241 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
241 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
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- Situation: Critical -
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- SOFT-DOCS -
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- -
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- "The Most Challenging Battles in the Galaxy" -
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- -
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- Written by: The Whip -
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OVERVIEW
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--------
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The situation is critical. Hostilities have broken out
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between Humanity and Xorlons, the rigidly programmed robots from
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the eastern arm of the galaxy. As top field operative in
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Humanity's Covert Operations Group, you can stop the war before
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it really gets started by destroying Xorlon outposts and
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knocking out strategic industrial centers on the planet's
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surface.
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To accomplish this, you will be phased in to their secret
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headquarters where parts of a nuclear bomb are hidden. You must
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find and assemble the parts, set the bomb to detonate, then
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steal a ship to escape through a hazardous grotto - before the
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bomb explodes. Once on the planet's surface, your challenge is
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to knock out strategic enemy targets as scores of Xorlon ships
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attack you.
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If you are successful in crippling an outpost, you will be
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assigned to destroy another, better-defended base. YOU are the
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only agent who will be sent; if you die before disabling all the
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outposts, a bloody war will be fought in the galaxy.
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GAME SETUP
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----------
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After the diskette has loaded, the screen will flip between
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the title and high score pages. Press any key to display the
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main menu. SITUATION: CRITICAL is pre-set to recommended
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settings (keyboard for Phase I and joystick for Phases II & III)
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It is suggested that you play the games in their pre-set modes
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before making changes.
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Pre-set Keys:
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Phase I: Phase II & III:
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pre-set for Keyboard pre-set for Joystick
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-------------------- --------------------
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Move Fire Move Fire Bomb
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---- ---- ---- ---- ----
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W O W
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A S D K ; A S D Space K
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X . X bar
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Special keys:
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'ESC' pauses the game
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CTRL-S toggles sound
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CTRL-R restarts game
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All three games can be played either on keyboard or
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joystick. In keyboard mode, you can re-set keys to you
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preferences.
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To the left of the menu, you will see the current settings
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for game play - the letter K for keyboard or J for joystick, and
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an arrow pointing to the game that is selected. If ENTIRE is
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selected, all the games will have their input mode shown and
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there will be an arrow next to ENTIRE.
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To play a single game, select the number that corresponds
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to the desired game or type 4 to play the entire SITUATION:
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CRITICAL scenario. If you wish to play using the displayed
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settings, press the space bar to go directly to the selected
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games.
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After entering the number of the game you want to play, a
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menu will appear describing the current mode of input. (If you
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pressed the wrong number, press 'ESC' to get back to the main
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menu). Under the title line is the input line which will read
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REDEFINE KEYS if the keyboard is chosen, or SET JOYSTICK if the
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joystick is active. If you choose to redefine the keys, just
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press the key you wish when prompted. To set the JOYSTICK,
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follow the directions on the screen. (If you make a mistake,
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hit 'ESC' to get back to the menu so you can try again).
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When you are satisfied with the set up, press 3 to start
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the game. If you have chosen ENTIRE, you will have to set the
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conditions for all three games before playing. NOTE: The
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joystick need only be set once because the readings are saved to
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disk.
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GAME PLAY
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---------
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Phase I
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-------
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Objective:
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Find five pieces of a bomb and assemble them. Each piece
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is a small animated box that is picked up when you move over it.
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When you pick up a piece, it will be displayed in the upper
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right hand corner of the screen. After you have picked up all
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five pieces, you will be able to board the escape ship by moving
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on to it.
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Controls:
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The joystick controls the direction of movement. When
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button 0 is held down, you will continue to move in the prior
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direction and the joystick will control the direction of firing.
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Releasing the button will let you move normally again.
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On keyboard, pressing a defined movement key will move you
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in the designated direction. Hitting a fire key will not affect
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the current direction of motion. To stop movement, press the
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move-stop key.
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Defenses:
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The only thing between you and death is you armored space
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suit. The lower left-hand corner of the screen displays the
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status of your armour which weakens each time you are struck by
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either Xorlon, a mine, or a bullet. The initial strength of the
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armour depends on the conditions on each planet. If the armour
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goes below zero...
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Opposition:
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In enemy headquarters deep within the planet, you're up
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against the Xorlons, eyeball to visual-sensor. Some Xorlons
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shoot at you with laser pistols; others lay mines. Immobile
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shapes which are not bomb pieces are touch-sensitive disruptors
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which give high voltage shocks. The Xorlon complex has an
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automated door-closing program which seals any door after it has
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been passed through twice. If you're not careful, you could get
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trapped. Then your only chance is to face and kill the
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formidable "keeper" and escape through the door he was guarding.
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Phase II
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--------
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Objective:
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To escape from the grotto before the bomb you assembled
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explodes. Your position on the screen is a measure of your
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velocity - when the ship is at the far left, you are flying
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slowly; when the ship is at the far right, you are flying at top
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speed. The faster you fly, the better your chances are of
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getting out before the bomb explodes. The timer sets
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automatically when the bomb is assembled. As you're phased to
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more challenging Xorlon outposts, you'll have less time to
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escape.
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Controls:
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Joystick: The joystick controls the direction of movement;
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holding down button 0 will fire a stream of bullets, and
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pressing button 1 will drop one bomb.
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Keyboard: Pressing a movement key starts motion in the
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designated direction. To start the machine gun, press the fire
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key; to stop firing, press any undesignated key. The fire key
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doesn't affect the movement of your ship.
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Pressing the bomb key will drop one bomb, but unlike the
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fire key, it WILL affect motion. Pressing any undefined key
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will stop your spaceship.
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Defenses:
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Your ship can sustain 99 hits before it is destroyed.
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Contact with rock, shrapnel and laser beams are all considered
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hits which are displayed in the lower right corner of the
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screen. To defend yourself from enemy attack, use your machine
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gun. Bombs should be used sparingly because they will be needed
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in the final phase of your mission.
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Opposition:
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In the grotto, you face Xorlon-built defense systems which
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include laser screens, laser guns, and ground-to-air missiles.
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Each requires at least 4 machine gun hits to be destroyed. To
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bring down a laser screen, you must destroy one of the
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generators on the side of the screen.
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The spindly red waving shapes are electrostatic refueling
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depots. To refuel, simply fly through one - the longer you stay
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in it, the more fuel you take on.
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Phase III
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---------
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Objective:
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To disable as much Xorlon industry as possible without
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getting shot down. The crosshairs indicate where a bomb will
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hit when dropped. Bomb anything that looks "Xorlon-made" i.e.
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roads, buildings, ships, powerlines, oil refineries, etc. Each
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direct hit will earn you points which are displayed in the lower
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right corner of the screen, You have to discover which targets
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are best.
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Controls:
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Joystick: The joystick will control the direction of
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movement; holding button 0 will fire a stream of bullets, and
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pressing button 1 will drop a bomb.
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Keyboard: To start movement in the designated direction,
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press a movement key. Press the fire key to start the machine
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gun; press any undefined key to stop it. The fire key will not
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affect the current motion. Pressing the bomb key will start
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dropping bombs, but like the fire key, will not affect motion.
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Press an undefined key to stop the motion of your spaceship.
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Defenses:
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You are flying the same ship on the planet's surface as you
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flew in the grotto, so any damage sustained in the grotto will
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be carried over to the assault.
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Opposition:
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You face the Xorlon flying aces in their rays, skimmers,
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wasps, and needle ships. You are also threatened by
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anti-aircraft fire and ground-to-air missiles. Xorlon ships
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must be hit four times to be destroyed.
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There is also a drone refueling ship which is travelling
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north, the same direction you are heading. You MUST refuel in
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flight or you will run out of fuel and crash. To refuel, put
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the nose of your ship under the tail of the refueling ship.
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If you make it through all three phases, you will be given
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a new suit of armour and sent to a more challenging planet where
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you will receive an undamaged ship for your next mission.
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Note: High scores will be saved only when the complete game of
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SITUATION: CRITICAL is played.
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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Written by: The Whip 3-10-85
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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