Introduction
Imagine a land so dangerous that only the most heroic of space explorers would dare to tread. A land filled with more evil foes than can possibly be overcome.
Imagine Zenon...
Zenon is total arcade action for one or two players. Playing alone is fantastic. Playing simultaneously with a friend is unbelievable.
Beaming down to the surface of Zenon from your intergalactic cruiser immediately puts you in the action amongst a host of deadly androids, meteorites, fireballs, missiles and other unforeseen perils. Set against a background of scrolling stars, you must run for your life or boost into the air using your automatically-powered jetpack.
Initially you are armed with only a simple Repeat Laser which you will quickly find inadequate to deal with the sheer volume of enemies. Watch out for the opportunity to grab more powerful weaponry including the Twin-Shot Laser, Atomic Blaster and not forgetting the ultimate weapon - the lethal Machine Laser.
No space explorer has yet reached the heart of Zenon. There are 250 levels to be completed and new inconceivable monstrous androids will try to thwart you as you advance.
No one knows all of the aliens that await you, but many will undoubtedly require several hits to destroy them. Documented proof exists of only a few: the massive Terrapedes (snake-like androids), Orbitoids (giant steel eyes), Roamodrons (walking machines) and various types of Shapeoids; plus Rods, Zebbadoids, Packoids, Duckadrons and Rambodroids.
Don't go alone...
Game Objective
Your task is to penetrate the 250 levels of Zenon, a feat which has never been achieved before. You have 4 lives to complete each of the levels which are approximately 10 times the length of the screen. Each one gets progressively more difficult and menacing new aliens will periodically be encountered.
To complete a level, you must generally keep moving to the right whilst avoiding and shooting such aliens, fireballs and meteorites.
The game can be played by one player or two players together.
Getting Started
At the start of each level, you will be beamed down to the surface of Zenon. If two players are selected then both players will be beamed down together. You cannot harm another player by shooting at him.
For a short period after beaming down you will be immune to hostile attacks. This is signified by the energy indicator flashing on and off on your status panel.
You can run along the surface or fly using your everlasting atomic jetpack. Various "nasties" will attack you and you must either shoot or avoid them. Contact with "nasties" or their laser shots will reduce your energy and when you lose all energy you will lose one of your 4 lives. (Note - after losing a life you will once again be immune to hostile attacks for a short period).
Energy Cells
If you can avoid hits by nasties for a while your energy will gradually increase. However, it is also possible to obtain extra energy by collecting energy cells that appear from time to time. These are flashing diamonds with a letter 'E' inside them.
Weaponry
Your current weapon is shown on your status panel but you can select different types by collecting the weapon canisters as they pass. The canister displays a symbol for the type of weapon it contains. The following range can be obtained:
| Repeat Laser | - | This is the weapon you start each level with. It fires repeated single laser fire shots. |
| Twin-Shot Laser | - | This fires two shots at the same time although the rate of fire is less than the Repeat Laser. |
| Atomic Blaster | - | Fires super atomic blasts which kill almost anything. Unfortunately, the rate of fire is quite poor. |
| Machine Laser | - | This literally spits out laser shots at a tremendous rate. If two players both have these weapons then amazing damage can be done. |
If you lose a life, you restart the game with a Repeat Laser.
Game Controls
Controls are selected on the Options Screen. You can go to the Options Screen before starting a game or at the end of a game.
The following options can then be selected:
| Main Controls | Left | Right | Fire | Thrust |
| 1 Player Mode | Z | X | RETURN | SHIFT |
| 2 Player Mode | ||||
| Player 1 | Z | X | W | S |
| Player 2 | < | > | * | / |
Joysticks can be selected for one or two players by pressing C.
Sound can be toggled on/off by pressing S.
Other Controls
During the game, the following options are available:
P - Pause Game, O - Restart Game, ESCAPE - Abort mission
