Scenario
To sleep, perchance to dream... but don't sleep too deeply 'cos all your nightmares
are waiting for you in this unique arcade-blast from Tony Crowther.
Phobia is set in the minds of men, feeding on every human fear; spiders, fire,
death and dentists!
Grab hold of your courage and prepare to face the frightening challenge of each
of the 14 planets that Phobos has set against you. Can your body take the heat,
can your brain take the pressure!
The game
Lord Phobos, Master of Fear, has imprisoned the daughter of the Galactic President
and is holding her captive on the surface of the Sun.
Knowing that a rescue mission would be launched, Phobos has created a series
of worlds which must be passed through before any prospective rescuer gains
access to the Sun. After careful study of the human mind and subconsious, Phobos
has fashioned each planet in the form of a human Phobia - he knows that this
is the most powerful human emotion, and the fear of fear itself is enough to
deter any would-be heroes.
Situated in the core of each planet is a rare element which affords total protection
against the heat of the Sun - nine of these are required to protect the entire
ship and allow an attack on the Sun itself.
Phobos has other defensive systems to deter the rescue mission - his dreaded
Sun Troops will start out from the opposite end of the Stellar System and attempt
to cut off the routes to Phobos - they will leave light barriers between planets
which will destroy any ship attempting to pass through at Light Speed. The only
way through these is to either sacrifice a ship, or to collect a Space Pod from
an orbiting moon and sacrifice this. Space Pods will also produce firepower
after sufficient power-ups have been collected.
Progress through the game is made by destroying a Phobic planet, travelling
through to the core and collecting a shield piece, then progressing on to the
next planetary system. If the moon of the planet is flashing this indicates
that Space Pods are present, and you have the opportunity of fighting through
the Lunar defences to collect these.
The components of the Phobic planet will leave behind power-ups when destroyed,
which can be collected to improve the fighting characteristics of your craft.
Also present on every Phobic planet are the Key Generators which power an impenetrable
shield at the end of each system - these must be identified and destroyed before
the shield is reached.
Game controls
Control is by joystick only. To select two players, push the joystick right
until the second score panel has activated. Two players will require two joysticks.
Commodore key: Pause (fire to restart).
Run/Stop: Abort game.
The split ship function is controlled by the Space Bar or the Fire Button on
the second joystick (if connected).
Note: The tape version of Phobia will require levels to be played in a fixed
order.
If you choose to undertake the mission with a comrade, then a special Energy Exchange
Weapon System can be employed - firing at the other player's ship gives it a 'power-up'
- the ship will change colour as the energy is absorbed and when the charged ship
next fires, it will unleash a devastating burst of destruction, proportional to
the amount of energy absorbed. If you are playing as a single player, the a Binary
Doppelganger Loop System can be used - your single can double itself up, thus
increasing firepower (but also increasing vulnerability).
Loading instructions
Disk: Load"*",8,1 then press Return.
Tape: Press Shift and Run/Stop simultaneously.
Copyrights
The computer program and its associated documentation and material are protected
by national and international copyright law. Storage in a retrieval system,
reproduction, translation, copying, hiring, lending, broadcasting and public
performances are prohibited without the express written permission of Mirrorsoft
Limited. All rights of author and owner are reserved worldwide. (AT2D-PHO22)
