Raiders of the Lost Ark (Atari 2600)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about a video game for the Atari 2600 video game console. See Raiders of the Lost Ark for the movie of the same name.
| Raiders of the Lost Ark | |
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| Developer(s) | Atari Games |
| Publisher(s) | Atari Games |
| Designer(s) | Howard Scott Warshaw |
| Release date(s) | 1982 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Media | Cartridge |
| System requirements | Two joysticks |
| Input | Joystick |
Raiders of the Lost Ark was a video game created for the Atari 2600 and based on the movie of the same name. The game was designed by Howard Scott Warshaw.
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[edit] Gameplay
The player controls Indiana Jones as he searches for the lost Ark of the Covenant. The game's unique gameplay has one player use two different controllers for control: controller 1 moved Jones and the button used an item; controller 2 selected the item to use and the button dropped the item. This control scheme anticipated later game controllers with more buttons, and games where these buttons would allow the player to switch items without interrupting gameplay.
The video game is set in the city of Cairo, which is represented by an entrance room and a market place. From the entrance room, the player can blast a hole in the wall with a grenade and enter the "Temple of the Ancients". Two paths await inside the temple, both which contain various dangers, after which the player will at last find the treasure room. Gold and artifacts can be picked up in the treasure room which will help the player later in the game.
The player must eventually cross a mesa field on the other side of which lies the Map Room where the location of the Lost Ark is revealed. South of the Map Room is a Thieves Den and a Black Market. The Black Market contains various figures such as two sheiks and a lunatic and items needed to win the game (most notable a shovel).
After acquiring all needed items from the various rooms, the player returns to the mesa field and jumps off using a parachute. The player then goes inside the mesa, via a small hole at the end of a branch, and digs up the ark after dodging more thieves.
[edit] Game Rooms
- Entrance Room
- Marketplace
- Temple of the Ancients
- Room of Blinding Light
- Room of the Giant Spider
- Treasure Room
- Mesa Field
- Interior Mesa Chamber
- Well of the Souls
- Bog Field
- Map Room
- Thieves Den
- Black Market
[edit] Trivia
- If certain gameplay conditions have been met when the end of the game is reached, the initials "HSW2" appear in the player's inventory, standing for the game's designer, Howard Scott Warshaw. The existence of this easter egg is actually mentioned in the game's manual.
- A Yar from Yar's Revenge can be seen if the player jumps off the center mesa and drops the Chai artifact on the way down (it is also advisable to have a parachute handing after dropping the Chai. The prescene of the Yar is noted in the game manual as extra-terrestial entities who have been seen around the Mesa field
- Warshaw's work on this game led director Steven Spielberg to request him for the ill-fated E.T. Atari 2600 game.
[edit] External links
- Raiders of the Lost Ark at MobyGames
- AtariAge's entry on Raiders of the Lost Ark
- A brief mention of Raiders on Howard Scott Warshaw's web page
- Digital Press interview with Raiders of the Lost Ark programmer Howard Scott Warshaw
- Digital Press interview with Raiders of the Lost Ark graphics artist Jerome Domurat
- Digital Press Easter egg entry for Raiders of the Lost Ark
