Vanguard [Model CX5216]

43 Years old Atari 5200 cart. Atari, Inc. [CA, USA]

Vanguard © 1983 Atari, Incorporated.

So you enlisted for adventure, did you? Well, you've come to the right place. Your mission is to reach the City of Mystery at the end of the tunnel and destroy the great Gond with your four- directional laser guns. Sound easy? Wait and see.

First you have to make it through the seven tunnel zones without getting smashed on the tunnel walls, crunched by enemy objects, or zapped by missiles. The more enemy objects you destroy, the more points you earn, but the rougher it gets. If you make it to the City of Mystery and destroy Gond, you earn bonus points. Then you head into the next tunnel, which also leads to the City of Mystery and Gond. Then what? Well, to quote an old Aterrian saying, "Life is just one tunnel after another."

Now before you climb into your spaceship and enter the first tunnel, take a look at the options.

TECHNICAL

Model CX5216

SCORING

ENEMY OBJECT
Mist ship	70 points
Harley rocket	50 points
Helm balloon	80 points
Ammo Balloon	100 points
Base	100-400 points
Garime Monsters	100-400 points
Barrier	800 points
Kemlus snake	100-400 points
Romeda ship	100 points
BONUSES
Bonus Lives	At 10,000 and 50,000 points
Riding a Kemlus (3 times only)	1090 points each time
Destroying Gond	1000-8000 points

TIPS AND TRICKS

* FIRING SLOWS YOU DOWN:
Hold your fire whenever you need a burst of speed to pass Paynes, dodge missiles, or dive for energy pods.

* MISTS AND HARLEYS:
Keep the spaceship moving up and down to avoid missiles, and fire vertically against the enemy's line of flight.

* RAINBOW ZONES:
Before entering a Rainbow zone, advance your spaceship to the middle of the screen. This will prevent you from crashing into the tunnel walls as you enter. To avoid getting zapped from above or below, fire your starboard and port guns alternately.

* STRIPE ZONE:
Go for the energy pod first; then crash into as many high-scoring targets as you can while pod power lasts. When firing, fire on approach. Don't fire at Paynes. You can't destroy them, and firing slows them down.

* CITY OF MYSTERY:
To stay alive in the City of Mystery and earn lots of bonus points, you have to dodge missiles. Wait for the first missile to appear, the quickly move to avoid it. Keep changing your position while firing at Gond. If you're lucky, you'll hit Gond before he hits you.

STAFF

👥

Programmer: Tom Calderwood

SOURCES

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ROM dump (MAME).