How to play Strategy X online
- Drive the tank: arrow keys
- Fire: Space bar
- Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Player 2: T/F/G/H to drive, A to fire
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it
Gameplay
The mission is simple: get through the enemy’s defences and destroy their base. Your tank needs fuel to keep moving, so you have to pick up fuel along the way. The fuel supplies explode if you shoot them, so aim with care. Enemy units and obstacles stand in your path, and crashing into things costs you a tank.
Tips
- Treat fuel as your real enemy. An empty tank ends your run just as surely as a shell, so never pass up a refuel.
- Don’t fire at everything. A stray shot can blow up the fuel you were about to collect.
- Use save states before the base. Save when you are close to the end of a stage so you can practise the final approach.
History
The arcade Strategy X was developed by Konami and released in Japan in November 1981; Stern Electronics distributed it in North America the following month. Electronic Games magazine found the arcade game unusually abstract for a war game, but no less gripping. The 2600 cartridge came out in 1983 under Konami’s own label. Reviewing it in Video Games magazine, Dan Persons called it a good, no-frills combat game that was fun to play, though he doubted it would hold players’ interest for long. A PAL version was also sold in Europe under the Gakken label.
