ROAD BLASTERS

Let Nothing Stand in Your Way!

Everyone knew the war was coming. Tensions had been building for 
months - not between the Superpowers as had always been thought,
but between rival factions in our own government. What no one 
expected was the severity of the damage.

Nuclear weapons devastated the surface of the planet, released by 
ruthless Death Squads intent on controlling the planet. Millions 
perished in a sudden flash of heat more intense than a Sahara summer.

When it was all over, only a handful of decent people remained. A 
few good people, and thousands of Death Squad members. It was 
obvious that the Death Squads had planned this for years. They 
were ready. They had developed cities and weapons impervious to 
nuclear war. And vehicles. They had cars that could withstand 
the highest levels of radiation and the most dangerous heat. They 
also had huge stockpiles of food and medicine that would keep 
them alive until the nuclear winder ends.

Fortunately, a right-thinking scientist saw what was happening. He 
defected from the Death Squads and brought with him a small prototype 
vehicle and a few weapons capable of destroying Death Squad cars 
and cannon twoers. Only one person can fit in the prototype, and 
you were chosen.

Now, just for the amusement of Death Squad leaders, there is to be 
a road rally, a dangerous race for time and distance along a highway 
laced with deadly mines and cannon twoers. Posing as a Death Squad 
driver you join the rally, hoping to drive undetected into the 
very heart of the Death Squad territory where you will defeat 
their leaders. your only helper is a small, robot-powered jet 
that will bring you additional weapons from Headquarters. The 
odds are definitely against you.

The nuclear wind blows dust across the highway. Now and then the 
burnt skeleton of a tumbleweed blows across the once-fertile plain. 
The world is desolate. All hope for a decent future rests on your 
narrow shoulders.


Getting Started

RoadBlasters is a fast-action combat racing thriller in which speed 
and skill combined with a quick and accurate trigger finger will 
ensure a bright future for civilization. Follow the steps listed 
blow to start the game: 

1. With your Lynx system switched off, insert the game card as described 
in the Lynx Owner's Manual.
Warning: Do not touch the game card connector pins. Do not expose 
the contacts to static or extreme heat. Do not bend, crush, or attempt 
to clean the game card.

2. Press ON. The RoadBlasters title screen displays. 
3. Press the joypad A or B. The first wrap screen appears. 
4. Press the joypad RIGHT or LEFT and press A or B to start. 


Optional Game Controls

To enhance play, the following optional game controls allow you to 
modify the display, and pause and restart the game: 

To flip the screen 180 degrees and reverse the controls, press 
OPTION 2 and PAUSE at the same time. 
To pause the game press PAUSE. Repeat to resume play. 
To return to the title screen press OPTION 1 and PAUSE. 


Playing the Game

The object of the game is to complete a 50-level road rally in Death 
Squad territory while blasting opponents off the road, without 
crashing or running out of fuel.

Use the joypad to control your prototype red battle car in the race 
for Truth, Justice, and all that is good. Press right to steer 
in the desired direction. Press up to accelerate or down to slow 
down. To fire your lasers. press A. When equipped with an auxiliary 
weapon, press B to use it.

When the race begins, your car is sitting in the middle of the road. 
Press up on the joypad to accelerate and begin racing. Continue 
to press up until the speed indicator on the dashboard shows the 
desired speed, then release the accelerator. The car's high-powered 
sensors will maintain that speed until you slow the car down, 
hitting something, or run out of fuel.

As you drive down he road, destroy as many cars as you can. It pays 
to be accurate. Shooting accuracy increases the point multiplier 
from its original value of 1 to as much as 10. Wild, uncontrollable 
shooting may be a good way to let off a little steam, but it will 
also decrease the multiplier. Since your score is the point value 
of any object destroyed times the multiplier, a higher multiplier 
will give you a higher score.

Of course, nobody can destroy every single car. Especially since 
some cars (namely, the blue cars driven by Death Squad leaders) 
are very difficult to destroy. The blue cars can be destroyed 
only with an Electro Shield, or a Cruise Missile. Pass any cars 
that you can't destroy. Be alert especially for cars merging onto 
he roadway in certain levels. Those cars don't seem to realize 
there's an important race going down. If your're not careful, you
will rear-end one of these slow pokes, and that's not a pretty sight.

Watch the fuel gauge at all times. Your car is powered by radioactive 
fuel. You'll have to keep your eyes peeled for green and red fuel 
globes. Ramming a fuel globe bursts the globe and causes the radiation 
to leek out so it can be quickly absorbed by your car battery. 
In addition, every time you cross a rally point, your car will 
be zapped with enough radiation to reenergize the vehicle.

Also keep a constant watch for cannons, mines, and other hazards. 
You'll know them when you see them. Especially the mins: your 
dash-board mine sensor (every car should have one of those babies) 
lets you know when you are approaching a mine. Of course, at the 
high speeds, you may detect the mine when it is too late. Learn 
to listen for the sensor, then drive carefully. As for the roadside 
cannons, you can destroy them if you slow down enough to get a 
couple good shots in. Just remember: cannons shoot back.

One good thing about your car is it's pretty easy to fix. Your car 
is strong and cannot be destroyed in a crash. However, run out 
of fuel and you'll have to quit the race. Anybody who does not 
finish the race will be forced into slavery. If that happens to 
you, then there is no more hope for civilization.

From time to time the robot jet flies over your car. When it does,
watch for falling weapons. Catch the special auxiliary weapons 
for increased power.

There are fifty race levels in all, each more difficult than the 
last, with new challenges waiting around every corner. After certain 
levels, a warp screen appears giving you a choice of the next 
level. If you feel like you barely survived the last level, press 
the joypad left and press A or B to select the next level in sequence. 
If you are ready for a bigger challenge, keep the level selector 
in the middle and press a button to skip a few levels. If you 
are really cocky and sure you can handle even the worst situation,
press the joypad right and press a button to skip several levels 
for bonus points and a shortcut.

Some levels are bonus fuel levels. These levels begin when your car's 
computer says, "Sensors detect fuel globes." You begin these levels 
with less fuel than normal, but you will find more fuel globes 
than usual on the road. You must be on e constant lookout for 
globes if you want to save the world.


The Dashboard

Score and Multiplier - your score equals the multiplier times the 
point value of the object you destroy. Accurate shooting increases 
the multiplier form the beginning value of 1 to as high as 10.

Mine Sensor - flashes when you drive near mines.

Fuel Gauge - shows the amount of fuel remaining. The right half of 
the gauge shows the main fuel tank. The left half shows the reserve 
fuel tank. Reserve fuel is awarded based on your score when you 
cross a rally point. When you are low on fuel, the Low Fuel sensor 
will flash and buzz.

Weapon Bar - shows the currently enabled special auxiliary weapon 
and the number of times it can be used. If you do not have an 
auxiliary weapon, the Weapon bar displays the words "CATCH SPECIAL 
WEAPON."

Speed - shows your current speed.

Score - shows your current score.


Weapons

Your car comes equipped with a high-powered laser to blast opponents 
off the road. In addition, the robot jet will occasionally drop 
auxiliary weapons to increase your power. These auxiliary weapons 
are listed below.

U.Z. Cannon - A powerful machine gun, the U.Z. Cannon can blast 
a moving target into oblivion. However, U.Z. Cannon hits will 
neither improve nor hinder your score multiplier. 

Electro Shield - The Electro Shield provides temporary protection 
against everything form cannon fire to collisions. However,
the electro Shield will not protect your car from bad driving,
especially on your own. 

Cruise Missile - A powerful missile that can destroy everything 
for miles around, including green fuel globes. Fortunately,
your vehicle and the red fuel globes are safe from this destructive 
(and highly useful) weapon. 

Nitro Injector - The Nitro Injector was invented by scientists 
who wanted to get home before their dinner got cold. This useful 
weapon helps you cover a long distance in a very short time,
as long as there's nothing in your way. 


Strategy

Speed is vital. You will not have enough fuel to finish the race 
if you do not make it to the rally points quickly. 
Don't waste your auxiliary weapons. If you can shoot your laser, 
do it (that helps your multiplier anyway). 
Don't catch a new auxiliary weapon if you like the one you have. 
You can only carry one at a time. 
Straddling the dotted line sometimes helps you avoid mines. Of course,
that's not easy to do going around a curve at top speed. This 
does not always work, however; some mines are placed right on the lines. 
You can earn lots of points by destroying cannons. However, it is 
not always worth your while to do so. 


Scoring

During your game play you receive points for the objects you destroy. 
Your score is the point value of the object times the multiplier 
shown on your dashboard.

The point values of the objects are as listed:

Object      Point Value

Green Cars ..... 50
Orange Cars .... 50
Motorcycles .... 50
Rat Jeeps ...... 50
Blue Cars ..... 100
Cannons ....... 200

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