So just got this game and having a blast but I'm confused about one thing How do or can you manually activate the power-ups you collect? I know weapon upgrades are automatic but what about the others like EMP, shield, etc? Sometimes it seems like they activate when I'm near death, other times they activate when I collect them. Which is frustrating if I want to save my Alpha Strike Also are there any other power ups beside EMP, Shield, Health, and Alpha Strike?
Maybe can't remember? I played the heck out of Phoenix HD way back when it was first released, but that was a long long time ago. All I recall is, great fun, somewhat laggy control but great fun. Since then, there had been several substantial updates, so I would guess that the Phoenix HD that I had played is somewhat different from yours...
You can manually activate stored power-ups by touching the screen with two fingers. This includes the finger you use to pilot the ship, so while controlling the ship with one finger, just tapping the screen with a second finger will use your stored power-up. If you have a power-up stored, it will automatically trigger when you have no health left. It actually cancels the bullet that would otherwise have killed you. Hope this answers your questions