In Atari 2600’s Flash Gordon, you take on the role of Flash Gordon, the hero tasked with rescuing spacemen lost in the dangerous Spider City and destroying all the hatching pods. The game screen is divided into two sections: the lower part displays a map, while the upper part shows a close-up of the action.
On the map, your ship is represented by a horizontal line, hatching pods by vertical lines, and Disrupters by crosses. To rescue spacemen, you must touch them with your ship, and to destroy hatching pods and the spider warriors that emerge, you must fly to the pods and shoot the warriors.
You can also shoot generators, patrol ships, and debris. Destroying the generator temporarily stops the Disrupter from moving around the city, but debris never ceases while you are within the Disrupter, so it’s best not to linger.
If you eliminate five warriors at one hatching pod or your ship is destroyed upon returning, you will gain a temporary shield. Two beeps will warn you when the shield is about to disappear.
Scoring in Flash Gordon is as follows:
- 10 points for debris
- 25 points for a patrol ship
- 70 points for a rescued spaceman
- 100 points for a Disrupter generator
For each warrior you defeat at a pod, your score increases incrementally: 100 points for the first, 200 for the second, 300 for the third, and so on. However, shooting a spaceman will cost you 1,000 points, but Flash Gordon wouldn’t do that, right?
Each time you conquer a city, you are awarded an extra life.
(Source: MobyGames.com)