Elite
Game developer: David Braben, Ian Bell
Game release date: 20 September 1984 year
Game status: Released
I doubt I have to tell much about this game because it remains very popular to this day. In short you start the game with a small spaceship with only a single laser, a few missiles and 100 credits and from there it's entirely up to you where to go and what to do. You can make a safe living by trading goods between different systems or you can be a bounty hunter by getting all the pirates flying around, heck you can even be a pirate if you want.
At the start of the game your options are very limited as you have a very limited amount of equipment and cash. You can trade many different kinds of goods ranging from food to slaves but in trading remember which items are most wanted on that particular system so you can sell them at a premium. The galaxy is a large place so you'll have plenty of planets to visit and in this game there are several galaxies each containing hundreds of systems. Of course you won't be able to visit these until later in the game when you get a better hyperdrive. You can view the galaxy and the area you can travel to is highlighted in a circle so it's easy to see where you can go. You can also get information about the planets like tech levels and what type of government exists there. This is vital so you can find out what treats you can expect when you go there.
A large part of the game involves flying through space and you will encounter both good and bad guys but it's up to you how to react to them. Don't go around shooting the police or you will become an outlaw. It depends on the system you are in because a planet that is in anarchy is likely to have pirates ships flying around. If you are able to destroy them you'll get a nice reward but always remember you are alone so don't get into a fight you can't win. Combat isn't the only thing you can do in space as you can also destroy asteroids which will get you a small reward but at least it's safe. You can also get fuel if you have a fuel scoop by flying close to the sun which will save you a lot of credits on fuel.
It's not strange that these days free roaming games like grand theft auto are so popular because the freedom to do what you want is something that many people have been longing for in computer games. Elite however delivered such an experience 20 years ago when it was first released and even though you are limited to space travel it is still great fun. There have been a number of sequels made and they might have improved upon the presentation but none of them really improved upon the gameplay. If you have never played this game you should check it out as this is one of the true classics around. Even better the game has been released as freeware by it's creators Ian Bell and David Braben and you can find tons of info on the game on the official page create by Ian Bell.
Game genre: 3D Games, Simulators, Space Games, Action Games
Platform/System: MS-DOS Games, Amiga Games, Commodore 64 Games, Apple 2 Games, ZX Spectrum Games
Elite : Is it worth playing?
