Strategy X (Stern Electronics) - MAME machine

Arcade Video game published 43 years ago:

Strategy X © 1981 Konami.

Advance to the base and destroy Emmortalian.

Even Patton would spend all his quarters attempting to advance through the four attack levels (and base) of Strategy X, Konami's latest tank attack video game. The tank commander's life isn't an easy one.

Part 1: Defend yourself against rotating cannons.
Part 2: Watch out for attacking Jeeps.
Part 3: Careful! Here come attacking and shooting tanks.
Part 4: Rotating cannons again, but this time against a moving background.
Part BASE: Destroy bricks, watch out for colored bombs, don't disregard rotating cannons either and move until you reach an octagonal mine. Destroy it.

Aside from an on-going battle, he has to watch out for obstacles and rough terrain. Brick walls destroy tanks, although they can be shot away. TNT, rather nasty stuff... explodes when shot, but destroys all objects in the area. Stay off pink backgrounds. If an alien base is found and destroyed, advance to the next level of difficulty.

Strategy X. There's never been a war game like it. It blows minds, and quarters.

TECHNICAL
GAME ID: GX306

Main CPU: Zilog Z80 (@ 3.072 Mhz)
Sound CPU: Zilog Z80 (@ 1.78975 Mhz)
Sound Chips: (2x) General Instrument AY8910 (@ 1.78975 Mhz)
Screen orientation: horizontal
Screen resolution: 256x224

Players: up to 2 (alternate)
Control: 8-way joystick
Buttons: 3
→ [A] = fire, [B] = rotate turret left, [C] = rotate turret right

TRIVIA
Strategy X was released in October 1981.

Licensed to Stern for US manufacture and distribution (December 1981).
A silent engine sound taken from Scramble is played during part 4.

'Emmortalian' is spelled as 'Immortalian' on Japanese flyer of Strategy X. Mine is written as 'Mein' also on Japanese flyer.

You can continue a game: just press fire (discharge) button after you inserted an additional coin.

All the scores are anonymous.

A bootleg of this game is known as "Strong X" and is labeled as 1982 release.

SCORING

• 1 second of play: 10 points.
• Fuel dock (only when refueling): 100; 200 or 300 points (always randomly).
• TNT: 50 points.
• Cannon: 80 points.
• Jeep: 100 points.
• Tank: 100 points.
• Base (Immortalian): 999 points.

TIPS AND TRICKS

• Extra life is earned at 10000 points (the only point threshold), other extra life is earned after destruction of base at flag 1.
• Rotate the turret: required to destroy a cannon (or anything else) when you're hidden behind the walls.
• Don't drive into any mine: doing so causes a tank destruction and life loss. Beware of them when you're on a slip zone (ice).
• Watch the fuel: when you hear a signal, stop at a fuel dock and refuel, even if the meter is barely filled. Always refuel to the upper limits independently on the tank's content.
• TNT packages in part 'base' are multi-color. These packages are timed bombs. Don't come too close when a bomb is flashing fast - this means the bomb is about to explode.
• Destroy the base from the outside - inside destruction will cause a life loss.

PORTS

• CONSOLES:

[US] Atari 2600 (1981) [Model RC-101-X 02]

CONTRIBUTE
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