How to play Exocet online
- Move the UFO (eight directions): arrow keys
- Fire: Space bar – you shoot in the direction you are pushing
- Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
Gameplay
Above ground there are two kinds of cannon tower. A low tower is worth 20 points; on a tall tower you have to hit the firing section at the top, which is worth 50. Once you have destroyed 10 towers, the entrance to an underground tunnel appears, and you get three chances to fly into it. Down in the tunnel the towers are worth more the more of them you destroy, up to 360 points each, and getting through without hitting a tower also earns a small bonus. The tunnel walls close in as you go.
After enough towers the ground changes colour from green to blue. In this phase every 10 towers you destroy earns an extra UFO, up to a maximum of eight. The towers fire faster as the game goes on, first at double and then at triple speed, so the later stages are a real test of nerve.
Tips
- Take it slowly. The manual recommends moving the UFO in small, careful steps rather than rushing across the screen.
- Use the upper-left corner. The manual also suggests parking the UFO there between attacks, where it is safest.
- Aim for the top of tall towers. Only the firing section counts, and it is worth more than a low tower.
- Go underground. Tunnel towers climb in value quickly, so the tunnel is where the big scores are.
Similar games to play next
- Super Cobra – fly through caverns shooting ground targets
- Vanguard – a scrolling shooter with tunnels and ground defences
- Time Pilot – another shooter where you fire in the direction you fly
- Cosmic Ark – Imagic’s space shooter with a planet-surface stage