ACTION FORCE (Mastertronic) The enemy, COBRA, have launched a surprise attack on the island of Botsneda. In the panic of the evacuation, classified information has been left behind in the eastern sector. The enemy's grip tightens and an immediate raid must take place to retrieve the vital data. This is a job for ACTION FORCE ... Flint, Lady Jaye and Quick Kick use a modified A.W.E. Striker to cross the hazardous path to the eastern side of the island. You are Snake Eyes, using a custom-built helipack and armed with an automatic rifle. You must defend A.W.E. Striker and clear a safe path. Pontoons must be utilised to allow A.W.E. Striker to cross canals. The enemy have installed missiles, initiated electric charge generators and built barricades. You must deal with all of these to allow A.W.E. Striker to complete the mission successfully. Gang of Five meet ACTION FORCE! Virgin's crack programming team have created this excellent arcade game featuring superb graphics and compelling game play. * 8 levels of increasing difficulty * Smooth-scrolling, fast arcade action * Your Spectrum's capabilities pushed to the limit The small island of Botsneda, just off the mainland, was heavily populated by civilian and military personnel. A ruthless attack by COBRA, the enemy, meant the evacuation of civilians from the tourist resorts of Botsneda. The military installation was not so lucky. Despite the latest early warning systems guarding the installation, they only realised they were being attacked after it was too late to retaliate. The only sensible option was to withdraw, which was carried out swiftly. However, the allied forces destroyed much of the installation to prevent it falling into enemy hands. The eastern sector of the installation could not be destroyed during the attack as there wasn't time, and certain classified information may now be in the evil clutches of COBRA! The allies will have many embarrassing questions to answer about just how this was allowed to happen. Botsneda's closeness to the mainland is of great strategic advantage to the enemy. COBRA cannot be allowed to consolidate their position, nor must they have the time to retrieve and analyse the classified information left behind on the installation. Time is of the essence, but conventional forces cannot be used because their planning and deployment will take time. The eastern sector of the military installation was a spy base which collected information about COBRA personnel and tactics. The main database is on hard disc attached to the computer. Gun-happy Dreadnoks may well have destroyed it, but the risk cannot be taken. If the enemy studies the intelligence information they will know how to change their tactics and defence systems to defeat the allied forces. Also, the information will take years to replace. A crack squad is needed to mount an immediate raid to get back the information (if it is still intact) and get out again. The ACTION FORCE (tm) squad will land on the western sector of the island, cutting straight through enemy defences. A.W.E. Striker and an airborne Snake Eyes, using a custom-built helipack, are to carry out the raid. The All Weather and Environment Striker has four-wheel drive and is capable of speeds of 60 MPH cross country. These give it manoeuv- rability, speed and smooth passage over rough terrain. Fastened to the back of the A.W.E. Striker is a delicate but powerful tapping computer necessary to retrieve the classified information from the hard disc. Modifications to the dashboard are necessary so the front passenger can operate the controls; additional space has been created for an extra passenger. The swivelling roof cannon has been removed to allow for greater speed, so Snake Eyes will have to defend the vehicle from the air. Snake Eyes can pick up canisters of fuel and ammunition from supply towers on the island, although it is wise not to use them until needed. Crankcase is the natural choice for this mission as he is an expert driver and experienced with A.W.E. Striker [although it said Quick Kick earlier on. JimG]. Intelligence expert Lady Jaye is extremely knowledge- able in the processing and retrieval of intelligence data. She will operate the tapping and message retrieval system from the passenger seat. Flint will also travel in A.W.E. Striker to cover personnel at the computer system. COBRA, the enemy, have placed many dastardly traps to delay or destroy the ACTION FORCE (tm) team. Rocket silos present a dangerous obstacle to Snake Eyes and concrete barricades prevent the A.W.E. Striker from reaching its destination easily. Other dangers include floating target mines and electric charge generators. All of these will have to be navigated in order to reach the eastern sector of the island. Addition- ally, pontoon bridges must be lifted and set over canals and areas of water to allow A.W.E. Striker to pass. Now you have been fully briefed on the mission, ACTION FORCE (tm) is in your hands. Instructions To load type LOAD "" and press ENTER. Press PLAY on tape player. You may use Kempston, Cursor, or Sinclair joystick. Keyboard 1 = UP A = DOWN I = LEFT P = RIGHT Bottom Row = FIRE ENTER = PAUSE SYMBOL SHIFT and SPACE = ABORT A.W.E. Striker will travel from left to right on your screen until it encounters enemy defences. You must protect Striker as well as clearing a path. To pick up a pontoon bridge, move over bridge centre. Bridge will flash on and off. To drop, move over water. Bridge will flash on and off. You must shoot the ground-to-air missiles that threaten Striker's way. You will need to shoot out sections in the electrical dischargers to clear a path. Shoot out barricades (carefully avoiding Striker) and land-based rockets aimed at you. Tips Snake Eyes can be stopped in mid-flight by quickly changing direction, or by landing on a building roof or the ground. Don't pick up fuel or ammo until you really need them - picking up fuel with a full tank will have no effect, same with ammo. Avoid shooting the A.W.E. Striker at all costs! A warning will appear in the score panel if your fuel reaches a dangerously low level. At this time it is imperative that you replenish your fuel supply. Shoot targets to gain extra points. DESIGN, GRAPHICS AND PROGRAMMING BY GANG OF FIVE. MUSIC BY SAM GARFORTH. Action Force (c) 1987 Milton Bradley International Inc.