The Rocketeer (e)

Cover
THE ROCKETEER HINTS

EPISODE #1 - RACE AT THE AIRFIELD

In order for Cliff to win at the airfield, he first has to 
choose the right plane for the right race.  You need either 
a very fast plane or one with great cornering, the Caudron 
or the Gee Bee respectively.  The Wedell Williams is just ok 
at both, and it's real work to win with.  Following the tips 
for the Gee Bee will help you to win every time!

- With the Gee Bee, clip the first turn close, then just get 
into a rhythm of turning and letting up at the last instant 
before you come around a pylon.  If you watch the lower 
window, let up on your turn as soon as the pylon appears, 
then begin turning again when it goes by.  We recommend 
using the keyboard to do this.  Press and hold ENTER to keep 
maximum speed.  Hold the down arrow to keep the plane at 
it's maximum altitude.  Press the left arrow down to keep 
the plane in tight on the pylons.  The only key you should 
let up on is the left arrow.  As you approach a pylon to 
turn, let it up for a second to let the plane swing wide 
around the pylon, then press it back down in the 
straightaway to stay in tight.  You should win every time!

- With the Caudron, stay close to the ground, since climbing 
seriously undermines your speed. Take the first couple of 
turns very wide until the Caudron gets up to speed, then 
stay close to the ground and start trying to cut the corners 
more.  

- With the rocket pack, just be very careful of the other 
planes and the pylons in the first couple of laps.  Use that 
time to climb as high as you can and get a small lead.  
Don't worry about crushing the other planes, since the 
biggest danger in this arcade is getting hit and crashing.  
Just take a half a lap lead and spend the rest of the time 
avoiding the other planes.

EPISODE #2 - ATTACK IN THE HANGAR 

It's tough to use a mouse in this arcade because the cursor  
moves very fast and it's hard to follow sometimes.  The 
keyboard works well, however.  Get used to where the Nazis 
pop up, and use the rocket pack to get off the ground 
whenever you see a grenade land--they do far more damage 
than gunshots.  Also, start shooting at the flying Nazis as 
soon as you see them.  They shoot more often than the others 
and they are harder to hit.  Not only that, but they score 
higher.  If you're having a hard time dealing with the AFT, 
remember that AFT stands for Armored Flying Tank--it's too 
tough for your bullets to do any damage.  But every plane 
has to have a pilot...  Watch without firing one time and 
you'll never have a problem again.

EPISODE #3 - BATTLE IN THE SKIES

Stay low on the screen if you can.  Your bullets come from  
slightly above your body, so you can still be hit from 
below.  Shoot the Nazi paratroopers one time only and let 
them fall.  If you rapid-shoot them they can keep coming at 
you and do a lot of damage if they hit you.  Just let them 
fall.  Shoot the Nazi rocketmen in the legs--they will be 
firing over your head and you can shoot them from the sky 
without taking any damage yourself.  

EPISODE #4 - THE FINAL FLIGHT

Keep the Locust in the top left corner.  This time your 
bullets are coming from slightly below you, so you are 
vulnerable from above.  At all costs avoid being hit by the 
airmines and the V-2 rockets--they both do tremendous 
amounts of damage.  Don't dive around in order to hit the 
airmines unless you have to.  Just shoot until they start to 
fall and then let them pass.  

Dive the Locust as you shoot at the German AFT's--they will  
follow you downward and run into your bullets but you will 
not be hit by theirs.

EPISODE #5 - BOX THE NAZI

Since this arcade is tied to the Locust battle, it's not a  
separate episode, but it is a separate arcade.  There are 
lots of clever ways to defeat the Nazi rocketmen.  You can 
lead them into the range of the officer's grenades, where 
they will take damage as well, or you can just box the heck 
out of them.  If you keep trying to box with the same fist, 
eventually you will lose.  The trick is to alternate--one 
fist is good for maybe three landed punches before the Nazi 
will catch on.  If the Nazi does land a punch, duck right 
away, then wait to stand until the Nazi is recoiling from a 
punch.  This is a good maneuver if the Nazi is pushing your 
toward the edge of the tail fin (a very frustrating but 
circumventable move).  

Against the officer, the only issue is moving fast.  You 
have a very short time to beat him up before the tail fin 
burns off completely (don't ask us why the Nazi guy laughs 
when you fall--he's doomed too).


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*** The Code Words ***

These will help you proceed to each of the other levels.  

Level 1: Pilot
Level 2: Shootout
Level 3: Chase
Level 4: Rescue
Level 5: Banshees

(If you've read in certain trade magazines that level 5 is 
"ARMADA", this was the case but has since been removed from 
the program.)
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841-3326 between the hours of 8am and 5pm PST.