Alien Vortex

Alien Vortex is a 1-player arcade game for the VIC-20.

It is the 23rd Century and, due to the tremendous advances made in robot technology, unemployment is running at 99.9%. To relieve the incredible boredom, the Interstellar Ruling Supreme Council has set up huge gambling arcades where fortunes can be won or lost and, due to 300% inflation, money has been replaced by credit discs.

From time to time, people run up an outstanding debt, and as a way of providing an alternative to concrete ankle socks, the State Cultural Protectors devised "The Game". Inhabitants with no means of repaying their huge debt are allowed to "gamble" their lives. They are transported to Launch Base 3, and sealed into a Zelton 3 Earth Defender and attacked by waves of mutant birds by crossing llama with pelicans.

The player controls a small vessel that moves laterally at the bottom of the screen, and fires vertically forwards. Waves of enemy vessels appear, and move rapidly about the screen to fire at the player. The player must destroy these vessels or allow them to fly off the bottom of the screen. The player starts with 3 lives.