First Strike

"This is no ordinary plane - in fact, some say is the ultimate conventional air-combat weapons system - and it's all yours! Your mission is to carry out raids against specific targets in enemy territory, running the gauntlet of hostile aircraft, missiles and land and sea based forces. If successful, you will be promoted; but in a first strike situation only the most accomplished pilot will win through. Flying by day and night, from bases as far apart as the Arctic and Mediterranean, it is up to you to select the weapons you need for the job. But don't overload your plane or take too little fuel; even though you can restock and effect repairs at designated rendezvous points, you must calculate the odds exactly to survive!"

I first played this game from a cover mount on Commodore Force magazine. It was one of the few times where the game payed for itself unlike later cover games being early releases that everyone had likely played before.

It looks and plays like a budget game you expect from Elite with very little variation between levels and no ending. The controls can feel over sensitive at time with the plane seemingly going where it wants at times. But other than that, it plays well enough apart from cheap deaths as enemies fly into you from the front and behind. Each mission is made up of 3 stages with a primary target that must be destroyed in stage 2 or 3. Ideally you know before hand which it will appear in and take a weapon loadout suitable for that stage. Destroying the Primary target rewards you with an extra life and a promotion which is what the game is all about.

Overall, its a pretty good flying action shooting game much like afterburner. Simple but detailed graphics and a great scrolling parallax routine depicting movement across the landscape. It really is the Top Gun game we should have had.

00:00:00 Title Music
00:02:20 Mission 1
00:06:00 Mission 2
00:15:15 Mission 3
00:25:28 Mission 4
00:34:35 Mission 5
00:44:50 Mission 6
00:54:30 Mission 7
01:06:05 Mission 8