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Robotron: 2084 is a registered trademark of Midway Games.
Atari 7800 ProSystem, and any accessories mentioned within are registered
trademarks and/or copyrighted materials owned by Atari Games.
GameFAQs is a registered trademark and copyrighted 1995-2006 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.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. REVISION HISTORY
2. HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
3. ENEMY INFORMATION
4. SPECIAL WAVE INFORMATION
5. SCORING INFORMATION
6. TIPS
7. CONTACT INFORMATION
8. CREDITS
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1. REVISION HISTORY
Version 1.0
04/21/06: I've decided to start writing guides for the Atari 7800, since a lot
of the games on there were truly solid.
05/15/06: After technical difficulties with my PC, I was finally able to get
back into writing, and decided to finish this guide.
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2. HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
It's 2084, and things are far from perfect on Earth. The Robotrons have gone
haywire and are intent on eradicating all humans from Earth, either by
reprogramming them as one of their own, or by eliminating them altogether.
The humans have little hope for survival, as they are greatly outnumbered by
the Robotrons.
You are the only hope for survival. You are the only person who cannot be
reprogrammed by them, and therefore have been selected for this mission. You
have been equipped with a special laser pistol that is capable of firing shots
at a rapid rate, which can take out just about any type of threat.
But hurry, as the Robotrons are getting closer and closer, and if you don't
pick up the pace, we may not live to see 2085!
PREPARING TO FIGHT THE ROBOTRONS:
Set up your Atari 7800 ProSystem and plug in either one or two joysticks. If
playing with two players, both player share the left joystick if playing with
one joystick. In dual joystick mode, the function of each joystick remains the
same regardless of which player is up.
You can use either a ProLine joystick or a standard Atari 2600 joystick.
Select either a one or two player game by moving the joystick up or down, and
select one of four difficulty settings by moving the joystick left and right.
When you are ready to play, press the button on the left joystick.
GAMEPLAY:
When the game starts, you will find yourself in the middle of the screen, with
numerous enemies all around, in addition to electrodes, and humans. Your goal
is to eliminate all the enemies while rescuing the humans and avoiding
electrodes. When you eliminate all of the enemies onscreen, you will advance
to the next wave.
If you are playing with one joystick, move the left joystick to move in that
direction. Pressing the button will shoot in the direction you are moving.
If you are playing with two joysticks, the left joystick moves you around,
while moving the right joystick will allow you to fire in that direction.
Regardless of your controller setup, you have unlimited shots, and can fire
rapid shots at all times.
RESCUING HUMANS:
The three humans that you will encounter are men (brown haired person with blue
clothes,) women, (blonde haired person with purple dress,) and children
(smaller person with brown hair and red clothing. Yeah, I know they're Mommy,
Daddy, and Mikey, but who's counting? :) )
Touching a human will rescue them, saving them from the menace of the Robotrons
and transporting them to safety.
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3. ENEMY INFORMATION
There are various types of enemies you will encounter during your battle to
save the human race. Contact with them should be avoided at all costs They are
as follows:
GRUNTs (short for 'Ground Roving Unit Network Terminator):
The GRUNTs are the most common enemy that you'll encounter. They are red and
yellow and attempt to overwhelm you. They can't shoot, but touching one is
fatal.
Hulks:
Hulks start appearing in the second wave, and will appear in most waves
thereafter, with a few exceptions. (See below for more details.) Hulks are
walking squares with heads on them, and their goal is to kill all humans. If a
human is touched by one, a high pitched sound will be heard, and the human will
turn into a skull and crossbones before vanishing. Hulks can't be killed, but
shooting one will slow it down temporarily.
Spheroids:
Spheroids are red pulsating circles that start appearing on the second wave as
well. They move around the screen dropping off Enforcer robots at random
intervals. Eventually, they will vanish after dropping off so many Enforcer
robots.
Enforcer robots:
Enforcer robots are blue and yellow with tank treads under them. They move
across the screen in random patterns while firing their shots, which look like
asterisks, at you. A lot of times, they tend to stay in the corners of the
gameplay area, but they will move around too.
Brains:
Every fifth wave is a 'Brain' wave, where you must deal with GRUNTs and Brains.
The Brains are blue with red pulsating spots on them, and while they move slow,
they fire homing beams which are deadly to the touch. Their goal is to
'reprogram' humans, which they accomplish by touching one. If a human is
reprogrammed, it becomes a PROG, which chases you at a fast rate around the
screen, and can only be stopped by shooting it.
Quarks:
Quarks are bluish squares that move about the screen dropping tanks everywhere.
They don't shoot, but they move at a quick rate of speed, and they will
sometimes go after you. You must shoot them to avoid having to deal with
tanks.
Tanks:
Tanks are red robots with treads underneath them. They fire round shots at you
that move in a 'bouncing' pattern, and also attempt to run over your character.
Electrodes:
Electrodes are like land mines, in that touching one is fatal to the touch, and
they litter the playfield, changing their location with each new wave.
Although their shape changes from level to level, they are easy to spot in that
they are red pulsating objects that don't move. Other enemies and humans can
safely walk through them.
(Note: Shooting an electrode doesn't earn you any points.)
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4. SPECIAL WAVE INFORMATION
At certain intervals during the game, you will encounter a special type of wave
depending on which one you are on. They are listed as follows:
TANK WAVE: On the 7th wave, you will have your first encounter with Quarks and
Tanks, which will be the only enemies that must be destroyed. The Tank Wave
will be repeated on subsequent waves that end in either 2 or 7 (like 22, 37,
etc.)
GRUNT WAVE: On every wave ending in 9 (9, 19, 29, etc.) you will be placed in
the center of an extra large group of GRUNTs. The best thing to do here is to
focus on one direction and clear out the GRUNTs in that direction so you can
clear a safe path out of the center.
HULK WAVE: Starting with the 14th wave, you will be deposited into the center
of a large group of Hulks, in addition to other enemies that must be destroyed.
Since you can't kill the Hulks, your best bet is to shoot them away from you
untill a path is clear, and then make a break for it. The Hulk Wave repeats
every 20 waves, meaning that if the tens digit is odd and the ones digit is a 4
(e.g. 34, 74, etc.) then you will be in a Hulk Wave.
DOUBLE TROUBLE WAVE: When you reach the 24th wave, you are placed in the center
of a group of Spheroids and Quarks. They will move quickly to drop their
Enforcers and Tanks all around the screen. Since they move fast, it's not
always easy to shoot a safe path. My best strategy is to focus on a certain
'safe spot' near the edge of the screen, and then try to shoot all enemies
between that spot and you, untill you reach the spot, and then focus on taking
out all the enemies. The Double Trouble Waves repeat every 20 waves as well,
meaning that any wave that has an even tens digit and the number 4 is the ones
digit (24, 44, etc.) will be a Double Trouble Wave.
Also, once you reach wave 28, both Spheroids and Quarks will start making
regular appearances.
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5. SCORING INFORMATION
Points are awarded as follows:
RESCUING HUMANS: 1000 multiplied by the number of humans you've saved so far,
up untill five, at which point the bonus stays at 5000 points. The value
resets each wave.
You begin every game with five lives. You lose a life every time you are hit
by an enemy or one of their shots, or if you touch an electrode. A bonus life
is awarded for every 25,000 points earned.
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6. TIPS
-If you're trying to get big points, the Brain Waves are a great way to do so.
There are a lot of humans onscreen during the Brain Waves, so kill off all but
one of the enemies, and then go after all the humans. Make sure you don't kill
the last remaining enemy or the wave will end and you'll forfeit your big
opportunity!
-The only hazards to the humans are Hulks and Brains, so try to focus on
clearing out most of the enemies first before going after them.
-It's best to avoid Hulks rather than shooting at them, unless you have
absolutely no choice, since even with your rapid fire, they don't move far, and
there's a good chance you can get surrounded while trying to move them out of
your way, or accidentally cause them to kill a human.
-If you're playing with two joysticks, try to find a way to hold them down so
that they don't move around when you're trying to play with them. Remember
that you can use Atari 2600 joysticks, which are smaller and easier to use.
-And the one rule that will always be intact, even in 2084: HAVE FUN!
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7. 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 "Robotron: 2084 Guide" as your subject line.)
You can reach me at: larcentyler7650 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com
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8. CREDITS
Time to close up with the good old credits:
-First off, a very special thanks to Kevin Butler, for allowing me to use the
information in his guide for the arcade version, which allowed me to put the
information needed for the Special Wave Information section in this guide.
-My mother, for passing her love of Atari onto me.
-David Brown, for doing a great job of porting this game to the Atari 7800.
-Jeff 'CJayC' Veasey, for proiding us writers with a place to share our work.
-Atari, for putting out the Atari 7800 as well as this version of Robotron.
-AtariAge (www.AtariAge.com) which provided me with a lot of much needed info
for this guide.
-And the one person who will always make this worth my while, even in 2084:
YOU, for reading my guide!
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