Beach Head
Beach-Head is a video game developed and published in 1983 by Access Software for the Atari 8-bit computers and Commodore 64 in the US. Versions for the 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 versions for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 16, and Plus/4 in 1985.
Beach Head
- Model
- Beach Head
- Date
- 1985
- Publisher
- Amsoft
- Genre
- run and gun
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Beach-Head is a video game developed and published in 1983 by Access Software for the Atari 8-bit computers and Commodore 64 in the US. Versions for the 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 versions for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 16, and Plus/4 in 1985.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Beach Head. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q812832
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Beach-Head • Developer — Sculptured Software (Apple) Ocean Software (CPC, Spec) Anirog Software (C16, Plus/4) Orpheus (MSX) D&L Research (Thomson) • Designer — Bruce Carver Kevin Homer • Released — 1983 • Genre — Shoot 'em up • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer • Platforms — Acorn Electron, Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit, Apple II, BBC Micro, Commodore 16 & Plus/4, Commodore 64, Enterprise, MSX, Thomson MO5, Thomson TO7/70, ZX Spectrum
Gameplay
Gameplay
• Illustration — Tank on the run to the enemy gun The game's setting is the Pacific Ocean theater 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 gun emplacement requires multiple hits to be destroyed, but traverses faster than tanks can aim and fire, so it cannot be destroyed in a single attempt. In order to complete the game multiple tanks must make it through to the final level.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- United States
Reception
Reception
Beach-Head was Access' best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987. It was the first U.S. Gold release to sell 250,000 copies. 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, and was rated 70% overall. In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Beach Head the 117th-best computer game ever released.
Legacy
Legacy
A sequel, Beach Head II: The Dictator Strikes Back, was released in 1985. A version of the game for Amiga was planned, but was cancelled when an agreement to publish with U.S. Gold could not be reached. In 2000, a loose remake of the game, Beach Head 2000, was released for the Windows and MacOS platforms.
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Newsfield. Beach Head. Zzap64. 6. 62. 1985.
- 2.Ferrell, Keith. The Commodore Games That Live On And On. Compute's Gazette. 18–22. December 1987.
- 3.History in the Making: The First Three Years. Computer and Video Games. 83 (September 1988). 51. 16 August 1988.
- 4.Peterson, Cheryl. Beach-Head. Ahoy!. 63. April 1984.
- 5.Staff. 150 Best (and 50 Worst) Games of All Time. Computer Gaming World. 148. 63–65, 68, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 84, 88, 90, 94, 98. November 1996.
- 6.Amiga Lore - abime.net. www.abime.net.
- 7.Our Favorite Games. Compute!. 12. May 1988.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Collectables
20,755 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Beach Blanket VolleyballWork
- Beach Buggy BlitzWork
- Beach Buggy RacingWork
- Beach Buggy SimulatorWork
- Beach Head 2002Work
- Beach LifeWork
- Beach VolleyWork
- Beacon MotorsOrganisation
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a copy of Beach Head?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.