Acrobat Mission

1991, developed by UPL

The players takes controls on one of two surviving fighters pilots, 'Jet' a male pilot and 'Nova' a female pilot and both flying the Icarus, a fast and powerful space-fighter, which comes equipped with a Standard laser. Two more weapons are available throughout the game - the wide shot (W) which spreads out in front of the ship and the Hurricane shot (H) which fires clusters of rotating balls of energy. Holding the fire button charges up a special attack and each weapon features a different energy blast and damage factor. The ships can also hold a maximum of two smart-bombs, one under each wing - although they can be activated by the players, they also do fall off easily and can be detonated by enemy shots. Interestingly, the Icarus can't collide with other ships or any part of the scenery - instead, it bounces off and only suffers damage from enemy shots. However, once the shield is depleted, the ship will fly out of control for a few seconds and grant the players a last chance to inflict damage to any remaining enemies before it explodes.