HEADS-UP
© 1983, GCE Vectrex

Take the ultimate soccer challenge... without ever leaving your seat! Play with a friend or tackle the computer itself in an action-packed soccer game that takes all the concentration, strategy and split-second reactions of the real thing! You're in control as the realistic, dimensional players get the ball down the field by passing, bouncing and kicking it back and forth to one another -- just like a real soccer game!
HEADS-UP! And get ready for an exciting and demanding soccer tournament... complete with the roar of the crowd!
CONTROLS

For two-player simultaneous game play, a second control panel is needed.

Joystick | Controls the player, on offense or defense, with the dot over his head.
Button 1 | Not used.
Button 2 | Not used.
Button 3 | Offense shoot/defense goalie. When on offense, this button releases a shot at the goal. On defense, press and hold this button while using the joystick to control movement of the goalie.
Button 4 | Offense pass/defense switch. When on offense, this button releases a pass to another team-mate. On defense, this button transfers control of the joystick among the three defensive players.

SKILL LEVEL SELECTION

You can begin Heads-Up at any of three different skill levels. Level 1 is the least difficult and level 3 is the most difficult. To select a skill level, press button 2.

STARTING GAME PLAY

Once you have selected the number of players and the skill level, press button 4 for kick-off. In a one player game, you always control the brightly lit players and the computer controls the dimly lit players. In a two-player game, the built-in control panel controls the brightly lit players and the second control panel controls the dimly lit players.

GAME PLAY

Listen to the roar of the crowd, Head-Up is about to begin! [They sure are proud of that roar, aren't they? :) ] The objective is to kick the ball into the opposing team's net and score as often as possible when on offensive -- and prevent the opposing players from kicking the ball into YOUR goal when on defense. Just like the real pros!
Each team has three players on the field and one goalie who remains in his goalie box. The joystick controls the player, on offense or defense, who has a dot over his head. The offensive man who has the ball will be the controllable player and will have the dot over his head. The defensive player who is controllable has a dot over his head and is switchable among the three players by pressing button 4.

THE GAME FIELD

The "scrolling" effect of the Heads-Up playing field is specially designed to create a feeling of real soccer play. You'll never see the entire field at once.
[A rough description of the playing field: You start around the Center Circle and the Center Line. On either side of the playing field are the goals for the two teams. The outer square is the Goal Area and the inner square is the Goalie Zone. Above the playing field are three sets of numbers. They are the Left Team Score, Clock, and the Right Team Score. Below the playing field is the Period Indicator.]

THE KICK-OFF

When the teams are lined up for kick-off, the team with the center man furthest from the center line is the offensive team. On start-up, the team on the right side of the screen is always on offense. The kick-off, started by pressing button 4, brings the center player to the ball. He kicks it either to the top or bottom team-mate. When the ball is caught, the two remaining offensive players begin moving in a pattern and will travel down the field as long as the goal line is not in view.

PASSING & SHOOTING

Get ready! Here comes a pass right at you! The offensive team may dribble, pass or shoot the ball in any direction by pointing the joystick in that direction. A pass will travel in the direction the joystick is pointing when button 4 is pressed. A pass slows in speed as it travels and will eventually come to a stop if it is not caught.
To kick or shoot the ball, press button 3 in the same way as for a pass. Any player, offense or defense, coming in contact with the ball can take possession when the ball is passed or kicked. (A kick travels faster than a pass.)
Use the scrolling effect of the game to your advantage when you pass or shoot. Remember, there will always be three players on your team. When a player disappears off the screen, he will reappear on the opposite side -- directly across from the point where he left the screen -- as the field scrolls. When passing, aim for that position.

THE DEFENSIVE PLAYER & DEFENSIVE GOALIE

The defensive player that is controlled by the joystick is the player with the dot over his head. Control can be switched from one defensive player to another by pressing button 4. The defensive player can charge and steal the ball from the offensive player by coming in contact with the ball. The defensive steal is not always automatic!
The defensive goalie can be controlled with the joystick when button 3 is pressed. He'll move up and down in front of the goal in the same direction the joystick is pushed.

THE THROW-IN & OUT-OF-BOUNDS SHOTS

When the ball travels out-of-bounds on the sideline, the team touching the ball last loses possession of the ball and the other team will throw the ball in. When the ball travels out along the end line and the defense touched it last, the offense will have a corner kick. If the offense touched the ball last, the goalie will kick the ball in.
For the throw-in, a player automatically runs to the boundary line and throws the ball into the field to a selected team-mate by pressing button 4.

WATCH THE CLOCK!

The game consists of two consecutive three-minute halves. (Halves are indicated at the bottom center of the screen.) The clock, located at the top center of the screen, only stops when a team scores. If the score happens to be tied at the end of the two halves, be prepared for a Sudden Death overtime! Once in Sudden Death, the game will continue at three minutes per period until a team scores and wins the game.

SCORING

Just like in real soccer, a team earns one point each time it kicks a ball into the goal. When the game ends, the final score is tallied and shown.

Documentation converted to HTML by Parabellum