Condor (c) 1981 Sidam.
Condor is a vertical shooter sharing many similarities with both Namco's 'Galaxian' and Taito's 'Space Invaders'. The player pilots a lone ship that can only move left and right along the bottom of the screen, the majority of Condor's enemies are small bird-like crafts that fly and attack in formation - in a fashion very similar to the aliens of 'Galaxian'. Condor adds to the basic formula by including large multi-part enemies (the 'Condors' themselves), a 'shield' button (that takes seven seconds to 'regenerate' after use) and a large mothership level. The additional gameplay elements seem to be at the expense of hardware performance. Despite having more basic graphics than 'Galaxian', Condor's ships move in a very mechanical fashion compared to the smooth, nicely animated movements of Namco's classic.

>>> TECHNICAL DETAILS
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Main CPU : Z80 (@ 2.75 Mhz)
Sound Chips : TMS36XX (@ 0.372 Khz), Discrete
Screen orientation : Vertical
Video resolution : 208 x 248 pixels
Screen refresh : 60.00 Hz
Palette colors : 256
Players : 2
Control : 2-way joystick
Buttons : 2

>>> TRIVIA
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Official releases :
Phoenix (Amstar Electronics Corp.)
Phoenix [Maxi model] (Centuri, Inc.)
Phoenix [Upright model] (Centuri, Inc.)
Phoenix [Japanese Cocktail Table] (Taito Corp.)
Bootlegs/hacks :
Phoenix (Irecsa G.G.I Corp.)
Phoenix (T.P.N.)
Griffon (Videotron)
Falcon (BGV)
Vautour (Jeutel)
Condor (Sidam)
Batman Part 2

>>> GAME UPDATES
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Condor adds a timer for each round in the form of a fuel gauge.
- SCORING -
Scoring is a little complicated in this game due to the fact it depends on hits made and how close the Condors are to your fighter.
Condor fighters : 20, 40, or 80 points; 200 points if flying as a bird.
Condor birds : 50 or 100 points/egg, 100 - 800 points/bird (depends on how many wings shot off and distance from fighter).
Spacefortress : 1000 - 9000 points (depends on how close the Spacefortress is to your fighter when you kill the alien).

>>> TRICKS AND TIPS
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* When you start the game, your fighter will be in the middle at the bottom of the screen. You will see a formation of enemy fighters at the top of the screen. This is the beginning of wave 1. A quick note about the shield. It lasts a couple of seconds and takes about five seconds to regenerate again.
WAVES 1 AND 2 :
1) You will usually be attacked by multiple fighters at any one time. The movements of these fighters is pretty random.
2) In addition to dropping bombs on your fighter, Condor fighters also tend to try to ram your fighter.
3) After you clear out a few fighters, they will reassemble at the top of the screen. They will then move in sync with each other as they creep to the bottom of the screen.
4) Sometimes a Condor fighter will hover right above your ship. If you're quick, you can get off a quick shot and move away before a bomb can be dropped on you.
5) If multiple Condor fighters are at your level, use the shield to clear a path through them.
WAVE 3 AND 4 :
1) The Condors in wave 3 enter the screen in a zig-zag pattern while the Condors in wave 4 arrive in a cross-over pattern of four Condors per side.
2) Once they get large, they start to do erratic zig-zag patterns across the screen. At the same time, they are dropping bombs toward your fighter. Your goal is to shoot off their wings. If you do this, it forces them to go straight down until the wing regenerates. They will still be dropping bombs, but at least they will be going straight down.
3) If at all possible, try to hit the Condors when they are close to your ship. Doing this gets you more points.
4) In addition, try to shoot off both wings before destroying a Condor for more points.
WAVE 5 :
1) Your goal on this wave is to cut through the hull and shield and take out the alien inside.
2) Start firing as rapidly as you can to quickly cut through the hull. It will take quite a few shots to get to the shield.
3) The shield rotates so you will have to hit it a lot of times in order to get a wide enough hole in it to hit the alien.
4) As all of this is going on, the Spacefortress is continually descending upon your ship. In addition, the escorts are constantly harassing you.
5) A good strategy is that once you have cut a path through the hull and shield, wait for the Spacefortress to be almost on top of your ship. When you take out the alien, you will get a lot more points.
6) Destroying the escorts does not end this wave. Once you complete wave 5, the cycle begins anew.
* During the game three birds will attack all in a line. Let those birds fly all the way to the bottom and start to fly back up. As they are flying up, shoot all three in a row real quick (2 or 3 seconds) and your score will be set to 204,000 regardless of what your current score is - The best way to get this bonus for shooting the three birds in a line is on the second stage of level 2. The blue and pink birds in an oval shape. Just wait, not firing at the bottom of the screen. A single bird will come down, fanny around and then fly back up, then 4 birds will fly down together in a line. When they start to fly back up - blast three of them for the bonus. It works best here because of the rapid fire allowed on this and every other 2nd stage. In addition, accomplishing the trick a second time again puts your score at 204,000, even if your score was higher.

>>> OTHER GAME RESOURCES
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Game's rom.
F.A.Q. by Kevin Butler A.K.A. War Doc