Credits
Design: John Kavanagh
Programming (Atari ST): Paul Margrave
Programming (IBM PC): Marcus Goodey
Programming (C64): Chris West
Programming (Amiga): Bozz Boswell
Graphics: Tony West
Graphics (Spectrum): Andy Blazdell
Sound: David Whittaker
Official Blurb
Timothy Dalton plays James Bond in the movie.
But in this adventure, you're the star.
The powerful drug czar Sanchez has murdered
your best friend's bride. So you're out to take
him down. Show no mercy as you battle him on
land, at sea and in the air.
You'll need to take the controls of helicopters,
planes and tankers. Perform death-defying stunts
in midair. Even water-ski in your bare feet!
The breakneck action closely follows the James
Bond film. Including an exhilarating helicopter
chase ... an underwater pursuit dodging harpoons
... and a high-speed demolition derby with 18-wheel
oil trucks!
Here's your licence. The rest is up to you!
- Six increasingly dangerous levels.
- Movie-like story line and action.
- Colourful graphics and realistic animation.
History
"Licence to Kill" was released on
April 20th, 1989 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. The developers
"Quixel" were credited on the title
screen with a small word in the lower left corner.
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Above: PC Box Art |
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), "Live
And Let Die" (1988)) and into the early 1990's
("The Spy Who Loved Me" (1990), "James
Bond: The Duel" (1993)), but 1989's "Licence
To Kill" is regarded by many as their finest
hour. Unlike the movie, the game proved more successful
than other recent 007 outings, receiving positive
reviews and selling well above expectations across
all platforms.
The game consists of six scenes based closely on
parts of the movie, with the action taking place in
a helicopter, on foot, in mid-air, underwater, on
water-skis and behind the wheels of a Kenworth tanker
truck!
The diversity of gameplay and level design is to
be commended, especially during an era when movie
tie-in games were largely platform based. Smooth controls
ramp up the enjoyment factor, along with a great soundtrack
by David Whittaker and detailed graphics by Tony West.
The difficulty is set just right - tough enough to
make the relatively short game last a good while.
After completing the game, the difficulty gets increased
to prolong the game's life-span.
Viewed within the era that "Licence To Kill"
was released, Domark's fourth 007 outing (although
obsolete in today's next-gen console world) raised
the bar for future Bond games and can now be looked
back upon as one of the series' more robust titles.
Amiga |
Commodore 64 |
Commodore 64 |
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Advertising (Magazine)
He's used to getting what he wants....This time he wants
revenge.
He's big. He's back. He's James Bond 007.....and
now in a thrilling adaptation from the new movie Licence
to Kill, you can take his place.
Licence to Kill is a multi-level, multi-role game
- you take the controls of helicopters, boats and
tankers, perform some death-defying parachute stunts
and take to the seas for a spot of barefoot water
skiing. A steady aim and steady fire is needed - shoot
from the hip and take out the 'baddies'.
It's action packed and closely follows the latest
adventures of the world's best kept Secret Agent in
the brand new and most exciting movie of them all.
James Bond in Licence to Kill.....appearing shortly
on a small screen near you.
Amstrad CPC |
ZX Spectrum |
ZX Spectrum |
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Trivia
- Tengen developed a Nintendo Entertainment System
(NES) incarnation of "Licence To Kill" based
on the PC version, but it was never released. Programmed
by Simon Nicol, the completed game was not published
by Domark as they deemed too much time had passed
since the original release on other platforms.
- Some versions play the theme from "You Only
Live Twice" when you die.
Manual
On every level, you'll have a control panel on the
right hand side of the screen. You'll always be shown
the number of lives you have left, and you'll also
see important information about the level you're playing
- number of bullets, amount of oxygen, time remaining,
etc. At certain times, a remainder will appear telling
you to jump, shoot, etc. Press "Fire" to
do this. Once you have mastered each scene, improve
your score by going round again - but this time it
will be much harder.
Scene 1: Bond and his partner, Felix Leiter, swoop low in
their helicopter over Cray Cay to prevent Sanchez
from escaping in his jeep. Avoid the obstacles
(Of varying height) and shoot out the gun emplacements
as you gun down the jeep. Remember, the faster
you fly, the lower you go! The control panel
shows how much your helicopter is damaged and
how high you're flying.
Scene 2: Bond leaps into
action and sets off on foot to catch Sanchez.
Watch out - many of Sanchez' henchmen have been
deployed to ambush you. Your wits and your 15-shot
Beretta can make the difference! Duck and shoot
your way through while collecting extra magazines
from the gunmen you take out. Watch out for
the oil barrels as they explode after four direct
hits. The control panel shows how many hits
you've taken. (Five hits is worth a life) and
how many magazines/bullets you have.
Scene 3: Bond is lowered by
rope from the helicopter as Sanchez attempts
to escape to Cuba in his aircraft. Guide 007
onto the back of the dodging plane and attach
the tow rope. Remember, Bond can't jump to the
plane if you are in the clouds! Position Bond
directly over the tail of the plane and press
the fire button to "lock-on" - it's
not as easy as it sounds, and time is running
out! The control panel shows how much time you
have before Sanchez leaves U.S. territory.
Scene 4: 007 dives into the
thick of it as he interrupts a "drop"
by the drug smugglers. THey set off in hot pursuit
and Bond must swim for his life as divers are
launched against him. Swim underwater to stop
the boats from firing. Kill enemy divers (and
get their harpoons) by pressing the space bar/joystick
button when you run into them. Destroy the drug
caches for a bonus. When the seaplane appears,
line up with one of the pontoons and hit it
with a harpoon to move to the next level. The
control panel shows your oxygen level - you
can stay underwater only until your oxygen runs
out.
Scene 5: You're off in a high
speed chase as you water ski barefoot behind
the seaplane. Watch out for the rocks and floating
objects that can send you for a spill! Weave
your way to the seaplane to gain control and
escape!
Scene 6: You have destroyed
Sanchez' drug factory only to find he has escaped
you once again. You must prevent Sanchez reaching
the border with his drugs haul stored in 18-wheeler
tankers. Position your stolen crop-duster above
the truck until you see the square target; press
"fire"/space bar to jump into the
truck. Use this truck to destroy each and every
tanker in turn until you reach the final tanker
containing Sanchez. The control panel shows
where your truck has been damaged. |
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Above: Amiga Screenshots
Above: PC Screenshot
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Walk Through
Drug Busters: You start
off in a helicopter and there is a jeep
on the run. There will be lots of buildings
shooting at you in this level but they
shouldn't cause much damage. When the
level starts off it's recommended to gain
as much altitude as possible (Down Arrow)
and turn to the left. Usually, if you
don't, 5-10 bullets go into your helicopter.
You can destroy the jeep if you want.
If you do, it makes the 2nd level a LOT
easier. Do your best to dodge the enemy
fire. When you reach the end of the level
turn to the right, wait for a white box
with JUMP on it to appear and press Space
Bar.
Drug Busters II: If
you destroyed the jeep on the first mission,
it's gone in this level and makes it a
lot easier. On the right menu, if you
see two or three bullet holes that means
you've been shot two or three times. If
you are shot five times by the enemy you
lose. A good strategy in this level is
just to run and dodge the bullets as best
as you can. When you reach a wall of barrels
shoot a barrel five times and it will
blow up. Cross the street, kill the bad
guys at the helicopter if you want and
enter the helicopter from the right. Note:
if you enter it from the left the mission
does not end.
Let's Go Fishing: You're
back in the helicopter and Sanchez is
escaping in his private plane. You have
two minutes to lower yourself to the tail
of the plane and hook a rope onto the
tail. If you unsure if you are above the
tail and are allowed to tie the rope around,
look for a small red box. When you do
see a small red box, press Space Bar and
Bond will automatically pull the rope
around the tail and "reel him in"
as Felix Leiter put it in the movie. You
will now parachute into the sea.
Water-Ski: You are in
the sea now. Kill an enemy diver, take
his harpoon gun, and shoot it at the landing
gear of the plane and go water skiing
to the plane. Note: If you have beaten
the game and are playing the game for
the 2nd time in a row people in the boat
will be shooting at you with automatic
sub-machine guns. So, stay near a raft
and wait until a diver dives into the
water. When you get near a diver, press
space bar and you'll get his harpoon gun
and a spear. Press the up arrow to dive
underwater and catch up with the plane.
Note that you can only swim underwater
for about five seconds. When you get to
the plane you will only be able to see
the end of it. Get your harpoon ready
and fire at the landing gear. Now the
divers and boat will be gone and you will
have to control Bond and dodge the obstacles
in your way. The obstacles are rocks and
yellow rafts. If you crash into them you
lose a life and have to do the level over
again.
Tanker Attack: This
final level is quite easy. Currently,
you are controlling your friend Pam's
Cessna and you have to jump down on the
oil tanker and hijack it. The hijacking
happens automatically. Note that when
you hijack the oil tanker you start to
slowly slow down. When you hit 0 MPH you
lose the mission. What you have to do
in this level is destroy all the oil tankers
and destroy all the jeeps. A tip for the
jeeps is just run them over - they'll
blow up automatically. As for the oil
tankers, drive straight and hit the right
or left arrow rapidly. The controls are
very sluggish in this level. Be careful
not to go off the road or you will receive
damage, and lots of it. If the driver
compartment detaches from the drug compartment
you'll have to destroy that part of the
truck too. A good tip here is just ram
the oil tankers and if they get behind
you hit the brakes and they should ram
into you, and blow up. You probably won't
lose much health. The final oil tanker
contains Sanchez and when you finally
blow up the last oil tanker just keep
driving along until the speedometer reaches
zero. |
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Controls
Scene 1:
Forward (And Down): Push Forward - Q/Up
Arrow
Back (And Up): Pull Back - A/Down Arrow
Left: Push Left - O/Left Arrow
Right: Push Right - P/Right Arrow
Shoot & Jump: Press Button - Space
Bar
Scene 2:
Forward: Push Forward - Q/Up Arrow
Back: Pull Back - A/Down Arrow
Left: Push Left - O/Left Arrow
Right: Push Right - P/Right Arrow
Aim: Press button & push left or
right, Release button - Release Space
Bar
Scene 3:
Forward: Push Forward - Q/Up Arrow
Back: Pull Back - A/Down Arrow
Left: Push Left - O/Left Arrow
Right: Push Right - P/Right Arrow
Jump: Press Button - Space Bar
Scene 4:
Forward (And Underwater): Push Forward
- Q/Up Arrow
Back: Pull Back - A/Down Arrow
Left: Push Left - O/Left Arrow
Right: Push Right - P/Right Arrow
Kill Divers (Take Harpoon/Destroy Drugs/Shoot
Harpoon): Press Button - Space Bar
Scene 5:
Forward: Push Forward - Q/Up Arrow
Back: Pull Back - A/Down Arrow
Left: Push Left - O/Left Arrow
Right: Push Right - P/Right Arrow
Scene 6:
Forward: Push Forward - Q/Up Arrow
Back: Pull Back - A/Down Arrow
Left: Push Left - O/Left Arrow
Right: Push Right - P/Right Arrow
Jump: Press Button - Space Bar
System Requirements
(PC)
IBM PC/PC XT/PC XT 286/PC AT/PS2 Model
25/PS2 Model 30/PS2 Model 50
Tandy 1000 TL/3000/3000 HL
Compaq Portable/II/286 AT&T 6300/6300
Plus
Blue Chip BCPC 386
Leading Edge (Not in Hercules mode)
Model D/Model M/Model D2
Zenith 150/160
PC's Limited 286/Turbo PC
Graphics (PC):
IBM CGA and 100% Compatibles
Hercules MDGA and 100% Compatibles
VGA (In EGA mode) Video 7
Paradise
ATI
IBM Model 25 (In CGA mode)/30 (In CGA
mode)/Model 50
System (PC):
MS-DOS or PC-DOS 2.0 or Higher
5.25" Floppy Disk Drive
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Many thanks to "Lethal Weapon"
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