Getaway! (video game)
| Getaway! | |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Atari Program Exchange |
| Designer(s) | Mark Reid[1] |
| Platform(s) | Atari 8-bit family |
| Release date(s) | 1982 |
| Genre(s) | Maze |
Getaway! is a crime-themed scrolling maze game for the Atari 8-bit family designed by Mark Reid and published by the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1982. The game won the 1983 $25,000 Atari Star Award for best APX submission,[2] an award previously won by My First Alphabet and Typo Attack. Prior to Getaway!, Reid developed a skiing game, Downhill, also published by APX.[3]
According to Reid, Atari was impressed with Getaway! and had "big plans" for the game, but the North American video game crash of 1983 occurred before this could happen.[2]
A non-digital illustration of Getaway! was featured on the cover of the Fall 1983 APX catalog.[4]
Gameplay
Getaway! takes place on scrolling map of a town, 35 screens in size.[5] The player leaves the hideout and drives around the city using up gasoline in the process. Pausing at a gas station refills the tank. Also in the maze are dollar signs (which give a little money when collected), armored vans (which give a lot of money and immediately alert the police), and three loot items. Completing a level requires collecting all three loot items, then the armored van, and then returning to the hideout.
The more money being carried, the more aggressive the three different police vehicles are. If the player is caught, any money carried at the time is lost. Money is locked-in by dropping it off at the hideout, where it becomes part of the player's permanent stash. This can be done at any time.
The value of the dollar signs goes up with each level, in addition to there being new loot items to collect.
References
- ↑ "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers".
- 1 2 Reminiscing: Getaway!, June 1996
- ↑ "Downhill". Atari Mania.
- ↑ "APX Product Catalog". archive.org. Fall 1983.
- ↑ Levy, Stephen (September 1983). "Getaway! for the Atari". COMPUTE! (40): 180.