TAC-SCAN
Game Play Instructions and Poster
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Squadron alert! Squadron alert! This is not a drill. Enemy airships
are approaching your command base. All that stands between you and
annihilation is your five ship squadron.
Wipe out 10 enemy ships and you can bring in any needed replacements. If
you don't need them, leave them in the reserve fleet for later use.
Complete four rounds and advance to the next level. Now the action gets
hot and heavy.
(picture of Atari 2600 with joystick in left port and paddles in right port)
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USING YOUR CONTROLLERS
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Plug the game paddle into the RIGHT connector at the rear of your game
console. TAC-SCAN uses the RIGHT connector. So if you already have a
joystick plugged into the left connector, you can leave it alone.
TAC-SCAN is started by pressing the FIRE button of the correct game
paddle controller. Unfortunately, we can't tell you WHICH control this
is, since they are not marked. Try them both--you'll know when you have
the correct one when the game starts.
Use the rotary control to steer the squadron. Every time you press the
FIRE button, a missile salvo is unleashed by your squadron ships. Each
ship fires one missile, so the more ships you have in your formation, the
more firepower you have.
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HOW TO PLAY
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Options
Push in the TAC-SCAN cartridge and go! No option switches to fool with.
The only console switch which has any effect is RESET, which terminates a
game in progress.
Enemy Approach
(close-up picture of five ships)
You command a squadron of five ships, shown at the bottom of the screen.
Watch out for the approaching enemy ships! They fire deadly laser bolts,
which can wipe out ships in your squadron formation. As your skill level
improves, you will be able to hit these enemy ships and then dodge their
deadly laser bolts.
Docking
(screen shot showing a ship docking)
Every time you hit 10 enemy ships, you end a round (signalled by a distinctive
sound). At this point, if you have any ships missing in your squadron, you
are given the opportunity to dock new ships into fighting formation. These
ships slowly descend one at a time, and you must steer them into the "docking
platforms" shown in the vacant ship positions. Anytime you miss (or avoid)
docking a ship, it floats past your squadron, and the next round begins. Any
ship which is not docked is put back into the reserve fleet--you do not lose
it.
Reserve Ships
You begin TAC-SCAN with no reserve ships. Every time you complete a round
by shooting 10 enemies, you are awarded a reserve ship. These reserve ships
are stored off-screen for deployment during the docking maneuver. When you
complete a round with empty ships in your formation, the score at the bottom
of the screen is replaced with a two digit number showing how many reserve
ships you have.
Game Difficulty
When you complete four rounds, TAC-SCAN automatically advances to the next
difficulty level. You'll know when this happens. The screen colors change,
and a special sound is heard. Now the action picks up, and you have the
chance of scoring even higher points.
TAC-SCAN has 15 "theoretical" levels of difficulty. We say theoretical
because the highest anyone at SEGA has managed is level 7.
End of Game
When your flying squadron loses the last ship, the game is over. This
happens whether or not you have ships in reserve. At the end of the game,
the highest round you achieved is shown on the screen, as well as your final
score. To start another game, simply press the FIRE button.
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SCORING
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Point Values Enemy Ship End of Round Hit 3 Hit 4
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BONUS BONUS BONUS
Level 1 100 1,000 10,000 20,000
Level 2 200 2,000 10,000 20,000
Level 3 300 5,000 10,000 20,000
Level 4 400 20,000 10,000 20,000
Level 5 and up 100 times 20,000 10,000 20,000
level #
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A mysterious enemy ship which shimmers in color appears at various times
during a TAC-SCAN game. Hitting it awards an additional 500 points.
Bonus points are awarded for completing a round, for hitting three ships
with one salvo, and for hitting four enemy ships with one salvo.
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STRATEGIC TIPS
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1. Be patient and let enemies go by when you are in a vulnerable position.
There is no penalty for enemies not shot.
2. For high scores, concentrate on lining up three and four (rare) enemies
for the 10,000 and 20,000 point bonus. This is fairly easy to do in
the early rounds.
3. In the early rounds, purposely avoid docking the reserve ships so that
they are added to your off-screen inventory. You'll need them in the
later rounds!
4. Experiment with different squadron formations. Some are easier than
others to avoid enemy fire.
5. Always hit the shimmering enemy ship for extra points.
(cool Tac-Scan poster on reverse side)
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This document obtained from the History of Home Video Games Homepage,
�1997-1998 by Greg Chance