DAN DARE 2 : MEKON'S REVENGE Virgin Games MEKON'S REVENGE After more than a year's silence the Mekon stirs again from his hideout in deep space. His ambition to be ruler of Earth has not shaken in its resolve. The Mekon's last onslaught on the unsuspecting inhabitants of Earth was courageously foiled by Colonel Dan Dare and his chums. A giant atomic asteroid was propelled towards Earth; the Mekon's ransom was the precious freedom of the Earthlings or their total destruction! Dan boarded the asteroid and initiated its powerful self-destruct mechanism, escaping just in time to see the asteroid blast into thousands of harmless pieces! This time the Mekon has instigated immense scientific development and has produced a new, genetically engineered race ... the SUPERTREENS! He has constructed a space ship to launch his dastardly creations on the Earth! The powers and abilities of the Supertreens would be many hundred times greater than normal Treens. The population of Earth would be killed or help captive within hours if the Mekon is successful in his launch of the Supertreens at just the right distance from Earth. Even before the Mekon jammed all of Earth's communication channels and issued his derisory message, Dan had assembled a full Space Fleet. There is only one way to defeat the Mekon - face to face! (c) 1987 IPC / DAN DARE LTD Part of the Dan Dare Nostalgia Collection licensed Worldwide by Dan Dare Ltd. DAN'S MISSION There are four levels to the Mekon's ship; each level houses deadly Supertreens, enclosed in Plexiglass Life Support Bubbles. Dan must penetrate all four levels, locate all the Supertreens and sabotage their control boxes before the level destruct sequence scatters them into Earth's atmosphere. The destruct countdown (Mekontan time) will start the moment the first Supertreen control box is destroyed. Dan and his Space Fleet troops must work quickly and eliminate defending Treens, blasting computer force field generators to allow further access to each level. When all the control boxes have been shot, Dan will have to reach the passage connecting the present level with the next one. Assuming the door has shut and Dan is safely behind it, he will be protected from the blast, and will be able to progress onto the next level. THE MEKON'S MISSION Like Dan, the Mekon, with the help of the Treens, must also locate all the Supertreens. When found, he manually activates their life support control boxes and ejects them into space. Unfortunately, Dan's arrival has already triggered the security destruct sequence, which gives the Mekon less time to achieve his goal and escape onto the next level. This, in effect, makes the game considerably harder and is probably more suited to experienced players, looking for an extra challenge. LIVES The player starts the game on level one with six lives. A life is represented on the bottom score panel by a small red dot. When the red stamina bar diminishes to nothing, a life will be lost. Upon total stamina depletion, the player will be returned to the level start screen. The game will end if either all six lives are lost, or the player is caught in the level-destruct blast unprotected. A destruct sequence countdown timer is shown on the bottom score panel. Extra lives are awarded for every fifty thousand points scored. Extra energy objects can be picked up, which will replenish the stamina bar. ESCAPE FROM THE SPACESHIP On level four there is an escape Pod, although its portable operation unit has been removed elsewhere to prevent easy escape. The Pod's advanced computer detection system allows only Venusian life forms to operate it - This may be a problem for Dan! CONTROLLING MOVEMENT UP ^ | LEFT <-- --> RIGHT | v PICK UP OBJECTS * BUTTON TO FIRE Left - I Right - O Fire - P Up - Q Pickup - A Caps shift - Pause L & ENTER - Abort game HINTS 1 When playing Dan, the destruct sequence timer does not start until the first control box has been destroyed - use this to your advantage. 2 Some of the Supertreens are well hidden, so remember to search even the most unlikely places. 3 Shooting force field control computers will help you complete each level. 4 Try not to shoot your own troops - they will attack the enemy for your protection, although it is easy to get caught in a crossfire. 5 Passages connecting levels always have two doors. The rightmost one will not open when shot at, until the present level has been destroyed. 6 Captions will tell you what most of the objects are, and inform you of your progress. There are [up to?] 6 rooms containing Supertreens per level: Level 1 - 5 rooms Level 2 - 6 rooms Level 3 - 4 rooms Level 4 - ????