7.8 /10 1 Votes
Release date(s) 1983 | 3.9/5 Classic Retro Games Initial release date 1983 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mode(s) Single player, Two players alternating Developers Indie Built, David J. Anderson Similar Indie Built games, Shoot 'em up games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Beach-Head is a video game developed and published in 1983 by Access Software for the Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64 home computers in the US. Versions for the C16, ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro and Acorn Electron (as well as the Atari and C64 versions) were published in Europe by U.S. Gold in 1984, followed by a version for the Amstrad CPC platform in 1985.
The game's setting is the Pacific Theatre of World War II. Gameplay consists of several varying stages in which the player must control various vehicles including warships and tanks in order to defeat an enemy fleet, break through enemy beach defences and destroy an enormous gun-emplacement to win the game.
The game was included on the 1985 compilation They Sold a Million, along with Daley Thompson's Decathlon, Sabre Wulf and Jet Set Willy.
A sequel, Beach Head II: The Dictator Strikes Back, was released in 1985. A loose remake of the game, Beach Head 2000 was released in 2000.
Reception
Beach-Head was Access' best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987. Ahoy! stated "This game is a blast". It praised the graphics and concluded, "It is a remarkable programming achievement". Compute! listed the game in May 1988 as one of "Our Favorite Games", stating that it was superior to its "many imitators".
Zzap!64 reviewed the game in a retrospective feature in October 1985. They argued that although it was considered impressive at the time of release it had already become dated. It was rated 70% overall.