Crossfire

About Crossfire

The player uses the IJKL keys to move or the joystick (the Atari and Commodore versions are joystick only) and ESDF to shoot left, right, up, and down through the pathways on an evenly-spaced grid of blocks, avoiding incoming fire and dispatching enemies. The player can move and fire in four directions, but can only stop in intersections. The player advances a level when all enemies are destroyed.

Along the left, right, and top sides of the playfield are 16 pockets which release enemies. These enemies emerge and move among the blocks, firing at and attempting to collide with the player. The four types of enemies differ only in appearance, not in power or behavior, and are worth 10, 20, 40, and 80 points respectively. Enemies move and fire in four directions, but are slower than the player and never run out of ammunition.

Within four blocks near the middle of the playfield are orange, spindle-shaped bonus items. Once the player has fired 12 times (after the beginning of the level or after collecting the previous bonus), the item emerges from its block. If it has not been collected after 6 shots, it returns to its block, and no further bonus items will appear in that level. Capturing the bonus items grants 100, 200, 400, and 800 points.