Planetoid

Your laser-ship is patrolling the surface of the planetoid. The scanner in the top section of the screen shows the whole planet surface, and can be used for long-range reconnaissance. The lower part of the screen displays the section over which the laser-ship is flying.

The raiders can be seen hovering around the surface on the look-out for life-forms, which they can drag off into space. As a raider ascends with a life-form, you can destroy it with your lasers, or with the 'smart bombs' which disintegrate everything hostile within sight. Having annihilated the raider, you can intercept the plummetting life-form and set him back down on the surface.

If you don't rescue a life-form before the raider carrying him reaches the top of the screen, the raider will mutate. You will then have to contend with a mutant, while also being attacked by bombers, spores, and megacytes, all of which are to be avoided at all costs, and killed before going on to the next wave. Cruisers are also dangerous, but don't have to be destroyed before you move on to the next wave.

When megacytes are destroyed, they release a cloud of spores - use the smart bombs wisely, as you only have three to begin with.

Look out when only one life-form remains, since if the raider abducting him reaches the top of the screen the planetoid explodes, and all the raiders become mutants. However, after every five attack waves you get a new planetoid, and a new set of life-forms to defend.

You start off with three ships, but for every 10,000 points you score you gain a ship, plus a smart bomb.

Game Controls

A - Up, Z - Down, SHIFT - Thrust, SPACE - Reverse, RETURN - Laser bolt, TAB - Smart bomb, H - Hyperspace

Scores

Score 500 for each life-form caught in flight, and 500 for each one safely returned to the planetoid surface.

Bonuses for each surviving life-form at the end of each wave are as follows:

Three numbers are displayed at the top of the screen: the first shows your score and the second and third show the numbers of remaining laser ships and smart bombs respectively.

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