Elite Systems Ltd. Games - LaunchBox Games Database

1942

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1985

1942... you and daring fighter pilot "Super Ace" are engaged in realistic, thrilling and challenging high-flying battles with the enemy. Over land, on the sea and in the air, your own skill and dexterity... combined with Super Ace's flying mastery, duel enemy pilots in fighter and bomber craft. 1942... it's airplanes taking off and landing on ocean-going aircraft carriers... disrupting enemy formations ready to attack... intercepting enemy air-warriors you must defeat by "blasting 'em out of the sky." Will it be victory? Or defeat? It's in your skillful hands!

1942

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1986

3DC

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1987

3DC is an isometric action adventure where the player is stranded on the bottom of the ocean with the objective of finding parts of a submarine, then constructing it in order to escape. Oxygen is of limited supply and various objects are strewn about to be used to solve the various puzzles. Eric the eel can be called to your aid and controlled to be able to fit into crevices too small for the diver's bulk, but watch out for the octopuses who will steal your oxygen tanks.

911 TS

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1985

A fearsome journey ahead. A grim evening. The world's leading sports car. Hasty collections of equipment. A frantic race against time at every stage. Only the ultimate driving skills and the best use of extra equipment will get you to your destination. The course is there, waiting, all set to devour you at the slightest mistake. Eight fierce sections, each with it's own challenges. Skilful driving and thoughtful use of extra equipment is the key to the game. You will choose Dunlop tyres of course, but which ones? SP82 Rally Tyre for dusty conditions? Perhaps Dunlop formula for all round rally performance? The choice is yours and it could cost you your life. At the least it will cost you money. Life would be simple if finances were bottomless but alas no. You only have two thousand pounds to spend on your vehicle. Not only that but you are responsible for collecting the equipment yourself. So as you may gather, the task ahead is to say the least, a bit tough!

A Question of Sport

Commodore 64 - Released - December 13, 1988

This is the game of the long running BBC quiz show of the same name. Two teams of three battle against each other by answering sports questions. 2 Points are awarded for answering your question correctly. If you answer incorrectly the opposing team get a chance to answer it but for only 1 point. There are 6 rounds including picture board, what happened next and a quickfire buzzers round. Contestants are displayed as digitized faces and each contestant specialises in a certain sport. Team captains get to choose which sport they wish to specialise in from a choice of ten. There are 5 question blocks so that if questions start to repeat you can load the next one to extend gameplay life. After the last round the scores are totted up and the winner is the team with the most points.

Airwolf

Commodore Plus 4 - Released - 1985

The game of the TV show is viewed from the side and puts you in command of an attack helicopter. Your task is to rescue 5 scientists from an underground lair by destroying its layer of protection and then getting to the core. Moving onto a screen at a time you must shoot out anything and everything in your path, including lots of regenerating static targets. Realistic gravity takes effect, so you can't simply hover in a set position.

Airwolf

Atari 800 - Released - 1984

Blue Thunder (later released as Airwolf) is a side-scrolling shooter and tie-in with the short-lived TV series of the same name which has you piloting a new 'jetcopter' as the only survivor of an alien assault. As it turns out, you're not alone after all, so you depart from your ship and fly across a sea full of heavily defended islands to reach the enemy stronghold, disable its defenses and rescue your comrades. Should you succeed, you get to try it again at a higher difficulty level, where you'll face enemies with higher firing rates, planes, barrage balloons and missile-armed submarines. All the while you'll have to keep an eye on your dwindling fuel supply. Your jetcopter can fire at any angle it's flying, even straight down. The C64 version scrolls in the opposed direction and has a few smaller differences in the environmental graphics. The Atari 8-Bit version was later re-released with a new TV show license (Airwolf) and a new helicopter model.

Back to the Future

Commodore 64 - Released - July 15, 1986

In the single mode game, the player controls Marty McFly through various stages set in 1955 in which he collects various clock icons in order to advance to the next level, and avoid the gradual vanishing of his future (indicated by a fading photograph at the bottom of the screen). If the photograph fades fully, Marty would lose a life as it would show him vanishing. Collecting 100 clocks restored the photograph to its full, unfaded status. Two power-ups can help improve Marty's control: bowling balls that can destroy enemies and a skateboard which can speed up gameplay. There are also three minigames at the end of each stage, featuring such scenarios as Marty repelling Biff Tannen's gang of bullies from a cafe, blocking all the kisses Lorraine sends Marty (in the shape of little hearts), and having to position his guitar properly to stay in tune at the dance in order for George and Lorraine to kiss. The gameplay on these stages is often compared to that of Paperboy.

Battleships

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1988

What can you add to Battleship over the pencil and paper version? A computerized opponent, fairly obviously, as well as the chance to play without using up the earth’s limited paper and pen resources. The possibility of cheating is removed as well. Elite go beyond this by changing the shapes of the ships to be more Tetris style, and allowing these to be placed at each of the 4 main angles. A ‘Salvo Fire’ mode sees each player fire a succession of shots (each of your six ships gets four shots a turn until it’s sunk), meaning that strategic play involves firing on a wide range initially in the hope of finding a ship, before homing in on the area in the next turn. Finally, there’s an animated sequence for each go, which is depicted as an air strike. As well as standard two-player games, there’s also a multi-player mode in which the winner’s score accumulates until he loses, allowing for a “winner stays on” structure if there are 3 or more of you.

Batty

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1987

Batty is influenced by Arkanoid's method of reviving the Breakout phenomenon. You control a paddle at the bottom of the screen, with the top half of the screen containing an arrangement of bricks, most of which can be destroyed. You must move the paddle left and right so as to make contact with a ball, and thus deflect it (using the walls at the sides strategically) into the bricks, some of which require multiple hits to destroy. Wipe the destructible bricks out, and you move on to the next level; fail to keep the ball in play and you lose one of your 5 lives. Some destroyed bricks release power-up tokens, which must be 'caught' with the bat as they fall. Functions include multi-ball, a larger paddle, and the ability to 'catch' and relaunch the ball each time, which makes it a lot easier to gain access to precise bricks or areas. Batty also has enemies flying around and dropping bombs towards you - the bombs cause your bat to stick for a second, perhaps costing a life. Many levels contain magnets at the top of the screen, which make the ball's path harder to predict. The two player mode gives each player access to half the playfield, so co-operation is required.

Beyond the Ice Palace

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1988

AIM: Beyond the Ice Palace lies a mystical land caught up in a battle between good and evil. Dark spirits are setting alight the forests, destroying the homes and livelihood of simple woodcutters. In desperation the ancient and wise spirits of the woods shoot a sacred arrow into the air. Whoever finds it will be able to destroy the powers of darkness... GAMEPLAY: Like any other platform game - you run, jump and duck through a horizontally scrolling landscape, avoiding the various creatures and their shots. You can collect various weapons of differing strengths, ranging from a knife to a fireball. They have individual effects on various creatures, some of which need to be shot several times. Two Spirits of the Forest accompany you on your journey. When activated via the keyboard they sacrifice themselves in order to reduce the power of the enemies currently on the screen, weakening some and killing others. Extra spirits and bonus icons, which boost points, are scattered around the land.

Bomb Jack

Atari ST - Released - 1988

In Bomb Jack, the player controls Jack, who must collect all the bombs in order to complete the current round and go onto the next one. This sounds easy, right? Wrong! Making Jack's task difficult are numerous enemies such as birds, mummies, turtles, and orbs. In each round, collecting a number of bombs results in a bonus coin appearing, and collecting this coin will make the player's score increase 2 to 4 times. More often than not, the "power ball" appears, and when you collect this, you can defeat enemies and have more time to collect all the bombs. There is also the "E" coin, which gives Jack one additional life, but rarely does this coin appear. The more you progress through the game, the more difficult it becomes, as enemies travel more quickly to get you.

Buggy Boy

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1987

Buggy Boy is a race game, but not just an ordinary race game. There are five different routes, offroad, north, east, west, south. The offroad course loops around back to the start, the others are long runs with a distinct beginning and ending. You must complete each leg before the time runs out. Along the way you can pick up all kinds of bonuses. The colored flags are 30 points each, collect all colors in the order as indicated at the top of the screen to get 1000 bonus points. There are several gates the give you 100, 250 or 500 points, and a time gate. Drive through a time gate to collect it, you receive two seconds extra time upon completing a leg. Occasionally there will be a soccer ball on the road, hit it and it will fly away and you get 2000 points. There are bridges and tunnels, be careful not to fall off the bridge into the water or crash into the tunnel wall. There also are obstacles like boulders, logs and fences. If you hit them it will cost you valuable seconds off your leg time. But if you hit a log or small stone just right, the buggy will ride on two wheels until you hit something again.

Commando

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1985

The player takes control of a soldier named Super Joe, who starts by being dropped off in a jungle by a helicopter, and has to fight his way out singlehandedly, fending off a massive assault of enemy soldiers. Super Joe is armed with a sub-machine gun (which has unlimited ammunition) as well as a limited supply of hand grenades. While Joe can fire his gun in any of the eight directions that he faces, his grenades can only be thrown vertically towards the top of the screen, irrespective of the direction Joe is facing. Unlike his SMG bullets, grenades can be thrown to clear obstacles, and explosions from well placed grenades can kill several enemies at once. At the end of each level, the screen stops, and the player must fight several soldiers streaming from a gate or fortress. They are ordered out by a cowardly officer, who immediately runs away, although shooting him in the back awards the player bonus points. Along the way, one can attempt to free prisoners of war as they are transported across the screen by the enemy. In the NES version, there is a more powerful machine gun upgrade, as well as "glasses" to let the player view all the hidden bunkers and an unlimited grenade upgrade (the player will lose these upgrades after losing a life).

Commando

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1985

Commando is an arcade game developed by Capcom. It was ported to the BBC Microcomputer by Catalyst Coders and published by Elite Systems. It retained it's original title for the UK market, but the German release was called Space Invasion and had all soldiers replaced with white androids. This created an odd contrast to the World War II scenario background graphics. Elite Systems also re-released the game on their budget Encore label.

Commando

Commodore Plus 4 - Released - 1986

Several levels await your super-tough Commando in this vertical scrolling game. Armed with only a standard rifle and a few grenades you must take on hordes of Nazis. Some are wandering around in the open, while others have picked out hiding places, which you must approach from certain angles. Trees, rivers and bridges create a varied combat-like terrain and must be incorporated into your thinking. Extra grenades can be collected, and will definitely be required, as they allow you to kill from distance and thus avoid some enemy shots.

Frank Bruno's Boxing

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1985

Former boxing World Champion Frank Bruno, famed for his catchphrase "you know what I mean, Harry?" and more recently his heroic battle with depression, put his name to this boxing game which replicates Super Punch-Out!!. As Frank, you must take on 8 progressively tough boxers (3 on C16) to win the title. The action is viewed from right behind Frank in 3D, meaning that you can see and feel the full impact of punches. A full range of moves is provided, with the standard jabs complimented by body punches and the ability to dodge, duck or raise your guard. Each punch weakens your opponent's strength, although going long enough without being hit can see this begin to recover. A rain of blows can produce a quick knockout, but in general you must hit him many times, and then with a knockout blow, to see him go down.

Frank Bruno's Boxing

Commodore Plus 4 - Released - 1986

Former boxing World Champion Frank Bruno, famed for his catchphrase "you know what I mean, Harry?" and more recently his heroic battle with depression, put his name to this boxing game which replicates Super Punch-Out!!. As Frank, you must take on 8 progressively tough boxers (3 on C16 and Plus/4 version) to win the title. The action is viewed from right behind Frank in 3D, meaning that you can see and feel the full impact of punches. A full range of moves is provided, with the standard jabs complimented by body punches and the ability to dodge, duck or raise your guard. Each punch weakens your opponent's strength, although going long enough without being hit can see this begin to recover. A rain of blows can produce a quick knockout, but in general you must hit him many times, and then with a knockout blow, to see him go down. Most of your opponents have a special move which must be avoided, or you will be floored instantly. Once you have beaten all of your opponents you are declared Champion of the World.

Grand National

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1990

Every aspect of the famous horse race, held over the daunting hurdles course at Aintree in Liverpool every April, is recreated here. Before each race you can place bets on up to five horses, with the odds calculated realistically, even taking betting tax into account. When choosing which horses to back, and which one to actually ride, you must consider the 'going' (what condition the ground surface is in) and which horses are likely to suit your style. Once the race is underway you must direct the horse left and right (weaving across other horses can cause disqualification in the post-race Steward's Enquiry), jump at the right time to clear each hurdle, and crack the whip to speed up the horse. During the race you will be told how many horses are still running, as well as your own position and the identity of the leader.

Hoppin' Mad

Commodore 64 - Released - 1988

The player controls four bouncing balls that must make their way through twelve environments ranging from park to desert and beach to undersea world, collecting up to ten balloons in each. Each one of the balls must deal with several hazards, by jumping over them or crushing them. Collision with any of these will cause a ball to burst. The player can speed up or slow down the balls, or control their height, to make it easy to avoid these hazards. If all four balls have been punctured, the player loses a life. Once all ten balloons have been collected, the player is transported to the next environment, and when they have managed to get through all twelve environments, the player is transported back to the first environment.

Ikari Warriors (Elite Systems)

Commodore 64 - Released - 1988

Behind enemy lines, guerrilla warfare are your tactics as you battle your way through the jungles, rivers, ruins, and opposing entrenchments in this arcade hit. Picking up an array of weaponry - machine guns, grenades, rocket launchers, and even a tank! - you must battle your way to survival and conquest. Not to be confused with the Data East Version of the same name that came out the prior year.

Last Battle

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1991

Last Battle is a side-scrolling beat-em-up game in which the player takes control of a martial artist named Aarzak who must single-handedly (and -footedly) defeat the lackeys of an evil fighter called Duke, and eventually stand against three generals who have kidnapped his girlfriend. The hero fights using punches and kicks, combining these moves with jumping and crouching. He also has a special power meter that refills over the time. When the power meter is full, Aarzak gains a boost that allows him to perform rapid attacks for the rest of the stage. Most of the levels are simple scrolling areas that the player needs to complete within a time limit. Some levels, however, are more maze-like, requiring the player to explore them in order to find the exit. Bosses await Aarzak at the end of most stages. He will also encounter allies who will increase his offensive or defensive strength, or replenish his health. The original Japanese version is based on the Fist of the North Star manga and anime; the protagonist is Kenshiro, the main hero of the series. All character names have been changed in the translated version, which also has reduced gore. However, the rest of the visuals, gameplay, and locations remain identical.

Mike Read's Computer Pop Quiz

Commodore Amiga - Released - 1989

BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read presented a pop music quiz show, which is recreated here with questions from the 50s to the 80s. You can play against the computer or another human; either way, select a specialist subject and 2 team-mate graphics (all representing white people). The overall style and presentation are very similar to Elite's earlier A Question of Sport license. In the first round you select one of twelve random questions from the Jukebox, each of which has four options. A correct answer earns you two points, while an incorrect answer gives your opponent the chance to steal for one point. In round 2 you get three clues to name a star - you get three points for guessing from one clue, two points from two, and one point if you need all 3. In round three, choose an Easy question (from your category) for one point, or a Hard one (from someone else's) for two. Round four asks you to Guess The Year that a set of events happened in, with scoring the same as round 2. Then comes the quickfire round - answer up to nine questions in 45 seconds, with a 2-second penalty for an incorrect answer. Finally, the six remaining Jukebox pictures are revealed and answered.

Mike Read's Computer Pop Quiz

Amstrad CPC - Released - 1989

Mike Read's Computer Pop Quiz

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1989

BBC Radio 1 DJ Mike Read presented a pop music quiz show, which is recreated here with questions from the 50s to the 80s. You can play against the computer or another human; either way, select a specialist subject and 2 team-mate graphics. The overall style and presentation are very similar to Elite's earlier A Question of Sport license. In the first round you select one of twelve random questions from the Jukebox, each of which has four options. A correct answer earns you two points, while an incorrect answer gives your opponent the chance to steal for one point. In round 2 you get three clues to name a star - you get three points for guessing from one clue, two points from two, and one point if you need all 3. In round three, choose an Easy question (from your category) for one point, or a Hard one (from someone else's) for two. Round four asks you to Guess The Year that a set of events happened in, with scoring the same as round 2. Then comes the quickfire round - answer up to nine questions in 45 seconds, with a 2-second penalty for an incorrect answer. Finally, the six remaining Jukebox pictures are revealed and answered.

Overlander

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1988

Overlander sees Elite attempt a Roadblasters style driving game with shooting overtones, with the action viewed from behind your armour-plated well-armed car. It all takes place in a post-apocalyptic universe in which a lot of money can be earned by transporting goods form place to place, but the large gangs of Overlanders who already do this are keen to stop you. Two missions are on offer at a time, one tougher but more lucrative than the other, with half the money paid upfront and the other half on successful completion. Before setting off, you can buy upgrades such as turbo chargers, armour and enhanced weapons, each of which has a limited lifespan. Attacks from other vehicles can come either from guns or attempting ramming, and the roads are poorly-maintained and hazardous, so be careful, or better yet be violent first.

Paperboy

Commodore 64 - Released - 1986

Hop on your bike for a free-wheeling ride up the avenues of not-so-typical suburbia. There are papers to be delivered, robbers to be foiled, and fame and fortune to be won as you brave the mean streets. Avoid motorcycles, tricycles, traffic, tires, gratings, curbs, dogs, skateboarders, breakdancers, bad guys, and other hazards as you deliver to your customers. Earn bonus points by hitting targets along the obstacle course at the end of your route. With superb animation and sound effects, Paperboy brings home all the thrills, spills, challenge, and excitement you loved in the arcades.