Atari CX-2600 manual Weapon Strength Value Energy Used, Oxygen Bottles and Energy Pods, Sonic Keys

Press the fire button to use the active weapon. You may have to zap an alien a number of times to destroy it.

Each weapon has a strength and energy value. Stronger weapons do more damage to the aliens. When you use a weapon, you lose energy units.

The following chart shows the strength and energy depletion value of each weapon type.

Weapon	Strength Value	Energy Used
Energy Sword	2	1
Sonic Blaster	4	2
Particle Beam	8	4

Oxygen Bottles and Energy Pods

Each time you destroy a room full of aliens, an oxygen bottle or energy pod appears. Touch these objects to replenish lost oxygen and energy. Fighting aliens depletes energy and/or oxygen. Exploring depletes oxygen at the rate of one oxygen bottle every minute. The game ends if you run out of oxygen. If you run out of energy, the game continues, but you will not be able to use any weapons until you find more energy.

Indicator bars at the bottom of the screen show how much energy and oxygen you have. Each mark on the indicator equals 16 units of energy or one bottle of oxygen.

Sonic Keys

Sonic doors appear throughout the space stations. In order to open a sonic door, you must have a sonic key. These keys are scattered around the stations. When you come to a sonic door, make sure the sonic key is active, then press the fire button to open the door and reveal a secret stairway. Activate a sonic key from the status screen as explained under Active Object in the next section. Each sonic key can only be used once.

Status Screen?

You can look at the status screen any time during the game by pushing the [TV Type] switch on the

2600 console up and down. To return to the game screen, push the [TV Type] switch up and down again.

The status screen shows the following:

•Current Station When you destroy a station, it disappears from the status screen. The current station flashes.

•Current Level A stack of bars indicate how many levels the current station contains. The current level flashes.

•Active Object The active object is either a weapon or a sonic key. To change active objects, press the fire button until the object you want appears.

•Re-entry Code If you want to exit the game so you can return later at the same station, write down this code so you can restart at the status screen. (See Saving a Game for more information.)

Destroying a Station

Your secret orders specify the following procedure for destroying a station. The procedure is dangerous and risky, but it's the only known way to destroy these evil space stations.

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