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The Project 64 etext of the Axe of Rage manual.  Converted to etext by
Russell Reed <rreed@cei.net>.

AXRAGE10.TXT, November 1996, etext #96.

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AXE OF RAGE

Pact of the Axe

  Thunk!  The woolly mammoth thudded down dead, its throat split by the
flying axe.  Mariana ran out from her ambush, pulled the axe from the
woolly's throat, and deftly sliced two giant steaks from the animal's
flanks.

  "Lunch!" she yelled, raising both her voice and the steaming steaks to
get her partner Gorth's attention.

  "Mmmmmm.  Flank steak good!"  Gorth chomped awhile.  "I get dinner,
OK?" he grunted, his overhung brow furrowing under the effort to
communicate.

  "Gorth, we've got work to do before we eat again?  Remember, we're on
a quest", Mariana said.  "We've got to find Drax and stop him from
shrinking humankind's advanced brain capacity back down to the size of a
pea.  Drax will do to all of us what he did to you, and civilization
will be thrown back millions of years!"

  "Unhgh -- that bad!" Gorth agreed.  "So now we go fight bad Drax
creatures -- Octospleens, Slimebodies, Flying Earwigs?"

  "...and Mutant Chickens!  Yes, Gorth, we've got to keep our pact to
chop, hack, slice, and dice our way to Drax's subterranean stronghold!
At least we have something more powerful than all the hideous monsters
Drax can summon."

  "What that?" he asked.

  Mariana hoisted her weapon, its curved blade glowing with blinding
ferocity.  "The Axe of Rage," she yelled, stomping her feet in the dust.

  "Axe ... of ... Rage!" Gorth echoed, swinging his weapon furiously
overhead.  "We big.  We bad.  We go axe Drax!"


Loading Instructions

Commodore 64/128

1. Apply your Axe of Rage tattoo.  Then set up your system and plug in a
   joystick.

2. Make sure your disk drive is empty.  Turn on the disk drive first,
   then turn on the other system components.  For the Commodore 128,
   hold down C= when you turn on the system to set it to C64 mode.

3. Insert Axe of Rage Disk 1 into the drive.  Type LOAD "*",8,1 and
   press Return.  (Or, if you have an Epyx Fast Load cartridge, hold
   down C= and press Run/Stop.)  The program loads and the title screen
   appears.

4. Press the fire button.  The Choose Warrior screen appears.  Move the
   joystick handle left or right to select either Gorth or Mariana to
   fight your battles.

5. Press the fire button to begin play.  During play, follow the on-
   screen messages that tell you when to flip the disk.

6. To pause the game, press Run/Stop.  Press the fire button to resume
   play.  Press Q to start a new game at the last level you played.  To
   begin a new game at level 1, reboot your computer.


Atari ST

1. Apply your Axe of Rage tattoo.  Then set up your system and plug in a
   joystick.

2. Insert Axe of Rage Disk 1 into drive A and turn on your system.  The
   program loads and the title screen appears, followed by the Choose
   Warrior screen.

3. At the Choose Warrior screen, move your joystick handle left or right
   to select either Gorth or Mariana to fight your battles.

4. Press the fire button to begin play.  During the game, follow the on-
   screen messages that tell you when to switch disks.

5. To pause the game, press P.  Press it again to resume play.


Master the Axe!

  As Gorth or Mariana, you must fight Drax's hideous creatures before
gaining access to his Subterranean Sanctum.  His monsters are
everywhere, waiting to kick, club, stab, bite, and claw.  Here's how to
move and fight:

Facing Right, Fire Button Pressed

               High Chop.
                   ^
                   |
Flying          <-   ->       Kick.
neck chop.         |
                   v
               Low chop.

Facing Right, Fire Button Released

         Run.  Press fire button
         while running to jump
                   ^
                   |
Back up.        <-   ->       Walk.

Run through      /   \        Run through
archway.           |          archway.
                   v
              Turn around.

Note:  When facing left, reverse the right and left joystick moves.

  You have six lives to battle Drax and his nightmarish monsters.  Keep
an eye on the two strength bars and the life counter at the top of the
screen.  The left bar shortens as the monster weakens during battle; the
right bar shortens as you weaken.

  When your strength bar disappears you lose a life, and one of the life
counter buttons changes color.  Then the game resumes.  If you lose all
your lives, the game ends.


Meet the Monsters

  Before you can axe Drax, you must successfully battle the creatures in
the first three levels.  Although some monsters are tougher than others,
an encounter with any creature can be lethal.

Valley of Despair (Level 1)

  Your nightmares come to life as you battle Blade Bellies, face Flying
Earwigs and Mutant Chickens, and knock out Knuckle Draggers.  Pith-Doff
Man has a club with your name on it and Lardosaurus is after your head!

The Caverns (Level 2)

  Cave Crabs and Whiptails are the least of your worries.  Orc Guards
tower over you and Slimebodies slither at your feet.  Get ready to punch
it out with the Dwarf Dukers or have a maul with a Razor-Tooth Tiger.

The Dungeon (Level 3)

  Does getting face to face with giant Eyeballs make you uneasy?  Does
just looking at the Octospleens and Leaping Larvae make you queasy?
Does Buster Chops look big, bad, and sleazy?  That's nothing!  The
Carniverous Pit Lizard will show you where all those skulls come from!
And don't overlook the Teeny-Weeny Greenies just because they're small.

Drax's Subterranean Sanctum (Level 4)

  If you've made it this far, don't relax!  The Gargantuan Phlegm
Launcher and Pit Fiend are waiting for you.  If you can beat them, go
into the final room to axe Drax.  Use your best (and trickiest) axe move
and go for the jugular.  If you keep your head, Drax loses his.


More Horror

  Watch your step!  Touching lethal liquids knocks you flat and drains
your strength.  Use your advanced brain capacity and jump over these:

* Lava rivers flowing through the Valley of Despair.

* Cave crud trickling across Cavern floors.

* Dripping gore that seeps from Dungeon walls to puddle underfoot.


Magic Charms

  You must grab two charms in each of the first three levels in order to
finish your quest.  When you find a charm, walk into it to pick it up.
Charms you collect appear at the lower left of your screen.

* Protect yourself from Drax's evil magic with the Globe.

* Find the Shield or you'll never complete your quest.

* The Magic Potion increases your resistance to pain.

* You need the Jewel to survive Drax's Subterraneum Sanctum.

* Without the Key you'll be trapped in the Dungeon forever.

* The Sacred Axe gives you the strength to face Drax's creatures.

* The battle areas are littered with Skulls.  These are the remains of
  warriors who attempted to battle Drax without collecting all the magic
  charms.  Each skull you pick up gains you back one life.  You can
  collect skulls even if you haven't lost any lives.


More Tips for the Axing

  Sure you're primitive, but you're savvy enough to know it takes more
than brute strength to cut down your attackers.  Use these tips for
monster management:

* Time your blows to save your strength and polish creatures off with
  the fewest chops possible.  With the right technique, you can destroy
  some monsters with a single, well-placed blow.

* Eliminating monsters gains you points.  But if you're getting walloped
  and want a breather, run from slow monsters and jump over low ones.

* Avoid facing the Gargantuan Phlegm Launcher until the last possible
  moment.  That way you can survive his hits, cross the room, and get
  your chops in.

* You've got nothing to fear from the Pit Fiend if you're carrying all
  the magic charms.

* Practice your moves between battles.  Mastery of all the chops, kicks,
  and evasive maneuvers is your best bet for staying alive.


Mapping

  The Valley of Despair, the Caverns, and the Dungeon levels are mazes.
The Valley has 26 battle areas, the Caverns have 28 areas, and the
Dungeon has 27 areas.

  Each battle area is a separate screen.  Explore all the screens by
walking right or left off one screen and onto another, and by walking
through archways at the backs of the screens.  If you're hesitant with
your axe, monsters can push, kick, or batter you into adjoining screens.

  The north, south, east, and west orientation changes from screen to
screen.  The sword at the bottom of the screen acts as a compass and
reorients for each screen with the sword tip pointing north.

[ Map entitled "Valley of Despair (Level 1)" omitted ]

  A warning pulses at the bottom of the screen when you reach the exit
to the next level.  Don't walk onto the next level without gathering the
two magic charms in this level!  Once you leave a level, you can't
return to it.

  Exploration is easier if you map the levels.  Use the maps of the
Valley of Despair and the Caverns to get the hang of mapping techniques.
The Valley of Despair map shows all archways and most of the pits and
rivers.  The Caverns map shows all the archways, but you'll need to add
in the pits and cave crud.  In both maps, the arrows point to the back
of the screens.  For the Dungeon and Drax's Subterranean Sanctum, you're
on your own.

[ Map entitled "The Caverns (Level 2)" omitted ]

Scoring

  You score points for each successful blow.  The points awarded depend
on difficulty and execution of the move.  Since some monsters are harder
to destroy, some monsters are worth more points.

  When you either axe Drax or run out of lives, the game ends and the
high score table appears.  If your score is higher than one of the
scores on the table, you can enter your name or initials.

  On the Commodore 64/128, move the joystick handle up or down to scroll
through the alphabet, then press the fire button to select each letter.
On the Atari ST, type your initials from the keyboard, then press
Return.

  Press the fire button to start a new game.  The high score table is
saved until you turn the computer off.


Important Information

Axe of Rage game design and conception by Steve Brown.  Graphics by
Steve Brown and Jo Walker with additional work by Lorne Campbell.  The
Atari ST version programmed by IDS Consultants.  The Commodore 64/128
version programmed by Rob Stevens.  Axe of Rage game manual by the
writing team at Epyx, Inc.

Epyx, Fast Load, and Axe of Rage are trademarks of Epyx, Inc.  Atari ST
is a trademark of Atari Corporation.  Commodore 64 and Commodore 128 are
trademarks of Commodore Electronics Limited.  Axe of Rage game program
copyright 1988 by Palace Software, Ltd.  Manual copyright 1989 by Epyx,
Inc.  All rights reserved.  Reproduction of all or any portion of this
manual is not allowed without the specific written permission of Epyx,
Inc.

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End of the Project 64 etext of the Axe of Rage manual.

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