A DARING DESERT QUEST FOR TREASURE!

All around you are long stretches of sand, ancient pyramids baking in the hot dead air, and constant danger.

The legends that brought you here are 30 centuries old.  The tales tell of thieves who plundered the Pharaoh's tomb, loading bags of gold, silver, and precious gems onto their camels, then making off into the desert.  But in the night, horrible desert beasts pursued the robbers, and the priceless treasure was scattered and lost.  Not even a camel was ever seen again.

Now you search for the lost treasure, daring the beaks and claws of the desert guardians.  As you scan the endless sand for the glitter of jewels, your eye catches sight of gliding shadows.  Something's coming!

You could turn back now and be safe.  Or you could go on, and dare to steal the Pharaoh's jewels.
 

GETTING STARTED

1. Insert the Desert Falcon cartridge into your Atari 2600 or 7800 console.

2. For one player, plug a joystick into the left controller jack.  For two players, plug a second joystick into the right controller jack.

3. Turn on your television, then press the [Power] button to turn on your console.  The Desert Falcon title and options screen appears.

4. Select game options by pressing [Select] or by using the left joystick.  Move the joystick handle up or down to choose one of four skill levels: Novice (easiest), Standard, Advanced, or Expert (most difficult) and to choose between a one- or two-player game.  An option is selected when it lights up.

5. Press [Reset] or the left joystick's fire button to start the game.

6. Press [Select] to redisplay the options screen at any time.
 

GAME PLAY

The Pharaoh's lost treasures - enormous gems, big golden eggs, and silver ingots - are scattered among the ancient pyramids and obelisks.  Fly towards the treasures, then hover or hop over them to pick them up and earn points.  Use your joystick handle to maneuver.  (Follow the chart above.)

The treasures are guarded by flying and crawling beasts.  Burrowing Uwes crawl out of the sand to charge at you, and Vultures, Warrior Phleas, Scarabs, Flying Fish, and Phantom Gliders attack from the air.  Darts fly at you, spit our by the Howling Sphinx waiting at the end of the trail.  All these enemies will destroy you if they hit you.

Protect yourself by firing darts.  A direct hit destroys enemy creatures and gains you points.  You can also maneuver around enemies.  At higher levels, watch out for flame-throwing Fire Pots and dart - shooting Mini-Sphinxes.

You begin the game with five lives.  Each time you're hit or you crash into an object you lose a life, but you will recover as long as you have lives left.

The end of each desert trek brings you to the Howling Sphinx.  You must shoot this Sphinx in the middle of its face in order to get past it, all the while dodging the darts and nasty creatures it spits at you.

ACTION                    JOYSTICK OPERATION
Fire darts                Press fire button once
Activate super powers     Press fire button twice,
                             quickly ("DBL-PRESS")
Fly; gain altitude        Pull handle backward
Land, hop, or swim        Push handle forward
Maintain altitude in the  Release handle
   air; stop on land
Move left                 Push handle left
Move right                Push handle right
 

SUPER POWERS

Hop over any three hieroglyphs scattered in the sand to gain super powers.  Super powers give you great advantages, such as letting you destroy all enemies on screen at once or paralyze the Howling Sphinx.

Check the Gaming Box at the bottom of the screen to find out which power you've gained and whether if requires pressing the fire button twice quickly ("DBL-PRESS").  Some powers will be used up when you double-press the fire button; other powers last for about 20 seconds.  A new power is awarded when you pick up three more hieroglyphs, whether or not the previous power was used.

There are many super powers for you to discover (some of them are described on the next page).  But beware: in the higher levels of play you can earn super problems, such as Shackles, as well as super powers.
 

HIEROGLYPHS

Ankh
Bowl
Eye
Man
Bird
Cane
Feather
Sun Over Water
 

SUPER POWERS   WHAT THEY DO
Air Bomb       Pressing the fire button destroys all
               airborne enemies and enemy darts in sight
Decoy          Enemies are tricked into flying towards
               a decoy spot instead of towards you
Hold Sphinx    The Howling Sphinx is unable to spit
               creatures or darts at you
Invincible     Nothing can destroy you
Omnicide       All enemies on screen are destroyed when
               you double-press the fire button
Points         You are given free points
Polywater      You can fly and hop but not swim
Roulette       You are given two random hieroglyphs.
               The next hieroglyph you pick up determines
               your next super power
Shackles       You can fly and swim but not hop
Warp           You fly at lightning speed to the
               Howling Sphinx
 

SCORING

SHOOTING DESERT BEASTS

Each enemy you destroy earns you points.  Destroying a flying enemy increases the base value of treasures.  You cannot shoot the Howling Sphinx's darts.

DESERT BEASTS   POINTS  POINTS ADDED TO BASE
                SCORED   VALUE OF TREASURES
Mini-Sphinx      1000            0
Warrior Phlea     500            5
Scarab            300            3
Flying Fish       200            2
Vulture           200            2
Burrowing Uwe     150            0
Phantom Glider    100            1

DESTROYING THE HOWLING SPHINX

First Sphinx............. 5,000 points
Each additional Sphinx... previous Sphinx score plus 1,000 points (up to 10,000 points maximum)

STEALING TREASURES

During regular game play, each treasure you pick up earns you the base value, plus increase that treasure's value multiplier by 1.  In the bonus round, each treasure is worth the base value times its value multiplier.

BONUS LIVES

You earn a bonus life at every 10,000 points scored.  You can have a maximum of four lives remaining.

BONUS ROUND

Destroying the Howling Sphinx gains you entrance to the bonus round.  Here your goal is to pick up as many treasures as you can in the time allowed.

During the bonus round, your time allowed is counted down in seconds in the Gaming Box.  The bonus score is tallied next to the time.  When the round ends, the bonus score is added to your current score.  The last hieroglyphs or super power you gained reappear along with your remaining lives.

You are not attacked in the bonus round, and colliding with objects will not cost you a life; only time is lost.
 

STRATEGY

Gauge the altitude of flying beasts by watching their shadows.

Figure out what combination of hieroglyphs awards you which power.  For instance, the combination "Bird, Cane, Bowl" gives you Warp (except at Novice level) while the combination "Cane, Bird, Bowl" (the same hieroglyphs in a different order) gives you Air Bomb.  Pick up a particular combination when its power will do you the most good.

In the bonus round, go for the treasures that have the highest value multiplier.
 

DESERT GUARDIANS
Mini-Sphinx
Warrior Phlea
Scarab
Flying Fish
Fire Pot
Vulture
Burrowing Uwe
Phantom Glider
Howling Sphinx

TREASURES
Golden Egg
Gem
Silver Ingot