| The player starts at the planet Lave in a Cobra Mk III with 100 credits, trading goods between planets to pay for weapons and equipment, and fighting to raise a combat rating from Harmless to Elite. Zzap!64's review of the Commodore 64 version counts eight galaxies of 250 planets and 17 goods, three of them illegal (slaves, narcotics and firearms), whose trade brings the police. The cargo bay holds 20 tons, or 35 with an extension. | p. 16 (image 16)p. 16 (image 16)p. 16 (image 16)p. 18 (image 18), "Make a Killing without getting Killed"p. 18 (image 18)p. 18 (image 18) | Magazine |
| Firebird published the Commodore 64 version, due in the shops in mid-April 1985, at £14.95 on cassette and £17.95 on disk. Zzap!64 reported that Bell and Braben had made the conversion themselves while studying for their final exams at Jesus College, Cambridge, and that Firebird had paid them what was reckoned a six-figure sum for the worldwide rights. | p. 17 (image 17), side box "The Zzap! review"p. 16 (image 16), review headerp. 17 (image 17), "Two rich programmers"p. 17 (image 17), "Two rich programmers" | Magazine |
| Zzap!64 credited James Scoular, publisher of Firebird's games, with obtaining the rights from the programmers; it reported that he had died in March 1985. | p. 27 (image 27), newsp. 27 (image 27), news | Magazine |
| Zzap!64 found the Commodore 64 version slower than the BBC Micro's, though not noticeably in play, and listed its changes: the known bugs of the BBC game fixed, the whole game in memory where the BBC cassette had cut features, extra special missions, and the Trumbles, unique to the 64, which breed and fill the cargo bay. | p. 18 (image 18), "64 version v BBC version"p. 18 (image 18)p. 18 (image 18)p. 18 (image 18)p. 18 (image 18)p. 18 (image 18) | Magazine |
| Zzap!64 gave the Commodore 64 version its Gold Medal Award in its first issue, in May 1985, with marks of 94% for presentation, 87% originality, 91% graphics, 95% hookability, 52% sound, 98% lastability and 95% value for money, and no overall mark. Bob Wade, the reviewer, called it "certainly the best game I've seen this year". | p. 16 (image 16), rosette beside the headingp. 27 (image 27), newsp. 17 (image 17), ratings boxp. 17 (image 17), comment beside a caricature labelled B.Wp. 17 (image 17), sidebar | Magazine |