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Phoenix - Atari - Atari 2600     HTML Manual   

Phoenix
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ATARI 2600tm 	PHOENIX*		 * trademark licensed by Centuri, Inc.
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	Atari welcomes your comments.  Please address all correspondence to:

				Atari, Inc.
			    Customer Relations
			   1312 Crossman Avenue
			Sunnyvale, California 94086

NOTE: Always turn the console POWER switch OFF when inserting or removing an
ATARI(R) Game Program(tm) cartridge.  This will protect the electronic
components and prolong the life of your ATARI 2600(tm) Video Computer
System(tm) game.

(C) 1982 ATARI,INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

	TABLE OF CONTENTS

	1. PHOENIX FIRE RISING ________	1
	2. GAME PLAY __________________	2
	3. USING THE CONTROLLER	_______ 3
	4. CONSOLE CONTROLS ___________ 4
	5. SCORING ____________________ 5
	6. HELPFUL HINTS ______________ 6
	7. SCORECARD __________________ 7

1. PHOENIX FIRE RISING
	In ancient times, legend says, there was a bird of great beauty.  About
	the size of an eagle, it had brilliant scarlet and gold feathers, a
	melodious song, and was the only one of its kind in the entire world.

	This fabulous creature lived in Arabia and had a life span of over five
	hundred years.  At the end of its life, the phoenix built a nest of
	frankincense, myrrh, and other aromatic spices.  After setting fire to
	the nest by rapidly beating its wings, the beautiful bird settled down
	to die amidst the flames.

	From the ashes of that fire miraculously arose a young, revitalized
	Phoenix.  This new bird then took the remains of its parent to the
	temple of the sun at Heliopolis in Egypt, and sacrificed them on the 
	high altar.

	The long life of the Phoenix and the dramatic rebirth from its own
	ashes has made this legendary bird a symbol of immortality and spiritual
	rebirth in many cultures.  The Egyptians saw the myth as a symbol of
	the life cycle of the sun, which dies every day at sunset and is reborn
	every morning at dawn.  Most others interpret the legend as a general
	symbol for the regeneration of life after death.

	However, something awful has happened to tarnish the long-standing
	image of the Phoenix.  Due to the effects of radioactive fallout on its
	nest, the Phoenix has unfortunately mutated into a bird of prey.

	Now, several birds arise from the ashes, but these are not like the
	beautiful, friendly bird of old.  These birds are mean.  Their cries are
	shrill.  They have developed a tough, metallic-like skin that makes them
	almost indestructible.  And they have turned their backs on the human
	race to offer their services to alien beings determined to drain away 
	earth's energy resources.

	Your mission: Eliminate these seemingly immortal war hawks, destroy the
	alien spaceship, and safeguard our planet from ravaging energy-thieves.

2. GAME PLAY
	You have five lives in which to survive the bombing attacks of four
	separate flocks of Phoenix war birds who protect the alien spaceship. 
	Your challenge is to eliminate the birds, get to the spaceship that
	follows the fourth wave of birds, and shoot the alien pilot.

	To eliminate the large, menacing Phoenixes of the third and fourth
	waves, you have to hit them in the center.  If you only wing a Phoenix,
	like its ancient ancestor, it will soon regenerate the missing part and
	become a whole bird to attack you some more.

	To destroy the alien pilot, you have to erode the multi-colored hull of
	the spaceship directly beneath the cockpit to create a clear shot at 
	him.  But one of the hull layers - the blue layer - rotates the length
	of the spaceship.  So, you not only have to chip away at the blue 
	layer, but you also have to time your shot at the alien to coincide 
	with the hole passing directly under him.

3. USING THE CONTROLLER
	Use your Joystick Controller with this ATARI Game Program cartridge. 
	Be sure the controller cable is firmly plugged into the left jack at 
	the back of your 2600 Video Computer System console.  Hold the Joystick
	with the red button to your upper left, toward the television screen.  
	(See your Owner's Manual for further details.)

TO START THE GAME
	PHOENIX is a one-player game.  To start the game, press the GAME RESET
	button on your Video Computer System console.  Then grab your Joystick
	and avoid getting bombed by the small birds that weave back and forth 
	across the screen. (Figure 1.)

TO OPERATE YOUR LASER CANNON
	Move your Joystick left or right to move your laser cannon left or
	right.  Pull the Joystick toward you to activate a protective force
	field around your laser cannon.

	This force field is energized for only 1 1/2 seconds before it fades;
	it cannot be reactivated until another 3 1/2 seconds elapse.  When the
	force field is activated, you cannot move your cannon, but you can
	still fire your laser.

			      .-------.
	                     /         \
			    |   .---.   |
	         Left  <========| |="=======">  Right
			    |   `-|-'   |
			     \    |    /
			      `---|---'
				  |
				  V

			     Force Field

	To fire your laser cannon, press the red fire button.  You can only
	have one laser shot on the screen at any one time.

	[Small Phoenix Birds (First Wave) Figure 1 - Opening Game Situation
	 (Shows the Laser Cannon to be in the lower part of the screen and the
	 Score and Lives in Reserve to be in the upper part.  The birds are
	 violet with orange.)]

4. CONSOLE CONTROLS

GAME RESET SWITCH
	Press the GAME RESET switch to start the game after you insert the
	cartridge into the console.  Press it anytime during game play to 
	return to the first display (Figure 1) and start a new game.  After you
	have exhausted your game quota of five lives, you can also start a new 
	game (and reincarnate yourself!) by pressing the red fire button.

GAME SELECT SWITCH
	Since PHOENIX consists of one continuous game, the GAME SELECT switch
	has no function.

DIFFICULTY SWITCHES
	Since PHOENIX is difficult enough as it is, the DIFFICULTY switches
	have no effect on game play either.  However, if you wish to eliminate
	the background sounds of the bird cries, set the LEFT DIFFICULTY switch
	to the "A" position.  The action sounds will remain, no matter which 
	setting you choose.

TV TYPE SWITCH
	Set this switch to COLOR if you're playing on a color TV.  Set it to
	B/W to play the game on a black and white TV.

	[Figure 2 - Small Phoenix Birds (Second Wave) (The birds are violet 
	 with green.]

5. SCORING
	Point values are identical for the first two waves of attack by the
	small Phoenix birds. (Figures 1 and 2).  You get 20 points for each 
	small bird you hit while it is moving in a horizontal pattern; you get 
	80 points for each bird you shoot while it is actually swooping in at 
	you.

	[Figure 3 - Large Phoenix Birds (First Wave) (The birds are blue.)]

	[Figure 4 - Large Phoenix Birds (Second Wave) (The Force Field is 
	 shown to be a white hexagon around your laser cannon.  The birds 
	 are red in this wave.)]

	Point values are also identical for the last two waves of attack by the
	large Phoenix birds (Figures 3 and 4).  You get between 100 and 500
	points for each large Phoenix you eliminate, depending on its proximity
	to you when you destroy it.  The closer the bird is, the more points
	you get.  If you only wing one of the large birds, you get 20 points.

	[Figure 5 - Alien Spaceship (Shows the Alien Pilot in the space ship
	 and the Rotating Blue Layer)]

	The alien spaceship (Figure 5) counts between 1,000 and 4,000 points
	in the first round - depending on its proximity to you when you
	vaporize the alien.  In this case, the quicker you destroy the ship, 
	the more points you'll score.  If you survive long enough to confront
	the spaceship again, the highest score you can achieve increases by a 
	thousand points in each round to a maximum of 9,000 points.

6. HELPFUL HINTS
	* Overcome the temptation to fire away the first time the small birds
	appear.  Instead, take a few moments to study their patterns.  Observe
	what happens when you are positioned directly beneath the birds, and 
	when you are not.  Study the attack patterns of the lower birds.  Learn
	how to move your laser cannon between the bombs without getting blown 
	apart.

	* In all phases of the game except for the second wave of small birds,
	you must press the red fire button each time you want to squeeze off a
	shot.  However, in the second wave of small birds, you'll get 
	continuous firing if you hold the button down.

	* Don't waste lives trying to accumulate a lot of points in the early
	waves.  Play it safe.  Save your stamina for the large birds and for 
	the spaceship, where the real big points are scored.

	* For the first two times you encounter the alien spaceship, you can
	chip away the blue layer of the spaceship without getting bombed if 
	you fire close to the edges furthest from the cockpit.  Starting with 
	the third encounter with the spaceship,  however, bombs will fall from
	those edges and the alien's shots will be faster-paced and more 
	accurate - just to make things more challenging for advanced players!
	At all times, you need two shots at the same point to create a hole in
	the blue layer.

	* Use your force field sparingly and as a strategic device in emergency
	situations.  If a bird brushes up against your force field, it will be
	disintegrated; but if a bird crashes into your unprotected laser 
	cannon, you're both "dead ducks."  The moral: Keep a watchful eye for 
	low flying birds!

7. SCORECARD
	(Ommited. Manual has places for DATE and SCORE in the back.)

  
CO19741-73 REV.1 2673  (c)1982 ATARI,INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED  Printed in U.S.A.
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This document obtained from the History of Home Video Games Homepage, �1997-1998 by Greg Chance