AMAUROTE
 Mastertronic 1987

 CONTROLS : Keyboard
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 AIM : The city of Amaurote has been invaded by huge, aggressive
 insects who have built colonies in each of the city's 25 sectors. As
 the only uninjured army Officer left after the invasion (that'll teach
 you for hiding!) the job falls to you to destroy all the insect
 colonies.

 GAMEPLAY : You have been given some equipment to help you do so: an 
 Arachnus 4 armoured walker, a radar scanner, a two-way radio, 30
 bouncing bombs and $5,000,000 to buy new equipment. You also have a
 map to guide you.

 THE CITY : You can tackle the colonies in any order you wish. Each
 district of Amaurote is represented by a small disc and as you move
 your Arachnus across the map the name of each district will appear at
 the top of the screen. Select which district you wish to tackle first
 by moving the Arachnus to the correct disc and pressing fire. If you
 manage to destroy all the insects in that district you will be
 returned to the map.

 THE INSECTS : There are three types of insects, all equally mean!

 The Queen - being the most important, she is your main target. You'll
            have your work cut out fighting your way through her guards
            though. She gives orders to the drones and produces more
            insects; every time you manage to kill one she will produce
            another within a short time.
 Scouts - these fly around looking for food and intruders, i.e. you!
         If they spot you they will tell the queen - and that means
         trouble!
 Drones - the most common and the most stupid. They are dumb but they
         never give up. Their job is to collect food for the Queen and
         defend the colony from intruders.

 BOMBS : Your supply of bouncing bombs is limited and should be used
 with great care. Pressing fire will launch a bomb in the direction you
 last moved. The bomb will bounce in that direction unless it hits
 either an insect or a building - except that you're not supposed to
 demolish the city!

  Only two things cannot be destroyed by the bombs: the perimeter fence
 and the Queen. To get rid of her, you need a "supa-bomb". These can be
 requested, one at a time, over the radio. They're very expensive and
 very dangerous!

  Once a bomb has been launched you cannot launch another one until
 that one has exploded. The number showing how many bombs you have left
 will flash red whilst a bomb is active, even if it is off screen.

 THE RADIO : Your Commanding Officer has supplied you with a radio.
 Activating it will reveal a menu with the following options:

 1. REQUEST BOMBS
 2. SUPA BOMB
 3. REPAIR
 4. RESCUE (quit)

  Bombs are airlifted into the city and you can use your scanner to
 locate them. If extensive damage is caused to your Arachnus 4 you may
 have to purchase a new one. Although you have $5,000,000 with you,
 your costs may be high so try not to overspend.

 THE SCANNER : You can program the scanner to find the nearest insect,
 the Queen and airlifted bombs. The operate just select the required
 mode and follow the arrows.

 COMMENTS : "An amazing achievement ... highly playable and addictive." 
 RATING : 92% (CRASH #40, May 1987)

 NOW : The graphics are still impressive, being amongst the best I've
 ever seen on a Spectrum game, but the game itself is a little too
 hard. The 128K music is great though!
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 KEYS : Up/Right   	- Y to P
        Up/Left    	- Q to T
        Down/Right 	- H to L
        Down/Left  	- A to G
        Fire  	   	- B to M, SPACE
        Radio 		- CAPS SHIFT
        Change Colours  - V
 
SCANNER MODES : Nearest Insect  - Z
                Queen 		- X
                Bombs 		- C