Instructions for
Virus
Firebird, 1988
Written by Chris Owen, HTML'd by Arnt Gulbrandsen.
Controls
Keyboard, Kempston, Cursor
Aim of the game
The country has been invaded by waves of hostile alien
spaceships. Instead of attacking military installations, however, they
are intent on polluting the landscape with a lethal red virus which
kills off all plant and animal life. Determined to counter this threat,
a pilot is strapping himself into the cockpit of his state-of-the-art
Hoverplane. This is equipped with the latest technology - long-range
scanner, laser cannon and smart bombs, all of which will be
needed to destroy the aliens.
Game play
The action is shown in 3D with wire-frame vector graphics
showing the Hoverplane and the enemy ships. The contours of the
landscape are shown by a pattern of undulating squares representing
the earth's surface.
The long-range scanner in the top left corner of the screen shows the
position of the enemy ships in relation to the Hoverplane. Gauges
above the main playing area show the amount of fuel remaining and the
plane's altitude. Extra fuel can be obtained by landing at home base.
The Hoverplane is controlled by thrusting the engines and rotating
the craft. At high altitudes, the fuel supply is automatically cut and
the plane lowers rapidly towards the ground. You move, helicopter-
style, by dipping the plane's nose and thrusting. You can refuel by
landing on one of your landing pads.
During play, a map of the land can be displayed showing polluted
areas in red. All enemy ships in the attack wave must be destroyed
before the whole map turns red. Each wave contains many different
aliens, including the following:
- SEEDERS - flying saucers which hover and sometimes land, spraying
the virus.
- BOMBERS - high-flying alien ships which drop "packets" of virus.
- FIGHTERS - fast-moving ships which try to shoot you down.
- PESTS - small kamikaze alien drones which try to collide with you.
Collision with any alien ship results in the immediate destruction of
the Hoverplane. If an alien attack is defeated, you gain a bonus score
determined by how much of the landscape remains uncontaminated. An
extra Hoverplane and smart bomb are awarded every 5,000 points.
Comments
"A playable conversion of a 16-bit game. Just slightly too
hard too keep you really hooked."
Rating
77% (CRASH #55, August 1988)
Now
A frustrating game. The attribute clash is hard to bear too.
Keys
Redefinable - Joystick controls
Nettverksgruppa, 5/10-94, sinclair@nvg.ntnu.no