+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
                       | A S T R O   B L A S T E R |
                       +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

              GAME:  ASTRO BLASTER
          PLATFORM:  ARCADE
             GENRE:  ARCADE SHOOTER
           CREATOR:  SEGA/GREMLIN Copyright 1981
AUTHOR OF THIS FAQ:  Kevin Butler AKA War Doc
            E-MAIL:  kevinb(at)technologist(dot)com
       FAQ VERSION:  1.0

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                              TABLE OF CONTENTS

    UNIT   I:  INTRODUCTION

1.  Legal Stuff
2.  Version Information
3.  Acknowledgements
4.  Welcome
5.  Overview

    UNIT  II:  GAME INFORMATION

6.  The Game

    6.1  The Controls
    6.2  The Playing Field
    6.3  Scoring
    6.4  Game Versions
    6.5  Sectors and Bonuses

    UNIT III:  STRATEGIES

7.  Playing the Game

    UNIT  IV:  CONCLUSION

8.  Conclusion

_______________________________________________________________________________

To find a particular chapter or subchapter do the following:

1.  Highlight the chapter or subchapter name you wish to find.
2.  Press CTRL-C
3.  Press CTRL-F
4.  Press CTRL-V
5.  Press CTRL-F
5.  You will arrive at the desired chapter or subchapter.

_______________________________________________________________________________

                                **************
********************************* U N I T  I **********************************
                                **************
+=================+
| 1.  LEGAL STUFF |============================================================
+=================+

This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal
private use.  It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advanced permission from the author.  Use of this guide on
any other web site or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and
a violation of copyright.  All content in this guide is Copyright 2004 by
Kevin Butler.  Only the sites listed below have permission to publish this
work or to display it:

www.gamefaqs.com
www.cheats.de
faqs.ign.com

If you wish to put this guide on your site, e-mail me and ask.  Save yourself
the headache of putting up with lawsuits and whatnot because you failed to ask
a simple "Can I post your guide on <insert site>?".  If you wish to use info
in this guide, please acknowledge that you have done so.  If I don't respond or
I say no, accept it as fact.  This especially goes out to Dave at
www.cheatcc.com since he has a habit of taking guides without permission.  In
addition, do not modify this guide in any way whatsoever to suit your purposes.
The latest version can always be found at www.gamefaqs.com.

If you see this guide on any other site then the one listed above, please
e-mail me.  If you wish to ask questions or give input to this guide, please
e-mail me.  Just have Astro Blaster as the subject so I know it isn't another
kooky vendor trying to sell me hair gel or another XXX site telling me I have
new friends.

+=========================+
| 2.  VERSION INFORMATION |====================================================
+=========================+

Version 1.0   2/26/04:  A guide is born.

+======================+
| 3.  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |=======================================================
+======================+

The following are a list of people or organizations that have made this FAQ
possible:

My wonderful family (who has had to put up with the tapping on the keyboard)
Sega/Gremlin for making a great arcade game
GameFAQ's for putting up this FAQ

+=============+
| 4.  WELCOME |================================================================
+=============+

Welcome to my FAQ for Astro Blaster.  Since the game has you continuously going
through the sectors and waves until all your men are killed, there is no walk-
through per se.  Instead it will be broken up into the game itself and
strategies for survival.  Input is appreciated along with constructive
criticism.  If you wish to e-mail me thoughts on this FAQ, better ways of doing
things, other strategies, etc., feel free.  Make sure you put Astro Blaster as
the subject.  If you don't, I'm liable to discard the e-mail as spam.

+==============+
| 5.  OVERVIEW |===============================================================
+==============+

Astro Blaster was one of the big contributions from Sega/Gremlin.  Utilizing
speech synthesis, the game attracted players by stating "Fighter pilots needed
in sector wars, play Astro Blaster".  During game play, the game gave you
different advice such as "Alert, alert, aliens in sector 1, man your battle
stations", "Fuel status marginal", or "Warp activated, 10, 9, 8,..." to name a
few.  Astro Blaster wasn't the first game to introduce speech synthesis in a
game, that honor goes to Berzerk.  Astro Blaster, though, challenged the player
to go through seven sectors with a varying amount of waves within each sector.
In addition, there were three versions of this game released that varied the
order that the aliens appeared within each wave.  Although Astro Blaster was
an extremely challenging game, it developed a solid following.  It wasn't as
popular as Frogger, which was released later on, but it still had a solid
showing and redefined how space shooters could be made more challenging.  Other
notable games released in this year were Donkey Kong, Galaga, Vanguard, and
Wizard of Wor.  Good luck protecting your assigned sector from the aliens.

                               ***************
******************************** U N I T  II **********************************
                               ***************

+==============+ 
| 6.  THE GAME |===============================================================
+==============+ 

Astro Blaster is a two-dimensional, space shooter style game.  Your job is to
protect the various sectors from the hoards of invading aliens.  With over 25
types of aliens ready to reduce your star ship to space dust, you are the last
line of defense.  Armed only with your trusty laser cannon and the ability to
"warp" the area you are currently in, you must battle your way through seven
sectors to be a true space hero.  Doesn't a desk job look so much better?

 ____________________
/ 6.1  The Controls /__________________________________________________________
--------------------

The controls on this game are very easy.  It may, though, take just a little
bit of time to get used to them.

-  Two buttons for moving left and right

-  A fire button

-  A warp button

 _________________________
/ 6.2  The Playing Field /_____________________________________________________
-------------------------

Astro Blaster consists of one field.  It is on this playing field that you take
care of the alien invaders.  At the end of each sector, you will be given the
chance to dock with the mother ship to refuel your star ship.  I have included
an example of both screens:

                             << DURING BATTLE >>

    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
    |                                                                   |
    |  +-------------------------------------------------------------+  |
    |  |              __                                             |  |
    |  |             |  |                                            |  |
    |  |            /____\<-ALIEN SPACECRAFT                         |  |
    |  |                                                             |  |
    |  |                                                             |  |
    |  |                                                             |  |
    |  |                                                             |  |
    |  |                                                             |  |
    |  |                                                             |  |
    |  |                                                             |  |
    |  |                                                             |  |
    |  |                                                             |  |
    |  |                                                             |  |
    |  |                                                             |  |
    |  |                         --                                  |  |
    |  |                        /  \                                 |  |
    |  |                       |    |                                |  |
    |  |                       |/||\|                                |  |
    |  |                      || || ||<-YOUR STAR SHIP               |  |
    |  |                      ||-||-||                               |  |
    |  +-------------------------------------------------------------+  |
    |    SHIPS LEFT             S E C T O R  #                          |
    |   _____________________________________________________________   |
    |  [_____________________________________________________________]  |
    |                       FUEL ^         V TEMP                       |
    |                     __________________________                    |
    | PLAYER #1 SCORE    [__________________________]   PLAYER #2 SCORE |
    |                                                                   |
    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+

                            << DURING DOCKING >>

    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
    |                                                                   |
    |  +-------------------------------------------------------------+  |
    |  |        | |                 |  |                  | |        |  |
    |  |        | +-----------------+  +------------------+ |        |  |
    |  |        | +-----------------+  +------------------+ |        |  |
    |  |        | |                 |  |<-MOTHER SHIP     | |        |  |
    |  |        | |                 |  |                  | |        |  |
    |  |        | |                /|  |\                 | |        |  |
    |  |        | |              /  |  |  \               | |        |  |
    |  |        +-+            /     ||     \             +-+        |  |
    |  |        /            /       ||       \             \        |  |
    |  |       /             |                 |             \       |  |
    |  |      /               \               /               \      |  |
    |  |     /                 \             /                 \     |  |
    |  |    /                   \           /                   \    |  |
    |  |   /                                                     \   |  |
    |  |  /                      --                               \  |  |
    |  | /                      /  \                               \ |  |
    |  |/                      |    |                               \|  |
    |  |                       |/||\|                                |  |
    |  |                      || || ||<-YOUR STAR SHIP               |  |
    |  |                      ||-||-||                               |  |
    |  +-------------------------------------------------------------+  |
    |    SHIPS LEFT             S E C T O R  #                          |
    |   _____________________________________________________________   |
    |  [_____________________________________________________________]  |
    |                       FUEL ^         V TEMP                       |
    |                     __________________________                    |
    | PLAYER #1 SCORE    [__________________________]   PLAYER #2 SCORE |
    |                                                                   |
    +-------------------------------------------------------------------+

You control your star ship through these screens.

 _______________
/ 6.3  Scoring /_______________________________________________________________
---------------

Scoring in this game is relatively complicated in this game.  The reason is
because there are so many things you can get a score for.  Since names weren't
given to the various alien spacecraft, I have named them as to what they
resemble.  Hopefully, the names are descriptive enough so that you can identify
the different types of alien spacecraft.

+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
|          NAME          | POINTS ||          NAME          | POINTS |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| AMOEBAS                |  70    || ORANGE ARROWS          | 100    |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| BLUE&RED DISCS         |  70    || ORANGE CRYSTALS        | 110    |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| BLUE&RED SPIRALS       | 110    || ORANGE DART            | 40/70  |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| BLUE&RED TRIANGLE      | 100    || ORANGE SAUCER          | 50/100 |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| BLUE DIAMOND           | 110    || RED-RINGED GLOBES      | 100    |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| BLUE DISC              |  60    || RUBBER BANDS           |  70    |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| BLUE EYE               |  80    || THIN STARSHIP          |  90    |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| BLUE OVALS             | 120    || WHITE BLOCK            |  70    |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| BLUE HEXAGON           | 110    || WHITE BLOCK            |  70    |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| BLUE UFO'S             | 160/80 || WHITE BOATS            |  90    |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| BLUE X's               |  90    || WHITE SQUARES          | 100    |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| GALAXIANS              | 70/110 || WHITE WINGS            |  60    |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| GREEN DOUBLE ARROWS    |  90    || YELLOW BIRD            |  70    |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| METEOR                 |  60    || YELLOW DOUBLE DIAMONDS |  80    |
+------------------------+--------++------------------------+--------+
| ORANGE&PURPLE SPINNERS | 80/110 ||
+------------------------+--------++

NOTE:  Any scores with that have a "/" and another score afterwards means that
those are the points scored later on in the game.

You also get 100 points per asteroid you take out at the end of the sector.

In addition to getting points for knocking down alien spacecraft, you can also
collect points for secret bonuses.  These are discussed further in Chapter 6.5.

You also get a bonus for fuel remaining when you dock with the mother ship.

NOTE:  During fuel status critical, everything in the game is double points.

You start the game with 2 or 3 star ships in version one and two and 2 to 5
star ships in version three.  No bonus lives are awarded during the game.

 _____________________
/ 6.4  Game Versions /_________________________________________________________
---------------------

Three versions of Astro Blaster were released.  The first version was deemed
too difficult to play (this was pre-Defender days).  Version 2 was released to
remedy this situation and to be a little more descriptive in the games
instructions.  Version 3 was basically the "easy" version of Astro Blaster.

All three versions had some things in common:

-  All the different alien spacecraft were in all of the versions, it was just
   their order of appearance that made a difference.

-  The secret bonuses were common to all three versions.  Just because a sector
   had different waves didn't mean the bonuses for specific events were
   changed.

-  Each had a high score table that held the 99 top scores.

It was easy to spot a version one machine.  The instructions were displayed on
the screen.  When you inserted your money, you just had to press the one or
two-player button to start the game.

On versions two and three, after you inserted your money, a blue screen came
up and basically told you to press the one or two-player button..  It also
explained some of the rules while in attract mode.  The order of the alien
attackers is what determined version two and three.  See Chapter 6.5 for that
information.

 ___________________________
/ 6.5  Sectors and Bonuses /___________________________________________________
---------------------------

Before you play the game, you should know about the following items:

+------------------+
| ALIEN SPACESHIPS |
+------------------+

To make things move easier, I have numbered the alien spacecraft using the
following key.  This key will be used throughout Chapter 6.5.

+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
| AMOEBAS               :   1 | ORANGE ARROWS         :  16 |
| BLUE&RED DISCS        :   2 | ORANGE CRYSTALS       :  17 |
| BLUE&RED SPIRALS      :   3 | ORANGE DART           :  18 |
| BLUE&RED TRIANGLE     :   4 | ORANGE SAUCER         :  19 |
| BLUE DIAMOND          :   5 | RED-RINGED GLOBES     :  20 |
| BLUE DISC             :   6 | RUBBER BANDS          :  21 |
| BLUE EYE              :   7 | THIN STARSHIP         :  22 |
| BLUE HEXAGON          :   8 | TIE FIGHTERS          :  23 |
| BLUE OVAL             :   9 | WHITE BLOCK           :  24 |
| BLUE UFO'S            :  10 | WHITE BOATS           :  25 |
| BLUE X's              :  11 | WHITE SQUARES         :  26 |
| GALAXIANS             :  12 | WHITE WINGS           :  27 |
| GREEN DOUBLE ARROWS   :  13 | YELLOW BIRD           :  28 |
| METEOR                :  14 | YELLOW DOUBLE DIAMONDS:  29 |
| ORANGE&PURPLE SPINNERS:  15 +-----------------------------+
+-----------------------------+

Each alien has a particular way they attack.  Either how they attack or the
direction of their attack.  Listed are the ways some of the alien spaceships
attack:

DR = DROP DOWN ON PLAYER
DD = DROP DOWN AFTER CROSSING THE SCREEN HORIZONTALLY
LR = CROSS THE SCREEN LEFT TO RIGHT
RL = CROSS THE SCREEN RIGHT TO LEFT
DI = CROSS THE SCREEN DIAGONALLY (UPPER CORNER TO LOWER OPPOSITE CORNER)

+--------------------++-------------+
| ALIEN #            || TYPE ATTACK |
+--------------------++-------------+
| 13, 24, 25, 26, 27 || DR          |
+--------------------++-------------+
| 8                  || LR          |
+--------------------++-------------+
| 3, 11              || RL, DD      |
+--------------------++-------------+
| 10, 20             || LR, DD      |
+--------------------++-------------+
| 4, 9, 16, 17, 18   || DI          |
+--------------------++-------------+

+----------------+
| SECRET BONUSES |
+----------------+

As mentioned earlier, each version of Astro Blaster has a certain way the alien
spaceships appear.  In addition, there are certain bonuses one can get for
doing certain actions.  Som of the bonuses are:

+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
| BONUS # | POINTS   | ACTION                                                |
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  03     |   1000   | NOT MISSING AN ALIEN                                  |
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  04     |    700   | FOR THE LR OR RL ATTACKING ALIENS, THEY DON'T MAKE IT |
|         |          | PAST THE EDGE OF THE SCREEN                           |
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  09     | 400-1500 | DOCKING BONUS (THE CLOSER YOU GET TO THE DOCKING ARM, |
|         |          | THE HIGHER THE BONUS)                                 |
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  12     |    700   | FOR NOT LETTING ANY OF THE DR ATTACKING ALIENS MAKE   |
|         |          | IT PAST THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN                      |
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  13     |    500   | SHOOTING THE ALIENS AS THEY APPEAR OR FROM LEFT TO    |
|         |          | RIGHT, BOTTOM TO TOP                                  |
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  14     |   1000   | SHOOTING THE ALIENS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, BOTTOM TO     |
|         |          | TOP                                                   |
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  15     |   1500   | SHOOTING THE ALIENS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, BOTTOM TO     |
|         |          | TOP OR IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE                         |
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  16     |   2000   | SHOOTING THE ALIENS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, BOTTOM TO TOP |
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  17     |   2500   | SHOOTING THE ALIENS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, BOTTOM TO TOP |
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  18     |   3000   | SHOOTING THE ALIENS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE            |
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  19     |   3500   | SHOOTING THE ALIENS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE            |
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  22     |    600   | GOING THROUGH ENTIRE SECTOR WIHTOUT GETTING "LASER    |
|         |          | TEMPERATURE CRITICAL"                                 |
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+
|  25     |    500   | GOING THROUGH ENTIRE SECTOR WITHOUT LOSING A STAR     |
|         |          | SHIP                                                  |
+---------+----------+-------------------------------------------------------+

You can get more then one bonus in each wave.  For instance, if you prevent an
enemy from exiting the bottom of the screen and you don't miss with any of your
shots, then you can get Secret Bonus 03 and 12.

Below are the three versions of Astro Blaster.  Listed are the alien spaceship
numbers (at the beginning of this subchapter) and the Secret Bonus numbers (if
any).  Bonuses 22 and 25 are received right before you dock (if you have earned
them).  All sectors end with and asteroid and fireball shower.  You dock after
this event.  I also won't list Bonus 03 since you can get that in any wave if
you don't miss.

+---------------------------------+
| VERSION 1 ALIEN SPACESHIP ORDER |
+---------------------------------+

A# = ALIEN NUMBER; B# = BONUS NUMBER; W = WAVE NUMBER

      +---------++---------++-------------++---------+     
SECTOR|    1    ||    2    ||    3        ||    4    |
      | A# | B# || A# | B# || A# | B#     || A# | B# |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+--------++----+----+
| W 1 | 19 | 13 ||  6 | 13 || 12 | 15     || 29 | 16 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+--------++----+----+  
| W 2 | 27 | 12 || 24 | 12 ||  2 | 04     || 21 | 16 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+--------++----+----+
| W 3 | 14 | 13 || 22 |    || 25 | 12, 15 || 20 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+--------++----+----+
| W 4 | 18 | 04 || 27 | 12 ||  5 | 15     ||  1 | 16 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+--------++----+----+
| W 5 |  9 | 04 ||  9 | 04 || 14 | 15     ||  9 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+--------++----+----+
| W 6 |    |    ||    |    || 11 | 04     || 17 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+--------++----+----+
| W 7 |    |    ||    |    ||    |        ||  7 | 16 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+--------++----+----+
| W 8 |    |    ||    |    ||    |        || 13 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+--------++----+----+

      +---------++---------++---------+
SECTOR|    5    ||    6    ||    7    |
      | A# | B# || A# | B# || A# | B# |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 1 |  4 | 04 ||  9 | 04 || 27 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 2 | 26 | 12 ||  8 | 04 || 17 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 3 |  3 | 04 || 18 | 04 || 24 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 4 | 23 | 17 || 14 | 18 || 25 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 5 | 16 | 04 || 10 | 04 || 18 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 6 |    |    || 11 | 04 || 12 | 19 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 7 |    |    ||  4 | 04 || 13 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 8 |    |    || 20 | 04 || 16 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 9 |    |    ||  3 | 04 || 26 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W10 |    |    || 29 | 18 || 22 |    |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+



+---------------------------------+
| VERSION 2 ALIEN SPACESHIP ORDER |
+---------------------------------+

A# = ALIEN NUMBER; B# = BONUS NUMBER; W = WAVE NUMBER

      +---------++---------++---------++---------+     
SECTOR|    1    ||    2    ||    3    ||    4    |
      | A# | B# || A# | B# || A# | B# || A# | B# |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 1 | 19 | 13 ||  6 | 14 || 28 | 15 || 29 | 16 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+  
| W 2 | 27 | 12 || 24 | 12 || 12 | 15 || 21 | 16 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 3 | 14 | 13 || 22 |    ||  2 | 04 || 20 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 4 |  9 | 04 || 18 | 04 || 25 | 12 ||  1 | 16 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 5 |    |    || 10 | 04 ||  5 | 15 ||  9 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 6 |    |    ||    |    || 15 | 15 || 17 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 7 |    |    ||    |    || 11 | 04 ||  7 | 16 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 8 |    |    ||    |    ||    |    || 13 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+

      +---------++---------++---------+
SECTOR|    5    ||    6    ||    7    |
      | A# | B# || A# | B# || A# | B# |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 1 |  8 | 04 ||  9 | 04 || 27 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 2 | 26 | 12 ||  8 | 04 || 18 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 3 |  3 | 04 || 18 | 04 || 24 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 4 | 23 | 17 || 14 | 18 || 25 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 5 | 16 | 04 || 10 | 04 || 18 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 6 |    |    || 11 | 04 || 12 | 19 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 7 |    |    ||  4 | 04 || 13 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 8 |    |    || 20 | 04 || 16 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 9 |    |    ||  3 | 04 || 26 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W10 |    |    || 29 | 18 || 22 |    |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+


+---------------------------------+
| VERSION 3 ALIEN SPACESHIP ORDER |
+---------------------------------+

A# = ALIEN NUMBER; B# = BONUS NUMBER; W = WAVE NUMBER

      +---------++---------++---------++---------+     
SECTOR|    1    ||    2    ||    3    ||    4    |
      | A# | B# || A# | B# || A# | B# || A# | B# |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 1 | 19 | 13 ||  6 | 14 || 12 | 15 || 29 | 16 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+  
| W 2 | 14 | 13 || 22 |    ||  2 | 04 || 24 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 3 |  9 | 04 || 28 | 14 || 25 | 12 || 21 | 16 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 4 |    |    || 10 | 04 ||  5 | 15 || 18 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 5 |    |    ||    |    || 15 | 15 ||  1 | 16 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 6 |    |    ||    |    ||    |    ||  8 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 7 |    |    ||    |    ||    |    ||  7 | 16 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 8 |    |    ||    |    ||    |    || 16 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 9 |    |    ||    |    ||    |    || 22 |    |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----++----+----+


      +---------++---------++---------+
SECTOR|    5    ||    6    ||    7    |
      | A# | B# || A# | B# || A# | B# |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 1 | 27 | 12 ||  9 | 04 || 27 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 2 |  4 | 04 ||  8 | 04 || 18 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 3 | 17 | 04 || 18 | 04 || 24 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 4 | 26 | 12 || 14 | 18 || 25 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 5 |  3 | 04 || 10 | 04 || 18 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 6 | 23 | 17 || 11 | 04 || 12 | 19 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 7 | 16 | 04 ||  4 | 04 || 13 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 8 |    |    || 20 | 04 || 16 | 04 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W 9 |    |    ||  3 | 04 || 26 | 12 |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+
| W10 |    |    || 29 |    || 22 |    |
+-----+----+----++----+----++----+----+

                               ****************
******************************** U N I T  III *********************************
                               ****************

+======================+
| 7.  PLAYING THE GAME |=======================================================
+======================+

When you start the game, your star ship will be in the middle of the screen.
The computer voice will state "Alert, alert, aliens in sector one.  Man your
battle stations".  With that, you are ready to rock and roll.

-  Before you start your game, be sure of what version machine you are playing
   so you can get yourself prepared.  Since each version alters the order of
   the aliens, it's not good to be prepared for one attack and a totally
   different attack comes along.

-  Although the computer voice can be annoying at times, it also gives you very
   valuable information.  This will actually help you to concentrate more on
   destroying aliens then constantly looking at your gauges.  Some helpful
   things the voice will tell you are:

   -  When your fuel status hits marginal and critical.

   -  When your laser temperature is approaching critical.

   -  The countdown after you activate warp.

-  Fuel is a very precious commodity in this game.  If you run out of fuel,
   your game is over regardless of how many star ships you have left.  Learn
   how to maximize your fuel usage because in the later sectors that have a lot
   of waves, you will be running on empty.  Some other fuel facts:

   -  When you activate warp, only the enemies on the screen slow down.  Your
      fuel supply continues to burn away in "real" time.

   -  When fuel status marginal is announced, you have approximately nine
      seconds of fuel.

   -  When fuel status critical is announced, you have approximately three
      seconds of fuel.

   -  Shooting the fireballs in the asteroid wave will get you three more
      seconds of fuel.

   -  You score double points during fuel status critical.

   -  At the end of each sector, you will be re-fueled when you dock with the
      mothership.

   -  Losing a star ship doesn't replenish your fuel supply.

-  The warp button can be a blessing or a curse depending on how you use it.
   You only get one warp per sector or one per star ship.  This works fine on
   the lower sectors that only have a few waves.  On the higher sectors,
   though, you must plan (if possible) the best place to utilize it.  Some
   tips:

   -  If it is used on an enemy that goes across the screen, wait until they
      are halfway across before activating the warp.  This way, you can get
      them all before your warp time runs out.

   -  If used on the diagonal flying aliens, again, wait until a lot of them
      are out before activating.

   -  For other aliens, make sure they are mostly on the screen.  Sometimes,
      these aliens disappear off screen and if you activated your warp too
      early, it will be wasted while they hang around outside of the playing
      area.

-  There are no safe places in this game so you must always be on the look out
   for not only the aliens dropping on you, but also their laser fire.

-  Speaking of laser fire, your star ship is equipped with a pretty powerful
   laser cannon.  There is no limit to the amount of shots you can fire.  Of
   course, there is a downside.  Your laser cannon heats up with each shot
   fired.  If you fire too many, you may cause your cannon to overheat.  If
   that occurs, you have to wait (about two to three seconds) for it to cool
   off again.  Some ways to prevent overheating:

   -  Make your shots count.  Don't hold down the fire button to take out the
      aliens.  Shoot to kill, not to warn.

   -  If you must do multiple shots, do it in short bursts.  Your laser heats
      up much faster then it cools down.

   -  If you do overheat, just avoid the aliens and their fire until your laser
      is operational again.

-  Docking is the easiest way to get a lot of points.  You need to set yourself
   up after the last of the asteroids in order to get those points.  Moving
   your ship during docking procedures will prevent you from getting any
   docking bonus.  The most points are from the "Paint Scraper" method:

   -  Line up your left engine over the "C" in SECTOR.  It will look like you
      will collide with the left docking arm but you will barely squeeze by.
      Thus, you now have 1,500 points.

-  Also, if you destroy your star ship during docking, your game will be over
   regardless of the number of men you have left.

-  Always expect the unexpected in this game.  Sometimes the aliens will do
   things or make moves you haven't seen before.  The best way to counter this
   is to always be on guard.

-  After sector seven, the sectors repeat again.  Also, the score "rolls over"
   at 99,990.  Many players will intentionally get themselves killed when they
   get close to this score in order to claim the number one position on the
   board.

                               ****************
********************************  U N I T  IV *********************************
                               ****************

+================+
| 8.  CONCLUSION |=============================================================
+================+

Astro Blaster has to rank as one of my all time favorite games.  The fast pace
coupled with the vast variety of alien spaceships served to make this game a
real challenge.  In addition, one had to keep track of not only the aliens, but
also things such as fuel status and laser temperature.  If that wasn't enough,
you also had to be familiar with how the waves were set up on not only one, but
three different versions of the game.  When this game came out, we were used to
the "simple" space shooters such as Galaxian and Space Invaders.  Sega broke
that mold by putting out Astro Blaster.  The game served as a challenge to any-
one who played it.  The synthesized voice would give you status reports while
you were busy blasting away the aliens while trying to remember what was in
that next wave.  Overall, it was a great challenge and it definitely tested
one's patience.  Unfortunately, it is very rare to find this machine anywhere.
However, through the miracle of emulation, a whole new generation is realizing
what we "old" folks enjoyed those many years ago.  In addition,
www.shockwave.com is bringing many of these classic games back.  Check out
their site to see what ones are there.  I hope this guide helps you in being
able to get the most amount of gameplay for this game.  If you do have other
ideas or thoughts, please e-mail me and share them.  Who knows, maybe I'll
start a Q&A Chapter in this guide if enough people ask the same questions.
Anyway, thank you again for reading this guide.

To see other FAQ's I have written please go to:

           http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/32691.html

           ~~~  No trees were harmed in the making of this FAQ ~~~