PACBOND V
MORE FUN THAN FUN ITSELF
PACBOND V is a free retro arcade game you play in your web browser. From the deck of a landed warship you command one artillery cannon and two machine guns against endless waves of thousands of swarming alien dots, drawn in glowing vector lines like an old arcade screen. No download, no sign-up, no ads.
▶ PLAY PACBOND V
The Story So Far
Captain Pacbond has once again been called to defend humanity, this time from swarming alien greeblies from the planet Inverted Baboon. Put in command of the Galactic Federation of Angry Cupcakes’ monitor-class warship Ford Cortina, he must clear sector ZZPA of these antimatter vermin.
Upgrade your warship as you earn GFAC credits. But beware: if the Inverted Baboonites touch the hull of your warship, they will drop their biological magnetic containment and let their antimatter cores interact with your ship. This isn’t good. In fact, most people consider letting lumps of antimatter touch them a very bad thing. Except, of course, for the French sub-clan of Yriah Tipmra, who consider antimatter to be very tasty, especially when sprinkled on rice.
How to Play
Turn the turret, then raise the barrel to send shells further. Shells fly in a real arc, so the higher you aim the further they go, and nothing shows where they will land: watch the scorch mark each shot leaves and walk your fire onto the swarm. Shells can’t land closer than a short minimum range, so close in, your machine guns, shields and Canister shells protect you. Twenty hits and your ship is destroyed.
Keyboard and mouse
| ← → | turn the turret |
|---|---|
| ↑ ↓ | raise or lower the barrel (they can be swapped in Preferences); Shift for fine adjustment |
| Space | fire (hold to keep firing) |
| Mouse | aim with the pointer, set the range with the wheel, click to fire |
| 1 – 0 | choose a shell from your loadout |
| N, N | launch a Doomsday device |
| P · M | pause · sound on or off |
Touch
Drag anywhere on the field: sideways turns the turret, up and down sets the range. Hold FIRE (or tap the gun) to shoot, and tap a shell icon to switch shells.
Between waves you collect GFAC credits for every kill, plus a countdown bonus for clearing the wave quickly. Spend them on the tech tree, repairs, Canister rounds and Doomsday devices. Unspent credits add to your final score.
Features
- True ballistics, no aiming aid: every shell flies a real parabola, and hills taller than the shell stop it. A shot that just clips a hillside can ricochet.
- Thirteen kinds of shell: High Explosive, Cluster, Mega-cluster, Flechette, Bouncer, Napalm, Cryo, Gravity Well, Volatile Antimatter, Earthshaper, Bunker Buster, Mines and Canister, plus Nuclear and Nova Doomsday devices.
- A cunning swarm: ten enemy types (Basic, Sprinter, Coward, Armoured, Splitter, Flocker, Leech, Ember, Phaser and Burrower) that sneak round the flanks, hide behind hills and charge together. Every tenth wave brings a formation boss: the Lattice, the Wheel, the Arrow, the Hive or the Serpent.
- Destructible terrain: a new battlefield of mountains, mazes and buildings every wave, and every blast wears it down, opening new paths.
- An upgrade tree: recoil dampers, twin barrels, faster and longer-ranged machine guns, shield generators and more, bought with GFAC credits between waves.
- Endless waves: pure score attack, with local high scores and three-letter initials.
- Retro looks and sound: bloom, phosphor trails and a curved CRT screen, colour themes inspired by classic computers (Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Apple II, CGA, Game Boy, Vectrex and more), synthesised sound effects and generative 1960s science-fiction title music.
- Plays anywhere: desktop, laptop, tablet or phone, with keyboard, mouse or touch.
- No tracking: no accounts, no cookies, no analytics. Your settings, high scores and saved run stay in your own browser.
Note
PACBOND V isn’t one of those modern casual games where you can’t die and you get an achievement award every time you press a button. No! PACBOND V is a very uncasual game, it’s like wearing three tuxedos at once. You have to fight to win. If you die, there is no game save, and it will take many plays to figure the game out. But that’s OK, because suffering is a form of happiness for those who like to suffer, and those who like to suffer are often happier than those who use suffering as an easy excuse not to be happy.
History
PACBOND V is the fifth game in the PACBOND series. The first four PACBOND games were for the Commodore 64 and 128 in the 1980s. Then there was a bit of a gap, until now! PACBOND V! Yes!
The Author and The Hikikomori
I wrote my novel, The Hikikomori, to encourage lonely and isolated people. As a bonus, it also teaches how Japanese culture really works.
I designed this game, PACBOND V, to be free and fun. If you enjoy the game, please help me by reading my novel and/or recommending it to your friends. If you know anyone who is lonely or isolated, please get them a copy.
– Mark Vrankovich
Questions
Is PACBOND V free?
Yes. PACBOND V is completely free to play: no ads, no in-game purchases and no account.
Do I need to download anything?
No. PACBOND V runs in your web browser. Open pacbond.com and press START GAME.
Does PACBOND V work on phones and tablets?
Yes. It plays on desktops, laptops, tablets and phones, with keyboard, mouse or touch controls, in portrait or landscape.
Which browsers can run PACBOND V?
Any up-to-date version of Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari. The game needs WebGL2, which all of them support.
Does PACBOND V save my progress?
Your run is saved in your browser at the start of each wave, so you can come back and continue it. If your ship is destroyed the run is over; your high scores stay on your device. Nothing is sent to a server.
Is there an aiming aid?
No. Shells fly in real ballistic arcs and nothing shows where they will land. You learn to judge the range from the scorch marks your shots leave.
Who made PACBOND V?
PACBOND V was designed by Mark Vrankovich, author of the novel The Hikikomori.
How do I send feedback or report a bug?
Press SEND ME FEEDBACK on the game’s title screen for the address. Feedback, bug reports and suggestions are all welcome.
▶ PLAY PACBOND V