Quadrun
Encyclopedia
Quadrun was published in 1983 by Atari
for the Atari 2600. However, it is available to play at a relatively cheaper price on either the 2005 Xbox
/PlayStation 2
collection Atari Anthology
, or the Atari Flashback 2, where Quadrun is one of the forty included games.
Game Room
service for its Xbox 360
console and for Windows-based
PC
s in July 2010.
Quadrun was published in 1983 by Atari
. One of the four Atari Club games available exclusively via mail order, this title may have been available later in stores in very limited quantities. This is one of the rarest games from Atari, as only approximately 10,000 were initially made. According to programmer Steve Woita, the game was play-tested by a group of young girls. Not surprisingly, they did not like the game and found it too difficult, so Atari decided not to heavily distribute the game. It was also the first Atari game to feature voice synthesis ("Quadrun! Quadrun! Quadrun!"), and is one of only two games ever made for the Atari 2600
that actually talk (the other is Open Sesame, made by Bit Corp). Today, Quadrun is highly sought after by collectors, often selling for hundreds of dollars on auction sites.
Quadrun was made available on Microsoft's
Game Room
service for its Xbox 360
console and for Windows-based
PC
s in July 2010.
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
for the Atari 2600. However, it is available to play at a relatively cheaper price on either the 2005 Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
/PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
collection Atari Anthology
Atari Anthology
Atari Anthology is a collection of 85 Atari, Inc. games released in 2003 as Atari - 80 Classic Games in One! for Microsoft Windows, and in 2004 for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. It reproduces both Atari arcade games and titles from the Atari 2600 game console. The Windows version features a slightly...
, or the Atari Flashback 2, where Quadrun is one of the forty included games.
Ports
Quadrun was made available on Microsoft'sMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Game Room
Game Room
Game Room is a gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room lets players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores...
service for its Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
console and for Windows-based
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s in July 2010.
History
Quadrun was published in 1983 by Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
. One of the four Atari Club games available exclusively via mail order, this title may have been available later in stores in very limited quantities. This is one of the rarest games from Atari, as only approximately 10,000 were initially made. According to programmer Steve Woita, the game was play-tested by a group of young girls. Not surprisingly, they did not like the game and found it too difficult, so Atari decided not to heavily distribute the game. It was also the first Atari game to feature voice synthesis ("Quadrun! Quadrun! Quadrun!"), and is one of only two games ever made 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...
that actually talk (the other is Open Sesame, made by Bit Corp). Today, Quadrun is highly sought after by collectors, often selling for hundreds of dollars on auction sites.
Quadrun was made available on Microsoft's
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Game Room
Game Room
Game Room is a gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room lets players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores...
service for its Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
console and for Windows-based
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s in July 2010.
Gameplay
Long ago, the peaceful land of Quad was invaded by cruel Captors who rounded up all the helpless inhabitants and imprisoned them in cages. The Captors called their prisoners "Runts". And the name has stuck. Now you've come to Quad to rescue the Runts and destroy their Captors with your special weapon: phaser balls.- Your weapon: phaser balls. Shoot the Captors with a phaser ball, then run to the opposite sector and catch the phaser ball so that you can reuse it. Be quick and accurate: you have only three phaser balls with which to destroy the Captors. The game ends when you lose all three phaser balls.
- Running around the quad: The Quad consists of four sectors, with a Runt cage in the center. You can run to any sector on the screen. But to switch from a vertical sector to a horizontal sector, or vice versa, you must touch one of the side walls.
- The bad guys: the captors. There are five Captors per wave. Each wave begins with the QUADRUN voice, and each wave features a different type of Captor. Captors patrol the quad vertically. You can shoot at Captors only while you're in the vertical sectors. If a Captor crashes into you, you lose a phaser ball.
- The good guys: the Runts. Runts escape from the center cage and race madly left or right toward their doom: an electrified toaster grid. Catch each Runt before it runs into the grid or it will fry. You can cath Runts only while you're in the horizontal sectors.
- Don't let the critter counter disappear! The white line located at the top of the screen is the Critter Counter. Every time you fail to destroy a Captor or fail to catch a Runt, the Critter Counter decreases in length. When it disappears, the game ends.
- Crazy Crazed Wave: After you complete five waves, you begin the CRAZED WAVE. At the start of the CRAZED WAVE, the Critter Counter returns to its full length and you receive bonus points for all remaining phaser balls. During the CRAZED WAVE, you face constant attacks from a random assortment of the five types of Captors.
HINTS
- When a Brat Captor attacks, run to the opposite side of the screen and "lead it on" in order to destroy it.
- When a Yo-Yo rushes out, go to the spot where it first appeared and wait for it to return - like a yo-yo, it always comes back to where it started. Then hit it with your phaser ball.
- If you're not in a horizontal sector when a Runt escapes from its cage, hit the closest wall in order to move quickly into the horizontal channel and catch the Runt.
- If you have only one phaser ball left and a Captor is about to crash into you, fire the phaser ball (then go catch it!) so that you won't automatically lose it.
SCORING
- Goons 10
- Snags 50
- Yo-Yos 200
- Nods 500
- Brats 1000
- Each completed wave 1000
- Each saved Runt 100
- 1 Phaser ball at beginning 2500
- 2 Phaser balls at the beginning 5000
- 3 Phaser balls at the beginning 10000
- Destroy every 5th Captor 1000
Importance
Quadrun and Open Sesame are the only two Atari 2600 games to feature speech synthesis.External links
- Quadrun at AtariAgeAtariAgeAtari Age was a magazine distributed to Atari Club members from 1982 until 1984. It was published by The Atari Club Inc., a subsidiary of Atari, Inc.-History:...
- History of Quadrun