                                    SHAMUS
                              by William Mataga

                     Shamus (c) 1983 by Synapse Software
                Atari is a registered trademark of Atari, Inc.
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                                LOADING SHAMUS

For Cassette:
Make sure you have a least 16K of memory, and have removedd the basic
cartridge from the left hand slot.

Insert the game cassette with SIDE A facing up. (This is the side with the
label on it). Press the play button down on the cassette recorder. Press the
(START) key on your computer as you turn on the power switch. After you hear
the "beep" press (RETURN).

SHAMUS will take approximately 4-5 minutes to load.

If you should have any difficulty loading the program from SIDE a, simply flip
over the cassette, making sure to rewind it and load the program from SIDE B.

For Disks:
Make sure that you have at least 16K of memory and that the BASIC cartridge
has been removed. Insert the SHAMUS disk and simply boot it up.

For Cartridges:
Make sure you have 16K of memory. Plug the cartridge into the left hand slot,
close the cover and turn on the computer.

Starting the Game:
To start playing press (START) at any time after the music begins.

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                              OBJECT OF THE GAME

The object of the game is to reach the very core of SHADOW's lair and destroy
him. This is accomplished by progressively exploring the various colored
levels of the lair and accumulating the greatest number of points, bonuses and
extra lives.

In order to overcome all of the obstacles and dangers that infest the lair and
triumph in the final battle with SHADOW you must familiarize yourself with all
32 room of each of the colored levels and retrieve the coreect colored keys
for all of the passages. This is the only way to gain entry from one level to
another.

Unlike trxt adventure games, SHAMUS can only be mastered by a long and arduous
training perios, in which your reflexes are sharpened to a point where you can
deal with the incredible speed and viciousness of the attacks of the SHADOW
and his henchmen.

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Shamus
You are the SHAMUS. You may move in any of eight directions by using the
joystick connected to JOYSTICK PORT 1. You may shoot your ION-SHIVS in any of
eith directions by pressing the TRIGGER button on your JOYSTICK and then
moving the stick in the desired direction.

ION-SHIVS (Ionic-Short High Intensity Vaporizers)
These weapons are banned in every part of the galaxy. They totally
disintegrate any life form upon contact, unless shielded by Tri-Gamma body
armor. CAUTION: You can only have TWO ION-SHIVS on the screen at any one time.

Whirling Drones
Never underestimate the ferocity of whirling drones. They are sneaky, and
intensely sensitive to movement within the passages of the LAIR. They are
armed with molecular disruptors.

Robo-Droids
Relatively slow moving semi-mechanical androids. These droids are methodical
and never give up. They are also armed with distruptors.

Snap-Jumpers
These self-propelled annihilators, cannot "think". This feature however makes
them all the more dangerous. They are a strange mutation who exist
simultaneously, in two dimensions. They "snap" in and out of your time-space
continuum and are therefore unpredictable and because of this quality
extremely quick. Their speed makes them VERY DANGEROUS.

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The Lair
The LAIR consists of four levels of thirty two rooms each. The colors in order
of progressive difficulty are BLACK, BLUE, GREEN and RED.

As you progress from one level to the next the action increases in speed to
the insanely fast LEVEL RED. You gain extra points for completely clearing
each room of intruders.

Keys and Keyholes
Each of the colored levels of the LAIR contains various colored keys which are
paired with matching colored keyholes. These keys are picked up by SHAMUS by
touching them. As they are touched they are displayed in the right hand bottom
of the screen. When encountering a KEYHOLE of the matching color, SHAMUS
merely makes contact with the keyhole and the wall retracts permitting you to
proceed through the LAIR. If the wall does not drop you have not obtained the
correct color coded key. You must retrace your way through the LAIR to find
the key, otherwise you will not be permitted past the KEYHOLE.

Extra Lives
The current number of lives are displayed in the upper right hand corner of
the screen. If you encounter a bubbling bottle in a room you need merely to
touch it to obtain an extra life. You may accumulate as many extra lives as
your skill allows.

Question Marks
By passing over these pulsating questions makrs you will invite either bonuses
or disaster!

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The Shadow
The arch-villian himself is constantly monitoring your activities in his LAIR
(He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake, etc.)

Be extremely careful when you hear a low pitched pulsing being. This is a
signal that SHADOW is about to enter the room. You cannot kill SHADOW since he
wears TRI-GAMMA armor. You can however, stun him. He remains stunned only for
a short time, after which you had better move quickly.

Only in the deepest recesses of LEVEL RED will you find the answer to this
puzzle!

Pod Rooms
These rooms exist in another dimension and there is only a small time window
through which to gain entrance.

Skill Levels
There are four levels of play. These are selected by pressing the (SELECT)
button. Each level is SUBSTANTIALLY more difficult than the last, so choose
wisely.

Playing Tips

1. Observe the various characteristics of your opponents, and take advantage
   of their weaknesses.
2. Practice, practice, practice.
3. Play with a friend who can keep track of where you are in the LAIR, while
   you fight for your life.
4. Retain your sense of humor!

If anyone can overcome the SHADOW, only the SHAMUS can. Good luck!!!!

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SHAMUS
Four levels on intense arcade action
Requires Atari 800 or 400 with 16K and joysticks.

You've finally made it. Your nerves and your guts tell you he's here... and
the smell. The sickeningly sweet ordor of decomposing fruit; the SHADOW's
trademark. Now all that's left... to find and destroy him before he returns
the compliment.

You didn't know it was going to be this hard. After all, it is the 21st
century and your ION-SHIVS are probably the most dangerous weapons in this
part of the galaxy. They can drop a fully screened sniffer-droid at 300
meters!

Out of the corner of your eye, a small black shape darts up to the door and
noiselessly enters the builing across the rocket pad. The memory of your last
encounter with the Shadow jolts you, like a neuro-stunner set on max. Images
of ROBO-DROIDS, that just don't know when to quit... dark, sneaky WHIRLING
DRONES from a timeslip star system... and the lightening quick SNAP-JUMPERS,
that fry you for looking at them cross-eyed, flicker through your mind. Still
you've handled them before... The big boy himself, SHADOW, is the one you're
after!

As you silently enter the door coordinates into your teleporter, the scanner
indicates that there are four colored levels of 32 rooms each, and every room
is bristling with danger. You know it won't be a high school prom when you
transport into the Shadow's lair, but there is no turning back. So with a grim
chuckle, you reach for the bottle of Nervo-Stim and energize the transporter.
You're ready as the Stim slides down warmly and your biosensors click into
high gear!

Tell the Shadow that SHAMUS is here!

synapse
(415) 527-7751

Shamus (c) 1983 by Synapse Software
Atari is a registered trademark of Atari, Inc.

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Manual keyed in by Michael E Brown (mbrown@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca)
March 10, 1997.

On my Atari 800XL I needed to run the Translator disk before I could run
Shamus.

(Morbid's ed note:  Regarding POD rooms, you must shoot the object in the center of the
room (through the time-hole) in order to gain further access)