S.A.C. Alert [Model 3135]

S.A.C. Alert [Model 3135] © 1983 Amiga Corp.

You start the game with three planes and 99 units of fuel. Fuel acts like a timer in this game, and you will crash if it runs out. In addition to a fuel gauge you also have altimeter showing how high above the ground you are (0 to 50). Being higher lets you shoot down planes, while being lower lets you shoot ground targets). Be careful though, if your altitude hits zero the ground will turn black and you will crash after a few seconds. There are also two warning lights on either side of the status bar, these lights will alert you to different dangers. They will flash red if you are too low to the ground (under 9), yellow if you’re running low on fuel (under 20), and orange if you’ve taken heavy damage.

There are three types of enemies in the game. Planes patrol the air and will swoop towards you, fire, and run off. Taking these guys out is easiest when they’re doing their swooping motion as they’ll present the biggest target. In addition to planes there are anti-aircraft guns (land) and destroyers (sea) that appear at the beginning of the game, but won’t actually start firing at you until the third mission. If you’ve taken too many damage you can attempt to land for repairs. To land you need to fly low and look for either a runway (land) or carrier (sea) and line up with it. Once you’re low enough and lined up with the runway, pull up to land. It take a bit of getting used to, but it’s not that hard after a few times. Once you’ve lost all your lives you will be given a final ranking (crew, pilot, or ace) and rated on your performance (0-9).