Zaxxon

sci-fi shoot'em up game for Commodore 64, 1984

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OBJECT OF THE GAME

ZAXXON is a classic space encounter in which you find yourself at the controls
of an attack shuttle spacecraft. You must strafe the enemy Asteroid City in
an attempt to destroy fuel tanks, gun emplacements, missiles, and enemy
aircraft. With the aid of an altimeter you must barnstorm your way through
narrow wall openings, lethal electronic barriers, and deadly rocket fire. A
successful attack-run across the Asteroid City leads you to a deep space
dogfight with squadrons of enemy planes. Surviving the perils at outer space
brings you to another Asteroid City and a showdown with the insidious robot,
ZAXXON 

Successfully destroying the evil ZAXXON allows further play but with increased
difficulty. The game continues until all of your ships have crashed or been
lost to enemy fire. 

Shuttlecraft Your ship is controlled in the normal aircraft manner. Pull back
on the stick to climb, push forward to dive. Left and right turns are made by
moving the stick to the left or right, and the trigger button fires your
laser cannons. An altimeter on the left hand side of the screen helps you to
determine your altitude. This is especially helpful when navigating through
the wall openings and electronic barriers, as well as in deep space
dogfights. The fuel gauge indicates fuel remaining, which is replenished by
destroying the fuel depots in the Asteroid Cites. 

Electronic Barriers In the early levels of play, you must fly over the walls
and under or over the deadly electronic barriers erected to protect the
Asteroid City. As play progresses, the walls become mare impenetrable,
leaving only small openings to pass through. These openings are also
protected by electronic barriers. so your task is doubly dIfficult. Fire your
lasers at the electronic barriers to gauge your position in relation to the
openings. 

The Asteroid Cities At the beginning of your mission you enter the first
Asteroid City. You must successfully make your way through the city and
destroy as many enemy aircraft as possible. The higher your tally here, the
fewer aircraft you will encounter in deep space. You should also destroy the
fuel depots to increase your own supply of fuel and also score points.
Finally, you should destroy as many radar towers, gun emplacements, and base
missiles for the highest possible scare. 

Deep Space Successfully negotiating the perils of the Asteroid City leads to
deep space and encounters with those enemy aircraft that survived your
earlier onslaught, as well as enemy tracking satellites. The size at the
aircraft indicates their altitude.(Smaller planes are not as high.) The
number of enemy planes (EP) remaining is displayed in the upper right hand
corner of the screen. When all enemy planes have been destroyed a bonus at
1000 points is awarded. 

The Confrontation Your tight through the perils of deep space will, if
successful, bring you yet another Asteroid City. But this one is different!
If is the fortress at ZAXXON. the deadly robot who will appear launching
seeker-missiles. Destruction at the robot requires three direct hits on its
missile launcher. After you conquer ZAXXON, the round advances and the
difficulty increases, If you late your ship inside an Asteroid City your next
ship will be launched at the beginning at that city. The gameplay ends with
the lass of your last ship. An additional ship is awarded for scoring 20000
paints. 

SCORING

Radar Towers - 1000
Fuel Tanks - 300
Gun Emplacements - 200 or 500 (random)
Base Missiles - 150
Enemy Planes - 100 (increases by 50 each round)
Satellites - 300
Robot Missiles - 200
ZAXXON - 1000

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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)