VENDETTA P L A Y E R ' S G U I D E VENDETTA STORY The rain was playing its usual winter chorus on the dirt-ridden, cracked window and seemed to pound incessantly in time with the flickering neon lights which adorned the murky skies of the neighbourhood. A figure sits alone, rooted to this pathetic hovel he calls a home and runs a scarred hand through four days of stubbled nicotine-stained growth which clings to his stone-cut jaw. Its at times like these he remembers and sinks deeper into the comforting arms of a bottle of whiskey. The memories come flooding back as fast and as furious as the relentless raindrops, and his eyes seem blurred and somewhat confused with a combination of unanswerable questions and the inevitable alcohol. A one-time war hero, this guy put his unit on the map. He was the best and they knew it. If something had to be done, he did it. It was this loyalty to an unprecedented military career that impressed all around him and he found himself the enviable role model to all the young rookies, still wet behind the ears, who idolised his every manoeuvre, his every idea and his sometimes questionable solutions. It was his combat wisdom which brought about the downfall of a bloodthirsty terrorist group. Intent on a crusade to become the ultimate power syndicate they very nearly succeeded in Saigon, before the army played its trump card and a hero was born. The terrorist group were scattered, believed immobilised and obviously intent on revenge. His efficiency had been second to none but his type worried the men at the top. No mere combat soldier could possibly be seen to have a higher public profile than the bureaucratic leaders. He had to go, he had to learn to become a citizen all over again. A half-torn carrier bag containing his only wordly goods and a tongue-in-cheek pat on the back, seemed little consolation for what this man had done. The injustice, the unnecessary pain and the fear of having to live a seemingly futile existance, tore him in two and a now clouded understanding of his treatment pulled at his heart strings and questioned his loyalty to a government for whom he had once fought so proud. The police seemed to be niggling at him all the time, endlessly harassing him for any apparent reason, however trivial, trying to make him crack, trying to make him public enemy number one. A personality clash had developed between him and a General, way back in Saigon - a cowardly General, jealous of his herioc image and seemingly immortal status among the troops. Now was the time to get his own back. He had achieved numerous promotions throughout the police force and was now calling the shots. "Make his life hell" were the orders distributed through the system and the police endeavoured to do just that. Society was not allowed to accept him back under her motherly wing. He questioned himself time and time again, looking for an answer, looking for a way back, looking for days through that same cracked glass in the window frame which stood like a huge brick wall between him and the existance he so rightly deserved. Forced to live life as a virtual recluse, he draws comfort from what remains of a once tight family unit - his close brother and his lovely niece. His brother, a highly regarded professor who works for the Ministry of Defence, pulled him through his dilema and has strived to provide him with a new foundation upon which to build his life. He is himself a pillar of importance to the government, as the one man who can and has devised a precious formula for the creation of the ultimate military defence mechanism, which in the wrong hands, could be dramatically used for destruction on a colossal scale. How differently the government viewed two brothers who were second to none in their respective fields. "High risk" categorised the professor's work and he seemed somewhat oblivious to his obvious personal danger. It was therefore not surprising when the professor and his daughter went missing. There were signs of a struggle. Torn pieces of clothing littered his study and combined with occasional bullet shells and blood to outline a sinister atmosphere in the room which signified obvious terrorist activity. The confusion is still there, the burning desire to be accepted once again now takes second place to the worry that is twisting his mind. His brother, his niece - his only incoming love, were now in serious trouble. It had become apparent that his lethal adversaries from the Saigon days had taken them, were striving for bigger things again and therefore craved the professor's secret formula. His mind flicked over the terrorists' letter of demands, over and over again, and his fist clenched in defiance as he read that the two hostages were to be killed if the valuable formula was not delivered in time. It was obvious to him and the public that the police thought he was connected in some way. This was the old General's chance to put him away for good, the ultimate revenge. The tempo of the rain hammering against the window increased with his heartbeat, and the relentless thoughts staring through the window continued and swirled around his mind as he slowly drew conclusions to what he could and must do. His work in Saigon now seemed incomplete, loose ends from his last mission had to be tied up and it now seemed obvious he would have to clear his own name from being suspect number one. Perhaps he would be finally accepted by a public now craving for a new hero. He knew he had the right credentials, the best. He knew he had to save the only family he had and loved. It was pay-back time, it was his mission. This had become personal . . . this was now a VENDETTA. LOADING INSTRUCTIONS Set up your COMPUTER system as detailed in your user manual. Ensure that all non-essential peripherals - such as cartridges, printers, etc. are DISCONNECTED. Failure to do so may cause loading DIFFICULTIES. 1 If you are using your Commodore 64/128 with the cassette version of VENDETTA . . . Connect your data cassette player and switch your computer and TV/monitor on. C128 owners should now select C64 mode by typing GO64, pressing RETURN then Y, then RETURN again. Insert the VENDETTA cassette into the data cassette player, ensuring that it is fully rewound. Hold down the SHIFT and RUN/STOP keys on the computer together. Then press the PLAY key on the data cassette player. The game should then load. 2 If you are using your Commodore 64/128 with the disk version of VENDETTA . . . Connect your disk drive to your computer and switch the disk drive, computer and TV/monitor on. C128 owners should now select C64 mode by typing GO64, pressing RETURN, then Y, then RETURN again. Insert the VENDETTA disk into the disk drive, label side up. Now type LOAD"*",8,1 and hit RETURN. The game should then load. 3 If you are using your Amstrad CPC 464, 664, or 6128 with the cassette version of VENDETTA . . . Switch your TV/monitor and computer ON. If your computer has a bult-in disk-drive you should now connect a compatible cassette player to your computer. Then type '|' symbol, press the SHIFT key and @ key together. Insert the VENDETTA cassette into the tape player. Ensure that the cassette label marked side one is facing upwards and that the cassette is fully rewound. Press the CTRL and small ENTER keys together, then press the PLAY button on your cassette player. The game should then load. 4 If you are using your Amstrad CPC 464, 664 or 6128 with the diskette version of VENDETTA . . . If your computer has a built-in cassette player, first switch your computer OFF and connect a compatible disk drive to your computer. Now switch the disk drive and the computer ON. Then type "|"disc and hit RETURN. Now your computer will be ready to load data from disk. To obtain the '|' symbol, press the SHIFT key and '@' together. Insert the VENDETTA diskette into your disk drive, label side up. Type RUN"DISC then hit the ENTER key. 5 If you are using your ZX Spectrum, Spectrum+, Spectrum 48K, Spectrum 128K, Spectrum +2 with the cassette version of VENDETTA . . . Connect your cassette player to your Spectrum as advised in the user manual. If you are using a joystick then insert the necessary interfaces NOW. Switch your TV/monitor, cassette player and computer ON. If your Spectrum now displays a menu screen you may select with 48K or 128K Basic. Insert the VENDETTA cassette into the cassette player, with the cassette label marked "side one" facing upwards. Ensure that the cassette is fully rewound. Type LOAD"" and then hit the ENTER key. Now press the PLAY button on your cassette player. The game should now load. 6 If you are using your Atari ST, Amiga or Spectrum +3 with the diskette version of VENDETTA . . . Connect your disk drive to your computer - if your computer features a built-in disk drive you will not have do this. Insert the VENDETTA diskette into the disk drive, label side up. Switch your TV/monitor, computer and disk drive ON. For ST and Amiga users the game will now load automatically. Spectrum +3 users should then press RETURN and the game will load automatically. MULTI-LOAD INSTRUCTIONS VENDETTA is a multi-load game. Each level will be loaded as you complete the previous one. This means that to enjoy continuous play you MUST keep your VENDETTA cassette in your data cassette player, or your VENDETTA disk in your disk drive, at all times during a session with the game. On screen, prompts will appear when you complete a level, telling you what to do next. When loading cassette versions of the game you will be prompted to turn over the tape, rewind fully and load the next level. KEYBOARD CONTROLS FOR C64, AMIGA AND ATARI ST OWNERS (a) Mission Section Space bar - Select weapon (start game with fist and knife). F1 - Activates camera film roll (used in conjunction with joystick to scroll through objects held). F1 - Deactivates camera film roll (i.e. to get back into the game). P - Pause the game. (b) Driving Section F1 - Ground-to-air missiles. F3 - Machine guns. F5 - Nitrous oxide (turbo) boost. - Press again to deactivate. P - Pause the game. NOTE - Weapons, etc. can only be used if you have found the weapon activating card! FOR SPECTRUM AND AMSTRAD OWNERS (a) Mission Section Q - Up/accelerate car. A - Down/accelerate car/deccelerate car. O - Left. P - Right. N - Fire weapon. - Pick-up (must be worked in conjunction with direction option, i.e. On - if character is facing the left). - Punch. ENTER - Select object held (in conjunction with fire button) Space bar - Deactivates status area and selects weapon. H - Pause. If these keys prove unsuitable to some games players, there is an option to define the keys at the beginning of the game. (b) Driving Section ENTER + N - toggles between missiles and guns. N + Q - Nitrous oxide (turbo) boost. H - Pause the game. NOTE - Weapons, etc., can only be used if you have found the weapon activating card. BASIC MOVEMENT The hero automatically faces the direction you pull the joystick in. Commodore, Spectrum, Amstrad and Atari owners all use this same joystick move. TO WALK FORWARD - push the joystick in the direction you want to move, i.e. to move left, pull left, etc. FIGHTING MOVEMENT/SPECIAL MOVEMENT (JOYSTICK) For C64, Amiga and Atari ST owners HIGH PUNCH OR STAB MID-PUNCH OR STAB ^ MID-PUNCH OR STAB < | > \ | / \ | / \ | / \WITH/ KICK (if facing left) <----------FIRE----------> KICK (if facing right) / | \ / | \ / | \ / | \ < | > v CROUCH/PICK-UP NOTE - Activate weapon held by pressing fire button and this includes throwing grenades. JOYSTICK MOVEMENT FOR DRIVING For C64, Amiga and Atari ST owners Accelerate while Accelerate Accelerate while turning in this direction ^ turning in this direction < | > \ | / \ | / \ | / WITHOUT TURN LEFT <----------FIRE----------> TURN RIGHT / | \ / | \ / | \ / | \ < | > v Deccelerate/Brake NOTE - Use fire button to activate weapons (only if the weapon system card has been found). NOTE - When stopped by police, up and down movement scrolls through evidence held. Press fire to select FIGHTING MOVEMENT/SPECIAL MOVEMENT (JOYSTICK) For Spectrum and Amstrad owners Fighting - Press fire button in direction facing to activate punch or any weapon held. Pick-up - Work direction option in conjunction with fire button (i.e. pull joystick to right and fire at same time picks up facing right). JOYSTICK MOVEMENT FOR DRIVING For Spectrum and Amstrad owners Accelerate while Accelerate Accelerate while turning in this direction ^ turning in this direction < | > \ | / \ | / \ | / WITHOUT TURN LEFT <----------FIRE----------> TURN RIGHT / | \ / | \ / | \ / | \ < | > v Deccelerate/Brake NOTE - Refer back to keyboard controls for car weapons. NOTE - Weapon system only activates if weapon card has been found. GENERAL TIPS The first aspects of the game you should MASTER are the JOYSTICK controls. The highly interactive nature of the game is required because of some of the COMPLEX MOVES the main character has to perform. A high level of competence at the controls will enhance your game play CONSIDERABLY. Because of the adventure elements, our second suggestion is that you should get into the habit of RECORDING what happens on each screen. This will enable you to obtain HIGHER SCORES with repeated play. The last point is, NEVER take anything FOR GRANTED - some things are not as they appear. Be curious, nosey, etc. and examine everything. GAMEPLAY HINTS The following are clues to some of the objects and hazards you may come across in your travels, and are not necessarily the order in which you have to find them. In the spirit of all good adventures . . . WE HAVE NOT TOLD YOU THE WHOLE STORY . . . Sear in mind that the game is against the clock. You have one hour to complete the game, solve the puzzles and finally relinquish the terrorist group once and for all, before the executions begin. As you get into the game, watch for flashing crosses (only in C64, Amiga and Atari ST versions) to help your mission unfold. Kick or punch doors to gain access into rooms which hide various weapons, ammunition, and bullet-proof vests to help combat the evil terrorists whose trousers are variously coloured to depict how strong they are (only in C64, Amiga and Atari ST versions). A crowbar helps you gain access to locked crates, etc. (only in Spectrum and Amstrad versions) and other tools may be vital to the gameplay later on. You start the game armed only with your fists and a knife, but your razor-sharp mind should have you exploring everything from video recorders, computers (which may need the help of floppy discs and log books) and "lived in" areas of the game that show where the hostages have been kept, moved on, and have consequently dropped VITAL EVIDENCE (necklace, shoes, etc.). Your Ferrari F40 car is your only ally, but needs the correct "EXTRAS" to make it go and make it lethal. Don't forget, the police think you were involved in the crime, so be prepared for hassle. Make sure you collect enough evidence in case you are stopped and interrogated by the law. Good luck . . . you're going to need it! LOADING DIFFICULTIES We are always seeking to improve the quality of our product range, and have developed high standards of quality control to bring you this product. If you experience any difficulties whilst loading, it is likely to be a fault other than the product itself. We therefore suggest that you switch your computer off and repeat the loading instructions carefully, checking that you are using the correct set of instructions for your computer and software. If you still have problems, consult the User handbook that accompanied your computer or consult your software dealer for advice. IN THE CASE OF CONTINUED DIFFICULTY AND YOU HAVE CHECKED ALL OF YOUR HARDWARE FOR POSSIBLE FAULTS, MAY WE SUGGEST THAT YOU RETURN THE GAME TO THE PLACE OF PURCHASE. System 3 Blenheim House, Ashill Drive, Pinner, Middlesex HA5 2AG. Tel: 01 866 5692