007: Licence To Kill

007: Licence to Kill is a video game based on the James Bond film of the same name. The game was developed by a company called Quixel and published by Domark in 1989. The game was fairly popular among gamers and to celebrate its fame and financial potential it was ported to other platforms, specifically: Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari, Commodore 64 (C64), MSX and ZX Spectrum. Because of the diversity of the platform and graphics capacities of these computers, the game differs slightly from platform to platform. The PC version remains the easiest one to beat, but the graphics could be a little better. The C64 version, however, was the one that got the most attention from the owners of that platform because not only was it more challenging, the enemy AI was smarter, and there were plenty more ways to die than in the original PC version, which can feel a little too easy for an experienced gamer. The game's storyline is based on the film in which James Bond (played by Timothy Dalton) is chasing Sanchez who murdered Felix Leiter's bride. The player must then destroy the drugs carried by 4 eighteen wheelers. The game contains 5short parts including different elements of gameplay from flying helicopters, walking, in mid-air, underwater, on water skis and in the last level, guiding a plane to so the character can land on a truck. Once on the truck you can drive it too. In the first level of the game you are given control of a helicopter. Just don't fly low close to the ground or you may crash into a tree or a house. Your enemies are hiding in gray houses and will attempt to shoot you down at every opportunity. Avoiding the enemy bullets that seem to come from every direction your mission is to reach the entrance to the enemy military base and drop off Bond to continue to the second level. The trick is to fly into the right spot at the end of the level until you see the word "jump" beside your chopper and press the fire button. Bond will jump off the chopper and you will proceed to the next task. The second level begins once Bond enters the enemy base. Here Bond will use a hand gun to fight off the enemy soliders. Holding the fire button down will activate the target which you can rotate in clock or counter-clockwise direction. This will ensure Bond shoot in that direction only until it is modified again. This can be a little frustrating to someone who is playing this game for the first time but it is not that bad and the learning curve is not very steep. Initially you have three clips, some of the additional ammo is available once you shoot the enemies. This means that once you run out of ammo, it may be impossible to reload your gun. While there is an abundance of ammo, be careful not to get trigger-happy for no reason. Explosive barrels are strategically located on the map that can be shot. The shockwave of the explosion will also kill a nearby enemy, which is a great strategy to use if you feel you are running out of ammo. You are allowed to be shot 5 times (always in your kevlar of course) until your chances for survival deplete. The game indicator above the score and bonus points will indicate that. At the end of the second level Bond finds another choper and jumps right in. In the third level you are back in the air once again. This time the choper has a hook attached to it, the purpose of which is to catch an airplane. This can be achieving by repeatedly pressing the fire button while aiming for the plane's tail. Once the choper hooks to the plane Bond will jump out, this time with a parachute. At this point Bond lands into water and the net mission continues the game. The fourth level will have you swimming in the water. For some reason you are no longer equipped with a gun and only have a knife to save yourself against the bad guys who are in fact shooting at you. Avoid boats and kill the enemy soliders with your knife. You must then obtain a harpoon and shoot the plane with it. Once you pull that off you will be attached to the plane with a rope and you will need to avoid hitting the rocks as you approach the airplane. In the fifth level you are on the airplane and you must destroy the four trucks transporting Sanchez's drugs by jumping off onto them. Once you complete the final mission, you are greeted with the final screen and the game starts all over again. If you have the choice between playing the PC or the C64 version, be aware that the C64 is much more respected by the gamers not out of nostalgia but because it is a much more challenging version of the game. Overall, a fun game, recommended for the fans of James Bond. While not the best example of the magic of the DOS games era, still a respectable game that is well known by many games throughout the world. Check it out! Fortunecity Cinerama Page dedicated to 007: Licence to Kill (PC version) mi6.co.uk Studies the version difference, with screenshots.