Xerix

Player notes

About this game

Xerix is a scrolling space shooter in which you dodge or destroy alien craft, avoid projectiles and defeat a guardian at the end of each level. Its difficulty choice changes how failure works: Novice gives unlimited attempts, while Expert begins with three lives and awards another after a completed level. A new life resumes near the point where the ship was destroyed.

Use the arrow keys to move and Space to fire. Diagonal movement works by combining directions. Mouse control makes the ship chase a pointer, and either mouse button fires. The manual notes that repeated taps fire faster than simply holding the button, and shots cannot pass through the red remains of a destroyed alien.

Choose N for Novice or E for Expert when the difficulty prompt appears. Space also advances past the title and text sequences. Allow a moment after a new text screen appears before skipping it. P pauses those text sequences; Escape during action ends the current game and returns to the title. Start on Novice to learn the enemy patterns without exhausting a small reserve of ships.