Arkanoid

breakout game for Commodore 64, 1987

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THE GAME 
The era and time of this story is unknown. After the mothership "Arkanoid"
was destroyed, a spacecraft "Vaus" scrambled away, only to be trapped in 
the void... You control the Vaus and have to penetrate 32 levels and then
confront the "Dimension Changer" whom you must destroy in order to reverse 
time and resurrect the "Arkanoid". Frantic action and split second timing
combine to produce the most addictive and compulsive game. 

CONTROLS 
The game is controlled by Keyboard and Joystick. 

KEYBOARD 
Player one Player two. 
Left is left shift key 
Right is right shift key 
Fire is spacebar 

JOYSTICK 
Use Control Port 1.

HOW TO PLAY 
You control the Vaus craft which can be moved left or right.
Using your skills, you must deflect an energy bolt which will gradually
break down the walls confronting you. Certain coloured bricks must be hit
more once and others are completely indestructible. 

You are aided in your attempts with energy Capsules which are hidden beneath
certain bricks and released upon their destruction. Each capsule has a 
different power and is denoted by a letter painted on its side. 

Slows down the speed of the energy bolt, making it easier to position yourself. 

Enables you to catch the bolt, move to the desired position and then fire. 

Expands the Vaus craft giving you more chance to deflect the bolt. 

Disrupts the bolt into three separate components thereby giving you three
times the effect. 

Arms your Vaus with a laser allowing to shoot bricks and aliens. 

Breaks the section of the wall enabling your Vaus craft an alternative escape
route to slip through to the next level. 

Awards you an extra life. 

STATUS AND SCORING 
On screen scoring displays current score, hi-score, number of lives remaining
and level attained.
Points are awarded between 50 and 120 each for each knocking out a brick,
depending on the colour. Collecting a capsule is 1000 and hitting an alien 
scores 100 points. Extra life are awarded for collecting the "P" capsules. 

HINTS AND TIPS 
If using the keyboard, pressing both shifts at the same time stops the Vaus,
giving you a better reaction time. 

The disruption capsule is of great use if your bolt is caught behind,
or enclosed within a wall. 

The laser is most useful to break down the bricks which require a number
of hits. 

Using the very edge of your Vaus to deflect the bolt will give you a much
sharper angle - most useful for manoeuvring it into restrictive places. 

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Some useful keyboard shortcuts
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       [PAUSE] - stop/continue game
          [F9] - quick load game state
         [F12] - quick save game state (still stored after leaving the site)
         [F10] - toggle performance meter
         [F11] - toggle fullscreen mode
  [ScrollLock] - quick switch control ports
    [PageDown] - make a screenshot (320x200)