How to play Task Force online
- Move the gunsight: arrow keys
- Fire a missile: Space bar
- Choose a game variation: F11 (the console’s Select switch)
- Start the game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Game speed: F4 (difficulty switch): the manual lists A as slow and B as fast
- Second player: Player 2 uses T/F/G/H to aim and A to fire
Gameplay
Figures step into the windows of a building, stop and take aim. If you do not hit them within a few seconds, they fire, and you lose one of your commandos. Sometimes a hostage is pushed into a window instead: anyone without a gun must not be shot. A leader on the roof holds a bomb, and if he gets to use it, the game ends at once.
You have 24 missiles for each building: six ready to fire and three crates of six more. When all of them are used up, you are defenceless for several seconds while new supplies arrive. The first building holds 9 enemies, the second 12 and the third 15. After that comes a night raid: the screen goes dark, and firing at the building makes the windows light up for a moment so you can see who is there.
| Target | Building 1 | Building 2 | Building 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Death | 100 | 110 | 120 |
| Pirate | 50 | 60 | 70 |
| Gang Green | 40 | 50 | 60 |
| Hoodman | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| Yellowbelly | 20 | 30 | 40 |
| Hostage | −1,000 | −1,000 | −1,000 |
Clearing a building also earns a bonus. The four variations are one or two players at expert or beginner level. In the two-player games you swap over each time the active player is hit.
Tips
- Check for a gun before you fire. A hostage costs 1,000 points, and if you have fewer than that, you lose your whole score.
- Keep an eye on the roof. If the leader up there gets to use his bomb, the game ends no matter how many commandos you have left.
- Count your missiles. Running out leaves you exposed, so avoid wild shots when several windows are busy.
Task Force and Gangster Alley
Froggo was founded in 1987, long after the Atari 2600’s best years, and most of its cartridges were re-releases of older games from other companies. Task Force keeps Gangster Alley’s structure, including the rooftop bomber and the night stage, but changes the story and the names. For the original, with its gang of named criminals, play Gangster Alley on this site.
