Firebird's Elite, released in 1984 for British computers and quickly ported to the major platforms of the day--is the greatest videogame ever made. It is to videogames what the movie Citizen Kane is to film--a Mozart standing boldly against the Saliere's of his day. It was one of those rare games that was able to accomplish two feats simultaneously: One, introducing a new kind of game that would last, and two, doing so well enough to itself remain a classic of that genre. Whenever we get frustrated with game shelves laden with "me-too" games and sequels of sequels, it's useful to go back to such games as Elite and ponder what made them so great. For Elite, that greatness stems from its staggering vision; an arrogance matched only by the genius of its coders, who were able to deliver where lesser developers cried "impossible."