Credits
Design: Bob Thomas, Peter Cook,
Programming (C64): Dave Thomas
Programming: (Spectrum): Byron Nilsson
Programming: Martin W. Ward
Graphics: Steve Beverley
Graphics (C64): Bob Thomas
Graphics: David Percival
Graphics: Paul Walker
Graphics: Gary Tonge
Graphics (Spectrum): Peter Tattersall
Music: Mark Cooksey
Official Blurb
M has given you the top secret mission: "Find
Mr. Big, and don't come back until you do".
Q has given you the latest gadget: "Be very
careful with it 007. It is the fastest and most
dangerous speedboat ever made. Just to make
sure you find Mr. Big, we have arranged some
practice sessions for you in extreme conditions.
You'll go from the Desert to the Icebergs before
we let you loose in Florida - Mr. Big's home
country. Good luck 007"
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Above: Magazine advertisement |
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History
"Live And Let Die" was released on
October 20th, 1988 by a company named Domark
- named after it's founders whose names were
Dominic and Mark. The company no longer exists
after it was bought out along with United States
Gold & Core design and became part of the
Eidos video game company which still exists
today.
Developers Elite Systems International Ltd
began writing the game without knowing it would
ultimately become a James Bond title. The game
was swiftly branded with the usual 007 trappings
and titled "Live And Let Die" as publishers
Domark spotted the obvious connection with the
film's speedboat chase. Elite also released
the game "Aquablast" (the original
title) to the market without any Bond branding.
Developers Keypunch created the 16-bit versions
of the game for Domark.
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MI6 Review
Domark published a number of James Bond 007
licensed games during the late 1980's ("A
View To A Kill" (1985), "The Living
Daylights" (1987), "Licence To Kill"
(1989)) and into the early 1990's ("The
Spy Who Loved Me" (1990), "James Bond:
The Duel" (1993)), but 1988's "Live
And Let Die" has the unique position of
being the only title not originally designed
as a Bond game.
The game was a re-branding of a title already
in development ("Aquablast"), based
on the idea that the speedboat sequences in
the game were similar to the 15 minute Louisiana
bayous boat chase in the 1973 film. The storyline
of the movie was almost thrown out completely,
bar the title villain. Gone are the chasing
boats, J.W. Pepper and his cousin Billy Bob.
In are icebergs, helicopters and gun emplacements.
The game consists of three training missions
(practice course, north pole training exercise,
Sahara desert training exercise) and then one
"real" mission against Kananga in
New Orleans - basically the four types of terrain
you can have alongside a river. Level design
is flawed by the restrictive genre, leaving
you feeling that you've encountered the same
stretch of river a dozen times before you reach
the end of each mission.
There is little diversity in the game play
as "Live And Let Die" is nothing more
than a speedboat racing game. Despite striking
location changes, gameplay remains effective
the same, with only the graphics changing the
look of the same obstacles and targets.
Graphical quality varies wildly across the
platforms, and as you would expect, the 16-bit
Amiga and Atari ST versions are far superior
over their 8-bit counterparts. Of the older
systems, the C64 narrowly edges it over the
Amstrad CPC. Mark Cooksey is credited with the
music for all platforms, although the Spectrum
version deviates from the usual James Bond theme
remix with a track that does not even reference
the movie's title song. Sound effects are weak
on all the platforms, but especially the Spectrum
version, which has a grand total of two.
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Above: Reverse Amiga box
art
Above: Atari ST splash
screen
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"Live And Let Die" is a classic example
of the weak movie tie-in games that were released
around the late 80's / early 90's. Fortunately, better
- original - titles lay ahead for Domark, and "Live
And Let Die" can only be looked back upon as
quick fix stop-gap between their more robust outings.
Although rated by many as Domark's best 007 title
at the time of release, fortunately Bond fans had
much better things to come.
Commodore
64 screenshots.
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Advertising (Magazine)
THE GREATEST ACTION PACKED JAMES BOND 007 GAME EVER!
Goddam it boy! That darned Mister Bond bin at it
agin'. He done and wrecked twelve o' my bran' noo
po-lice cars, broke all da speed laws o' tha' country
an' now he's causin' mayhem in that boat a' his! If
ah ketch any o' yoo boy's or gals a' followin' his
exam-ple now, you'se better be watchin' yo' ar@*
Shee-oot!
Trivia
Elite Systems International Ltd who developed "Live
And Let Die" were also the team behind "Buggy
Boy". Many at the time considered "Aquablast"
(the non-Bond version) to be an unofficial sequel
to the C64 classic.
Manual
Introduction
Dr. Kananga, the infamous and ruthless Prime
Minister of the Caribbean island of San Monique,
an island whose people are controlled by the
fearful power of voodoo, is harvesting huge
fields of poppies concealed under camouflaged
netting on this paradise island.
He plans to control the US drug market by flooding
America with tons of free Heroin which would
create a living hell for millions, and incidentally,
provide money for arms to Eastern bloc allied
San Monique.
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Above: Spectrum "Encore"
Re-Release sleeve
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Dr. Kananga or "Mr Big" as
he is known in the underworld, is a shrewd operator
who conceals his dealings from prying eyes.
His headquarters, which are well hidden beneath
a cemetery on San Monique, ships all of the
un-refined heroin to processing factories in
remote and inaccessible locations.
James Bond, 007, the world's top secret agent
must undertake a series of dangerous missions
to overcome the covert operations of Dr. Kananga.
As James Bond you must carry out the orders
of "M", traveling by the only accessible means.
The Game
As James Bond you must travel along the
various waterways; Target practice, South American
jungle mission, Norwegian Fjords and Middle
East desert exercises.
In the target practice section the red targets
must be shot with the forward mounted machine
gun, the black targets must be shot using missiles.
There are two exercises that enable Bond to
learn about the type of defence system used
by Kananga, and finally the mission which is
bristling with Dr. Kananga's defences. You must
avoid mines, gun emplacements, dive bombing,
enemy helicopters, submarines, enemy planes
and enemy boats, some of which drop mines or
booby trapped fuel barrels and can only be destroyed
with a missile.
Along the way you must completely pick up fuel
by driving over fuel barrels, as well as the
canisters containing food and missiles dropped
by the C.I.A. helicopters.
Your speedboat must travel through dark tunnels,
slide up slopes to avoid obstacles and must
destroy closed lock gates with 'snuff' missiles.
With a lot of skill and some luck you will
reach the Heroin processing factories at the
end of the waterway. The factory can only be
destroy by leaping off a log into the air and
letting off a 'snuff' missile to finally destroy
the evil installations.
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Above: Amiga screenshots
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Walk Through
Unlike other games, this title does not
work on a common "lives" system.
Instead, it relies on a fuel gauge. There
are fuel pickups scattered about each
level except the practice course. When
you run out of fuel a reserve tank kicks
in that lasts for about seven to ten seconds.
When you run out of fuel, your boat slowly
slows down and the mission ends unless
you can collect a fuel pickup while you
are slowing down.
Practice Course
Objective: Duty Assignment 007... Improve
your steering and firing skills by using
your cannon to shoot the red targets and
missiles to destroy the black targets.
Can you get that 100% rating?
Allies: N/A
Enemies: N/A
Obstacles: Black and Red Targets
Tips: Press the fire button to fire your
cannon to destroy the red targets whilst
going at a fast speed, slow down, and
while slowing down, press the fire button
to fire your missiles to destroy the black
targets. There are 40 red targets and
ten black targets. You have infinite fuel
and missiles.
North Pole Training Exercise
Objective: N/A
Allies: Helicopter (Drops Fuel and Missiles)
Enemies: Defensive Cannons, Enemy Boats,
Enemy Plane
Obstacles: Icebergs, Logs, Mines Tunnel
Gate, Yellow Fake Fuel Pickups
Tips: Don't forget to collect fuel. To
collect fuel simply run into the boxes
that float in the water. These boxes can
sometimes be red, brown, green, and blue.
However, do not collect the yellow fuel
pickups. They were dropped by enemy boats
and they will kill you if you attempt
to collect them. The defensive guns, enemy
boats, and mines can be destroyed with
one shot from your cannon. To destroy
the tunnel gates you must fire a missile
at them. Your boat carries three missiles.
However, if you run out of missiles don't
worry because some pickups contain missiles.
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Controls
Spectrum
Pause - H
Boat control using joystick or Keyboard:
Left - O
Right - P
Accelerate - Q
Decelerate - A
Bullets - Space
Missiles - A + Space
Amstrad
Pause - Escape
Abort - Escape twice
Left - O
Right - P
Accelerate - Q
Decelerate - A
Bullets - Space
Missiles - Return
C64
Pause - Run/Stop
Abort - Return
Boat control using Joystick
ST and Amiga
Pause - Help
Abort - Escape
Boat control using Joystick or Mouse
Left Button - Missiles
Right Button - Bullets
Keyboard:
Cursor keys
Alt - Bullets
Shift - Missiles
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You may find the defensive cannon fire hard
to avoid. When a defensive cannon fires its
three-round burst and you are going at full
speed, immediately turn to the direction where
the shot is going and the shot will splash into
the water. The enemy plane that fires torpedoes
and missiles at you cannot be destroyed. The
torpedoes are slightly difficult to avoid -
try zig zagging to attempt to avoid them. To
avoid the two enemy missiles that launch simultaneously
simply drive through the middle of the path
they make.
Sahara Desert Training Exercise
Objective: N/A
Allies: Helicopter (Drops Fuel and Missiles)
Enemies: Defensive Cannons, Enemy Boats, Enemy
Plane
Obstacles: Rocks, Logs, Mines, Ramp, Tunnel
Gate, Yellow Fake Fuel Pickups
Tips: This level is very similar to the North
Pole Training Exercise except there is a change
in scenery and the icebergs are replaced with
rocks. The tactics for avoiding fire are exactly
the same as the tactics listed in the North
Pole Training Exercise.
New Orleans
Objective: Duty Assignment 007... Find
Mr. Big and destroy his Heroin processing plant...
Allies: Helicopter (Drops Fuel and Missiles)
Enemies: Defensive Cannons, Enemy Boats, Enemy
Plane, Submarine
Obstacles: Rocks, Logs, Mines, Ramp, Tunnel
Gate, Yellow Fake Fuel Pickups
Tips: When you get to around 67,000 points
you will see Mr. Big's heroin factory. To destroy
it, make a head-on collision with a log (those
brown sticks in the water), and while in the
air, fire a missile. To fire a missile, go at
a fast speed (100 MPH), pull back on your joystick,
and press the fire button to fire your missile(s)
to destroy the factory and you will complete
the mission. For tips on how to avoid the enemy
fire look at the North Pole Training Exercise
mission. When Mr. Big's factory is in your sight
watch out for the torpedoes because many are
launched when you first get there. When you
destroy Mr. Big's factory you will have completed
"Live And Let Die". |
Many thanks to "Lethal Weapon"
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