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Space Attack - M Network - Atari 2600    Manual Scan icon HTML Manual   

Space Attack
M Network TM

SPACE ATTACK TM

			I N S T R U C T I O N S
                        (1 Player vs. Computer)

The object of the game is to defend your Mother Ship from attacking 
aliens. You have 3 squadrons, with 3 ships in each squadron. Aliens have 
6 fleets of varying sizes. (Only 3 fleets appear at a time on the Radar 
Screen.) Destroy all alien fleets and you win! If your squadrons are 
destroyed first, the aliens move in and annihilate the hidden Mother Ship.

For Your Atari* Video Game System

(c) Mattel, Inc. 1982. Hawthorne, CA 90250. PRINTED IN U.S.A. All 
Rights Reserved.

*Atari, is a Trademark of ATARI, Inc.


THE GAME

ESTABLISH STRATEGY IN RADAR MODE. You see a radar view of 
space, with alien fleets moving toward the inner rectangle where your 
Mother ship is hidden. (You do not see the Mother Ship.) Select an alien 
fleet to attack. Then dispatch one of your squadrons - blue, white or gold - 
after it. Dispatch one, two or all three squadrons, but ONLY ONE 
SQUADRON PER ALIEN FLEET at a time. Your squadrons appear in 
the center of the screen only after you dispatch them.

TAKE YOUR SQUADRON INTO BATTLE MODE,when it reaches its 
target fleet and starts blinking. In Battle Mode, you look out into space 
through your laser gunsight, as alien ships engage you in a space dogfight. 
Move your gunsight ahead of an alien ship and fire! Your lasers come 
from the bottom of the screen and converge at the point where your 
gunsight was WHEN YOU FIRED. Watch out for return fire. Alien 
photon blasts are fired from the alien ships, at your gunsight. If they 
TURN RED and hit your gunsight, they destroy one of your ships. 
NUMBERS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN INDICATE
NUMBER OF SHIPS REMAINING IN THE ALIEN FLEET (LEFT) 
AND NUMBER OF SHIPS REMAINING IN YOUR SQUADRON 
(RIGHT). 

YOU AUTOMATICALLY RETURN TO RADAR MODE when you 
shoot down an entire alien fleet or lose your squadron. If your squadron 
survived the battle, it remains in place until you dispatch it again. Go after 
the next alien fleet, until all are destroyed.

A SIREN WARNS YOU WHEN THE MOTHER SHIP IS UNDER 
ATTACK. Siren gets faster as the Mother Ship sustains more damage. 
The game ends if the Mother Ship is destroyed.


HOW TO PLAY

Use EITHER joystick controller with this game. Be sure the controller 
cable is securely plugged into the back of your game console. Hold the 
controller so the red button is to your upper left.

TO START THE GAME, press down on the RESET switch, then pull 
down on the LEFT joystick.

IN RADAR MODE

1. TO SELECT AN ALIEN FLEET,

PULL JOYSTICK DOWN REPEATEDLY, until selected alien fleet turns 
purplish color.

HOLD		 UP -
BUTTON	     WHITE SQUADRON
DOWN
	LEFT -			RIGHT -
     BLUE SQUADRON	     GOLD SQUADRON

2. TO DISPATCH A SQUADRON,

HOLD RED BUTTON DOWN WHILE MOVING JOYSTICK TO UP, 
LEFT OR RIGHT POSITION.

3. TO TAKE A SQUADRON INTO BATTLE,

   (when squadron reaches alien fleet and starts blinking),
	     
MOVE JOYSTICK TO UP, LEFT OR RIGHT POSITION, WITHOUT
PRESSING THE RED BUTTON.

TO RE-DISPATCH A SQUADRON, follow Steps 1 and 2 above.

IN BATTLE MODE

Move the joystick in any direction, to guide the gunsight where you wish
your lasers to hit. Keep your gunsight away from red alien fire.

PUSH THE RED BUTTON TO FIRE YOUR LASERS.


DIFFICULTY SWITCHES

LEFT Difficulty Switch controls how well the aliens fight. Battle is much 
more fierce in Hard Position (A) than in Easy Position (B). Alien ships 
fire and zigzag MUCH more frequently and their photon blasts travel 
twice as fast.

RIGHT Difficulty Switch controls activity on the Radar Screen while you 
are in Battle Mode.

EASY POSITION (B) - NO activity on Radar Screen while you are in
Battle Mode. Computer does NOT fight battles for you.

HARD POSITION (A) - All activity on Radar Screen continues when
you are in Battle Mode, but at 1/4 NORMAL RATE. If any other 
dispatched squadron reaches its target fleet, battle begins and the
COMPUTER FIGHTS FOR YOU, losing roughly one of your ships for
every four alien ships destroyed.

BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT SWITCH SHOULD BE SET AT THE 
SAME DIFFICULTY LEVEL.


WINNING TIPS

1. Dispatch your first squadron after the alien fleet CLOSEST to the 
Mother Ship. If possible, do not dispatch more than one squadron at a 
time, when playing with the Right Difficulty Switch in Hard position.

2. Try to hold one squadron in reserve, in case an alien fleet makes it 
to the inner rectangle. You can reach the threatening alien faster from the 
Mother Ship than from another position in space.

3. In Battle Mode, keep your gunsight moving. Alien photon blasts home 
in on your gunsight if it remains in one place for long.

4. As soon as you finish one battle with a squadron, send it back out after
another alien fleet. Don't leave it sitting idle in space.

IMPORTANT: BE SURE TO TURN YOUR GAME UNIT OFF WHEN 
NOT IN USE.


90 DAY LIMITED WARRANTY

Mattel Electronics warrants to the original consumer purchaser of any
cartridge or cassette it manufactures that the product will be free of
defects in material or workmanship for 90 days from the date of purchase.
If defective, return the product along with proof of the date-of-purchase
to either your local dealer or, postage prepaid, to:


Mattel Electronics Service Center (West)
13040 East Temple Ave
City Of Industry, California 91746

Mattel Electronics Service Center (East)
10 Abeel Road
Cranbury Nev Jersey 08512

for repair or replacement. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, 
and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state. This 
warranty does not cover damage resulting from accident, misuse or abuse.

MATTEL ELECTRONICS
-------------------Atari 2600 Instructions Archive-------------------

This document obtained from the History of Home Video Games Homepage, �1997-1998 by Greg Chance