Cheat
mode: Press l at the main menu. Options for level selection,
number of lives, and "Turbofunk" game speed will be available.
If you keep your ship
stationary in the centre of the screen and spin around to shoot the oncoming
asteroids, you will soon discover that after a while, you will frequently be
using your shield and diminishing it's power. Although this strategy does
work, it is not always the best plan to use. You might find that
accelerating slightly in one direction will clear you of any oncoming danger
heading towards the centre of the screen. You must not forget however, that
other asteroids will be heading into your pathway, and these are the
asteroids that must be cleared first. This accelleration technique is only
really necessary on the higher levels, and is much easier to pull off if you
have super boosters.
Never shoot a large or medium
sized asteroid that is too close to your ship or you may be caught unawares
by a smaller asteroid that is produced. Instead, if possible, shoot an
asteriod when it is far away from your ship, and you shall reduce the risk
of being hit by the debris.
It is possible to destroy a
whole asteroid by accelerating at top speed towards it, and activating the
shields just before impact. As your ship speeds along, it will destroy the
debris it produces as you pass through it. This method is fairly risky, but
is an alternative way of destroying a fast moving asteroid which cannot be
shot easily. It can drain your shields down drastically if you activate them
too soon before impact or leave them on for too long afterwards, so try to
master this technique if you think it will be useful. You have to watch out
for ather asteroids afterwards, so try and slow yourself down quickly after
pulling off this move.
Sometimes when shooting an
asteroid, it splits into just two smaller sections instead of three. It is
possible that shooting an asteroid at different angles can cause this to
happen. Experiment and see whether or not this works, because it may be
work, and you can use this to reduce the amount of debris produced.
Concentrate on destroying one
large asteroid and its debris at a time, otherwise you will find yourself
under threat from all sides!
Never go out of your way to
collect the power ups, or to shoot the bonuses, as it is easy to forget
about the asteriods and be killed if you are distracted. Only go for a power
up if there is no threat near to or coming to your ship. Supply cannisters
are the hardest bonuses to collect and keep because it is all to easy to
accellerate after one and collide with an asteroid before reaching the
bonus. Try to predict where the cannister is going to go and go to that
place to intercept it instead of chasing after it. Never chase one at high
speed unless the screen in virtually clear of obstacles.
Don't worry if a comet is
heading towards you and you are not ready to shoot it as it cannot harm you
and will pass straight through you (I think!).
Steel asteroids may appear to
be indestructable but they are not. If you shoot them too many times in one
direction they can speed up and become hazardous. To slow them down, you
must shoot them repeatedly as they come towards you. If you ever get a
freeze bonus in a cannister, go for the steel asteroid if you can, as it
cannot be speeded up from shooting it. They take many hits to destroy, but
they are worth a lot of points if you can destroy them. You don't have to
destroy a steel asteroid to go on to the next round. It is advisablt to try
and shoot it so that it is left stationary.
Press X on the title screen for
a message quoting the lyrics of a the Red Hot Chilli Peppers song.
Press L for a level select, and
the option for Turbofunk (speeded up mode!). Some versions of Maelstrom do
not have Turbofunk mode available.
The luck bonus may appear to be
useless at first, as its bonuses are not immediately obvious. When you get
hit by an asteroid, there is a 1 in 3 chance that you will survive, and when
you get killed, there is a 1 in 3 chance that you will keep your power-ups.
Also, more bonuses appear more often.
Collect the spinning out of
control ships to get extra lives.
Extra lives are awarded when
you reach ceratin point totals.
Watch out for cannister
showers. This causes several supply cannisters to appear at once. Collect as
many as you can to be super-powered up.
The effects of supply
cannisters are as follows:
Freezes all asteroids to
leave them as an easy shot
Destroys a lot of the
asteroids for you
Extra shield power
Gives you long shots
Gives you triple shots
Gives you rapid fire shots
Gives you retro thrusters
Gives you luck (see above
for details)
Please
select the first letter of the game's title below. If the word
"The" appears at the start of a title, ignore it and search for
the second word in the title:
