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CENTIPEDE
BY ATARI, INC.
To insert your 5200 game cartridge, hold the cartridge so the name on
the label faces you and reads right-side-up. Then carefully insert
the cartridge into the slot in the center of the console. Be sure
the cartridge is firmly seated, but do not force it in. The POWER
ON/OFF switch is located on the lower right side of the 5200 console
unit. Press this switch to turn the power on AFTER inserting your
game cartridge. See your Owner' Manual for further information.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. The Enchanted Forest
2. Game Play
3. Using the 5200 Controllers
4. TRAK-BALL Option
5. Scoring
6. Game Variations
7. Helpful Hints
8. Score Ledger
1. THE ENCHANTED FOREST
One glorious spring day you hike into a dense forest that you've
never before explored. As you push deeper into the woods, the trees
close up behind you and the forest grows increasingly dark and
ominous. You get a creepy feeling and decide to go back. A chill
plays up and down your spine when you turn and realize you're lost.
You collapse onto a flat rock beneath an enormous spreading tree and
try to regain your sense of direction. A grey squirrel chatters at
you.
"How do I get out of here?" you sigh out loud. To your amazement,
the squirrel speaks!
"Help us and we'll show you the way home," promises the squirrel.
"What?"
"This is an enchanted forest," explains the squirrel. "We
peace-loving animals must suffer the hostile attacks of an evil
centipede, a deadly spider, a venomous flea, and a poisonous
scorpion. We've waited a long time for a heroic human to enter our
realm and release us from the centipede's cruel dominion. Will you
help?"
"I guess so. But how?"
The forest rustles as dozens of small animals rally around you.
Rabbits, birds, deer, raccoons, muskrats, butterflies--and more
creatures than you can name--appear. A bird flies over, releasing
three white feathers.
"Catch those," the squirrel instructs.
As you catch the feathers, they transform into three glowing wands.
"Now you can go to battle for us," says the squirrel. "With those
magic wands, you can shoot sparks at the centipede. When any section
of the centipede is hit, it turns into a powerless mushroom. You can
also stun the spider, flea, and scorpion with sparks, and they will
disappear for a short time. But, if one of them bites you before you
spark it, you lose consciousness and your magic wand is snatched
away."
Suddenly, you hear a leaf-shaking shriek and the animals scurry about
in a frenzy of terror.
"Look out!" cries the squirrel, "Here comes the centipede!"
2. GAME PLAY
You start the game with three magic wands. Every time you score
12,000 points, you win a bonus wand and musical fanfare exalts your
bravery. You can have a total of six magic wands at one time. When
you lose your last magic wand, the game ends.
If the centipede, spider, or flea bites you, your wand is snatched
away and you become temporarily paralyzed. The game will stop
momentarily and all the mushrooms you partially destroyed during the
battle are restored. Your points are added to your running score,
and the rejuvenated centipede attacks again from the top. You must
replay the previous wave until the centipede is totally destroyed.
Figure 1 shows a typical CENTIPEDE battlefield and Figure 2 shows a
two-player game in progress.
OBJECTIVE
Use your magic wands to score as many points as possible. (See
Section 5 for information on SCORING.) Use strategy and quick
thinking to avoid the paralyzing insect bites. The Enchanted Forest
is a challenging, but dangerous region. By learning about the
dangers that lurk behind every mushroom, you can become a skilled and
heroic wand wielder.
Figure 1 - CENTIPEDE Attack Wave
Figure 2 - Two-Player Game
INHABITANTS OF THE ENCHANTED FOREST
CENTIPEDE
Consisting of 12 body segments, the centipede attacks from the top of
the screen and winds down toward you. Each time you hit a segment,
it becomes a powerless mushroom and the body segment behind that
mushroom becomes the head of a new centipede. When you shoot every
segment of a centipede, the centipede disappears briefly, then
reappears at the top in a new and fiercer attack formation.
The centipede attacks in 12 distinct waves. In Wave 1, the centipede
is composed of a head attached to 11 body parts. In Wave 2. it has
a head attached to 10 body parts plus a detached head. The Wave 3
centipede is composed of 9 body segments with one head attached and
2 detached heads. The centipede continues to transform a body segment
into a head until Wave 12 when it has 12 independently moving heads.
(See Figure 3.)
Figure 3 - Centipede Attack Formations, Waves 1-3
MAGIC MUSHROOMS
Dotting the forest floor are magic mushrooms. These act like shields
for you and can speed the centipede in its attack. The centipede
slides along horizontally in one direction. When it gets to a
mushroom or the edge of the screen, it turns down to the next row of
mushrooms and continues in the opposite direction. It takes four
hits to eliminate an entire mushroom. At the end of each wave, all
partially destroyed mushrooms are magically restored to the forest.
SPIDER
In its attempt to distract you from shooting the centipede, the
spider jumps all over the battlefield, eliminating some of the
mushrooms it touches. The closer the spider comes, the more points
you score when you zap it. (See Section 5 for more information on
SCORING.)
FLEA
The flea starts bugging you after you shoot away most of the
mushrooms near you. It drops straight down, creating mushrooms as it
falls. You must hit the flea twice to make it disappear.
Warning: After the first shot, the flea drops more than twice as
fast!
SCORPION
By the third wave, the scorpion scurries across the middle of the
battlefield, poisoning every mushroom it touches. At first it moves
slowly, then it moves faster and appears more frequently as the game
progresses.
POISONED MUSHROOMS
Poisoned mushrooms are created by the scorpion. These are the same
color as the attacking centipede. When the centipede bumps into a
poisoned mushroom, it goes crazy and plunges straight through the
field of mushrooms toward you. At the end of a wave, all whole and
partially destroyed poisoned mushrooms are transformed back into
magic mushrooms.
3. USING THE 5200 CONTROLLERS
Use your 5200 controller (Figure 4) with this ATARI game cartridge.
For one-player games, plug the controller into controller jack 1 on
your console. For a two-player game, plug a second controller into
jack 2. In two-player games, the player using jack 1 controls game
selection and starts the game.
Figure 4 - 5200 Controller
KEYPAD OVERLAYS
For your convenience, two keypad overlays are included with this game
(Figure 5). Slip the tabs into the slots above and below the keypad
on your controller.
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1-2 PLAYER GAME SELECT
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Figure 5 - Keypad Overlay
PLAYER SELECTION
Press the left * key (or, on your overlay, the square marked 1-2
PLAYERS) to choose a one or two-player game. The screen display will
alternate between 1 PLAYER and 2 PLAYERS. Stop at your choice. (See
Figure 6.)
GAME SELECTION
Press the right # key (or, on your overlay, the square marked GAME
SELECT) to cycle through EASY PLAY, STANDARD PLAY, and HARD PLAY.
Stop at the variation you want to play. (See Figure 6.)
Figure 6 - Player and Game Select Display (Menu)
START
Press START to begin the battle. The START key is deactivated while
a game is in progress and is reactivated after all wands are lost.
RESET
Press RESET to return to a display of your current game selection
(Figure 6). You can then restart that game or select a new
variation.
PAUSE
To suspend a turn in progress, press the PAUSE key. The action
immediately freezes in its present position on the screen. To
continue play, press PAUSE again.
CONTROLLER ACTION
Move your joystick in the same direction you want to move your magic
wand. You can move a short distance up the screen as well as to the
left and right edges of the screen.
To shoot sparks, press the bottom red buttons on the front right and
left sides of the 5200 Controller (see Figure 4). You can fire
sparks as long as you depress the fire button. Your supply of sparks
is unlimited.
4. TRAK-BALL OPTION (Future Accessory)
CENTIPEDE offers a TRAK-BALL option. A TRAK-BALL may be purchased
separately. To play any of the game variations with a TRAK-BALL,
plug the TRAK-BALL into jack 1 on the front of your 5200 console.
Follow the instructions in Section 3, USING THE 5200 CONTROLLERS, for
game, and player selection. You do not need a separate TRAK-BALL for
each player. Simply trade off using the TRAK-BALL as each turn comes
up. The computer switches between players and keeps score
automatically.
NOTE: You cannot use a TRAK-BALL and a 5200 controller together. If
you want to switch from one type of controller to the other, plug in
the new controller and press START. You will restart the game option
you last played.
TRAK-BALL ACTION
Move your TRAK-BALL in any direction to move your magic wand in the
same direction across the bottom of the screen, or about one-quarter
of the way up the screen. To shoot sparks, press the fire button on
the TRAK-BALL. (See your TRAK-BALL Owner's Manual for further
details.)
5. SCORING
You can score a total of 99,999,999 points before the score rolls
back to zero. Point values are listed below.
Centipede body segment...................10 points
Centipede head..........................100 points
Spider (distant range)..................300 points
Spider (medium range)...................600 points
Spider (close-range--look out!).........900 points
Flea....................................200 points
Scorpion...............................1000 points
Magic Mushroom (totally eliminated).......1 point
Magic Mushroom (shot 1 to 3 times)........5 points
Poison Mushroom (totally eliminated)......1 point
Poison Mushroom (shot 1 to 3 times).......5 points
Poison Mushroom (not shot at all).........5 points
Bonus Wand.....................every 12,000 points
6. GAME VARIATIONS
CENTIPEDE offers three game variations: EASY PLAY for beginners and
children, STANDARD PLAY for intermediate players, and HARD PLAY for
advanced players. (See Section 3 for information on how to select
the difficulty level of your choice.)
7. HELPFUL HINTS
1. Shoot away mushrooms in a straight line up the screen to create
a "corridor." When the centipede reaches this "gap," it will fall
straight down the battlefield and can be easily picked off.
2. Since the flea doesn't appear until you have eliminated most of
the mushrooms near you, you can set up a shield to prevent this
lightening-fast pest from striking. Simply refrain from shooting
away mushrooms near your magic wand.
3. Shoot centipede heads to create new heads out of the body segment
left behind. Since heads are worth 10 times the point value of
body segments, you'll score lots of points.
4. Each creature makes a distinctive sound. By becoming familiar
with these sounds, you will know without looking, what is
attacking and where it is on the screen.
8. SCORE LEDGER
Name: Date: Score:
_______________ ______ ________
_______________ ______ ________
_______________ ______ ________
_______________ ______ ________
[etc.]
END
Typed by Jay Tilton
for Atari Gaming Headquarters
Used with permission from Atari Gaming Headquarters
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