Scramble

Scramble
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Stern Electronics Arcade GCE Vectrex
Release date	Arcade: 1981 (NA) Vectrex: 1982 (NA)
Genre	Scrolling Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)	Single player
Age rating(s)	N/A Vectrex
Platform(s)	Arcade Vectrex Template:Infobox/input
Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough

Scramble is an arcade game released in 1981. It was ported to the Vectrex. It was followed by a sequel called Super Cobra.

Gameplay

Player(s) controls a ship that must infiltrate the five levels of the Scramble system and destroy the Base in the sixth. The first level has the player over a decidedly hilly terrain. Players must dodge or destroy enemy missiles shot from the ground. There are also bases that can be destroyed for points and fuel tanks that will increase the player's fuel level. The second level is inside a cavern. The quarters are not tight, but the swarms of enemy saucers make maneuvering difficult at best, and the same targets of bases, rockets and fuel tanks are found on the ground from the first level.

The player exits the cavern and is assaulted by a storm of fireballs in the third level. The fireballs are fast and indestructible and must be manically dodged and the same ground targets from the first two levels are also present. The fourth, or City level flies the player over a large metropolis. Missiles fired at the player from the tops of buildings again become a threat and there are the usual ground targets present as well. The fifth level sends the player into obnoxiously tight machine tunnels. Pilot error is the only (though formidable) enemy and the only targets this time around are the fuel tanks.

The final level has the player make an attack run on the Base, defended only by its position in a deep valley. After the destruction of the Base, the player begins again.

Gameplay is further complicated by the player's ship's consumption of fuel. If the player's ship runs out, it crashes into the ground below. Fuel is replenished by the destruction of the fuel tanks that liberally dot the ground during the levels. Each time the player destroys the Base, the ship's fuel consumption increases, dramatically increasing the challenge. Players can also shoot four missiles at a time in the air and drop up to two bombs at a time at ground or air targets and there are a few skill levels to choose from.