VIDEO GAME CARTRIDGE FOR THE ATARI (R) 2600 (TM) VCS (TM) ATARI 2600 STARGATE* Stellar Gateway to the Universe *STARGATE is a trademark and (C) Williams 1981, manufactured under license from Williams Electronics, Inc. First, the best brains in the world designed a super spaceship to defend your planet against eveil aliens who lusted to conquer it. But the marauders kept coming! Your new secret weapon: STARGATE, a powerful stellar gatweay to the universe. It's the only hope for your beleagured planet! Once again, you take to the skies in your ship -- now fortified with the mysterious cloaking compound, INVISO. With the help of the STARGATE, maybe -- just maybe -- you can save the last humanoids and wipe out the aliens FOREVER! PREPARE FOR THE ATTACK Insert the STARGATE cartridge as explained in your 2600 Video Computer System owner's guide, and turn on your system. Use Two Joysticks! Plug a joystick controller into BOTH controller jacks for this one-player game. Use the left controller for manuevering your ship and firing on the aliens. Use the right controller to activate SMARTBOMBS and INVISO, and to jump to HYPERSPACE. Press the fire button to activate SMARTBOMBS. Move the joystick forward to activate INVISO; move it back to activate HYPERSPACE. If you run out of SMARTBOMBS, pressing the fire button will activate INVISO. Once you run out of INVISO, pressing the fire button will send you into HYPERSPACE. You can complete up to 100 attack waves in STARGATE. You begin the next attack wave each time you clear the planet of aliens. Press GAME RESET or the left fire button to begin the attack. MANEUVERING AND SCORING The Tricks Up Your Sleeve You begin the game with three ships, three SMARTBOMBS, about six seconds of INVISO, and enough energy to HYPERSPACE temporarily out of danger -- the number of ships and SMARTBOMBS and the amount of INVISO you have left are shown at the top of your screen. For every 10,000 points, you score, you earn another ship, another SMARTBOMB, and more INVISO. SMART BOMBS destroy all the enemies on a screen. Use your SMARTBOMBS sparingly. INVISO makes you temporarily invisible for about two seconds. You can still fire while cloaked with INVISO, and anything you pass through will automatically be destroyed. HYPERSPACE temporarily sends you into space war -- you never know where you'll reappear. Use HYPERSPACE only as a last resort! It's very unpredictable -- you might blow up on any given HYPERSPACE attempt. STARGATES warp you to a part of the plance where a HUMANOID is in danger, or, if all the HUMANOIDS are temporarily safe, passing through a STARGATE will transport you to the opposite side of the planet. HMANOIDS are defenseless. Pick up HUMANOIDS by docking with them in the sky. To set them down, gently guide your ship down to the planet surface. The HUMANOIDS will beam to the nearest Humanoid Space Station on the planet. They're still vulnerable while at the Space Station -- so you'll have to protect them. You can also keep the rescued HUMANOIDS with you on board your ship. IN attack waves 1 through 9, if you pass through a STARGATE while transporting four or more HUMANOIDS on your ship, you'll automatically advance four waves in the game. You'll also receive 1000 points for every HUMANOID left on the planet. At the end of attack waves 1 through 5, you receive 100, 200, 300, 400, or 500 points for every HUMANOID left on the plance, respectively. After the 5th attack wave, you receive 500 points for every HUMANOID left. The Tricks Up Their sleeves Each alien ship has a different function and mission. LANDERS fire lethal charges at you. Worse, they also kidnap HUMANOIDS from the planet below and carry them to the stars above. Shoot LANDERS for 150 points each. If one makes it to the top of the screen with a HUMANOID, both the HUMANOID and LANDER are transformed into a destructive MUTANT. MUTANTS are worth 150 points also. The heads of MUTANTS rotate, and they flash with bright colors. They also fire white charges at you while they make their assault. YLLABIAN SPACE GUPPYS are mindless puppets, but they'll home in and destroy you if you're not careful. Pulverize them for 200 points each. FIREBOMBERS are treacherous. Blast them for 250 points each and get them out of your way early on. PODS bob around like bouncing balls. Shooting one earns you 1000 points. SWARMERS are begotten from PODS. Once you shoot a POD, three SWARMERS are released, and it takes three shots to destroy them. Each SWARMER is worth 150 points. DYNAMOS are cubic creatures that swirl around the heavens above the planet surface. Explode them for 200 points each. BAITERS appear if you take too long to finish off a wave. They fire on you and move fast and furiously. Stop a BAITER in its path for 200 points. PHREDS are no fun. Again, if you waste time during your attack, these nasty creatures join the attack. Frazzle a PHRED for 200 points. MUNCHIES are followers of PHREDS. Zap 'em for 50 points each. (Baiters look like flying saucers, Phreds like the letter C, Munchies like small Phreds) RESCUR THE HUMANOIDS! SAVE YOUR PLANET! ADDITIONAL MISSION INSTRUCTIONS The Scanner on your screen shows you any area on the planet where HUMANOIDS are in danger. Keep an eye on your scanner -- it will alert you to any emergencies in another part of the sky. Rush to a STARGATE for immediate transport to that sector. Your planet will be destroyed if all the HUMANOIDS are turned into MUTANTS -- but you must still defend yourself! If you're a good fighter, your planet will be restored in wave 6, or in every fifth wave after that. In attack wave 5 and every 10th attack wave thereafter, you'll encounter the YLLABIAN DOG FIGHT. The only aliens that appear on the screen are YLLABIAN SPACE GUPPYS, PODS, and DYNAMOS. It takes skill and practice to make it through this wave. In every 10th attack wave, you'll find yourself in the middle of a FIREBOMBER SHOWDOWN. FIREBOMBERS are everywhere. Kep a sharp eye and a nimble firing finger. Whenever you lose a ship, you reappear on the screen with a new one (if you have any left). But all action stops until you move the joystick. Along with the powers of your super spaceship, you've been blessed with supersonic hearing. You can hear the HUMANOIDS scream as they're being accosted by LANDERS. On your side of the planet, this comes as a faint yelp. The sound of explosions means that a HUMANOID and LANDER have just been transformed into a MUTANT. ATARI PRINTED IN HONG KONG (C) 1987 ATARI CORP All rights reserved Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden without the written permission of Atari, Corp., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 CO19741-120/A Rev. A Model 26120 VL.9.1987 Designed by Williams Electronics, Inc. Programmed by Bill Aspromonte Computer Graphics by Bill Aspromonte Audio by Andrew Fuchs