Turrican
--------

PROLOGUE

A story of times long gone by, tells us of the three-headed Morgul,
who lives a secluded life in his kingdom. This Morgul is the cause of
all the fears and nightmares of mankind. It is furthermore said, that
in ancient times he was banished to an unknown dimension by the hero
Devolon. Fear and sleepless nights disappeared out of the people's
lives.

For some time now people have again been tormented by nightmares and
suffer from a serious state of dread and fear. Hardly anybody dares to
set a foot onto the streets at night and a dreadful fear that Morgul
has returned to his kingdom is alive in the people's minds again. As
the only man on earth whose courage has not yet deserved him, you are
sent off, once again to free human kind from its burdon of fear. You
have been armed with the latest weapons and technical equipment for
this mission. Find Morgul in his kingdom, and destroy him for once and
for all.


THE GAME

In Turrican you will guide your hero through five different worlds, in
which he will be confronted by various perils. Three of these worlds
extend over three levels, the remaining two worlds over two levels.
Ever changing enemies, will constantly try to destroy you. You will
have to use your weapons skilfully in order to survive the varied
levels. To aid you in battle, you may gather up weapons and other
extras on your way, e.g. forceshields and extra lives.

Examine every level closely you will find new surprises and useful
items everywhere.

[This is referring to the invisible 'bonus squares' scattered around
which spew lots of goodies when jumped through (they're always in the
air, I think). Go left and up from the starting position on the very
first level to find one, and a bonus life.]


HOW TO WORK THE GAME

General information: The game is played with joystick and keys. This
is explained below.

Moving

[The keys for the 'joystick' are Q, A, O, P, Space.]

Joystick up:
Player jumps. If he is the gyroscope, he will transform back to normal
again.

Joystick down:
Player ducks away, e.g. from enemies.

Joystick down and press Enter:
The player will transform into a gyroscope. While in this state the
player is invincible [but not to falling down pits!] and will destroy
enemies on touch. The gyroscope spins automatically, and can only be
directed to move left or right with the joystick. This shape also
allows you to pass through narrow corridors. The player may transform
into a gyroscope 3 times in every life.

Joystick left/right
Moves player left/right.

Fire

Pressing fire button [space] briefly:
Player fires. If you have already collected the multiple shot or the
laser, the according weapon will be used. The multiple shot can be
extended in up to two degrees by collecting the right symbols.

In the first degree (basic equipment) the player fires 9 horizontal
shots. [I don't quite understand this - you only fire one. Maybe they
mean nine onscreen at once?]

In the second degree 3 savlos are fired simultaneously: 3 shots in a
30-degree angle upwards, 3 shots horizontally and 3 shots in a
30-degree angle downwards.

The third degree resembles the second, except that the angle changes
to 45 degrees.

The laser fires horizontally, and can be extended by gathering up the
corresponding symbols. Its length extends from an eighth to half of
the width of the screen. The laser has a high penetration rate, making
it very effective when fighting against several enemies
simultaneously.


Activate a mine

Joystick down while holding the firebutton:

The player activates a mine. The mine is placed on the ground and
explodes shortly afterwards. Various enemies walking the ground can be
dealt with in this manner.


Activate a flash

Holding firebutton:

The player can activate a flash of lightning [hmmm... looks more like
a directable beam weapon of some kind, actually] and may direct it (as
long as the firebutton is held), by moving the joystick left
(lightning rotates anti-clockwise) or right (lightning rotates
clockwise). The lightning can take on different lengths. At the
begining of the game it stretches over half the width of the screen.
By gathering up extras it can be extended to stretch over the whole
width of the screen.


Pressing ENTER:

Activates two energy lines, moving right and left at the full height
of the screen. All enemies in range will be destroyed. However, if an
obstacle bars the way then the line will be stopped.


Pressing CAPS SHIFT: [shift on xzx]

The player throws a grenade. Hitting an obstacle or an end-level-
monster has the effect of a startbomb, killing every enemy on the
screen. Against other enemies it works like a shot with high
penetration.

Pressing H:

Pauses game. Press H again to continue.

[There's also some combination of keys which quit the game. The manual
doesn't mention it, and I can't seem to work out what it is.]

During his mission the player will find different symbols with useful
functions. Here's a listing:

Red:
activates multiple shot; if already active, it will be extended.

Green:
activates laser; if already active, it will be extended.

Blue:
extends lightning

Light blue:
activates force shield, making the payer invincible for a short
duration. Enemies will be destroyed on touch during this time.

Yellow 'P':
recharges vitality

White 'G':
the player gains a grenade

White 'M':
the player gains a mine

White 'L':
the player gains an energy line

Grey '1 up': [actually yellow, I think]
the player gains an extra life

Diamonds:
once the player has gathered up 300 diamonds, he recieves another
'CONTINUE', i.e. having the chance of continuing a game after all
lives have been lost. [This is worthless; see earlier.]

The player has 3 lives at the start of each game. He can lose them in
three ways:

1. Time, indicated on the display, runs out. The screen display will
announce TIME OUT.

2. The player has lost all of his vitality. A loss of vitality occurs
every time the player touches an enemy or is hit by enemy fire.

3. The player falls into an abyss.

If you lose a life the number of gyroscopes, mines, energy lines and
grenades will be reset to 3. Lightning, multiple shot and laser will
be reduced, if not already to minimum strength.


THE DISPLAY

The player can gain the following information from the display (from
left to right):

Number of lives

Number of gyroscopes (below the lives-indicator)

Number of CONTINUES

Time

Number of diamonds

Number of grenades

Number of mines

Number of energy lines

Score

Vitality (above score)

- Russell Marks ([email protected]).