GODS

THE STORY

A city lost in legend

An unconquered warrior seeking reward

A challenge laid down by the Gods

The greatest prize of all - immortality

4 great events combine to bring forth a burning legend.

Re-live that legend.

Who would have thought that a man would be so foolish or so daring as to 
accept a challenge set down by the Gods? And yet one came forward to 
claim the right to test his skills and strengths against a city so 
legendary its name alone struck fear in the hearts of all who heard it 
spoken.

Firstly, let us talk of this city.

None can be sure that the city even exists for no-one has ever seen it. 
It was built by the Gods, a plaything, great temples, hidden 
underworlds, fiendish labyrinths and soaring towers. It is a city stolen 
by the forces of darkness, the abode of nightmare hosts, the dwelling of 
fearsome killers, the dominion of four great guardians.

Secondly, who is the hero?

Has anyone matched him in battle? No. Has he ever turned aside from his 
sole quest? Never. Is he not therefore a hero among heroes? Undoubtedly. 
In his travels our warrior has become skilled in all the weapons of war; 
he is strong and he is unflinching, what of all the prizes of the world 
does he seek? He wishes to join all those fickle masters of the human 
race - the Gods themselves.

Thirdly I shall recount the challenge of the Gods.

Were the Gods only joking when they laid their challenge? Uncaring and 
unthinking on Mount Olympus they thought that no-one would hear their 
rash words:

Any man may earn through skill and courage a single favour of the Gods 
if he will face the fear of the ancient city and slay the four great 
guardians who have stolen our citadel from us.

Through their contempt for man did they not bring about their own 
undoing?

For never before had such an untamed reward been offered to the mortals.

But who from the ranks of man would face destruction at such odds? 
Surely none.

Only One.

Finally, what did the hero ask of the Gods?

Immortality breeds contempt and the Gods, so long uncaring for the 
events of man, know nothing of the exploits of our hero. He stands 
before them showing neither fear nor disdain and asks the Gods that 
shall he return, fulfilling completely their quest, he will join them as 
an equal and a brother.

The horror, the impertinence the mistake realised too late, the gateway 
lies open to their domain where no mortal man ever trod before.

But the words of the Gods may not be broken and only the hope of the 
hero's failure comforts them as the warrior departs for the City of 
Legends, preparing to carve one more story on its walls...

INSTRUCTIONS

Gods is a game of exploration, combat and adventure. You assume the role 
of a classical hero who has taken up the challenge of the Gods. In order 
to gain the ultimate prize of immortality you must slay the four 
guardians of the city and return to Mount Olympus.

The four guardians rule over an ancient city full of chaotic beasts. The 
city was once the citadel of the Gods and consists of four levels each 
protected by one of the guardians and their many minions. The levels 
are: the city, the temple, the labyrinth and the underworld.

Each level is split into three sections referred to as 'worlds'.

COMBAT

In order to fulfil your quest you must venture through the levels of the 
city, these are now the home of chaotic hordes of monsters which must be 
overcome, to do this you must fight. Scattered throughout the city are 
many weapons, some of these will be powerful and others weak, these 
weapons are essential if you are to defeat the creatures you will face. 
As well as weapons that you may find, it is possible to purchase others 
at shops located within each level.

Different weapons have different strengths and qualities. Discovering 
the nature of each weapon will help you succeed.

Collecting several of the same weapon will make your shots more 
effective.

Several weapons may be used at the same time, find out which are 
compatible for ultimate fighting ability.

MONSTERS

Over the years since the Gods abandoned it, the city has become the home 
of many chaotic beasts, these are ruled by four gigantic guardians who 
use them to protect their fortunes. The monsters you will meet are by no 
means stupid; some will be more deadly, but all are united in their 
cause to thwart your quest. Some of the inhabitants are able to avoid 
your attempts to kill them and then strike with precision. Whatever 
monster you meet it is wise to study its behaviour and from this 
knowledge learn the nature of all your adversaries.

Within the first level the monsters you will meet will have only one aim 
- to kill you.

As you progress into the temple and beyond you will meet creatures who 
will try to steal the few precious items to be found.

The physical appearance of a monster indicates its nature and its 
objectives.

KILLER

Their objective is to kill you, if these are very intelligent they will 
pursue you throughout the level in order to achieve this.

FLIER

As well as trying to kill you, these monsters are able to avoid your 
shots, the more intelligent ones will prove very elusive.

THIEF

These monsters try to steal objects or protect them from your clutches, 
if there is no treasure available they will try to kill you. Because of 
this tendency it is possible to delay them by leaving treasure scattered 
throughout the world.

KEYS

In order to protect the city from unwelcome visitors, the Gods placed 
many doors to block their progress. These doors are extremely strong and 
can resist all attempts to demolish them. To open them it is often 
necessary to have the correct key in your inventory.

As well as doors the inhabitants have entrusted their valuables to 
locked chests. These containers may be only opened by using the correct 
key. These are smaller than the keys used to open doors are coloured to 
correspond with the chest they open. Like their larger relatives, these 
keys are not easy to attain and are usually well protected by monsters, 
traps and puzzles. The treasure within the chests may be used to 
purchase weapons or potions at the shops that are found throughout the 
city.

When a key has been used it will be discarded automatically.

Doors can lead to rooms, teleport you to new locations, or allow you to 
progress along passages.

Special gems are also able to teleport you.

To open a chest, collect the key and walk past the chest.

The colour of a chest and its corresponding key are indicative of the 
value of its contents:

Gold chests - greatest value

Bronze chests - normal value

Iron chests - lowest value

MONEY AND SHOPPING

The city is fabled to be rich in treasure and gold, though no-one has 
ever returned to confirm it. In order to stand the best chance of 
success you will need to collect as much of this treasure as possible, 
the money can then be used to buy weapons, potions and health in the 
shops dotted throughout the levels. These shops are reached by walking 
over a special token which calls on the shopkeeper to escort you to his 
store.

The description of the item and price are displayed in a window below 
the arches. Your cash is displayed to the left of the screen. To leave 
the shop press on the arch labelled exit. All the items you have 
purchased will be available as soon as you leave the shop.

If you buy a weapon that replaces one you are already carrying half the 
value if the lost weapon will be added to your cash.

Treasure may be revealed by killing monsters or solving puzzles.

Shops appear at the halfway and at the end of each level.

Shields and starbursts will be removed when you confront the guardian at 
the end of each level.

Potions can be collected either by finding them in the city or buying 
them in the shop. If a potion is collected it takes immediate effect. 
Certain of the potions that can be bought in the shop can be carried and 
only take effect if they are dropped from your inventory.

A GUIDE TO WEAPONS AND POTIONS

WEAPONS

Dagger - this is one of the weakest weapons you may come across.

Shurikans - stronger then daggers, they also travel through aliens.

Fireballs - these can be used at the same time as a conventional weapon 
such as a dagger or shurikan.

Spears - these pass through aliens and platforms to cause great damage.

POTIONS

Attract* - causes all aliens to attack you.

Large Shied - this can be bought or collected, it lasts for the whole of 
the current world and reduces your damage by half.

Small Shield*- can be collected or bought, it lasts for 15 seconds and 
protects you from all damage as well killing any aliens who run into it.

Wideshot - one of three shot directing tokens, wideshot spreads the shot 
for maximum effect against flying aliens.

Food - this comes in several forms, it replaces lost energy but is no as 
powerful as the health potions.

Shop - this token brings on one of the traders.

* these potions can be bought and then dropped when needed.

TRAPS AND PUZZLES

One of the most cunning methods that has been employed by the dwellers 
of the city has been the devising of puzzles and traps. Some of the 
puzzles are simple requiring only the throwing of a switch to advance 
further, others are much more complex involving collecting objects, 
finding keys, and acquiring special weapons. Traps take several forms 
but most are lethal, spiked flails causing death unless you can escape 
them quickly.

The puzzles that you will face are many and varied. All puzzles are one 
of two types, progression puzzles and reward puzzles. Progression 
puzzles need to be solved in order to complete the world or progress. 
Reward puzzles are not essential to the completion of the game, these 
puzzles can take the form of extra treasure, shortcuts, or other 
benefits.

Hidden rooms are a typical example of a reward puzzle, the entrance to a 
hidden room may be found by examining the background. There may be a 
platform that cannot normally be reached or passage blocked by a wall.

As reward puzzles are not essential they may involve a considerable 
amount of danger. Particularly strong monsters may protect the route 
that leads to the reward.

Progression puzzles are usually simpler in nature then reward puzzles, 
however these puzzles may contain certain traps if they are not solved 
correctly. Progression puzzles often require the player to recover an 
item such as a key or teleport gem. These items will then allow the 
player into the next section of the world.

Puzzles may be simple, requiring only one action to solve them, others 
require combinations of one or more events to trigger them. These 
actions include: throwing switches, completing sections within a limited 
time or finding and returning objects to a specific location.

As well as puzzles there are also many hidden bonuses, these will 
provide rewards at certain points if they have completed a section in 
good time, or lost minimal energy or lives. These bonuses take the form 
of treasure or potions that will make completing the next stage easier.

Once a puzzle has been completed the objects used to solve it will be 
removed from your inventory.

CLUES

In order to assist you there are many clues that can be picked up, these 
take the form of special tokens, collecting these will print a message 
or clue along the bottom of the screen. These clues may help define the 
quest for the level, provide a hint or a solution to a puzzle or reveal 
the location of an object.

All clue messages will be displayed when you collect the token, they 
cannot be redisplayed so take careful note of there contents.

THE FOUR GREAT LEVELS

The city is composed of four levels, the city, temple, labyrinth, and 
underworld, each level is split into three worlds. At the end of each 
world is an enormous guardian. These are the monsters you have been sent 
to destroy, all the minions and treasure belong to these fearsome 
creatures and each is determined to retain their power.

SCORING

As well as completing this great quest there may also be some honour in 
having achieved a good score, you will receive points for killing 
monsters, collecting treasure, and solving puzzles.

At the end of each world a bonus is added to your score, this bonus is 
affected by the number of lives remaining and health.

At the end of the game your score will be placed into the 'hall of fame' 
which is saved to disk.

Input your name using the joystick to select the letters

Bonus lives will be awarded for 'landmark' scores.

DYING AND RESTARTING

You have three lives in which to complete the game. Each world consists 
of several zones, when you lose a life you return to the start of the 
zone in which you died, you retain all your weapons and potions.

PASSWORDS

Whenever the game is over, you are provided with a password, this will 
allow you to re-enter the game at the beginning of the level in which 
you died. You will restart the game inside the shop in order to allow 
you to purchase some weapons and potions.

CONTROLS

Your actions are totally controlled by the joystick.
Joystick Movement Platforms Ladders
Up Face Wall Climb
Down Crouch Descend
Left Walk Left N/A
Right Walk Right N/A
Up Left Jump Left Jump Off
Up Right Jump Right Jump Off
Down Left N/A Get Off
Down Right N/A Get Off
Fire Fire N/A

INVENTORY

You may carry three objects in your inventory.

PICK UP OBJECT

1. Stand by object and crouch
2. Fire to reveal inventory
3. Select empty box then stand up (Keep 'down' held plus fire)

DROP OBJECT

1. Crouch and fire
2. Select object to drop
3. Stand up

SWITCH, LEVER OR BUTTON

1. Face Switch, Lever or Button
2. Press Fire
