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Moon Patrol - Atari - Atari 5200     HTML Manual   


MOON PATROL

BY ATARI, INC.


Let's Be Careful Out There!

  • When you signed up with the Luna City Police Department, who would have thought that you'd be assigned to Sector Nine--home of the toughest thugs in the galaxy? Sure, you've got the finest patrol car on the force--complete with anti-gravity jump buttons and laser bullets--but in the rough terrain of Sector Nine you need more than fancy equipment to survive. Just evading huge craters and moon rocks is hard enough without having to deal with hostile UFOs and enemy landmines and tanks. Getting through your patrol in one piece is almost impossible!

    Starting the Patrol

    - Insert your MOON PATROL cartridge in your ATARI 5200 SuperSystem as explained in your owners guide, and turn on your system.

    - Plug one 5200 controller into jack 1 for one-player games; plug a second controller into jack 2 for two-player games. In two-player games, the player using jack 1 will start, pause, and reset the game.

    - Press # to choose the BEGINNING or CHAMPIONSHIP course and * to choose a one- or two-player game.

    - Press START to begin your patrol.

    - Press PAUSE once to pause during a game. Press it again to resume play.

    - Press RESET to return to the game option screen.

  • When a game is over, or when you press RESET, you have the option to continue playing on the same section of your beat. When the word CONTINUE appears on the screen, press number 2 on the keypad to begin the game on the section where you last appeared. Otherwise, you'll appear at the beginning of the course when you press START.

    Patrol Car Controls

  • Use the top fire buttons on your 5200 controller to make your patrol car jump; use the bottom fire buttons to shoot at enemies or obstacles. Push your joystick right to increase the speed of your patrol car and left to slow it down.

    Patrol Details

  • Your beat is divided into two courses: BEGINNING (for rookies ) and CHAMPIONSHIP (for experienced cops). Each course is divided into 26 segments, marked by points A-Z. A gauge at the top of the screen indicates your location. The gauge is divided into five sections: A-E, F-J, K-O, P-T, and U-Z. At the end of each section, you're awarded bonus points based on your travel time. The faster you complete a section, the more points you'll score.

  • As you travel your beat, the number of obstacles you encounter increases, and it becomes harder to avoid enemy attacks. You start the game with four patrol cars, and earn a bonus patrol car at 10,000, 30,000, and 50,000 points.

    Hints For Rookie Drivers

    * Play the BEGINNING game variation first, to learn how to control your patrol car.
    * You'll jump farther when your patrol car is moving fast; be sure you're driving fast enough to jump over an obstacle.
    * Try taking one long jump over two closely positioned obstacles.
    * Your laser bullets are only effective a short distance in front of you. Don't fire too early, or you might miss your target.
    * Some UFOs drop missiles that form new craters. Learn to recognize these UFOs and eliminate them quickly.
    * When an enemy missile appears from behind, jump over it, then blast it when it's in front of you.

    
    SCORING
    
    OBSTACLE        Jumping  Shooting  Drinking
    
    Crater            50        -         -
    Land Mine         50        -         -
    Rock             100        50        -
    Rolling Rock      50        50        33
    Tank             100       100        -
    UFO               -        100        -
    Enemy Missile     -        500        -
    
    BONUS POINTS                     Points
    
    Completing a section under       100 per sec.
        the average travel time
    Completing a section             1000
    Completing the course            5000
    
    Note: Bonus points are awarded only if your travel time is less than the average time. Travel time and average time are displayed on the screen after finishing each section.

    END

    Typed by Jay Tilton

    for Atari Gaming Headquarters

    Used with permission from Atari Gaming Headquarters