Nebulus
arcade platform game for Commodore 64, 1987
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Use Control Port 2.
In a toxic sea on the distant planet Nebulus, far from the sight of land,
stand eight mysterious rotating towers. Theyre the power bases of a mad
scientist who's trying to control the universe. That’s why you're here —
you're going to stop him by blowing his towers back into the sea!
After all, you're the top explosives expert at Destructo, Inc. At least that’s
what your boss said to sweet-talk you into this Job. When he hinted at a pay
raise and said youd be cruising the poison sea in the experimental BA-1
minisub, you couldn't say no.
Only there’s a slight problem. You have to climb to the top of each tower to
blow it down. And each one is guarded by different enemies: indestructible
mutant molecules, weird flying eyes, vicious robots, and huge rolling
cannonballs that barrel out of nowhere!
You're armed, sure, but your gun won't always stop your enemies. When you're
not quick enough, they'll knock you off the tower for an unplanned swim in
the poison sea! Even if you survive your bath, you've got to start all over
again at the bottom of the tower.
But you know you can do it! So put on your frog suit, grab your snowball gun,
and wave goodbye. Your minisub awaits you!
Playing the Game
Your mission is to run, jump, and climb your way to the top of each tower. The
clock starts ticking the moment you step out of your sub. It will take all of
your coordination, judgment, and speed to reach the upper level of the tower
and set off the automatic destruction sequence before your time runs out.
You're armed with a snowball gun, and you can destroy flashing block
barricades by shooting them. You have to do that in order to get past them.
You can also destroy all the rolling cannonballs except the ones that slide
back and forth instead of bouncing. You can stun these for a few seconds, but
you can’t get past them.
All other creatures are indestructible. You have to time your movements to
avoid them, or they'll knock you down the tower and maybe even into the
water.
Your footing on the tower is shaky at best. Some ledges are slippery; others
crumble beneath you. If you're lucky, you'll just fall partway down when you
slip. If you're not so lucky, you'll find yourself taking an unplanned bath.
You start your mission with only three lives, and you use one up every time
you go for a swim. You gain a bonus life every time you earn 5,000 points.
When you reach the top, the automatic destruction sequence sets itself off
while you make your getaway. Between towers, you can relax in the minisub,
racking up bonus points by stunning and catching fish as you speed to the
next tower. As soon as you get there, the clock starts again.
The game ends when you topple the last tower or lose your last life.
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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)
[F11] - toggle fullscreen mode
[ScrollLock] - quick switch control ports
[PageDown] - make a screenshot (320x200)