Psycastria

The Psycastria are alien beings who, having psycastrated themselves into the bodies of world leaders, have been manipulating world events and plunging humanity into terrible conflict and war, with the ultimate aim of the eventual destruction of mankind. But their secret is out and you have been psycastrated into the body of ace flyer, Commander Ronald Boggleswick (or 'Boggles' for short). Only you can carry out the daring surprise raid on the Psycastrian installations on land, on sea, on the moon, and finally in deep space. Superfast smooth-scrolling shoot-'em-up action in this former BBC chart topper!

Game Overview

The Psycastria have constructed four different types of installation, one on land, one at sea on a giant carrier ship, one on the surface of the moon, and the final one in deep space. It is in these installations that they store their energy supplies in circular pods. You, now endowed with the skill and cunning of the famous Boggles, are in charge of a highly manouvreable craft, capable of stunning mid-air changes of direction. Using just your basic astro-cannons you must attack each installation in turn, avoiding the high buildings that stand up from the surface. However, the Psycastria will put up a strong defence with their bizarre-shaped fighters.

You can cause as much damage as you lke to the installations, but your main aim is to destroy the ten circular energy pods, then land on the main landing strip, signified by the leading arrows on the left hand side of the strip. Once you have landed, there is a sub-game in which you can try for a bonus by destroying aliens which fly across the screen. When that is over you can take off for the next screen.

You start with three lives, and get an extra one every 30,000 points, and your points score determines your eventual rank (10 levels from Novice upwards).

Game Controls

Z - Left, X - Right, : - Up, ? - Down, RETURN - Fire

Cursor Down/Up - Pause/Resume, S - Toggle Sound (while paused), 0 - Force Demo

To start the game, press 1-4 for the number of players, or if you are using a joystick, press Fire then 1-4.

Ultron

The year is 2673 AD and the galaxy is once more under seige by aliens from the planet Gorfia. Your mission is to blast your way through wave upon wave of oncoming aliens, surviving long enough to take on and destroy the nerve centre of the alien attack - the Mothership! To do this you have been given command of the most advanced space fighter in the universe - the Ultron! But you'll still need lightning reflexes to rise in the ranks from Cadet up to Space Master!

Game Overview

The year 2673 AD and the galaxy is once more under seige from aliens of the planet Gorfia. Your mission is to destroy the oncoming convoys with speed, skill, and dexterity. This time the invaders are more sophisticated and much more determined to eradicate you. But you have the most powerful craft in the universe - the Ultron!

You begin your mission as a Cadet, but may rise through the ranks and become the ultimate Space Master. There are eight ranks to go through and even then it gets even harder. Four screens go together to make up one wave. The screens are:

1. Space Swarmers
   Swarming mutants who release hordes of homing missiles - worth 30 points
2. Galactic Imps
   Approaching infantry whose sole aim is to infiltrate your defences - 50 points
3. Space Warp
   Aliens that loom out in 3D distracting you with the aim of disintegrating your craft - 100 points
4. Mothership
   Blast the aliens' supreme commander, situated in the nerve centre of the Mothership - 200 points

Occasionally a reconnaissance ship will fly past over the scene, dropping missiles. The points for hitting the ship are randomly either 250 or 500 points.

Game Controls

A - Left, S - Right, RETURN - Fire
W/S - Sound Off/On, ESCAPE - Abort

Thunderstruck

You are SPRECO (the SPace REfuse COllector) who has been transported by a space/time thunderstorm to an eerie castle. All you want to do is get back to Myrtle and the kids, but here you are trapped in these strange medieval surroundings with your Assisdroids. There are various objected littered around the castle the you can carry and use, but because of your bulky space suit you can only manage one at a time.

The castle is inhabited by eight characters that you will meet in your search for the way out. If you help them by giving them something they need, they will give you something in return to help you find a way out.

Thunderstruck is a brain-straining arcade adventure with 100 screens, large scale graphics, animated backgrounds, aliens and 32 puzzles that constitute a lasting, logical challenge.

Characters

The King
The Queen
The Wizard
The Craftsman
The Maiden
The Dog
The Guard
The Revolting Hag

Giving, Taking And Using Objects

You can give and take objects simply by being on the same screen as the character. Likewise, with most objects you can use them by being on the same screen as the puzzle, although there are certain puzzles that will require you to be standing in a particular spot on the screen when you use the object.

Energy

You start the game with 650 energy units, shown as the dotted line at the right hand side of the screen. You lose 1 for going in or out of a screen, 4 for hitting an alien, lift, candle, flame or any other animated background effect.

You lose 64 units for hitting a homing alien, a valve shape or a flapping bird. You gain 32 units for using an object correctly, and energy is retored to 650 after using food.

Game Controls

Z - Left, X - Right, RETURN - Jump, : - Use Object, ? - Pick Up/Drop, G - Give Object, T - Take Object (to and from characters)

Cursor Up/Down - Lift Up/Down (In Lift Only)
TAB - Quit

Contraption

The potty professor has invented the craziest, crankiest machine ever devised - the Contraption! Enter his zany world and explore the weird and wonderful rooms of his mansion. Experience some of the best graphics ever seen on the BBC and grapple with the devilishly difficult gameplay as you feverishly search for the Golden Apples which feed the invention.

Encounter poisonous plants, diving dodos, bouncing bombs, pumping pistons, sneaky snowmen, plunging platforms, jiving jellyfish... in fact, you name it and it's here!

You must guide the professor round the rooms, picking up all the golden apples, then between each of the ten rooms you must take the apples and feed them to the Contraption.

Game Controls

Z - Left, X - Right, : - Jump
Q/S - Sound Off/On, DELETE/COPY - Pause/Resume

Wizzy's Mansion

Wizzy the wizard has over 50 rooms in his mansion, but an uninvited monster has taken over his attic. As a wizard, Wizzy is a bit incompetent and he needs your help to search his mansion for the books of spells that are lying around in various rooms. Once he has enough books, he ought to be able to concoct a spell to destroy the monster. But it's not very easy to get around as Wizzy's blunderings have made all sorts of objects come to life and hinder his progress!

Game Overview

Wizzy, the incompetent wizard, has a problem - a nasty monster has taken over the room at the top of his mansion. In order to get of the monster, Wizzy must cast a spell - but he can't remember the right one. The pages of his book of spells are scattered throughout the different rooms, so he must search the rooms picking up all the pages that he finds.

Unfortunately, his blundering spells have made all sorts of objects come to life and turn nasty! You must guide him through the mansion, picking up the pages and avoiding the nasty objects. Falling too far is also deadly.

You start with eight livs and get a bonus Wizzy for every ten pages found.

Wizzy's Mansion Game Controls

Z - Left, X - Right, SHIFT - Jump

Last Of The Free

Arcade adventure starring our hero, Clement, the Ordanoid droid! The Ordanoids have been enslaved and destroyed by the Proleoids, a later model of droid with a fundamental design fault that made them too aggressive. All the Ordanoids have gone except Clement - the Last of the Free! Clement's mission is to escape from the Proleoids and make it to the teleport to warn humanity about the defective proleoids.

The road to freedom is full of dangerous Proleoid enemies and littered with obstacles to avoid and puzzles that must be solved. Apart from his ability to run and jump, Clement has only one advantage: he can pick up and use objects that he finds, but he can only carry one at a time.

The Last Of The Free features 55 different and complex screens, 32 different aliens with large animated sprites, music and sound, extending platforms, lifts, doors, lots of puzzles, and much more.

Game Overview

Clement is droid no. 490 of the Ordanoid Class BA2 - a type of droid commonly used by humans to take care of the running of distant planets. When the Ordanoid design was superceded by the more efficient Proleoid design, batches of Proleoids were sent off to help the Ordanoids run the planets. But due to an unforeseen design fault, the Proleoids started to impose their will on the Ordanoids until all the Ordanoids were destroyed - all, that is, except Clement - the Last Of The Free!

Clement's mission, whispered to him in the dying words of the Elder-oid, is to escape from the Proleoids and make it to the teleport so that he can get to Earth and warn his human controllers about the defective Proleoids. The road to freedom is full of dangerous Proleoid enemies, and littered with obstacles to avoid and puzzles that must be solved. Apart from his ability to run and jump, Clement has only one advantage - he can carry and use objects that he finds to help him, but he can only carry one at a time.

Using Objects

The puzzles range from simple to complex. To open a door just enter the screen with the door holding the right key and press : to use the object. You don't need to be right next to it. Some puzzles involve standing on or near obstacles, or dropping objects near obstacles.

Scoring

The scoring system includes a 10 point bonus for every new screen explored, 150 points for basic puzzle solving with up to 1,000 for more complex puzzles, and 2,000 for escaping at the end. You get five lives to start with.

Game Controls

Z - Left, X - Right, RETURN - Jump, ? - Pick Up/Drop, : - Use Object
Q/S/T - Turn Off All Sound/Turn On All Sound/Turn Just Tune Off
ESCAPE - Quit Game, COPY - Toggle Pause

Space Ranger

A team of astronauts taking part in lunar exploration are stranded on the moon. Your job is to pilot the lunar module to make a successful landing on the moon, pick up the astronauts, and ferry them to safety.

You will have to make a number of journeys, because you can only fit in one person at a time. But there are problems - the surface of the moon is riddled with craters so you can only land on certain spots; also a freak asteroid storm is making landing and taking off extremely hazardous!

Game Overview

You are a pilot of a lunar module sent to rescue a team of stranded astronauts from the surface of the moon. The moon is pitted with craters and there are only five flat landing pads where you can land.

You have only four modules, so collisions must be avoided. Unfortunately, there is an asteroid storm going on! Your mission is to guide the module down from orbit, through the asteroids, and land safely on one of the landing pads.

Then you have to take off back through the asteroids to resume your orbiting pattern. You must keep doing this until you have landed at each of the five pads. Only then can you move on to the next mission - and it'll be a tougher one!

Game Controls

Z - Left, X - Right, RETURN - Thrust, SHIFT - Release from orbit/take off from moon

Loading Instructions

Tape:
*TAPE (RETURN)

Choose the correct cassette and wind to the appropriate place (if more than one game is located on it) then type:

Tape 1 Side 1
Psycastria:
CHAIN"" (RETURN)

Ultron:
*RUN (RETURN)

Tape 1 Side 2
Thunderstruck:
*RUN (RETURN)

Tape 2 Side 1
Contraption:
CHAIN"" (RETURN)

Wizzy's Mansion:
CHAIN"" (RETURN)

Tape 2 Side 2
Last Of The Free:
*RUN (RETURN)

Space Ranger:
CHAIN"" (RETURN)

Disc:
Hold SHIFT and tap BREAK to boot disc.