Omega Race Atari 2600 FAQ/Strategy Guide
Version: 1.0
Author: Rob 'Larcen Tyler' Adair
Last Revision Date: 03/23/06
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This document is electronically published work Copyrighted ¸2006 Rob 'Larcen
Tyler' Adair. 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.
Omega Race is a registered trademark of Midway Games, used by CBS Games under
license.
Booster-Grip Adaptor is a registered trademark and/or copyrighted by CBS games.
ColecoVision is a registered trademark of Coleco.
Atari 2600 Video Computer System, and any accessories mentioned within are
registered trademarks and copyrighted materials owned by 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.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. REVISION HISTORY
2. HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
3. SCORING INFORMATION
4. TIPS
5. CONTACT INFORMATION
6. CREDITS
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1. REVISION HISTORY
Version 1.0
03/23/06: Decided to write a game for this rather obscure (but fun) game.
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2. HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
The leaders of the Omegan Star System came up with their own training method to
defend against evil in the galaxy, and called it the Omega Race. It was so
useful that nobody ever dared mess with the Omegans. Eventually, life got
boring, so they started searching for someone who would be tough enough to try
to take on the Omegans in the Omega Race.
The search has ended, and the chosen person is YOU!
SETTING UP THE GAME:
(NOTE: You MUST have either a Booster-Grip Adaptor or a ColecoVision controller
to be able to play Omega Race!)
Set up your Atari 2600, and plug a joystick into the left controller jack.
Attach the Booster-Grip Adaptor to it by sliding it on so that it fits snugly
on the joystick. If two people are playing with two Booster-Grip Adaptors,
plug the second joystick in and set the Right Difficulty switch to A.
If you only have one Booster-Grip Adaptor, you can still play with two people
by switching off with the left joystick. Set the Right Difficulty to B if you
do this.
If you don't have a Booster-Grip Adaptor, you may substitute a ColecoVision
controller instead.
Power up your console, and then use the Game Select switch to choose either
Game 1 (one player) or Game 2 (two players) and press the Game Reset switch to
start the Omega Race!
GAMEPLAY:
Your ship is shaped like a V, and can be rotated by turning the joystick to the
left or right. To thrust, press either the 'Booster' button on top of the
Booster-Grip Adaptor, or the standard button on the joystick.
To fire a shot, pull the trigger on the Adaptor. Your shots will go in the
direction your ship is pointed. You can only have two shots on screen at a
time, but your shots are unlimited.
Your goal is to destroy all the enemies within each rack, while dodging their
attacks and avoiding collisions with them. Once all enemies have been
defeated, you will move on to the next Rack, where it gets harder and harder.
ENEMIES:
DROID SHIPS: The Droid Ships are the most common enemy. During the first rack,
they will remain stationary, but after that, they will begin to orbit the arena
at a rate that increases with each rack. The Droid Ships are shaped like ovals.
COMMAND SHIPS: There is always at least one Command Ship in the arena. It
looks like a Droid Ship, except it is filled instead of hollow. Unlike Droid
Ships, Command Ships will actively fire on your ship, meaning that you must use
evasive maneuvers to avoid being shot. When an orbiting Droid Ship reaches a
certain point (based on the rack you are on) it will become a Command Ship.
DEATH SHIPS: If a Command Ship remains on screen for too long, it will become a
Death Ship, a spinning ship that is shaped like an 'X.' These ships rebound
off the walls of the arena while going at random speeds and firing madly at
your ship. Worse, they also leave Photon Mines at random spots, which are
lethal to your ship.
PHOTON MINES: Photon Mines are small diamond shapes, but are highly lethal.
They remain stationary untill the end of the rack or if they are destroyed by
being shot. Be careful not to crash into one of these!
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For every four racks completed, a bonus of 5,000 points will be awarded for
wiping out a Droid Force.
You start with three ships, and can earn bonus ships at 30,000, 80,000, and
150,000 points. You may not have more than four reserve ships at a time.
You lose a ship every time you are shot or collide with anything other than the
walls in the center or at the edge of the arena. When all ships are lost, the
game is over.
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4. TIPS
-Don't thrust too much at one time. It's easy to go too fast and end up going
out of control (and possibly crashing into a ship or mine!) Instead, use short,
controlled thrusts to maintain control of your ship.
-Try to take out as many Droid Ships as you can before taking on the Command
Ships so you won't have as much opposition to deal with. On the other hand, if
you're playing for points, try taking out the Command Ships one at a time.
Just don't let them turn into Death Ships!
-If a Death Ship should appear, don't panic. Just try to get a grasp of its
movements and then try to attack it. Be sure to watch those mines though!
-Don't get too close to Droid Ships when taking them out, since it's easy to
crash into them, even if you think you've got your ship under control.
-And, the golden rule of all Omega Racers, HAVE FUN!
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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 "Omega Race Guide" as your subject line.)
You can reach me at: larcentyler7650 (AT) yahoo (dot) com
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6. CREDITS
The most important part of all, right? Here are the credits:
-My mother, for buying the Atari 2600 and passing her love for it onto me.
-Some unknown programmer at CBS Games, for doing a great job of porting Omega
Race to the Atari 2600.
-Jeff 'CJayC' Veasey, for providing us writers with a place to share our work.
-Atari, for putting out the Atari 2600.
-AtariAge (www.AtariAge.com) for all the information I needed to confirm while
I was writing this.
-And what would this guide be without the most important person of all? Yes,
I'm talking about YOU, for reading my guide!
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