OK, here goes, ELITE IS THE BEST GAME EVER! read on....
The game is basically an open ended flight/fight space sim. you hyperspace between space stations orbiting planets, buying and selling wares both legal and if you are willing to take the consequences, illegal.
As you build up a profit repeatedly jumping between recognised planets you upgrade your ship, shields, torpedoes, fuel scoops, mining lasers, military lasers, docking computers (useful for space stations but not essential to a seasoned space jockey). The choices are all sensible (no go faster stripes here) but limited to the Tech level of the planet you are orbiting. A high tech planet will sell better upgrades, demand more luxuries, and be better policed, if you are a criminal, police darts will spew from the space station you are approaching in an alarming manner. A low tech planet will have fewer upgrades, have better opportunities to turn a profit by buying food and ores at a low price to sell on later, but will be badly policed with such dangers as aliens, pirates and if you are on the wrong side of the law, bounty hunters, all wanting a piece of your hide for their cabin walls. Take down the pirates and aliens and there is a reward and an improvement in the eyes of the law as well as providing the opportunity to 'scoop' their cargo for yourself (providing you have the cargo space), shoot down a good citizen doing his duty and your reputation will sink lower, despite a claim of self-defence . The universe does not care.
When you have eventually achieved all the upgrades possible you can move out into the vast galaxy, and it is vast. Your speed is only limited by the fuel in your tanks and when you switch to the galactic chart and realise that you have spent your entire game so far, pootling around down in the corner, the temptation to try and make it all the way to the other end is truly real. After 20 years I still haven't done it and it is still an icon on my computer screen to this day.
The graphics are not great, little has changed since the green screen days except for a colour infill, the sound is as basic as it comes, best switch your media 10 on in the background! But the concept of Elite is still there, the first truly open ended real time space sim. If it was on line you would still play for months before meeting another human.
And that would not matter at all. Do not let my score average fool you, where Elite fails in graphics it gains a thousandfold in longevity. Definitely one for the slow burner.