Defender/Gameplay

Controls

 * Joystick: This maneuvers your Spaceship up or down--not across. You can safely move anywhere on the screen, even below the earth's surface.
 * Thrust: This control moves you forward at whatever pace you desire. If held down, you'll accelerate to top speed.  If left alone, you'll stop.
 * Fire: You have an unlimited amount of fire. Good advice: fire constantly.  Develop "Defender Fingers."
 * Reverse: There's no need to Reverse when you're learning the game. After you've mastered Thrust and Fire, use Reverse to eliminate the Landers as fast as possible, as keyed by the Scanner.  Reverse is also useful in killing Mutants.
 * Hyperspace: Again, there's little need for Hyperspace when learning the game. Hyperspace makes your Spaceship disappear and reappear--anywhere.  You have no control over where you'll end up.  The only real need for Hyperspace is when the Baiters appear or when your world has blown up.
 * Smart Bombs: You begin with three of these, and earn a new one every 10,000 points. Smart Bombs destroy everything on the screen.  Use them only after you've scored 30,000 points, and then only when you need to.  For example, when Mother Ships appear in a group, blast them senseless with the Smart Bomb.  You'll earn top points.
 * 1-Player: Press to start a one player game.
 * 2-Player: Press to start a two player game.

Characters
A solid understanding of Defender basics is essential to high scores. Spend your first Defender quarters experimenting, feeling out the personalities of each of the enemies and the possible movements of your space ship. After you know the elements, you're ready to properly defend the Humanoids.

Spaceship
This brightly glowing craft is the Defender. You command this Spaceship over and under the Earth's surface. It travels horizontally on your screen in either direction. You can progress through the atmosphere at the speed you choose. The joystick determines its flight altitude. Constant pressure on the Thrust button will result in constant acceleration. You have an unlimited source of Laser fire. You can reverse and you can instantly Hyperspace to another part of the world at will.

Humanoids
These colorful stick figures are the Defendees. Humanoids are peaceful while they're still human. They often walk around the Earth's surface in groups. Don't shoot them. Protect them. Their role in the space battle is a passive one, unless they are successfully kidnapped by Landers and carried to the top of the screen, where they become Mutants. If allowed to mutate, you've got one big problem on your hands. Although you should try to catch every Humanoid that you rescue from a Lander, they can survive short falls back to the surface.

Landers
150 points. You must destroy all the Landers on a screen to complete an attack wave. A Lander's basic objective is to grab Humanoids and carry them to the top. They warp into the atmosphere, and begin to hover over the Earth's surface in search of a Humanoid that they can lock their tractor beam on to. They will fire at you, but not aggressively. You can easily avoid their fire. They usually appear in groups of four or five.

Mutants
150 points. These are formed when a Lander successfully carries a Humanoid to the top of the screen. The Lander then sucks the Humanoid into its body and combines genetic material from the two lifeforms to become a Mutant. These are dangerous. Their main objective is to kill you, and the never shoot straight, always at an angle. If a Mutant appears, muster all your energy to kill it. If the Landers carry all of your Humanoids to the top of the screen, and all of your Humanoids become Mutants, the world as you know it will explode. This is no pretty sight, and nearly impossible to stay alive in. Some advice: Don't let the world blow up.

Baiters
200 points. These enlongated ships can shoot faster and fly faster than your Spaceship. Baiters appear to serve as irritants near the end of an attack wave in order to speed up the battle. They will track you closely. Kill the Baiters as soon as they appear. They're fairly large targets. If too many Baiters appear, you'll probably have to use Hyperspace. They disappear with the destruction of all the Landers. It seems that smartbombing a pod and a baiter together will destroy all swarmers contained in the pod in addition to the pod and the baiter.

Bombers
250 points. Bombers are fairly passive. They travel in groups of one to three, leaving Mine Fields behind them. You cannot shoot these Mines. You must avoid them. Try to kill the Bombers before they leave Mines.

Mother Ships
1000 points. Mother Ships (a.k.a Pods) are some of your worst enemies. They also yield high points. On contact with one of your lasers, five to seven swirling Swarmers that will attack you are released. The Pods appear at predictable times throughout the battle. One Mother Ship appears on the 2nd wave, three on the 3rd, and four on the 4th. You will never see more than four of them at once. At the start of wave three and onward it's a good idea to smart bomb all pods at once when they are close together in a cluster. You will accumulate a lot of points and often will destroy the pods and the swarmers they contain.

Swarmers
150 points. Swarmers are released from Mother Ships after the Mother Ship has been destroyed. These are no fun. They track you closely. Some people use a Smart Bomb the instant a Mother Ship has been killed. Others skillfully and cautiously kill the Swarmers one by one. If you fly close enough behind the swarmers and follow them they will not turn around to attack you, thus you can easily pick them off one by one.

Scanner
The Scanner displays an overview of the entire war zone. Your playing area is bracketed. Your lasers cannot kill enemies past the playing area. This Scanner should be constantly monitored. Every character mentioned above, including your Spaceship, will appear as a dot on the Scanner. Each character is also uniquely identified by a different color pattern. The Scanner is your primary tool for locating captured Humanoids and finding the shortest path to the Lander before he takes the Humanoid to the top of the screen and becomes a mutant. For a real challenge, try playing the whole game with the Scanner only.