Play Meter

'Oriental•
intrigue?
Invaded
•
once aga1n
Taito has invaded the continental
United States once more-this time
with its new Space Invaders Part II
color cocktail table , on its way to
selected distributors across the coun-
try.
The game , introduced by Taito
America at the AMOA show , is
packaged in a streamlined cabinet
design which is new to the domestic
market.
The first screen of targets is exactly
the same .as in its namesake - the
invaders appear on the screen
moving in a steady left-right motion,
with a laser base and four fortresses
in the left hand corner. The laser
base is moved left and right with a
controlled lever and the lasers are
fired by pushing the fire button.
However , Space Invaders Part II
includes a mystery UFO which
flashes on and off as it travels across
the screen.
The UFO lands on randomly
dropped invaders into vacant areas
where previous invaders already
have been shot. When one of these
invaders is hit , it will randomly divide
into two attacking invaders , in-
creasing the complexity and tension
of the game .
When the score reaches 1500
points ( operator-adjustable), a bo-
nus laser base will appear. The
appearance of this base is ac-
companied by an eerie, pulsating
sound. The game ends when all laser
bases are e liminated by the invaders
missiles , or when the invaders
overrun the base.
Delivery of Space Invaders Part II
color cocktail table is scheduled for
early January.
Exidy is touting its Side Trak has
having the "intrigue, palm-sweating
excitement of an Orient Express ."
Players score points as they pick
up passengers along the track. A
computer controlled "drone" train
opposes players, and an "authentic"
whistle-stop sound is heard.
A daily high -score display is
featured on the video, along with an
accelerated-speed control button.
Players may switch onto Side Trak to
avoid a collision.
There is an optional "beat this
score" feature, as well.
Coinage and plays are operator-
adjustable . Cabinet dim e nsions are
68 inches by 28 inches by 3 2 inches.
Buck·s
back
Gottlieb's Buck Rogers , named in
honor of that well-known sci-fi
daredevil of the same name, will
make its debut in locations around
the country soon.
As in other Gottlieb games, a most
important scoring factor is the bonus
multiplier. The major key to bonus
and the focal point of the game is the
top-center captive ball/ vari-target.
When a player flips the ball skillfully,
generating enough velocity to slam
the captive ball/ Vari-target to the top
in one shot, lower yellow drop
targets lite for multiplier and also
lights extra ball rollover.
Completing the red drop targets
scores 10,000 points and resets the
targets for repeat action . When a
player gets all the "B-U-C-K"
rollovers , the red drop target banks
resets lighting "special." Also , com-
pleting all yellow drop targets
increases the bonus multiplier or
scores 5,000 points if the multiplier is
at 5X.
The new Gottlieb Multi-Mode
arcade and musical sounds are also
featured in the game and build
excitement and tension as the game
progresses.
"Th e success of the Buck Rogers
movie, comic strip and new televi-
sion series makes it a natural subject
for a theme game," the company
noted , "and the crowds that waited
to play it at the recent AMOA show
fortell the success it will have on
location when we start to ship the
game to distributors in this month. "
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