Elite: Gameplay, Platforms and Key Facts

Elite (1984) is a shooter, simulator, strategy video game developed by Acornsoft, available on Acorn Archimedes, bbcmicro, C64, ZXS, Atari-ST, Acorn Electron, DOS, Amiga. It holds an aggregated critic and player score of 78/100 on IGDB.

What is Elite about?

Elite is a space trading video game, written and developed by David Braben and Ian Bell and originally published by Acornsoft for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in September 1984. Elite's open-ended game model, and revolutionary 3D graphics led to it being ported to virtually every contemporary home computer system, and earned it a place as a classic and a genre maker in gaming history. The game's title derives from one of the player's goals of raising their combat rating to the exalted heights of "Elite".

Elite was one of the first home computer games to use wire-frame 3D graphics with hidden line removal. It added graphics and twitch gameplay aspects to the genre established by the 1974 game Star Trader. Another novelty was the inclusion of The Dark Wheel, a novella by Robert Holdstock which gave players insight into the moral and legal codes to which they might aspire.

Key details

Elite was released in 1984 and supports single player. Platforms: Acorn Archimedes, bbcmicro, C64, ZXS, Atari-ST, Acorn Electron, DOS, Amiga. Developer: Acornsoft.

Should you play Elite?

A solid 78/100 aggregate score makes Elite a safe pick for fans of shooter, simulator, strategy.