CRAZY CLIMBER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. NEWS FLASH!.......................1
2. GAME PLAY.........................2
3. USING THE CONTROLLER..............4
4. CONSOLE CONTROLS..................5
5. GAME VARIATIONS...................6
6. SCORING...........................6
7. HELPFUL HINTS.....................7
8. GAME SELECT MATRIX................8

1. NEWS FLASH!

2. GAME PLAY

Win at CRAZY CLIMBER by climbing to the tops of four skyscrapers, while avoiding enemies and objects that can knock you off the side of the building. You can climb up, right, or left, but not down on the rows of windows. The faster and farther you climb, the more points you score. But watch out! If a window closes on your hands, or if a falling object hits you while climbing, you'll fall back to the street below.

You'll start the game with five climbers; each time one falls, another appears at the spot where the last climber fell. The last three climbers are shown at the top center of your screen.

Each skyscraper is progressively more difficult to climb. Windows open and close faster, more obstacles are placed in your path, and your enemies are more unrelenting in their attacks.

You'll need sharp eyes and quick reflexes to make it past all the obstacles placed in your path. The obstacles you'll encounter are:

WINDOWS

These are an ever-present danger to you. You can climb past a window if it is even slightly open, but if it closes shut on both your hands, you'll fall. If a window closes on only one of your hands, you're safe - but only if you stay still. If you try to climb up or sideways, you'll lose your grip and fall.

MAD DOCTOR

An arch fiend with a weird sense of humor, the Mad Doctor smiles down at you while throwing a bizarre assortment of missiles. He has three to choose from - a flowerpot, a basket of fruit, and a bucket of water. If any of these hit you while you're climbing from one window to another, you'll fall. If you have both hands firmly planted on a ledge, however, you'll be safe. The obstacle will simply bounce off your head. Whether you fall or not, you'll lose 100 bonus points each time you're hit by one of the Mad Doctor's deadly toys.

CONDOR

Get ready for the biggest bird you've ever seen! This snow-white condor will divebomb you with gigantic eggs. If your arms are straight and firmly planted on a ledge, the egg will simply break and splatter into the air. If you are climbing to another window, however, it will knock you off the ledge. You will lose 100 points if an egg touches you, so avoid them if you can.

GIRDERS

A shower of steel girders greets you as you climb some of the buildings . Nothing can stop a girder from sweeping you off the side of a building - avoid them at all costs. If a girder touches you, you'll not only fall, but you'll also lose 100 bonus points.

ELECTRIC SIGN

An electric sign sometimes appears where a building narrows down to two rows of windows. A flopping live wire hangs off the side of the sign. As you climb past, the wire will shock you. For each electric shock you receive, you lose 100 bonus points; 11 shocks and you'll fall off the building. Try to climb past the sign as fast as you can.

REACHING THE TOP

Each time you reach the top of a building, a helicopter appears and will take you to a new building. Hurry! You only have 30 seconds to grab the runner of the helicopter. Your bonus points tick off while the helicopter is searching for you, so the faster you grab the runner, the more bonus points you'll keep. After you've reached the top of Building 4, you'll be transported back to Building 1. Keep climbing! You'll continue to score points until you use all your climbers.

3. USING THE CONTROLLERS

Use your Joystick Controller with this ATARI Game Program cartridge. Be sure the controller cables are firmly plugged into the jacks at the back of your ATARI 2600 Video Computer System game. Hold your Joystick with the red button to your upper left, toward the television screen. (See your Owner's Manual for further details.)

STARTING THE GAME

Select the game variation you want to play by using the GAME SELECT switch on your console, or by pulling back on your left Joystick. You can start the game two different ways. Press the GAME RESET switch on you console, or press the red button on your left controller. The Crazy Climber theme will then play; when it's over, you'll be ready to go!

MOVING YOUR CLIMBER

Climbing up a building requires a two-part movement: First push the Joystick forward to move the climber's arms up; then pull the Joystick back to move the climber up to a new ledge. To climb quickly, move the Joystick back and forth, using a rocking motion.

To move your climber sideways, push the Joystick either left or right. Your climber will scurry across the building in the same direction you move your Joystick. However, you can only move your climber sideways when his arms are straight. If your climber is in a crouched position, you must straighten his arms out before he can move right or left.

4. CONSOLE CONTROLS

GAME RESET SWITCH

Press GAME RESET to start the game, or to restart the game in the middle of game play. The Crazy Climber theme will play; when it stops you can move your climber. Good luck!

GAME SELECT SWITCH

Use GAME SELECT to pick the game variation you would like to play. The game variation appears at the upper left of your screen. Continue pressing the switch to cycle through the game variations. Pulling back on the left Joystick has the same function as pressing the GAME SELECT switch.

TV TYPE SWITCH

Set this switch to COLOR if you're playing on a color TV. Set it to B-W to play the game on a black and white TV.

DIFFICULTY SWITCHES

If you set your DIFFICULTY SWITCH to the A position, your climber moves slowly and will have a hard time grasping ledges. If you set your difficulty switch to the B position, your climber mvoes faster. The LEFT DIFFICULTY switch affects the climber controlled by the left Joystick; the RIGHT DIDDICULTY switch affects the climber controlled by the right Joystick.

5. GAME VARIATIONS

CRAZY CLIMBER contains ten different game variations. Five of the variations are one-player games, the other five are two player games.

You have the option of starting a game on one of four different buildings. Use the Building 1 variation to start climbing on Building 1, the Building 2 variation to start climbing on Building 2, and so on.

Use the NOVICE variations to learn how to play CRAZY CLIMBER. In the NOVICE mode you cannot fall off a building unless a window shuts on your hands, or unless an electric sign shocks you more than eleven times. Your always start climbing on the Building 1 in the NOVICE game variations. (See Section 7 - GAME SELECT MATRIX, for a quick reference to game variations.)

6. SCORING

You score pints in CRAZY CLIMBER two ways: by earning climbing points for each row of windows you climb up; and by earning bonus points when you reach the top of each skyscraper.

The value of your climbing points depends on the building you climb:

Building 1             100 points/row
Building 2             200 points/row
Building 3             300 points/row
Building 4             400 points/row

Bonus points are like a timer - they measure the speed at which you climb a building. When you start climbing a new building, the maximum number of bonus points appears on the screen, above your score (see Figure 4). For every ten seconds you climb, your bonus points decreases by 100 points. When you reach the top, you must grab the helicopter within 30 seconds, or you'll lose all your bonus points. You should grab the helicopter as fast as possible, since your bonus points continue to decrease until you touch the helicopter runner.

The maximum value of your bonus points also depends on which building you are on:

Building 1              100,000 points
Building 2              200,000 points
Building 3              300,000 points
Building 4              400,000 points

7. HELPFUL HINTS

• Climb as fast as possible to score maximum bonus points.
• Climb past closing windows quickly. Rmember that you can safely climb past any window as longs as it doesn't close completely on your hands. Don't wait for a window to close - clmb past it.
• Foil the Mad Doctor by clibing between two rows of windows. His missiles will whiz harmlessly past your head.
• Try to predict where the helicopter will dip down to pick you up. Then move to the best place - fast!

8. GAME SELECT MATRIX

Copyright 1983 ATARI, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

This manual archived by Alexander Bilstein for Atari Age.