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Atari Road Runner -Atari 2600
Retro Gaming Review
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| Title: | Road Runner |
| Manufacturer: | Atari |
| Platform: | Atari 2600 |
| Release Date: | 1989 |
| Part #: | CX2663 |
| Rating: | 3.5 out of 5 |
| ESRB Rating: | N/A |
Rating: 
Atari Road Runner Screenshot:
Road Runner for the Atari 2600 is a port from Atari's arcade version released in 1985. I never played this one in arcades, but it's a fun game on the 2600 and surprisingly difficult. The arcade controls are very simple - a joystick and a Hop button - and lend easily to the 2600 joystick. The 2 hop buttons also double as the 1 or 2 player selection.
Being based on the Looney Tunes cartoon, with the ever devious Wile E. Coyote, you might think it was a casual TV tie-in. However, it's a much more difficult game than you may think. The first level is deceptively simple looking but the challenge mounts quickly with 8 levels.
Atari Road Runner Story Arc
Everyone has seen the Road Runner cartoon and this Atari game certainly captures the fast paced action of the coyote's eternal chase. As the chase ensues you'll find food to eat and a variety of objects to avoid. You may find yourself out-pacing Wile E. Coyote as he drifts off the right side of the screen. Don't relax too much - he'll be back!
Atari Road Runner Game Play
Your joystick will move the Road Runner around the screen with really great accuracy. Considering the background and assets, this game mores nice and fast.
Holy shit! Check this out...
Road Runner is a variant of the platformer genre, based on the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon. It was developed and released by Atari Games in 1985. Road Runner uses the Atari System 1 - Atari Games' first upgradeable arcade game hardware platform, introduced in 1984. Road Runner was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Atari 2600, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, and NES.
Road Runner is a variant of the platformer genre, based on the Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon. It was developed and released by Atari Games in 1985. Road Runner uses the Atari System 1 - Atari Games' first upgradeable arcade game hardware platform, introduced in 1984. Road Runner was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Atari 2600, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, Sinclair ZX Spectrum, and NES.
You begin with 3 lives and the chase begins. Like the arcade version, 2 players can alternate turns controlling the Road Runner.
You earn points by eating birdseed, steel shot and killing the Coyote. Eating steel shot seems like an odd way to garner points, but it plays into the Coyote's magnet. As you eat successive piles of food, their point values increase by 100 points! Losing a life occurs if the Coyote catches you - possibly in a rocket - or shoots you with a cannon. There's also the possibility of falling off a cliff, being hit by a truck, or a falling boulder.
You'll find some cool animations like the Coyote's rocket skates. When you enter the cliff area, you'll have to jump over the crevices in the road. Hop and swerve and see how far you can go. There are not continues, so run fast!
Final Judgement:
Atari Road Runner
is a much more difficult game than you might think. Although based on the silly antics of the Coyote chasing the Road Runner, there are 8 levels, fast pace and it's good fun. Give it a try! Beep Beep!« Return to Retro Video Game Reviews
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