Controls
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Q | Up |
| A | Down |
| O | Left |
| P | Right |
| H | Pause |
| F | Quit |
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
|
Up |
|
Down |
|
Left |
|
Right |
|
Start |
|
Select joystick |
Cosmic Payback
In this 3D platform adventure game, you control a spherical exploration pod on a mission to collect gold and save Earth. Bounce through 15 challenging levels, picking up the gold on checkered tiles. Time your jumps across disappearing platforms. Leap across gaps with launch pads.
Starting a Game
NOTE To play this game using a controller, select Kempston in the Select Joystick menu.
To skip the introductory sequence, press any key on the keyboard, or press the Start button on the controller.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Keyboard | Select keyboard input |
| Kempston | Select controller input |
| Interface II | Select Interface II input |
| Arcade Mode | Play the game in arcade mode |
| Casual Mode | Play the game in casual mode |
| Password Entry | Choose a starting level through entering a level code |
| Start Game | Start the game with the chosen options |
To begin playing the game with a controller, press the Select Joystick button on the menu, then press the Start button.
Level codes can be accessed at the beginning of each level, and used to resume from the same level on a future playthrough.
There are two game modes in Cosmic Payback:
- Arcade Mode: Scored, limited lives
- Casual Mode: No player score, unlimited lives.
Gameplay
Bounce the exploratory pod around the surface of each level, avoiding falling into black space. Collect all the gold on the current level, and reach the portal at the end to progress to the next. Gold can be retrieved by bouncing the pod over flashing checkerboard tiles.
When bouncing, the exploratory pod gains momentum over time. This allows the pod to bounce between larger gaps.
Different tiles in cosmic payback can affect the exploratory pod in different ways:
- Teleporter Tiles: Teleport the pod from one tile to another
- Booster tiles: Propel the pod across a large gap, gaining a large amount of momentum which can be preserved on landing.
- Moving Tiles: Tiles which move in a pattern from one position to another. Carefully time jumps between these tiles transitioning to a new position.
- Breakable Tiles: Tiles which are destroyed when the player has bounced on them once. Once a breakable tile has been destroyed, it will not respawn
- Trigger Tiles: Tiles which trigger an event happening in the level (for instance, changing the path of some of the teleporter tiles in the current level)
Interface
- Score
- Gold remaining
- Lives
Story
EARTH, 2562 A.D.
After centuries of war and suffering, peace slowly began to return to the world. Just as civilization had started to recover, however, another crisis fell upon it - an extra-terrestrial armada pillaged the earth, taking with them virtually all of the known supplies of gold. Society was plunged into chaos - financial markets experienced a recession of unparalleled proportions, electronics production ceased altogether, and people with dental fillings dared not wander out in public.
An international task force was created with the aim of recovering the gold. Scraping together what they could with the miniscule amount that had not been plundered, a shuttle was constructed that would serve justice upon the invaders. It contained a few spherical exploration pods, which would navigate the planetary surface by means of bouncing upon it.
You are responsible for piloting the pods and returning all of the gold to Earth. If this mission fails, humanity will be doomed to return to the Stone Age.
You are our only hope!