER THE DISK IMAGE BACK TO 3" FLOPPY AND IT PLAYED FINE ON MY TATUNG EINSTEIN, HOWEVER THE DISK IMAGE DOES NOT PLAY ON THE MESS EMULATOR.
UNFORTUNATELY IT WOULD SEEM THE DISK PROTECTION IS CAUSING MAJOR PROBLEMS! I MADE A NEW IMAGE OF THE DISK MYSELF AND IT TRANSFERRED FINE, BUT AGAIN WOULDN'T PLAY. IF ANYBODY KNOWS HOW TO "CRACK" THE DISK PROTECTION, LET ME KNOW! (I HAVE INCLUDED DISCMOD IN THE EMULATOR SECTION, THIS ALLOWS ANY TRACK AND SECTOR OF AN EINSTEIN DISK TO BE MODIFIED, IF THAT HELPS!)
ACTUAL BOX FOR THE TATUNG EINSTEIN VERSION
THE LOADING SCREEN FOR THE EINSTEIN VERSION (AUTO LOADER)
ACTUAL TATUNG EINSTEIN SCREENSHOT
ACTUAL TATUNG EINSTEIN SCREENSHOT
ACTUAL TATUNG EINSTEIN SCREENSHOT
ACTUAL TATUNG EINSTEIN SCREENSHOT