How to play Pyramid War online
- Fly up, down, left and right: arrow keys
- Fire: Space bar
- Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Choose a game (1–4): F11 (the console’s Select switch)
- Player 2 (games 2 and 4): T/F/G/H to fly, A to fire
Gameplay
The cartridge’s manual sets the scene in the land of the pyramids: pirates want to dig up its hidden treasures and arrive with helicopters and jets, and the “Keeping Culture Association” sends tanks and propeller planes to stop them. You start with three planes, one in the air and two in reserve, shown at the top left of the screen.
Underneath the new paint it plays like Chopper Command: the battlefield scrolls as you fly, your tanks roll along below, and enemy formations fire at you and at the tanks.
| Target | Points |
|---|---|
| Enemy helicopter | 100 |
| Enemy jet | 200 |
There are four games: Games 1 and 2 are the novice level for one and two players, and Games 3 and 4 are the expert level for one and two players. For the full rules, waves and bonuses, see the Chopper Command page.
About this cartridge
Chopper Command was designed by Bob Whitehead and released by Activision in 1982. Pyramid War is one of many copies of it: AtariMania lists 17 other titles for the same game, from Chopp. Command to Wüstenschlacht. Whoever made this version changed the player’s helicopter into a plane, turned the trucks into tanks and put the name Pyramid War on the screen, but the code underneath is Whitehead’s.
Similar games to play next
- Chopper Command – the original Activision game
- Defender – the arcade classic that inspired Chopper Command
- River Raid – Activision’s scrolling flying game with fuel to manage
- Farmer Dan – another renamed copy of a well-known game, in this case Gopher