DARK CHAMBERS

c 1983, 1988


THE DARKNESS IS UPON YOU
------------------------

You're on a dangerous search, deep underground.  Wraiths, wizards, and
moldering skeletons surround you.  Even now, a grim reaper stalks you. 

The exits take you -- where?  Only deeper into the maze.  Find weapons
in the darkness and fend off your elusive enemies.  Claim the treasure
and fight your way even deeper into the caverns.

Your strength will outlast the weaker ghouls.  But are you a match for
the strongest?


GETTING STARTED

1.  With your Atari 2600 or 7800 set up, insert the Dark Chambers      
    cartridge into the console.  Plug a joystick into the left         
    controller port.  For two players, plug a second joystick into the
    right controller port.

2.  Turn on your television or monitor and press the [Power] key to    
    turn on your Atari console.  The Dark Chambers screen appears.

3.  Press [Select] to choose a skill level and number of players (one  
    or two).  Or move the joystick handle up or down for players and   
    left or right for skill level.  A hero for each player appears at
    bottom right.  A bear's face at bottom left shows your sill level.

Bear's Face                                                 Skill Level

[Image of smiling bear with small eyes]                         Low

[Image of straight-faced bear with two big eyes]               Medium

[Image of straight-faced bear; big left eye, small right eye]   High

4. Press the [Reset] or the joystick fire button to begin.


SEARCHING DARK CHAMBERS

You're lost in Dark Chambers.  Enemies, treasures, and curses are
scattered through all 26 levels from A to Z.  Your goal is to survive
all levels and take the greatest amount of treasure.  Only by finding
the hidden gates can you descend from one level to the next.

Your enemies -- dangerous ghouls -- are everywhere.  At times they'll
chase you.  Other times they'll chase you.  Other times they'll back
off, but its a ploy -- they're trying to lead you further from the
exits.

Move your joystick handle to move through the chambers.  (In the early
levels of play, beware of false doors that won't open.)  Search each
chamber for treasures and weapons.  Pick them up by walking over them. 
(The treasures and weapons you pick up appear at the bottom of the
screen.)

Stay away from the curses -- traps and poison.  If you touch them,
they'll take away your strength.  Go through the exits to move on. 
(In a two-player game, you won't be able to walk any farther than you
can see unless your partner goes with you.)

Ghouls drain your strength by touching you.  Shoot them by moving your
joystick handle in their direction and pressing the fire button.  Be
watchful, though, because you can't walk while you're shooting. 
Ghouls will use that time to move in and touch you.

Potions are also hidden in the chambers.  When you find one, pick it
up to renew your strength.  A bar at the bottom of the screen shows
how much strength you have left (up to 31 units).

Strength Bar [image of a bar]

Find the hidden gate to escape from a level and descend to the next. 
As long as you have strength left, you can go through all 26 levels. 
If you lose all your strength, you collapse and the game is over.

In a two-player game, if one hero collapses, the keys are given to the
other hero.  If the surviving hero makes it to the next level, the
other hero revives on that level.

When a game is over, press the fire button or [Reset] to start a new
game at the last level played.  Press [Select] at any time to start a
new game from the title screen.


HEROES, TREASURES, AND POWERS

You're the hero, caught in the maze of Dark Chambers

Hero 1 [Image of a person.  He looks like a candle with feet on both   
       sides.  The head slopes from left to right.  There is a         
       diagonal white slash that goes from the upper left side of the  
       body to the center of the body.]

Hero 2 [Image of a person.  He also looks like a candle with feet only
       on the right side.  The head slopes up a little from the left   
       to the middle of the body, then it slopes back down to the      
       right.  There is a slash that goes from the upper middle of the
       body to the bottom right side of the hero's waist]

Pick up potions to increase your strength.  (When your strength bar is
full, you don't need the potions.)

[Image of a flask-like-object]

The more keys you pick up, the more doors you can unlock to enter
secret rooms.  Each key unlocks one door.  You can carry up to 15
keys.

[Image of a key]

Pick up weapons for defense.  Guns let you fire faster.  Daggers make
your shots more powerful.  Shields minimize the amount of strength you
lose when an enemy touches you.  When you're carrying a weapon, a box
appears next to your strength bar. 

Guns [Image of a gun]

Daggers [Image of a cross]

Shields [Image of a medieval shield with a white cross on it]

Set off bombs to slay all ghouls and curses in the area you're in. 
Grab the bomb and press the fire button twice quickly.  Or carry it
(up to 15 bombs), and detonate it when the time is right.

[Image of a bomb. It looks like one of the bombs from Kaboom!]

Gates lead to the next level

[Image of a hollow rectangle that is standing up.  There is a
horizontal line about a quarter of the way from the bottom.  On top of
this line, is two rectangles.  A small one sits on top on the large
one.  The large one sits on the line.  Both of the boxes are inside
the hollow rectangle.]

Grab the strongboxes, jewels, and silver and gold chalices to earn
points.

Strongbox [Image of a box.  It has three white squares near the top    
          wear the key hole is.  There is a small lid That sits on top
          of the box.]

Jewel [Image of a necklace.  It has a huge stone, and the necklace is
      open at the top.]

Chalice [Image of a chalice.  A chalice looks like a "Y".]


DENIZENS AND CURSES OF THE DARK CHAMBERS

The inhabitants of Dark Chambers drain your strength by touching you. 
When shot, they mutate to the next weaker form.

Zombies are the weakest form.  They explode when you slay them.

[Image of a rectangle with feet, a hat brim, and a huge nose.  There
is a white piece missing in the middle of its body.]

Wraiths want to scare you crazy.

[Image of a thing that looks like a Master Lock.  The base is a
rhombus with an inverted "U" on top of it.]

Skeletons shake their bones, coveting you skin.

[Image of a skeleton]

Wizards hate live heroes.  They attack without mercy.

[Image of a wizard.  He had the familiar wizard hat and robe on]

Grim reapers are the strongest form.  They'll slice you down if you
let them get close.

[Image of the Grim Reaper.  He is wearing a rob, and has an inverted
"U" on his head.]

Spawners hatch new ghouls.  They also hide treasures, weapons, curses,
and gates. Shoot them to discover what they're guarding.

[Image of a head with a two eyes and a straight-face.  It has an "X"
beneath the head]

Traps and Poisons drain your strength if you tough them.

Traps [Image of a hollow square with an "X" going through the middle  
      of it]

Poisons [Image of a flask-like-object.  It has a white "X" on it.]



SCORING
-------

Slay the ghouls and pick up treasures and potions to score points. 
Scores appear at the bottom of the screen, next to your strength bar.


GHOULS AND CURSES

Spawner: slaying.................................100 points
Grim reaper:  slaying............................100 points
              touching......................-5 energy units
Wizard:  slaying..................................50 points            
         touching...........................-4 energy units
Skeleton:  slaying................................30 points
           touching.........................-3 energy units
Wraith:  slaying..................................20 points            
         touching............................-1 energy unit
Trap:  touching.............................-6 energy units
Poison:  touching...........................-4 energy units


TREASURES AND POTIONS

Gold chalice....................................3000 points
Amulet..........................................1000 points
Silver chalice...................................500 points
Strongbox........................................100 points
Potion.......................................+3 energy dabs



And of course, this game was made by ATARI in 1983/1988.  And this game 
manual was typed in by me!  And I am Eddie Beiles.  I can be reached at 
[email protected] if you have any questions about this game manual.  Or 
you can email me and thank me for typing it in.  Anyway, enjoy the game 
and this wonderfully typed in manual.