" R e c k l e s s" R u f u s THE STORY Having hidden aboard the vast mining ship, the Astro Cruiser, hoping to save a fortune on a cheap year return ticket to Earth, Rufus had goofed! He had been caught trying to buy some liquorice sweets from a deactivated android - pretty dumb huh! As a result, Admiral Greave had beamed our reckless hero on to the planet Killey and told him to collect as many of the rare crystals found there as possible and only then would the Admiral decide whether or not to take him back to Earth. The problems for Rufus were not to stop at simply finding sufficient crystals, but became more complicated with the existence of deadly traps and an infestation of hostile aliens. Fortunately, Rufus had been given a laser gun, although it had a limited supply of laser bullets. Will Rufus make it or is he doomed from the start? It is your task to help Rufus get home to Earth and his beloved bus ticket collection. GOOD LUCK! RUFUS IS COUNTING ON YOU! THE GAME You must guide Rufus to collect five crystals on each level by jumping from block to block, however, only certain types of blocks are safe to land on. Success at each level is rewarded with a bonus. There are 130 levels to complete. The most useful blocks to Rufus are the numbered ones which enable him to make new blocks to jump onto. For instance, if he stands on a block numbered "4", Rufus is able to jump into an empty space and a block numbered "3" appears under him. Jumping to another empty space causes a block numbered "2" to appear and so on. Do not be reckless with these numbered blocks, for they are limited and you will need to plan their use carefully if you are to collect enough crystals. Jumping into an empty space when he is not standing on a numbered block results in Rufus falling through and loosing a life. Occasionally, a newly created block reveals a hidden bonus shown as a bonus symbol that floats upwards. Rufus must avoid the hostile aliens, as contact with them looses a life. You can either keep Rufus out of their way, or shoot them using the laser gun by pressing fire and moving the joystick in the required direction. Be careful not to run out of bullets as these can only be replenished by jumping onto an AMMO block. Extra lives are available to Rufus by collecting three heart symbols. THE BLOCKS STANDARD/NUMBERED BLOCKS - Rufus can safely stand on these. FAST TIMER COUNTDOWN - When Rufus stands on this, it causes the countdown timer (on the right of the screen) to speed up for a while. CRYSTALS - Collect five crystals to complete the level. These blocks turn into standard blocks once the crystal is collected. ELECTRIC BLOCK - This is only safe to stand on when electrically inactive. FADER - This looks like a normal block, but quickly fades to nothing once Rufus stands on it, so move on quickly. RUFUS POWER - This is pretty rare, but VERY useful when Rufus gets it. It makes him indestructible by aliens for the duration of the screen. BONUS BLOCK - These give Rufus bonus points and then become standard blocks. SLIP LEFT - Once on these, Rufus can no longer control his movement. He slips in the direction indicated until he lands on a non slip block. There are also SLIP RIGHT, SLIP UP and SLIP DOWN blocks. STICKY BLOCK - Rufus gets stuck to these for a few seconds, unable to move. WARP - This "warps" Rufus two places in the direction indicated. The direction arrow constantly changes, so careful timing is required for Rufus to be "warped" in the right direction. CHOMPER - A very dangerous block, it looks just like a safe standard block until Rufus steps onto it. TREKKY DOORS - Rufus falls through if he is standing them when they open. REVERSER - After standing on this block, Rufus moves in the opposite direction to that indicated by joystick movements for a short while. INVISI-BLOCK - Rufus becomes invisible for a while after standing on these. While invisible, Rufus cannot be killed by the aliens, but it is difficult to keep track of his movements, so beware of wandering into trouble. AMMO - This replenishes Rufus's stock of lazer bullets. COUNTDOWN MINE - This looks like an innocent standard block, but if Rufus is still standing on it when it explodes a few seconds later, tough! HEART - Collect three for an extra life for Rufus. SWITCH - Each time Rufus stands on this, it toggles the SWITCH-HOLES. SWITCH-HOLES - These are toggled by the SWITCH blocks between being safely filled or dangerously open holes. FREEZER - This freezes the aliens for a while, though they can still kill Rufus should he walk into them. HYPERSPACE - Useful for moving instantly to another part of the sreen. The move is always from one hyperspace block to another. Watch out for a few surprise blocks, these have obvious effects once you see them! GOOD LUCK! Rufus is counting on you. LOADING INSTRUCTIONS C64 Press SHIFT and RUN STOP together. Spectrum 48K Type LOAD "" and press ENTER. Spectrum 128K Switch on and press ENTER on loader. Amstrad 464/664/6128 Press CONTROL and small ENTER together. CONTROLS Joystick UP Move up DOWN Move down LEFT Move left RIGHT Move right FIRE + UP, DOWN, LEFT or RIGHT Shoot laser in given direction C64 Joystick only SPACE Pause Back arrow Abort Amstrad/Spectrum Joystick or the following keys Q UP A DOWN O LEFT P RIGHT SPACE FIRE Level code entry Use Up, DOWN, LEFT and RIGHT to change numbers, and FIRE when done. ------------------------------------------- | Why not join the | | ALTERNATIVE CLUB | |-----------------------------------------| | Please write for more details to | | ALTERNATIVE SOFTWARE, | | Units 5-7 Baileygate Industrial Estate, | | Pontefract, West Yorkshire WF8 2LN | ------------------------------------------- (C) Alternative Software Ltd. All rights reserved. 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