1 R 1337 - retro 1980's computer gaming

I was flicking through the usual webcomics i seem to have become addicted to and found the latest offering from 'Battlebarge' - a webcomic about a gaming shop. And on that page i found sometihing i thought lost forever - an updated version of Elite, the space faring gaimg from the 1980s.

Elite was an amzing game for its time. The graphics were very basic but very advanced at the same time. All the 3d modeling was rendered in lines - there was no filling in and therefore no blocky graphics or lurid colours - it was mostly black and white. The premise was simple - become someone ranked 'Elite'. That was it. No railroading through a terrible plot, no silly destiny, just a Cobra MKiii ship, you as the captain, a Universe to explore and trading to be done. That was it.

There was complete open-endedness throughout. You could just trade a lot between worlds, take out pirates or become a fugitive.

Now it is back and for free for the PC. Well, it is back with a load of different 'Elites'. There were 3 official 'Elite' titles, the original one called 'Elite' (Well, duh!), 'Frontier Elite 2', and 'Frontier: First Encounters'. There is also a version, which i have downloaded called 'Oolite' and seems to be fairly straight forward for a computer ludite like me.

Definitely visit, download and have a go.