Players Guide

Electronic Dreams Software Present Firetrap Player's Guide for Commodore 64/128 Cassette and Disk, Spectrum 48K/128K/+, Amstrad Cassette and Disk

NEWS FLASH... ...Dateline... December, Arcadeville, USA...

Dale Ewing reporting on the Firetrap...

09:30

"...The situation here is really critical now. The world's tallest building, the ED Apartments, burst into a ball of flames just thirty minutes ago. Hundreds of people, some known to have animals with them, are trapped. And time is running out..."

09:37

"...We are being showered with falling debris... glass, bricks, tables... you name it, it's raining down on the street. We watch with bated breath..."

09:51

..."The fire services have just arrived at the scene, but have been unable to get near because of the tremendous heat from the blaze, and... oh! NO!... the skyscraper next to it has just burst into flames... and... a third has just caught alight... this is terrible... in all my years of reporting I've never seen anything like this before! ...everyone is pulling back... now a fourth building is ablaze, and a fifth... Ladies and Gentlemen, this entire block is one big FIRETRAP! I'm getting out of here..."

10:05

"...A big red firetruck has just arrived... Fire Chief Carrington is holding up an experimental fire fighting suit... and from where I'm standing it appears to have some sophisticated, hi-tech water cannon... yes... he says it straps onto your back... but why is he showing us?..."

10:07

"...Everywhere is chaos... There are only eight minutes left before the first building is gutted. The local firemen are exhausted from firefigting and cannot use the new suit... all seems lost... our only hope is that we can find a fit and brave young person to volunteer to put on the suit, climb these towering infernos, put out these blazes and rescue the peope..."

"...yes! We have a volunteer... My friend... we're all depending upon you... Good Luck in the FIRETRAP...!"

FIRETRAP PLAY OPTIONS...

When the game has loaded into your computer, the screen will display a Menu with the available play options. Type the number listed next to your desired option.

The options vary depending on which computer you are playing FIRETRAP upon, and a short description of each option is listed below.

Start Game:
When you select this option, the game will begin. Pressing the FIRE BUTTON on a selected joystick has the same effect.

User Defined Keys:
This option allows you to select which keyboard keys will perform the game functions of Fire, Left, Right, Down and Up when playing by keyboard.

The currently selected key for the first game function will be highlighted, and you may change this key to another by simply pressing the new required key. When the screen shows the correct key for this function, press the RETURN (or ENTER) key, and the next game function will be highlighted. Type 0 to return to the menu once you have altered these functions.

Keyboard:

Selects play by keyboard (as opposed to Joystick) and shows which keys are currently selected for the individual game functions. These keys may be altered using the USER DEFINED KEYS option. Type 0 to return to the menu.

TACKLING THE FIRETRAP... CHIEF FIRE OFFICER's BRIEFING...

The screen will display a section of the first burning building as viewed from a corner.

You see yourself, the brave volunteer firefighter, at the corner of the building, and can move left, right, up or down by moving the joystick in those directions, or by pressing the relevant keys. You have a water cannon and jet-pac on your back, and huge water globules may be fired upwards by pressing the fire button on your joystick, or the fire key.

The protective layers of the experimental fire suit you wear is many layers thick, giving you several attempts. When the game begins, or if you lose a life, a small outline of the building you are climbing is displayed at the bottom right hand edge of the screen, showing how much further you have to go to the top.

You must climb to the top of the building, and as you climb you will see people (and we even have reports of little dogs) hanging out of windows. To rescue them, simply climb onto their window - they may then parachute to safety. But keep a hot watch above as all sorts of objects are falling from windows above, and it's a long way down. If any of the objects knock you off the building, you will lose a life and must try again.

Watch out for the fires raging in other windows - if you're quick, you can put them out with a blast of your water cannon. If a fire touches you, you lose a life. Also, you'll find flagpoles useful to hide beneath in tricky situations.

During your task you may find various items to aid you, and bonus items to increase your score.

When you reach the top of the building, there's a trapped woman - take hold of her and then use your jet pac to fly her down to the street and safety. To make matters worse... time is short and the clock is rapidly counting down.

But even if you achieve the unthinkable and complete the first building - then it starts to get really difficult... Are you sure you can stand the heat?