Blurb



Action stations! The Aliens are landing! Flying over the planetoid surface your laser-ship speeds to the rescue, firing laser missiles and dodging the enemy and their shell-fire. Save the life-forms while fending off raiders, mutants, bombers, cruisers, spores and megacytes. Lightning reflexes are required to play this game - the fastest ever seen on a micro!



Complete with sound effects, full colour graphics and table of high scores."








Introduction



Your laser-ship is patrolling the surface of the planetoid. The scanner in the top section of the screeb shows the whole planet's surface, and can be used for long-range reconnaissance. The lower part of the screen displays the section over which the laser-ship is flying.



The raiders can be seen hovering around the surface on the look-out for life-forms, which they can drag off into space. As a raider ascends with a life-form, you can destroy it with your lasers, or with the 'smart bombs' which disintegrate everything hostile within sight. Having annihilated the raider, you can intercept the plummetting life-form and set him safely back down on the surface.



If you don't rescue a life-form before the raider carrying him reaches the top of the screen, the raider will mutate. You will then have to contend with a mutant, while also being attacked by bombers, spores and megacytes; all of which are to be avoided at all costs and killed before going on to the next wave. Cruisers are also dangerous, but don't have to be destroyed before you move on to the next wave.



When megacytes are destroyed, they release a cloud of spores - use the smart bombs wisely, as you only have three to begin with.



Look out when only one life-form remains, since if the raider abducting him reaches the top of the screen the planetoid explodes, and all the raiders become mutants. However, after every five attack waves, you get a new planetoid, and a new set of life-forms to defend.



You start off with three ships, but for every 10,000 points you score, you gain a ship plus a smart bomb.








Scoring



Score 500 for each life-form caught in flight and 500 for each one safely returned to the planetoid surface.



 xxx  XXX  BBBBBB
 xxxxx  XX XX  BBBBBBB  CCCCCCC    MM
 xx x xx XX X XX  BB BB C  C  SS  MMMMMM
 xxxxx  XXXXX  BB B BB CCC CCC CCC SSSSSSSS MMMMMMMM
 xxx  XXX  BB BB CCCCCCCCC  SSSSSS  MMMMMM
 x x x  X X X  BBBBBBB       MM
 x x x X X X  BBBBBB

 RAIDER  MUTANT  BOMBER  CRUISER  SPORE  MEGACYTE
 150  150  150  150  250  1000


Bonuses for each surviving life-form at the end of each wave are as follows:




  First wave  
100


  Second wave  
200


  Third wave  
300


  Fourth wave  
400


  Fifth wave  
500


  Subsequent waves 
500



Three numbers are displayed at the top of the screen: the first shows your score and the second and third show the numbers of remaining laser ships and smart bombs respectively.








Game Controls



To manoeuvre the laser-ship, use the following controls:



   A (up) X    X A (up)
     XXXX    XXXX
     XXXX    XXXX
    XXXXX  SPACE BAR  XXXXX
SHIFT  XXXXXXXXXXXX (reverse) XXXXXXXXXXXX  SHIFT
(thrust)  XXXXXXXXXXXX    XXXXXXXXXXXX  (thrust)

   Z (down)      Z (down)

   RETURN - laser bolt CAPS LK/FUNC - smart bomb


H - hyperspace (ship dematerialises, and materialises in another position)