The BBC and Master Computer Public Domain Library

ULTRON

Professional, Originally Released On Cassette Only

Game Type          : Arcade; Shoot-'Em-Up

Authors            : Gary Partis

Standalone Release(s)   : 1984: ULTRON, Icon, £7.95

Compilation Release(s)   : 1987: ELECTRON POWER PACK, Audiogenic, £9.95

                    1990: TRIPLE GAME PACK 1, Summit, £2.99

Stated compatibility    : Electron

Actual compatibility    : Electron, BBC B, B+ and Master 128

Supplier            : ICON, 65 High Street, Gosforth, TYNE & WEAR

Disc compatibility     : CDFS E00, DFS E00

Instructions

"The year is 2673 AD and the galaxy is under seige by aliens from the planet Gorfia. Your mission is to blast your way through wave upon wave of oncoming aliens, surviving long enough to take on and destroy the nerve centre of the alien attack - the Mothership! To do this, you have been given command of the most advanced space fighter in the Universe - the Ultron! But you'll still need lightning reflexes to rise in the ranks from Cadet up to Space Master!"

The year is 2673 AD and the galaxy is once more under seige from aliens of the planet Gorfia. Your mission is to destroy the oncoming convoys  with speed, skill and dexterity. This time the invaders are more sophisticated and much more determined to eradicate you. But you have the most powerful craft in the universe - the ULTRON.

You begin your mission as a Cadet, but may rise through the ranks and become the ultimate Space Master. There are eight ranks to go through and then it gets even harder. Four screens go together to make up one wave. The screens are...

Space Swarmers - Swarming mutants who release hordes of homing missiles. Worth 30 points.

Galactic Imps - Approaching infantry whose sole aim is to infiltrate your defences. 50 points.

Space Warp     - Aliens that loom out in 3D distracting you with the aim of disintegrating your craft. 100 points.

Mothership     - Blast the aliens' supreme commander, situated in the nerve centre of the Mothership. 200 points.

Occasionally, a reconnaissance ship will fly past over the scene, dropping missiles. The points for hitting the ship are randomly either 250 or 500 points.

Game Controls

A - Left,   S - Right,   <RETURN> - Fire

S/W - Sound On/Off,   <ESCAPE> - Abort

Instructions' Source       : ELECTRON POWER PACK (Audiogenic) Inner Inlay

Review (Electron User)

ULTRON is another game of the Space Invaders school. Although highly colourful and with a certain variety in that the aliens sometimes move across the screen instead of down, sadly there isn't a lot of originality in it.

There are four stages in the game, each one slightly harder than the previous one.
Your laser base moves along the bottom, knocking off the aliens and avoiding the bombs. The third screen has a 3D effect in that the Space Invaders seem to appear out of the distance in ones and twos, and the fourth has one huge alien with a smaller alien inside. You have to chip your way through the thick outer skin to get at the points inside. If you manage to do this, you are given an opportunity to earn a bonus.

While the average arcade game fan has long since left this sort of thing behind, I feel that ULTRON may appeal to the younger user. Certainly the keys are easily manageable and the screen layouts simple, with explicit instructions on an accompanying leaflet.

Adam Young, ELECTRON USER 2.11