Missile Command Atari 2600  FAQ/Strategy Guide
Version: 1.0
Author: Larcen Tyler
Last Revision Date: 12/29/05
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

This document is electronically published work Copyrighted ©2005 Larcen Tyler.
Permission is granted to make a copy _ONLY_ as a personal reference copy, in
which case the document _MUST_ remain in its original, unedited form.  Any
other reproduction is strictly prohibited.  This document may not be used as
a promotional item or for profitable means of any kind (even if no profit is
intended to be gained.)

This document is only allowed to appear on the GameFAQs website and no other
website whatsoever, nor may any part of this document appear on any website
for any reason whatsoever.

Missile Command, Atari 2600, and any accessories mentioned within are
registered trademarks of Atari Games.

GameFAQs is a registered trademark and copyrighted 1995-2005 by Jeff 'CJayC'
Veasey.

Any other names mentioned within not mentioned within this section are
registered trademarks and/or copyrighted materials of their respective owners.

Larcen Tyler is in no way affiliated with any of the companies listed above,
or their affiliates in any way.  No affiliation should be assumed for any
reason whatsoever.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. REVISION HISTORY
2. HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
3. SCORING INFORMATION
4. TIPS
5. CONTACT INFORMATION
6. CREDITS
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

1. REVISION HISTORY

Version 1.0
12/29/05: Decided to close out the year with a guide for one of the most well-
known Atari games of all time.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

2. HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

Planet Zardon, a peaceful planet where the cities are free of crime, the
resources are plenty, and everyone is always willing to put in their share of
hard work in order to keep everything going smoothly.  It's a peaceful, happy
planet.  Or was, untill Planet Krytol attacked.

The Krytolians were a group of evil aliens who foolishly squandered their own
resources, and now having a barren planet devoid of life, they have launched an
all-out attack on Zardon, in hopes of destroying all life on there and claiming
the planet as their own.

Luckily, the Zardonians had constructed missile bases for just a situation like
this one, armed with anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs.)  You are the only hope for
Zardon, as you must commandeer the base and destroy the missiles that are being
launched at the planet!


SETTING UP:

Set up your Atari 2600 or Atari 7800 and plug a joystick into the left
controller socket.  If you are playing with a friend, plug a second joystick
into the right controller socket.  Insert the game cartridge into your system
and power up.

The difficulty switches affect the speed of your ABMs, with the left switch
controlling the left player's ABMs, and the right switch controlling the right
player's ABMs.  When set to the A (left position,) the cursor will be launched
at a slow rate of speed.  When set to B, ABMs will launch at a faster rate.  To
give an advantage to a player who is less skilled than the other, the skilled
player should set their switch to A, and have the less skilled player have
their switch set to B.

The TV Type switch is used if you are playing on a color TV or if you want the
game to be played in black and white (for older TVs that only show up in black
and white.)

Missile Command has 34 game variations, with 17 different gameplay types for
one or two players.  Variations 1-17 are for one player, and variations 18-34
are for two players.  The first number is the variation number, and the second
indicates the number of players.  To quickly select a variation, hold down the
Game Reset switch and press the Game Select switch repeatedly untill you find
the variation you wish to play.  The different variations are listed below as
follows, with the one player variation first and then the two player variation:

Game 1/Game 18
Slow Cursor
Dumb Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 1

Game 2/Game 19
Fast Cursor
Dumb Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 1

Game 3/Game 20
Slow Cursor
Smart Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 1

Game 4/Game 21
Fast Cursor
Smart Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 1

Game 5/Game 22
Slow Cursor
Dumb Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 7

Game 6/Game 23
Fast Cursor
Dumb Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 7

Game 7/Game 24
Slow Cursor
Smart Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 7

Game 8/Game 25
Fast Cursor
Smart Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 7

Game 9/Game 26
Slow Cursor
Dumb Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 11

Game 10/Game 27
Fast Cursor
Dumb Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 11

Game 11/Game 28
Slow Cursor
Smart Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 11

Game 12/Game 29
Fast Cursor
Smart Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 11

Game 13/Game 30
Slow Cursor
Dumb Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 15

Game 14/Game 31
Fast Cursor
Dumb Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 15

Game 15/Game 32
Slow Cursor
Smart Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 15

Game 16/Game 33
Fast Cursor
Smart Cruise Missiles
Starting Wave: 15

Game 17/Game 34
Children's Game
Basically, this variation has a slow cursor, dumb cruise missiles, and the
enemy attacks are slow and have less missiles than other variations.  This is a
good variation for young children to practice with.

See below for information regarding the cursor and cruise missiles.

When you are happy with the variation you have chosen, press the Game Reset
switch to begin.


DEFENDING THE PLANET:

Make sure to hold the joystick with the button in the upper-left corner, facing
toward the television screen.

When the game starts, you will see your cursor, a flashing rectangle, in the
center of the screen.  Your base is the mound in the center of the surface with
a flashing dot on top of it.  The dots underneath it indicate how many ABMS are
currently stockpiled, a maximum of ten at one time.  You also have two extra
ABM supplies on hand for when your first supply is gone, making for a total of
thirty ABMs per wave.  If you use all thirty up in a single wave, you are
defenseless untill the end of the wave.

There are six cities, three on either side of your base, with the citizens
praying that you can defend them.  When you hear the air raid siren, it's time
to get going!

Use the joystick to move your cursor around the screen.  Press the button to
fire an ABM at the location indicated by the cursor.  When it reaches its
destination, it will automatically explode.  You can have a total of up to
three ABMs launched at one time.  If you try to launch more, you will hear a
beeping noise, meaning that you must wait untill the explosion from the first
missile disappears completely.

There are two types of missiles that you must defend your cities from:

Interplanetary Ballistic Missiles (IBM): The IBMs are the primary threat to
your planet.  They appear as lines with flashing dots heading toward the planet
surface.  If you do not destroy them, they will destroy your cities.  In order
to destroy one, you must deploy an ABM so that the actual missile (the flashing
dot) will be caught in the ensuing explosion from the ABM.  The best way to do
this is to look at the path of the missile and fire an ABM so that it will
detonate in the path of the IBM.

Cruise Missiles: Cruise Missiles will be launched after the sixth wave.  These
are rectangle shaped (like the cursor, except they don't flash) and are
deployed toward the planet surface.  You will hear a high pitched noise when a
cruise missile is launched.  Like IBMs, Cruise Missiles must also be destroyed
by an ABM.  However, Smart Cruise Missiles can easily evade the explosions of
ABMs, making them harder to destroy, while Dumb Cruise Missiles simply fall in
a straight line and can be destroyed easier.

If a missile hits a city, it will be destroyed instantly.  If your base is
hit, all loaded ABMs will be lost instantly.  If you have extra supplies,
though, they will automatically be loaded into your base.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

3. SCORING INFORMATION

Points are awarded for the following:

Destroy IBM: 25 Points
Destroy Cruise Missile: 125 Points
Unused ABM Bonus (at end of wave): 5 Points per Missile
Saved City Bonus (at end of wave): 100 Points per City

After the first two waves, the scoring multiplier is increased, and continues
to increase as follows:

Waves 3-4: Double Point Value
Waves 5-6: Triple Point Value
Waves 7-8: Four Times Normal Point Value
Waves 9-10: Five Times Normal Point Value
Wave 11 and all Waves after: Six Times Normal Point Value

For every 10,000 points earned, a bonus city will be awarded, meaning that
one destroyed city (chosen at random) will be rebuilt.  A short tune will
play at the end of the wave to indicate that the bonus has been awarded.
If all six cities are still standing, the bonus city will be kept in stock
untill the end of a wave where at least one city was destroyed.  Even if
all six cities are destroyed, if you have at least one bonus city (either
earned during that round or in stock,) you can continue playing.

If all six cities are destroyed and you have no bonus cities remaining, the
game is over.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

4. TIPS

-In the early gameplay waves, when the IBMs are moving at a slow rate of speed,
it's possible to place the cursor atop the missiles and fire ABMs to destroy
them.  Later on, though, your best bet is to launch them into the path of an
incoming IBM.

-If an IBM or cruise missile hits the planet surface, no damage will be done.
In order for your base to sustain damage, the very top part of it must be hit
(where the flashing dot is.)

-If you can tell an IBM or Cruise Missile is heading for the remains of a city,
don't worry about destroying it, and focus on the other attacks instead.
You'll save more ABMs and give yourself less stress this way.

-Since you can fire up to three ABMs at a time, don't sit around idly waiting
for the explosion of the first one before moving to another location.  Instead,
when you hear the sound of the missile being launched, move to the next spot
you intend to fire at.

-Smart Cruise Missiles are tough, but they have one design flaw.  If you launch
an ABM at them with the cursor directly atop it, they won't be able to detect
the ABM, meaning they can be taken out without them evading the explosion of
the ABM.

-And no matter how harried the battle gets, HAVE FUN!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

5. CONTACT INFORMATION

READ THIS BEFORE YOU SEND ME ANY E-MAIL!

The following types of E-Mail I will _NOT_ accept under any circumstances:

-Mail that contains flaming (insults) or offensive content within.  If you
don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything!

-Spam/Advertisements of any kind.  This is against the law, and will not be
taken lightly.

-Asking if you can use this on your website/in your FAQ/Magazine/anything
like that will not be tolerated.  In case you missed it, I specifically
stated that I won't allow it in the disclaimer section at the beginning.

-Asking where to find this game in a ROM format, or any other illegal
software requests will be ignored.

-Asking me where to find this cartridge.
(Honestly, I wish I knew where to find Atari games, but I have as much of
a hard time finding them as you probably do! Your best bet is to check
online.)


The following types of E-Mail I will accept:

-Suggestions and/or constructive criticism.
-Strategies of your own.
-Any information I may have left out in this version.
-Generally, anything that will help me improve this guide in future revisions!
(Make sure you put "Missile Command Guide" as your subject line.)

You can reach me at: [email protected]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

6. CREDITS

It's one guide written for one game that was made possible by many people:

-My mother, for buying the Atari 2600 and passing her love for it onto me.
-Rob Fulop, for his excellent programming of this classic game.
-Jeff 'CJayC' Veasey, for providing us writers with a place to share our work.
-Atari, for putting out the Atari 2600 as well as distributing this cartridge
in large quantities, so collectors could easily find it in this day.
-AtariAge (www.AtariAge.com) for all the information I needed to confirm while
I was writing this.
-And of course, the one person who I could never make this possible without,
who I always save for last because they're the best, YOU, for reading my guide!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

©2005 Larcen Tyler  All rights reserved.

You are viewing proxied material from gopher.endangeredsoft.org. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.