Dragster (video game)
Encyclopedia
Dragster is the first video game developed by Activision
for the Atari 2600
console, and released in 1980.
Once the player starts shifting gears, he can't downshift. But if the player shifts too soon, his engine will lug (work heavily); he will accelerate slowly and lose some time. It's tricky and takes practice, but the player's patience and perserverance will be rewarded with good times.
with a time of 5.51 as referenced on Twin Galaxies International Scoreboard
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
for the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
console, and released in 1980.
Plot
The object of Dragster is to either beat the player's opponent across the screen, or to race against the clock for best time, depending on the settings used.Gameplay
Select game with game select switch. Game 1: Staright-ahead Dragster, one or two players. Game 2: Steerable Dragster, one or two players. The player's Joystick Controller is both the clutch and gear shift for his Dragster the red button is his gas pedal. Use left Joystick for the top car right one for bottom car. Hold Joystick with button in upper left. To shift gears, CLUTCH by pushing Joystick to the left and SHIFT by letting the Joystick spring back to the center. The player gives his Dragster gas by pressing the Joystick button. His car then starts each race in neutral (N). There are four gear positions - 1,2,3,4 - and the player must clutch and shift between each gear. He cannot downshift. Press game reset or push Joystick to the right to start each race. The race starts with a new countdown and both cars in neutral. When the countdown reaches 0, the player is allowed to start. If the player drops into gear too soon, before the end of the countdown, EARLY will appear on the screen and the player have to wait for the next race. The player can clutch during the countdown, but he cannot drop into 1st until 0.Tach monitoring
The tachometer (tach) shows how fast that the player's engine is turning over. A dark green line that starts at the left side of his television screen for each can and turns red at about the middle is his tach. When it turns red, the player are in the high power - but danger!- area. The player will find that he get his best speed in each gear by red-lining yhis tach close to the maximum . But watch out! If the player revs his engine too much, it will BLOW. So be careful. Once the player blows his engine, the race is over for him . The way to build maximum speed is to quickly clutch shift and accelerate through all four gears WITH MAXIMUM POWER AT EACH GEAR LEVEL.Once the player starts shifting gears, he can't downshift. But if the player shifts too soon, his engine will lug (work heavily); he will accelerate slowly and lose some time. It's tricky and takes practice, but the player's patience and perserverance will be rewarded with good times.
World record
The world record on Dragster is currently held by video gamer Todd RogersTodd Rogers (gamer)
Todd Rogers is an American video game competitor living in Brooksville, Florida who gained fame in the early 1980s for his many world record high scores and for his expertise on Activision games...
with a time of 5.51 as referenced on Twin Galaxies International Scoreboard
Twin Galaxies
Twin Galaxies is an American organization that tracks video game world records and conducts a program of electronic-gaming promotions. It operates the Twin Galaxies website and publishes the Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, with the Arcade Volume released on June...