Stage Five starts off reasonably peacefully.. high
above an enemy fleet below - Layer Section-style- and
out of harm's way for now. A kind of calm before the storm..

You soon realise that this level is an utter and complete
nightmare.. the ravine which you are patrolling is brimming
with rapid-firing alien hardware! Take out these ledge-bound
gun turrets by blasting the TNT (skull and crossbones) for
a bit of temporary relief (inset - top left)

Hectic is not the word! Everyone and their dog is out to
get you here.. sometimes the screen is so jam-packed
with enemy bullets from various angles you wonder
if you'll ever make it past the stage..

The canyon section seems to last forever.. but you finally
make it to this town where rail-based tanks appear along
with more gun turrets. That green spaceship is a sod..
sprays you with bullets and takes ages to kill..

Yikes! All of a sudden the ground errupts and out pops this huge gun-toting train boss. Made me jump first time it happened too.. ;)

Words cannot express how much of a git this boss is.
The whole thing is divided into about four sections, each
brimming with enough firepower to toast a small country.
This is the first section.. you have to take out each and every
gun turret to proceed. Dying here means back to the start..

Another section pits you against these blue zappy things..
while being harrassed by the gold flying.. er.. object (top left)
which nicks your ship if it catches you. It's true..

Finally you make it to the end section after a battle of Titanic
Lance proportions. I actually had to resort to the two-player
cheat here 'cos it was so hard. I mean look at all the stuff it
flings at you. Tsk tsk.. most anti-social.