''Beach Head 2000'' is a

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...

game developed by Digital Fusion. It was originally released by

WizardWorks WizardWorks Group, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company was founded in 1980 and, in 1993, WizardWorks opened the CompuWorks and MacSoft divisions. In 1996, WizardWorks was acquired ...

for

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and

MacSoft MacSoft was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1993 by Peter Tamte as subsidiary of WizardWorks, specializing in the production of video game ports from Microsoft Windows to Macintosh operating systems, as well as producti ...

for

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as a "value-priced" release. A loose

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of the 1983 computer game '' Beach Head'', it shared a similar premise, as players defend a beach against attack by utilizing a variety of weapons. A version of the game was also produced for

video arcade An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as c ...

s by Tsunami Visual Technologies, available in various

motion simulation A motion simulator or motion platform is a mechanism that creates the feelings of being in a real motion environment. In a simulator, the movement is synchronised with a visual display of the outside world (OTW) scene. Motion platforms can provi ...

cabinets A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...

and Digital Fusion continues to sell the Windows version as a download via its website.

Gameplay

Players take the role of the sole gunner defending a beach against invading enemy soldiers, tanks, helicopters and other military attack vehicles. The player utilizes a variety of weapons, including a

gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...

with a machine gun,

howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...

cannon and guided

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

s. A

handgun A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ...

is available as a final means of defense. The

mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

is used to aim. Additional ammo and

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are available by shooting packages dropped with

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

s. Missions end when all enemies are defeated, each mission changes the

spawn point In video games, spawning is the live creation of a character, item or NPC. Respawning is the recreation of an entity after its death or destruction, perhaps after losing one of its lives. Despawning is the deletion of an entity from the game w ...

of enemies on the beach. There are infinite missions and the game has no ending.

Reception

The game was met with mostly negative reviews, with much of the criticism centered around its gameplay.

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

said "The game grows old quickly, as taking out the stream of enemies in each level becomes repetitive." A review in

Allgame RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...

said that "the initial appeal of Beach Head 2000's single view wears off very quickly" and compared it unfavorably to the original ''Beach Head''.

Inside Mac Games ''Inside Mac Games'' (''IMG'') started in 1993 as an electronic magazine about Apple Macintosh computer gaming distributed by floppy disk, eventually becoming a website. History In 1992, Tuncer Deniz, who was unemployed, decided to create a maga ...

commented that the game was not worth the relatively low price, even among a limited selection of Mac OS games. However,

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

had a more positive reaction to the game, comparing it to ''

Missile Command ''Missile Command'' is a 1980 shoot 'em up arcade video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. and licensed to Sega for Japanese and European releases. It was designed by Dave Theurer, who also designed Atari's vector graphics game ''Tempest ...

'' and calling it "strangely addicting."

Sequels

Digital Fusion produced several sequels, '' Beach Head 2002'', ''Beach Head Desert War'' and ''Baghdad Central Desert Gunner''.

Global VR Global VR is company based in San Jose, California, that makes arcade games. The company once manufactured virtual reality stands as well. It has also developed electronic kiosks and offers development services for mobile platforms. History ...

would take over the license from Tsunami and produce arcade versions of the first three games in the series.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.fusiongames.com/Store/Beachhead2000/index.html 2000 video games Arcade video games First-person shooters Classic Mac OS games Windows games Shoot 'em ups Infogrames games Video games developed in the United States War video games MacSoft games Single-player video games Video game remakes WizardWorks games