Blasto - MAME software

Texas instrument TI-99/4A cart. published 44 years ago:

Blasto © 1980 Milton Bradley Co.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to maneuver a tank through a mine field? The Blasto• Solid State Software Command Module, developed for Texas Instruments by the Milton Bradley Company, puts you in command of an armored tank. The object of the game is to guide your tank through a treacherous mine field, blasting as many mines as possible, or to maneuver around dangerous barricades while firing at the enemy. Depending on the type of game you select, you can:

• Race against the clock, trying to improve your score with each game.
• Play against a friend and try to hit the other tank, as well as the mines in the field.
• Increase the speed of the tank as your skill improves.

TECHNICAL
GAME ID: PHM 3032

TRIVIA
Retail price: $24.95

SCORING
As you move the tank around the mine field, your object is to destroy as many mines as possible. If you hit a small green mine, 10 points are added to the score. If you destroy a large blue mine, 50 points are added. In addition, hitting a blue mine causes a chain reaction, and many adjacent mines, both green and blue, are destroyed by a single hit.

In a two-player game, you also receive 1000 points each time you hit your opponent's tank. Both tanks then return to their starting positions. If the tanks run into each other, no points are scored, and both tanks return to their starting positions.

Occasionally, your tank may be caught in a chain-reaction explosion. When this happens, your tank spins around and then returns to its original starting position. As a penalty in a one-player game, 200 points are deducted from your score. If you don't have 200 points, your score returns to zero. If you blast your own tank with a chain reaction in a two-player game, your opponent scores 1000 points.

If, in a one-player game, you destroy all of the mines before the time runs out, you receive 1000 points for each second left on the clock.

TIPS AND TRICKS
As soon as the playing field appears, the game begins. During the allotted time period, you try to score points by blasting the mines (andyour opponent, in a two-player game). If you are playing Obstacles, you score only by hitting your opponent.

To move the black tank around the field, press the arrow keys, [UP] (E), [LEFT] (S), [RIGHT] (D), and [DOWN] (X). Then, when you are ready to fire at the mines, aim the tank in the desired direction and press Q. In a two-player game, press I to move the white tank up, J to move it left, K for right, and M for down. Press ENTER to fire. If the Wired Remote Controllers are used, move the lever to direct the tank and press the FIRE button to fire the tank's cannon.

STAFF
Programmers: ELAINE HENSHON, BOB HARRIS

CONTRIBUTE
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