Genre: | Arcade Game: Shoot-em-up |
Publisher: | U. S. Gold |
Cover Art Language: | English |
Machine Compatibility: | BBC Model B |
Release: | Professionally released on 5.25" Disc |
Available For: | Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC464/664/6128, Apple II, Atari 400/800/600XL/800XL/130XE, BBC Model B, Commodore 16/Plus 4, Commodore 64/128, Enterprise & Spectrum 48K/128K/+2 |
Compatible Emulators: | BeebEm (PC (Windows)) PcBBC (PC (MS-DOS)) Model B Emulator (PC (Windows)) |
Original Release Date: | 5th June 1984 |
Original Release Price: | £13.95 |
Market Valuation: | £4.00 (How Is This Calculated?) |
Item Weight: | 64g |
Box Type: | Cassette Single Plastic Clear |
Author(s): | Peter Johnson |
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This game was one of the big successes on the C64 and Spectrum, but I didn't find the action or the graphics particularly impressive. Read Review
A skilful and challenging outlet here for all that pent-up aggression. Read Review
Some people swear by this game. Other people hate it. I think that it is reasonable, but nothing to shout about. Read Review
The graphics are excellent, and the fact that your performance on each level determines your fire-power on the next is a great idea. Read Review
The loss of quality from the Commodore original is minimal and with the numerous scenarios it offers a range of games for the price of one. Read Review
A challenging naval battle followed by an invasion with land forces. If your troops succeed in penetrating the island defences, the most difficult challenge still remains; capturing the enemy fortress of Kuhn-Lin!
Beach Head has three skill levels. Easy, fair and hard. To select the appropriate skill level, type a number between 1 and 3. One is the easiest.
The opening sequence is an aerial reconnaissance overview of enemy held territory. At this point your first command strategy decision must be made.
Choices: You can choose between two strategies:
In this scene you will have to cross through a mined channel and avoid being struck by torpedoes fired by the automated defence system. To manoeuvre your ship, push left on the stick to turn left, right to turn right, forward to speed up and back to stop. Head for the opening directly across from the starting point.
Once you leave the passage you will be in a position to surprise the enemy and catch them in their harbour. Move swiftly to engage the enemy.
Fighters at twelve o'clock!
Enemy fighter squadrons are now attacking your fleet! If you have surprised the enemy, many of his aircraft are below deck and will be unable to respond to the attack. If you choose strategy two, the number of aircraft attacking your ships is considerably greater.
Use your joystick to aim your anti-aircraft guns and shoot down enemy planes. Pull back to raise or push forward to lower your guns. Press the button to fire. Your ammunition will not run out, but it does take a certain amount of time to replenish. Do not waste shells or you will not be able to fire rapidly at a critical time.
Enemy surveillance aircraft occasionally fly by to report the battle progress back to the island. If you destroy these planes, it will add 2,000 points to your score.
If you survive the onslaught of enemy aircraft, the naval battle begins.
Once enemy aircraft have been neutralised, the enemy battleships and cruisers will begin shelling your fleet. The joystick is now used to fire your heavy guns to sink the enemy ships. Again, as in the previous scene, if you have surprised the enemy and caught them out of position, it will take them longer to zero in on your fleet.
Each enemy ship is at a different distance from your fleet. When you fire your guns, a readout will appear on your control panel telling you the distance in metres that your shell was long or short. Your joystick controls the angle in degrees your guns are aiming. Each 0.5 degrees equals 100 metres. For example, if your readout tells you that your shell is 1,000 metres long, then you should decrease your gun elevation by 5 degrees to hit the target.
The control is the same as the anti-aircraft guns. However, the vertical movement will accelerate the longer you hold the position of the joystick.
The enemy aircraft carrier will attempt to escape. If you sink the carrier, it will add 10,000 points to your score.
After the naval battle, you must manoeuvre your remaining ships into the enemy harbour. Since there is only room for four ships in the harbour, you will be awarded 2,000 points for each extra ship.
Each ship that you navigate into the harbour carries two tanks. After your tanks have landed and your beach-head is established, you must fight your way through the island defence systems to get into the fortress of Kuhn-Lin. Once your tank starts forward there is no turning back! Tanks have side to side mobility but will continue forward at a constant speed.
There are numerous obstacles in your way including mines, anti-tank guns, enemy tanks, bunkers, etc. At this point the enemy is prepared and is throwing all his defence against your tanks to stop them. Each enemy defence system is worth a certain number of points, and their value is displayed when they are destroyed. Each time a tank succeeds in reaching Kuhn-Lin, the difficulty increases for the next tank. It will take you several tanks to finally destroy the fortress.
Once a tank has reached Kuhn-Lin, you must land 10 shells in the fortress to destroy it. There are ten targets to hit, but only one is vulnerable at a time. The vulnerable target will turn white. As each white target is hit, another will appear until all ten have been destroyed in sequence.
The fortress is defended by a huge cannon. Once this cannon has sighted you, it will get your range and fire. This cannon never misses. The final battle will require a task force of tanks to win. If you are successful in destroying the Fortress, the enemy surrenders and victory is yours!
Even if you destroy the fortress, Beach-Head allows you to compete for high scores. Game scoring is as follows:
Ships navigated safely through passage | ... | 3,000 ea. |
Airplanes | ... | 400 ea. |
Reconnaissance Plane | ... | 2,000 ea. |
Carrier | ... | 10,000 |
Other Ships | ... | 2,000 ea. |
Enemy Tank | ... | 1,000 ea. |
Machine Gun | ... | 400 ea. |
Bunkers | ... | 800 ea. |
Towers | ... | 600 ea. |
Targets | ... | 2,000 ea. |
Kuhn-Lin Destroyed | ... | 20,000 |
Extra Ships (over 4) | ... | 2,000 ea. |
Instructions for entering your name on the high score table will appear on the screen.
Z - Left, X - Right, * - Up, ? - Down, RETURN - Fire
Beach Head will operate either by the keyboard or a compatible joystick. To use a joystick press the Fire button from the high score table. To use the keyboard press the space bar from the high score table.
Tape: CHAIN"" (RETURN)
Disc: SHIFT-BREAK
The following utilities are also available to allow you to edit the supplied screens of this game:
A digital version of this item can be downloaded right here at Everygamegoing (All our downloads are in .zip format).
Download | What It Contains |
---|---|
A digital version of Beach Head suitable for BeebEm (PC (Windows)), PcBBC (PC (MS-DOS)), Model B Emulator (PC (Windows)) | |
A digital version of Beach Head suitable for BeebEm (PC (Windows)), PcBBC (PC (MS-DOS)), Model B Emulator (PC (Windows)) |
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