Beach Head by US Gold
Synopsis:
The ultimate in battle action, Beach Head. It's a unique arcade experience in sound and vision and a stunning display of Amstrad capabilities.
Screens
Showing the first 6 screens:
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Original Advertising and Promotional Work
Original Instructions
Note: Many of these instructions have been OCRed and may not have been proofread, as a result spelling errors, broken English and grammar are likely.
1. USING THE MENU
The menu screen displays four status boxes: one for the present number of players; one for the sill level; one displaying whether keyboard or joystick is selected; and finally, the largest box which displays the current keyboard selection for movement, fire, ect. Further to this list is a list of keys to press which perform various functions:
"S" to start;
"I" to go to the instructions pages;
"P" to change the number of players (this is a toggle putting 1 to 2 or 2 to 1);
"L" to change skill level (this loops through "easy" and "hard");
"K" to define the game keys - you are asked to press your key selects with the option to reselect should make an error;
"J" to make a joystick selection (keep pressing to loop through selections);
If the machine is loaded and left unattended the game will go into self-demonstration.
When you press "S" to start the game you are asked to input your name, which can be up to eight character. This input routine has an erase facility using the normal Spectrum "Delete" keys. When you are finished inputing your name press "Enter" to start the game itself. From now on the program will refer to each player by name - a unique feature of this game.
2. THE MAP SCREEN
Guide your fleet around the aerial reconnaissance screen by using left, right, up and down. The hidden Passage is shown by the flashing square in the top left. Kuhn-Lin base is shown by the flashing square in the bottom left and the enemy fleet by the four dots in square formation.
3. THE HIDDEN PASSAGE
Use left and right to rotate direction. To accelerate use up and to decelerate use down. There are five speeds from Full Ahead to Engines Stop. Avoid all rocks, torpedoes and mines. When a ship has passed through safely it is displayed in blue on the status lines.
Skill level control the speed of the torpedoes - Skill level "easy" is slow, skill level "hard" is fast.
4. GENERAL QUARTERS - FIGHTERS AT 12 O'CLOCK
Planes will take off from either end of the aircraft carrier and will come towards you. When they are close enough they will launch bombs at you then swoop off. Use left and right to move your gun turrets left and right. Use up and down to alter the elevation of your gun up and down. Press fire to release a burst of anti-aircraft fire.
For each hit you recieve the damage rating will increase by one. When damage rating reaches a certain level you will lose a ship - the figure at which this occurs id dependant on the skill level.
Ten planes must be shot down to proceed to the next phase if you have gone through the hidden passage or thirty planes if you attacked the fleet head on.
5. BATTLE STATIONS
Move and fire as instructed in GENERAL QUARTERS. Use the Degree of Elevation to estimate the distance (a 1 degree change in elevation represents 200 metres distance).
Enemy ships are more accurate if you have attacked the fleet head-on. For each hit taken you lose a ship.
6. BEACH HEAD
Use up and down to move up and down. Avoid all the obstacles. Completion of this phase promotes you to the Final Battle.
7. FINAL BATTLE
Move turret and fire as in BATTLE STATIONS. Shoot each white target one after another. Once all ten targets are shot the big gun will explode and the enemy will surrender.
SCORING
Even if you destroy the fortress. Beach-head allows you to compete for high scores. Game scoring is as follows:
Ships navigated safely through passage = 3,000/ea
Airplanes = 400/ea
Reconnaissance Plane = 2,000/ea
Carrier = 10,000
Other Ships = 2,000/ea
Enemy Tank = 1,000/ea
Machine Gun = 400/ea
Bunkers = 800/ea
Towers = 600/ea
Targets = 2,000/ea
Kuhn-Lin Destroyed = 20,000
Extra Ships (over 4) = 2,000/ea
WINNING STRATEGY TIPS
1. Learn to navigate the secret passage. It is difficult to get your ships through initially, but if you take the time to learn to get your ships through it, you score will be higher in the overall game.
2. When the enemy fighters are approaching aim for the body of the airplane and do not use rapid fire until you zero in on the plane.
3. In the artillery sequence, make small changes in elevation by gently tapping the joystick.
4. When your tanks start down the beach, the enemy defence installations will usually lie in the only clear path to the fortress. You must anticipate where they will be to get a clear shot at them. When enemy tanks attack you they will try to stay in front of you. In order for your shell to hit them, you must stay in their line of fire until your shell is about to hit their tank before moving out of the way.
5. Attacking the Fortress - If there are only a few targets left on Kuhn-Lin and you have a number of tanks left, you can increase your point total by using all your tanks before destroying the fortress. Be careful, because each time a tank succeeds in reaching the fortress the following tanks have a much more difficult time.
Cheat Mode
hint
Stage 1 - always go through the hidden passage in preference to the prolonged battle with fighters. You`re bound to lose ships against the fighters but with practice you can get your ships through the passage with minimal loss.
Stage 2 - There are two sensible routes through the channel, one up each side. Both routes are relatively simple at the bottom of the screen but get tough near the top where you have to squeeze by mines and go close to the cliffs from where the torpedoes on the bottom half of the screen. On the top you need to line yourself up and race through with your fingers crossed that a torpedo doesn`t appear just as you pass.
Stage 3 - Move down as soon as you appear from the channel so as to engage the enemy fleet as close to land as possible. Angle your guns midway between the fleet and the top of the screen so that you can shoot the incoming planes before they release their bombs. This position should also allow you to get the reconnaisance aircraft that are worth good points. If a plane gets past you leave it and concentrate on the incoming craft because altering the elevation of your gun is time consuming.
Stage 4 - The aircraft carrier tries to escape and should be sunk first for a massive bonus next take out the two distant battleships that are viewed head on at either side of the screen. These are very dangerous and can take out ships quite fast if you can`t find the range. Go for the ship on the right, that also shells you, next and round off with the almost harmless rustbucket in the middle of the screen.
Stage 5 - Having got the easy bits out of the way, the hard task now starts. The tank run is in pseudo 3D, but don`t be fooled - if the pixels of your tank overlap anything it`s bye-bye armour plating. The gun emplacements that appear can only be learnt by experience, but the most important ones are in the middle of the screen. Once you know where to expect them, position yourself and loose off a shell before they even appear on screen. They might not appear on that run but better safe than a heap of twisted burning wreckage.
The other tank is tougher because it moves up and down with you to take him out you have to dodge inside one of his bullets and hold your course until he`s hit. Then rapid evasive action is needed to avoid the shell which he will have had time to fire. The other major problem is the last gun that sometimes blocks the bridge - you have to get this early or there`s no way you`ll get a crack at it closer in.
Stage 6 - At Kuhn-Lin the important thing to remember is that your shells have a slight drift to the right and your turret has to be aligned one notch to the left to hit a target. You should be able to hit at least two targets per tank and sometimes three. This means that once you`re skilled, you can land eight tanks and use them all to get a really high score. The order in which you hit the targets is really imporatnt too. The top row should be hit 8th, 10th, 4th. The middle row 2nd and 6th. The bottom row is 3rd, 5th, 9th, 7th and 1st respectively. The angles of elevation of each of these is: top row 53, 49.5 and 52.5; middle - 41, 37.5; bottom - 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5 and 6.5. - submitted by Ritchardo
Beach Head Videos
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Loading Screen Comparison
Amstrad CPC Version
Spectrum Version
Your Comments and Memories
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You can also discuss this game on our forums.
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britnostalgic says
"Another game I wasted my life playing as a kid... great stuff! Although no where near as polished as I once remembered. "
Ritchardo mkII says
"It`s hard to believe that I got myself so involved with this game the first time around as it has dated so badly. It`s a great concept with plenty of variety but there`s very little to it now that the sheen has worn off. One for nostalgia purposes more than to enjoy yourself now."
scooby1970 says
"How many months of my life did I waste playing this cracking little game? It hasn`t stood the test of time as well as some, but still a cracking little game... Remake anyone?"
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khisanth says
"Great game at the time. Numerous enjoyable game sections that are nicely varied. Great atmosphere too."