GAME PLAY Introduction Before the Great Biological Holocaust, you led a wild life chasing down creeps. It Paid, too. But that was then; now you've settled down to a quiet life in the last remaining city on the face of the earth. Sure, sometimes it can be a little too quiet. But one thing's for sure, life here is better than life on the Outside. Out there it's just one, big mutant mess. It all started when that menace, Dr. A. Noid thought he could strike it rich by pawning off that vile food substitute, Slu. He knew exactly what Slu would do to anyone who ate it. After you get hooked on the stuff, you don't care about anything except finding more of that Slu slime. Real food is in short supply; so he thought he'd add new meaning to the phrase "cornering the market." That mad little green guy took over life (if that's what you want to call it) on the Outside and has made it his own demented playground. Now everyone is trapped in their cities, unable to break free from the mad doctor's grip of slimy Slu addiction. In his cities, killer cars cruise the streets, just looking for a guy like you to smash to bits. In the abandoned buildings, strung-out zombie mutants roam the halls, searching for a healthy victim to contaminate. The only way out of this freakshow is to smash your way through in a demolition-derby fight to the death. Why should you even care what happens to that schizoid doctor? Your city is the last one untouched by that wacko; and life's o.k., even if it can be a little dull. Well, word is out that a price has just been put on Dr. Noid's head, and you could use the dough. Besides, it's just your line of work. It's come time to break out the tools of your trade; your leather jacket, cool shades, ammo-packed pistol, and your ATV (Armored Tactical Vehicle). This ain't no ordinary ATV, either. It's equipped with a high powered gun, 50 rounds of ammo, and a built in Ram-Car, which is going to come in mighty in those smash-up demolition derbies. Crank that baby up, and shift into high. You're on a road to destruction, and there's no turning back. Are you ready to leave the safety of the last uncontaminated city in search for a demented mad doctor guarded by an army of ruthless mutants? You better believe it!! Your Mission Well, you can't back out now. You're trapped inside the first city you come to, and it doesn't look pretty. Dr. A. Noid has set up an elaborate ring of protection around himself. You've got to fight your way through three cities to reach the head honcho himself. This isn't going to you your run-of-the-mill bounty job. Survival is the name of the game in this world; and the odds are stacked against you. Your charm and wit won't get you through this one, so you better make sure you find the supplies to get you through this alive. Money doesn't mean a thing around here, but food does. Any food you find can be traded for gas, repairs, ammo, weapons, you name it. But first, you've got to find some. As you cruise the streets, keep your eyes peeled for entrances to buildings. Your search isn't going to be an easy one though; you've got to fight your way through the streets with kamikaze cars hot on your tail. Inside the buildings you'll find food, weapons, tools for your car, and if you lucky, an arena pass that will get you into the arena at the city's gate. And that's not all you'll find. Armies of slimy mutants are waiting to get their hands on a guy like you. Sure you've got a gun, but if you run into one of those goons... Well, let's just say you won't exactly be the picture of health. Once you've got the arena pass, find the arena where Dr. A. Noid stages demolition contests between his toughest mutants and anyone who's crazy enough to try to take them on. Sounds like your kind of fun. If you make it through the arena, you'll be in the next city in your search for Dr. Noid. If you make it through to the third city, your not just lucky, but crazy, too. You've still got Dr. A. Noid to put away. He's waiting in the last arena, ready to give you the challenge of you life. Your ATV With two cars in one, you're set for just about anything. Use your ATV to drive around the city and blast your enemies away with your ATV Gun. Drive you smaller Ram-Car in the arenas where you can zip in and out of tight places. Don't let the size fool you, though; this is one tough car. Your ATV comes equipped with a wide array of features. As you make your way through each of the cities, you'll find a variety of add-on car equipment that'll transform your ATV into a monster on wheels. You can find some equipment inside buildings, and purchase others at gas stations throughout the city. ATV Standard Equipment ATV Gun To operate, simply move the joystick to aim your ATV at your enemy, and then press the fire button. The gun has a relatively short range, so you'll have to be sure you've got a good aim. Dashboard Indicators Located at the bottom of the screen, from left to right, the controls are: Fuel Gauge Fill up your tank at gas stations throughout the city. Keep a close eye on the gauge, your ATV isn't exactly an economy car. Speedometer Speed is displayed in kilometers per hour. Damage Indicator Located below the fuel gauge and speedometer, this displays how much damage your ATV has sustained. You can get your ATV repaired at any gas stations in the city. Radar Screen Active after you have installed the radar, this feature will let you see the enemy, as well as the hazards around you. Ammunition Indicators The top one is the ATV shell supply. The lower one is the smoke screen supply, active after you have installed the Smoke Generator. Turbo-Charger, Airbrake, Battle-Armor Indicators These light up when the features are active. ATV Add-On Equipment As you roam the buildings, you'll find equipment to add on to your ATV. You can also purchase equipment at any of the gas stations throughout the city. Turbo-Charger This handy piece of equipment boosts you power and fuel-burning efficiency to the max. Once you've got this installed, you'll blast past any car on the road. Radar Now you'll be able to see what's around you in a one-block radius. Entrances to buildings are marked by yellow rectangles. You are the center dot; the other moving dots are the enemy. In the Arena, the hazards are marked on the radar, as well as the enemy's location. Airbrakes These babies let you stop on a dime, giving you all the control of the best high-precision vehicles available. You'll never have to skid to a stop again. Multi-Gun This isn't any ordinary gun; this is the gun that'll put them all away. It shoots bullets in four directions; but still uses the same amount of ammo as a regular gun. Smoke Generator Lose your enemy in a cloud of smoke. Now you can stop those charging cars dead in their tracks; once they get a whiff of this stuff, they won't be able to see you until the smoke clears, and by then you'll be long gone. To fire smoke at an enemy, press Spacebar. ATV Handling Well, now that you're strapped into you ATV, you're going to have to learn how to handle a machine like this. There are two modes for steering your ATV. Mode #1 Mode #2 Forward, accelerate North /|\ /|\ | | Turn <-- Fire --> Turn West <-- Fire --> East Left West | Right East | \|/ \|/ Reverse, decelerate South THE STREETS Here you are in a world completely destroyed, Your objective is to find the arena pass in one of the buildings and then high-tail it to the arena. The only problem is that you've got to find your way around a strange city, with a bunch of crazy rebel cars after you. Then there's always your ATV; it doesn't run on air, you know. You've got to find the things you need to keep your ATV running. The streets of the cities are filled with hazards such as oil slicks, land mines, gun turrets and dead ends. If you run over an oil slick, you'll lose control and spin out. When you run over a land mine, you'll damage your ATV. Gun turrets guard parts of the city. If you're lucky, you can time the shots, and try to get past them without getting hit. If you're not so lucky, you'll end up in the crossfire. Some streets are blocked by debris. You can fire your ATV gun to clear the way. Although, some debris cannot be cleared. While you're cruising the streets, enemy cars ram into you trying to smash you to bits. Fire your ATV gun by aiming your ATV in the direction of the enemy and pressing the fire button. In the first city, one shot'll do it. In the second and third cities, it isn't going to be so easy; you might have to shoot them two or three times to stop them. If you've found a smoke generator, press the spacebar to let loose a cloud of smoke that'll blind the enemy and let you get away fast. The entrances to buildings are marked with red arrows on the street. You can also see the entrances on the radar, they're marked by yellow rectangles. The arena is marked by the word "Arena" on the road in front of the building. You can save your game only while you are in the streets. To do this follow the instructions in the section entitled "Saving Your Game." THE BUILDINGS You're running low on fuel, and your car's starting to look a little beat up. What are you going to do? You've got to get a gas station fast. But they don't take cash and forget about credit cards. The only thing that'll get you anywhere is food, and your emergency pack of gum won't cut it. You've got to find a building where food is being stored. Then you can get the food you need to trade for gas, repairs, ammo and weapons. If your lucky, you'll find other goodies, like guns, ammo, ATV equipment and maybe a gallon of gas or two. You've also got to keep your eyes open for an arena pass; you can't get into an arena without one. Watch out for slimy mutants roaming around the buildings. They're kind of slow, so you can probably out run them. But blasting them away is a whole lot more fun. If you run into one of them, your health level will go down. The mutants come out of holes in the ground. So you want to steer clear of those; if you fall into one, you're dead. The Control Panel The control panel is located at the bottom of the screen. From left to right, the indicators are: Health This displays your health status. As you run into mutants, toilets, or hang around the buildings too long, your health will deteriorate. To get your health back up, pick up one of the First-Aid Kits located somewhere in the building. If your health level goes down to zero, you're dead. Weapon The current weapon is displayed. You can find other guns in the buildings, or purchase them at gas stations. You start off the game with a pistol. The other weapons available are: a magnum, shotgun, assault rifle, small uzi, and machine gun. The bigger the gun, the more powerful your fire is. That means you can blow the mutants away and break through debris without much effort. Inventory This shows the last thing you picked up, such as: food, add-on ATV equipment, water, etc. Ammunition The amount of ammunition remaining is displayed. You start off the game with 99 rounds of ammunition for your pistol. When you find or purchase any ammunition this is added to the total amount, not to exceed 99 rounds. The same ammunition is used for all the guns inside, you can't use this ammo in your ATV. Keys The number of keys you have picked up in the buildings is displayed. Keys are used to open locked doors throughout the buildings. Food The number of food units is shown. Some food items are worth more than others. If you're lucky enough to find a big crate of food, you'll get more food units. But if you just find some cans of Slu, well, it isn't much, but it adds up. Finding Your Way Around As if crazy mutants weren't enough, you've also got to contend with a maze of walls and debris. Some areas might be blocked by "shoot-able" debris. To get rid of that stuff, just aim your gun at it and shoot. Depending on the gun you're using, it might take one or more shots to get through. Other times you'll just have to find another route. Most of the rooms in buildings are locked, so you'll just have to find a key to unlock the door. Be careful though, not all doors lead to rooms with useful things inside. North /|\ | Joystick Control West <-- Fire --> East | \|/ South What You Can Find If you keep your eyes open, you can find more than just food around the buildings. Here are some of the things that might help you in your mission to find Dr. A. Noid: Add-On ATV Equipment You can find a Radar, Smoke Generator and Multi-Directional Gun. First-Aid Kits Sometimes there are more than one in a building; other times, there aren't any in a building. If you find one of these, it'll boost you health level up 25%. But if your health is up to 100%, it can't be improved. You cannot store extra first-aid kits; so if you don't need one, don't pick one up; it won't do you any good. Ammunition Ammunition is in closed crates. Each crate contains 10-25 rounds of ammunition. You total amount of ammunition cannot exceed 99 rounds. So if you don't need it, don't pick it up. The ammunition you pick up is only usable inside buildings; a different type of ammunition is used in your ATV. Keys Keys are used to open locked doors. You can store as many keys as you can find. So if you find keys in one building, you can use them in another building. Fuel Cans In some buildings you can find fuel for your ATV. Each can you find will give you a quarter of a tank. Arena Pass That's the ticket! This ill get you into the arena and on to the next city if you can manage to beat the enemy cars. GAS STATIONS Don't bother asking to have your oil checked; these gas station attendants only have one motive - profit. If they can trade food for services, gas, ammo or weapons, they can then sell the food and make a bundle. Gas stations are smaller that the other buildings in the city, and their entrances are not marked. That makes them a little hard to find. There are several gas stations in each city, though. So, if you drive around, you'll be able to find one. Once you enter a gas station, an attendant will ask you what you want. you can select from weapons, ammunition, repairs and gas. To select a category, move the joystick left or right, until the finger on the screen is positioned over the desired category, and then press the fire button. You will then be able to select from three different items. Move the joystick left or right again, and press the fire button. After you have made your selections, press the Exit button. THE ARENA You've managed to get past an army of killer cars, slimy mutants, as well as through an obstacle course of gun turrets, oil slicks and land mines. You've found the arena pass, and found your way into the arena. It's been a hard fight, but it's far from over. Do you still have the energy to face a battalion of demolition derby cars all by yourself? You better, or you're finished. Hop into you smaller Ram-Car and prepare for a smash-up fight to the death. The enemy has larger, heavier and slower cars than yours; if your quick, you might be able to survive. This is strictly a fight of muscle against muscle - no guns or missile launchers allowed. You've got to ram into the enemy, hitting him often enough to smash him to bits; and you've got to do this before he does it to you. The Dashboard From left to right, your dashboard indicators are: Fuel Gauge You start off in the arena with a full tank of gas. And you better make the most of the time you have available in the arena. Speedometer Marked in kilometers per hour, this gauge is important to watch when you're heading for a collision. If you're trying to smash an enemy, the faster you're going, the more likely you are to cause greater damage. If you're about to hit an obstacle of the arena wall, the faster you're going, the more damage you're likely to sustain. Radar With you radar you'll be able to see the hazards and enemies around you. You are the center dot, and the moving dots are the enemy. Damage Indicator This displays the amount of damage you have sustained. Keep in mind that if you are hit head on, you will sustain more damage than if you are hit on the side. Arena Survival Not only do you have to defeat the enemy cars, you've got to watch out for land mines, flipping floor tiles, and the bottomless pit that surrounds the arena. Keep on the areas marked by square tiles or dirt areas. You have to work your way through an obstacle course of bombs, gaping holes and craggy cliffs, all while trying to fend off crashing cars. If you fall into the black abyss, or get smashed up, that's the end. Things you can find: Gas Cans If you see that you're running out of gas, pick up one of the gas cans located in the arena. This will add a quarter of a tank to your fuel supply. But if you don't need it, don't pick it up yet; if won't help you. Wrenches Pick up one of these to repair your car and reduce the damage level by 25%. SAVING YOUR GAME So you can't complete your mission in one try, huh? Well, no worries. Just save the game in progress. Keep in mind that you can only save the game during the street sequences; you can't save the game when you're in a building, arena or gas station. Press the * key (asterisk) to save your game. After saving you will be able to resume the game where you left off, or quit the game by pressing 'Q.' To load a saved game, press 'R' at the "Press the Fire Button" prompt when the screen showing the ATV appears. WINNING THE GAME So you've managed to make it to the second city in your hunt for Dr. A. Noid. Congratulations. Don't go patting yourself on the back just yet. Now things really get tough. The enemy is a lot harder to defeat; now you have to shoot the cars a couple of times to destroy them. The mutants in the buildings are harder to shoot, and the arena is going to be a tough scene. And just wait until you get to the third city, you're in for a real treat. Dr. A. Noid will be waiting for you in the arena. He may be little, but he'll be the toughest opponent you'll ever face. Are you sure you have the strength to continue? Just think of all that money you'll get if you do manage to haul that little green guy in. Now there's some green stuff you don't mind having around. And you'll never have to look another mutant in the eye again. That should be incentive enough. So get psyched to meet your challenge in the last arena. QUICK REFERENCE Here are the keyboard commands: Q Quit. If you are in the buildings or arenas you will quit to the streets. If you are in the streets, you will quit the game and return to the opening title screen. S Sound on/off. P Pause on/off. The fire button will also resume play. D Toggle between joystick mode #1 & #2 (see ATV control above). * Saves game in progress. Must be in the streets to save a game. R Loads saved game. Type 'R' at the "Press the Fire Button" prompt when the ATV screen appears. Spacebar Drops a smoke bomb, if one is available.