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Licence To Kill (BW Small)(2) FilmNovelisationGameSoundtrackSongCharactersReleases


Licence to Kill is a 1989 shoot 'em up video game developed by Quixel and published by Domark. The game is based on the 1989 film of the same name.

Gameplay[]

007: Licence to Kill is a top down vertical scrolling action shoot-em-up which closely follows the storyline of the 1989 film. The game consists of six premade levels in which 007 chases drug baron Franz Sanchez following the murder of his close friend Felix Leiter's bride. The levels within the game vary in setting and include helicopter chases, underwater diving, water-skis and behind the wheel of an 18-wheel tanker truck. The right hand side of the screen contains a heads-up display (HUD) which displays information about the current level, such as the height of the helicopter in the first level or the amount of ammunition remaining in the second level. Hostile enemies populate each level which can be killed or avoided and there are side objectives along the way such as picking up ammunition or drug caches. The player must dodge shots and environment dangers such as boats or falling rocks.

Platforms[]

007: Licence to Kill targeted multiple platforms initially and post-release with MI6-HQ.com calling it "one of the widest released 007 titles ever."[1] Alongside the original versions a version for BBC was coded by Lore Games who were subcontracted to Consul Technology who were in turn subcontracted to Domark.[2] It was based largely on the graphics from the Spectrum version, but with a freshly written sprite engine, character 'AI', sound effects and status display. It featured a double buffer screen refresh mechanism to eliminate flicker, and was available in cassette tape and floppy disc versions.

Another version was being written for NES by Simon Nicol from Tengen. Christopher West from Quixel inspected this version after the others had been completed and considered it finished despite missing the final level, but it went unreleased as by that point the Domark publishers felt that too much time had passed since the film's release and so the NES version would not be worth releasing.[1]

Reception[]

Computer Gaming World only recommended 007: Licence to Kill "strictly for the action-oriented player", with others likely finding it a "license to bore".[3] ACE Magazine considered it "fun while it lasts, but once you've cracked it you won't bother to come back."[4] The Games Machine was more positive, saying Licence to Kill was designed "on a grand scale" and that it "follow[s] the film quite well, albeit with scenes simplified to shoot-'em-up and dodge games."[5] Both Games Machine and Amiga magazine The One agreed that it was an improvement on Domark's previous three games, with The One calling it "...probably the best Bond game ever. Not only did it successfully capture the spirit of the film, it was also an enjoyable game to boot."[5][6]

Media[]

Images[]

Videos[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Making The Licence To Kill Game. Mi6-HQ.com. Retrieved on 2015-11-18.
  2. Licence to Kill game info. Mi6-HQ.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-09.
  3. Choi, Yung Min. "Nobody Does It Better", Computer Gaming World, January 1990, pp. 52. Retrieved on 15 November 2013. 
  4. Lacey, Eugene (September 1989). "Licence to Kill". ACE (Advanced Computer Entertainment). Retrieved on 2015-11-18.
  5. 5.0 5.1 (October 1989) "Licence to Kill". The Games Machine UK. Retrieved on 2015-11-18.
  6. (June 1991) "Licence to Kill". The One. Retrieved on 2015-11-18.

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