WELCOME TO THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Congratulations. You've been invited to participate in the challenge of Barry McGuigan's World Championship Boxing. Raw, iron-twisting strength is definitely an asset, but for a shot at the title you'll need more than that... like strategy, finesse, lightning fast reflexes and a mental toughness that most games are afraid to require. Before you grab your gloves please read this official programme. We'll explain some of the finer points and strategies of the game, teach you to become an effective puncher, and introduce you to the World Championship circuit. LOADING THE GAME CASSETTE 1. Connect your Commodre 64, TV/Monitor and cassette as per the manufacturer's instructions. Please make sure that all peripheral equipment such as disk drives and printers are disconnected. 2. Your TV screen will now display the prompt- "READY." 3. Place the cassette tape in the recorder with the label uppermost and rewind to the beginning. 4. To load, press down the SHIFY key. Without releasing the SHIFT, press the RUN/STOP key. Release the RUN/STOP key and then the SHIFT. 5. Your TV will read- "Press Play On Tape". Do so. 6. The screen will now go blank while the game is loading, a process that takes several minutes. THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CIRCUIT "The air was electric when the two boxers climbed into the ring. But by the time the bell sounded the end of the sixth round, the elecricity was gone and a startled hush had fallen over the crowd. Sonny Robinson, the seemingly undefeatable world champion, was falling prey to an unknown Irish powerhouse named Barry McGuigan. The challenger established his intentions early in the fight. Late in the third Robinson released a left hook that would have knocked out most men. He stood a second, waiting for the tough Irishman to fall to the canvas. Instead, McGuigan came back with a powerful body shot that drove Robinson against the ropes. The champ was stunned. His right crosses didn't seem to slow the Irish attack and his vaunted left jab simply could not keep the aggressive McGuigan at bay. By the end of the seventh round it was clear that Robinson would have to unload his best punches and win by a knockout or not at all. But the effort just tired the champ and with 32 seconds left in the ninth round the powerful Irishman unleashed an explosive uppercut that sent Robinsin down for the count." ACTIVISION GAZETTE, August 5, 1985 Truly an historic day in computer sports. You're probably quite anxious for a shot at Barry and the title, but so are the other boxers on the circuit. Here are some names to keep an eye on as you move up the ranks: Sonny Robinson The number one contender is a flamboyant fighter with a dangerous left jab. He's been training heavily for a rematch with McGuigan, so he won't be easy to beat. Thunder Thompson A newcomer to the circuit. He picked up an easy gold in the Star Rank Games and joined the pro ranks with the medal still swinging around his neck. A tough fighter to hurt. Lucky Lou Lyndon Another newcomer to the circuit who has tremendous strength that most of Lucky Lou's opponents are still nursing their bruises from their fight with him. Supporters say he has flawless style and execution. Flash Fenwick An extremely quick fighter. Likes to put the "magic" on his opponents. (Definite proof that the hand is quicker than the eye.) Bashin' Bill Snow A powerful fighter with many years of experience in the ring. Weakens other fighters with his increadible body blows. BoomBoom Barnett Another powerhouse with a wicked right cross. BoomBoom is an imaginative fighter who often outwits better boxers - quite unusual for a powerhouse. BOXING STYLES Dancer: Likes to "stick and move". Rarely goes inside. Boxer: Sometimes moves inside, but prefers to keep his distance. An excellent style if you like to flurry. Mixed: Very unpredictable. Hard for your opponents to "read". Slugger: No-nonsense style. Doesn't tire quite as easy because he doesn't do much dancing. Goes inside often. Bulldog: Likes to slug it out toe-to-toe. Can sometimes trap a dancer against the ropes. GETTING STARTED 1. Plug a joystick controller firmly into PORT 1 on the right side of the computer console. Plug a second joystick into PORT 2 if two are playing. Hold the joystick with the red button in the upper left corner, towards the TV screen. 2. Push the joystick up and down to move the boxing gloves to select a ONE PLAYER or TWO PLAYER game. Press the RED FIRE BUTTON to confirm your choice. Two Player Game Choosing the TWO PLAYER game takes you straight to the CIRCUIT STATUS menu. Here the players each select a fighter. Player one goes first, selecting any of the 18 circuit boxers or World Champ. Press FIRE to confirm your choices. When player two is finished you're ready to see a PROFILE of your two fighters. One Player Game 1. If you choose a ONE PLAYER game, you'll go to this screen: GET BOXER NEW BOXER Pushing the fire button will GET a boxer you created earlier. All the boxer's statistics, including his earnings, record and RANK, are saved in memory as long as the computer is left ON. 2. Choosing a NEW BOXER option will ERASE any boxers you came up with earlier and allow you to CREATE a new boxer. 3. First you use the keyboard to type in the name and the DELETE key to erase any mistakes. Press ENTER when you are finished. 4. Now, you'll be prompted with the NEW BOXER FEATURES screen. Use the UP/DOWN keys to point to the different features. Push FIRE to step through available choices. When you're happy with your boxer point to CONTINUE and push FIRE to go on. 5. When you create a new boxer you are allowed to choose his starting rank. If you select NEW PRO you will start at the bottom of the ladder (rank number 19). If you think you've got what it takes choose CONTENDER, (rank number 10). 6. This is your fighter's PROFILE screen. When you've analyzed this information press FIRE to continue. 7. Next is the CIRCUIT STATUS screen. You can select the two fighters immediately in front of you or the fighter ranked just below you. Fighting "two ahead" is a quicker way to the top, but it's more dangerous. Move the gloves to your selection and push FIRE. 8. This is your OPPONENT's PROFILE screen. Study your adversary closely. If you change your mind move the gloves to REFUSE and push FIRE. If you ACCEPT the challenge push FIRE to send your boxer to TRAINING CAMP. Ringside As in real boxing, your goal in Barry McGuigan's World Championship Boxing is to outscore or knock out your opponent in 10 or 12 round bouts. Each round is 3 "minutes" in length. Training Camp Training camp is the most important part of the game next to actually being in the ring. But before you train your fighter, study his attributes * and notice how they can affect the outcome of each fight: Endurance * weak * erratic * average * tough * mighty Endurance is the key to knockdowns. When it's less than ten a knockdown will occur within the next few punches. Because of the TRIPLE KNOCKDOWN RULE, if your fighter winds up kissin' canvas three times in the same round the fight is over. (That's called a TECHNICAL KNOCKOUT). Endurance goes down when you are hit and when you miss! The scoreboard above the ring constantly displays both fighter's endurance registers. Watch these numbers carefully! Endurance is indicated in the corners of the fight screen. Stamina * sluggish * slow * average * quick * lightning The "toughness" register. Stamina may be thought of as a persentage. When a boxer rests between rounds he gets back a percentage of the endurance he lost in the previous round. Also, when a boxer is knocked down (endurance is less than ten) his chances of getting back up are related to his stamina. If his stamina is very high he will always get up but the lower it gets the better chance he will be knocked out. Stamina goes down every time you are hit. Strength * feeble * weak * average * strong * awesome This register reflects your fighter's power. A strong fighter's punches will do more damage. Every punch you throw - hit or miss - will drain your strength register. Agility * poor * average * good * massive Agility is the key to your boxer's punching speed. It too goes down with every punch. You've chosen an opponent, studied his strengths and weaknesses, planned your strategy and now you have from 6-12 weeks to train for the big fight. There are five areas in which you can allocate your time. You don't have to spread your time between the five areas. You can capitalize on one of your strengths or compensate for one of your weaknesses. The choice is up to you! Here are the five training areas and the effect they have on your status registers: Road work: Hitting the road has a tremendous impact on your endurance and helps build strength and agility. Light Bag: The light bag is an agility builder. It also helps produce stamina. Weights: Pumping iron is a strength builder. A few weeks of hard work and you'll be amazed. Spar Time: Practice in the ring will build all your registers but is especially good at boosting your stamina. Heavy Bag: Punching the heavy bag is great for your strength but it's also helpful in "toning" your stamina and endurance. To train your boxer simply move the glove to an area and press FIRE. Every time you push the button another week will be allocated to that area. You can move to any area and devote up to 9 weeks as long as you don't exceed the total number of weeks left until the fight. When you are finished move the glove to CONTINUE and press FIRE. FIGHT TIME To be successful in the ring you'll have to become an effective puncher. Some punches are only effective INSIDE while others are only effective when the boxers are OUTSIDE. Most important is being in the right range. Study the following chart and the descriptions of the various punches. With Fire Button Pressed [UP] - Uppercut [RIGHT] - Cross [DOWN] - Body [LEFT] - Hook Neutral joystick for Auto Defence. Punches that are only effective INSIDE (Boxers are close together) Without Fire Button Pressed [UP] - Coverup [RIGHT] - Cross [DOWN] - Body [LEFT] - Jab Neutral joystick for Auto Defence. Punches that are only effective OUTSIDE (Boxers are close together) OFFENCE Jab: The jab is an effective point-scorer, a quick punch that doesn't do a lot of damage but isn't very tiring when you miss either. Hook: The hook is slightly more damaging than the jab. It too is a quick punch and is good for scoring points without tiring the boxer unnessarily. Uppercut: The uppercut is an explosive punch from the INSIDE, It's moderately tiring and is a good knockout punch. Cross: The cross is an explosive punch INSIDE and OUTSIDE. Crosses hit with tremendous impact but are also extremely tiring. Use them cautiously. Head shots - Jab, Hook, Uppercut and Cross - will always connect unless blocked by coverup or because punches were not delivered from the right range. Body Shots: The body punch is a power punch. It drains an opponent's endurance and his strength. Like a cross, it too is very tiring. DEFENCE Coverup: the coverup wards off all blows to the head. Your boxer WILL NOT move while he is covering up, so if you want to move you'll have to release the joystick/keys and go to AUTO-DEFENCE. Auto-Defence: leaving the joystick/keys in the neutral position will cause your fighter to go to AUTO-DEFENCE. This is an effective defence against the body shot. SPECIAL FEATURES 1. Barry McGuigan's World Championship Boxing is unique in that it focuses on the art of the sport. Style, training and strategy are emphasized over slugging ability. 2. Grab your gloves and take on 19 different circuit boxers, including the Champion himself. Barry McGuigan... personalized artificial intelligence makes each boxer uncannily lifelike. 3. Create your own boxer... choose race, style, look and image. 4. Take your boxer to training camp to fine-tune his skills... light bag, heavy bag, road work, and more. 5. Increadibly realistic animation, includes a full arsenal of punches, defensive moves and footwork. 6. Realistic ringside atmosphere... from the cheering crowd to the "thud" of a solid body shot. Plus, a specially composed musical score that captures the excitement of the game. TIPS FOR STARS We wanted this section of the manual to cover most of the strategic possibilities in the game. We soon realized that it would take another manual twice as long as this one to do that! Just like in real boxing, there isn't a "best way" to win. Your overall fight strategy has to be based on your opponent, and it's sometimes necessary to change strategies mid-bout. Here are some things to keep in mind. 1. So far we've discovered two good "overall" strategies. You can try to win the fight by hurting your opponent to the point of knockout. Or you can throw lots of jabs and hooks (which aren't tiring) and try to win by points. This strategy requires that you have an excellent defence or you won't make it to the end of the fight. 2. Notice the way your opponents throw punches. Some fighters throw more when they're INSIDE. Some hit more when they are OUTSIDE. You should be able to use this pattern to your best advantage. 3. A good defensive strategy, if you are INSIDE and in COVERUP is to push FIRE. Your boxer will throw an uppercut and go right back to COVERUP. 4. Use the jab as a distance gauge. If you're sure the fighters are in range but aren't sure that they are INSIDE throw a jab. If if misses (and it wasn't blocked) you need to push FIRE because the boxers are definately INSIDE. 5. If you see your opponent has a lot of STAMINA you'll have to hit him with crosses and body shots to bring it down. 6. Remember, points are scored every time you hit the other boxer. Often, the boxer who punches more hits more; so he scores more points. But he may also miss more and even get knocked out, so be careful because a KNOCKOUT always wins over points. GAMESTAR, INC 1302 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 (805) 963-3487 Program and Audiovisual 1985, GAMESTAR, Inc. All rights reserved