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                               M.A.D. FAQ
                           for the Atari 2600
                         Version 1.0 (3/26/15)
                         Written by Andrew Testa
                 Email Address: [email protected]
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    This document is copyright © 2015 Andrew Testa. All rights reserved.


   Table of Contents
   ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
      1. What's New?
      2. Introduction
      3. Controls
      4. Overview
      5. Strategies
      6. Frequently Asked Questions
      7. Credits
      8. Contact Information
      9. Legal Disclaimer


=============================================================================
                          --- 1. What's New? ---
=============================================================================

Version 1.0 (3/28/15): Initial version of guide.


=============================================================================
                          --- 2. Introduction ---
=============================================================================

Welcome to my strategy guide for M.A.D. on the Atari 2600! This is my 29th
guide for an Atari 2600 game (that's a lot of guides!). I really enjoy
writing small guides for these really old, somewhat obscure games, because
they are all elegant in their simplicity. And, overall, they aren't all that
well-covered as far as FAQs are concerned. This is actually the only guide
for this game on GameFAQs.

As far as the game itself, M.A.D. stands for Missile Attack and Defense. It
was released in 1982 by US Games (yes, this game is totally older than me).
M.A.D. plays similarly to most Atari games; you shoot at stuff and rack up
points while defending other stuff. It's basically Atlantis, another game for
the 2600. A fantastic feature of M.A.D. is the two-player mode, which allows
one player to defend with the photon cannon and the other player to attack
with the missiles. Overall, this is a very basic game, but two-player mode
can definitely be fun!


=============================================================================
                            --- 3. Controls ---
=============================================================================

Fire Button: Press to shoot projectiles from the photon cannon
  Joystick: Move the photon cannon left and right (note that there are
            only seven angles).


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                            --- 4. Overview ---
=============================================================================

Here is a diagram of the game:
____________________________________________________________
|                                                            |
|                              SCORE                         |
|                                                            |
|                                                            |
|                                                            |
|    \__      \__      \__        \__       \__       \__    |
|    /        /        /          /         /         /      |
|                                                            |
|                             .                              |
|               .                                            |
|                                                            |
|                             .                              |
|                 .                                          |
|                             .                              |
|  __     __     __          / \           __     __     __  |
| |  |   |  |   |  |     /¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯\      |  |   |  |   |  | |
| |  |   |  |   |  |    |  PCANNON  |     |  |   |  |   |  | |
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
|                                                            |
|                                                            |
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

M.A.D. is a very basic defense game. Essentially, your only job is to shoot
down the planes that drop missiles on the energy stations. To shoot down
planes, you have control of the photon cannon -- the multi-color gun in the
middle of the screen.

There are six energy stations, three on each side of the photon cannon. When
they are all destroyed, the game ends and your left with your score. Note
that the missiles don't always drop on the energy stations, and if they drop
somewhere else, it doesn't count as a hit on a station. However, if they drop
on the photon cannon, you cannot shoot for about two seconds.

The gameplay mechanic of the planes is also important. In early waves, they
only drop missiles when they turn white. So, when they are gold, they won't
drop a missile. They can turn from gold to white, however; once they change,
it takes about three seconds for the missile to drop.

There is only seven angles with which you can fire the photon cannon. So, you
can fire it straight up, and to three angles on each side. It is easy and
seamless to switch to different angles, and absolutely necessary to destroy
the ships. If you are just pointing up, you will miss a lot of the action.
Also note that there can be only two projectiles on the screen at one time,
so mashing the fire button as fast as possible will only result in firing in
spurts of two.

The planes fly by on the top of the screen. It takes anywhere between two and
five seconds for the missile to drop, depending on the altitude of the plane.
The missiles drop diagonally and not straught down; it's more of a backward
slash (\) trajectory.

The whole premise is shooting down as many planes as possible. You get 100
points for each plane that you shoot down, and in the seventh wave and
beyond, you get 200 points for each plane that you shoot down. There is no
way to "beat" the game, and your goal is to achieve a high score.


=============================================================================
                          --- 5. Strategies ---
=============================================================================

Here are some basic strategies for success in M.A.D.:

 * Focus on the white planes; they are your top priority because they are
   about to drop missiles. While gold planes will net you the same amount of
   points, destroying the white planes first allows your energy stations to
   survive longer.

 * Do not mash the fire button as you can only have two projectiles on the
   screen at the same time. This was actually a very smart gameplay
   mechanic, as instead of mashing a button, you have to plan out your
   firing a little more.

 * As far as firing, remember that it takes time for your projectiles to
   reach the planes, so you should try to fire a little beyond the plane so
   you hit it.

 * Some planes will simply fly through the whole screen and not drop a
   missile, so do not think you have to destroy every plane on the screen.

 * Each plane is worth the same amount of points: 100 points early game and
   200 points in wave 7+. So, a white plane is worth the same as a gold
   plane, even though a white plane is an immediate threat.

 * Be extra careful for missiles hitting the photon cannon! If this happens,
   you can't fire for a few seconds, and firing is absolutely detrimental
   to defending the energy stations.

 * Some energy stations are easier to defend than others; in particular, the
   energy stations on the right of the screen, and the inner energy
   stations.

 * It takes about three seconds for a plane to go from gold, to white, and
   to dropping the missile. Focus on the white planes, but also keep in mind
   that the gold ones can turn on you!

 * On later waves, ALL planes are white, which means they all drop missiles.
   As you can imagine, it becomes much harder here, but also much less
   strategic because you just have to fire at everything as it first comes
   on the screen.

 * In two-player mode, the player on offense should try to bomb the photon
   cannon as much as possible. This way, the player on defense can't fire at
   you.

 * At the same time, the player on defense in two-player mode should stick
   to firing near the center of the screen, keeping in mind the
   bomb-a-cannon strategy.


=============================================================================
                  --- 6. Frequently Asked Questions ---
=============================================================================

This section tries to answer most commonly asked questions about the game.

Q: Does this game ever change?
A: Yes. In the fourth wave, all planes have the potential to drop missiles,
  and in the seventh wave and above, all missiles are worth double.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: Why is it firing slow when I rapidly press the fire button?
A: You can only have two projectiles on the screen at one time, so
  mashing the fire button haphazardly will not work here. Because of this,
  you need to aim carefully and make your shots count.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: Is there a way to beat the game?
A: If you're in two player mode, then the game is beaten when the player on
  offense destroys all six energy stations.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: How many lives do you get?
A: None, but the game ends when all six energy stations are destroyed, so
  you could say six lives.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: Can two people play this game at the same time?
A: Yes. One player will play defense and fire the photon cannon, and the
  other player will play offense and fire the missiles.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: Where can I play this game?
A: It's most fun to actually play this game with the original controller (or
  replica of it) and with another player, but this game is somewhat rare.
  In all, you have a few choices: buying the game at ebay or a garage sale,
  using a ROM, or playing it on your internet browser. Of those three, the
  last is probably the easiest, but you can't play two-player mode.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: Play it on browser, you say?
A: Yes, you can now play most Atari 2600 games on your browser, which is
  different than when I first started covering this system in 2003. The
  only problem is that you'd be using a keyboard, and not a game pad.
  Still, the new browser way is probably the best, sans finding it at
  a garage sale.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: What "happens" in this game?
A: Two things "happen": after five minutes, there is another pacing dot,
  and after 2000 points, the game speeds up.

      =---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=---=

Q: What does the distance number translate to?
A: It's just the number of laps you've done. So, if you've done one full
  lap, it will say 1.0, and if you've done five and a half laps, it will
  say 5.5.



=============================================================================
                           --- 7. Credits ---
=============================================================================

In this section, we give credit where credit is due. :)

 *  CJayC for creating GameFAQs.
 *  Sailor Bacon, Devin Morgan, and Krystal for continuing, maintaining, and
    administering GameFAQs.
 *  Brian Sulphur for showing me that writing on old games is cool! :)
 *  You! For reading this guide, of course. :)


=============================================================================
                     --- 8. Contact Information ---
=============================================================================

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, inquiries, spam, additions,
grievances, hate mail, and general overall concerns, please email me at:

"andrew.c.testa(at)gmail(dot)com" <[email protected]>

All I ask is that you put "M.A.D." or "MAD" or "Atari Game" in the
subject line so I know what the email is about. I don't mind if u talk liek
dis 2 me or whatever, so long as I can understand you.


=============================================================================
                       --- 9. Legal Disclaimer ---
=============================================================================

This document is copyright © 2015 Andrew Testa. All rights reserved. This
document may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be sold, altered, or published in any way without the
advanced permission of the author. It may not be placed on any website or
otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of
this guide on any other website or as a part of any public display is
strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks and
copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark
and copyright holders. All sources, which have contributed to this document,
are cited and/or credited in some form. The only sites that I allow this
document to be viewed at are GameFAQs <http://www.gamefaqs.com>, IGN
<http://www.ign.com>, and Neoseeker <http://www.neoseeker.com>. If this
document is found on another website, please contact me and I will promptly
DMCA the host of the website on the legal grounds of copyright infringement.
Under 512(c) of the U.S. Copyright Law, it is illegal to host this document
without advanced permission.

                                   ----

Thanks for reading this guide! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I
enjoyed writing it! :) You can see some of my other work at:

       <http://www.gamefaqs.com/users/TestaALT/contributions/faqs>

_____________________________________________________________________________
                                            Copyright (c) 2015 Andrew Testa

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