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ABOUT
Phoenix was a popular shoot 'em up, outer space-themed arcade game in 1980, similar to Space Invaders.
HISTORY
It was one of the first full color arcade games, so at the time it stood out. Also, it has distinctive shooting sounds that have become very familiar to fans of the genre. Most importantly, the Phoenix mothership was the first video arcade game boss where the boss was presented as a separate challenge.
GAMEPLAY
The player controls a spaceship that moves horizontally at the bottom of the screen, firing upward. Enemies, typically one of two types of birds, appear on the screen above the player's ship, shooting at it and periodically diving towards it in an attempt to crash into it. The ship can also utilize a temporary 'Force Field' to protect it from missiles and birds. Any birds that that collide with the Force Field are destroyed. The Force Field only lasts for two seconds, but then cannot be used again for another five seconds.
Each level has five separate rounds. The player must complete a round to advance to the next.
-Rounds 1 and 2 – The player must destroy a formation of alien birds. While in formation, some of the birds fly down kamikaze style, in an attempt to destroy the player's spaceship by crashing into it. Hitting a bird flying diagonally awards a bonus score. The player's spaceship is given double fire for round 2, where the birds fly somewhat more unpredictably.
-Rounds 3 and 4 – Flying eggs float on the screen and seconds later hatch, revealing larger alien birds, resembling phoenices, which swoop down at the player's spaceship. The only way to fully destroy one of these birds is by hitting it in its belly; shooting one of its wings merely destroys that wing, and if both wings are destroyed, they will regenerate.
-Round 5 – The fifth and final wave is the attack of the Space fortress mothership; a huge mothership piloted by a purple-coloured Alien Queen who sends down waves of small birds to attack the player's ship, as well as launching missiles from the mothership itself. The Alien Queen is protected by a barrier that must be shot several times before both the Queen and the mothership are destroyed.
The game continues with increasing speed, difficulty and unpredictability of the bird and phoenix flights.
CONTROLS
C - Display default controls in-game
ESC - Close the game / main menu
A - Move left
S (or D) - Move right
K - Shoot
L - Activate Shield
You can choose between arcade style, which requires you to repeatedly press the shoot button (the way it was with the original game) and modern style, which allows you to just keep the shoot button pressed.
(All buttons are remappable, e.g. for arcade style control panels)
#arcade
