From: swarren@convex.com (Steve Warren)
Subject: 'Transformer' Robot Arcade Game (Name Unknown)
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 22:13:10 GMT
Organization: Engineering, CONVEX Computer Corp., Richardson, Tx., USA
Keywords: Arcade, circa '83
X-Disclaimer: This message was written by a user at CONVEX Computer
              Corp. The opinions expressed are those of the user and
              not necessarily those of CONVEX.

Does anyone remember this game?  It is my all-time favorite arcade game.
I would love to find it somewhere.

It is similar to Thexadore (transformer-style robot/jet plane character).
It had extremely nice color graphics for the time it came out (very
vivid colors and fast moving graphics).  It had an over-size picture tube
compared to most games at that time.  There was a lot of graphic detail.
In a lot of ways the game R-Type (which came out a couple of years later)
reminded me of this game.

You started out with a big robot on a scrolling landscape.  Various
enemies would attack you while you dodged forward and backward and
fired your guns.  You could fire in one of three directions; diagonally
upwards (into the sky), straight ahead (parallel to the ground), or
diagonally downwards (to blow up those pesky land mines).  If you held
down the fire button you would produce a power-shot that would blow
through everything in its path (a normal shot would only kill one
enemy) when you released the button.  You needed the power shots to
kill the sentinals that were stationed on the ground every so often.

There was a "transform" button.  If you hit this button you would
change into a jet plane, and the lanscape would scroll by three times
as fast.  If you hit the button again, you would transform back into
a robot and fall onto the ground again, and the scrolling would return
to a walking pace.  It was very important not to accidentally hit
this button when you were flying over water, because you would sink
and die.

Periodically you would have to pick up fuel pods off of the ground.
This was especially important when you got to the "ocean," because
you had to "transform" into a jet plane and fly for a long time
without extra fuel, and if you didn't pick up enough fuel before
you got to the ocean you would crash before you could complete your
mission.

At certain stages there would be "meteorite showers" that could be
quite difficult to dodge.  After crossing the ocean you would have
to destroy a large spaceship in a dog-fight.  If you succeeded in
killing the ship, then rocket boosters would drop down to you.  You
would have just a few seconds to successfully dock before they ignited,
so you had to work quickly.  After docking they would boost you into
orbit.

After losing the boosters and fighting some radical enemies in
orbit, you would come in for a landing on a large asteroid (or maybe
the moon?).  You would have an intense fight here, (lots of meteors),
and after fueling up and crossing space again, you would get a huge
(seems like 100's of thousands of bonus points) bonus for completing
your mission.

Then you would land back at the start again, only this time the whole
mission would be a continuous meteorite shower from start to finish.
I never got very far once I got to this point in the game.

Anyway, I can't remember the name of this game.  Has anyone seen one
recently?  Anyone remember what it was called?  I'd really like to
find one of these machines somewhere.

Thanks,
-- 
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