Release Date: 1983
Publisher: Activision
Controller: Joystick
Players: 1
Genre: Arcade
Alternate Title: N/A
Model #: AX-025
Rarity: 2
Programmer: Garry Kitchen
Take control of Officer Kelly, the most physically fit cop in the history of video games.
While on patrol at Southwicks Department Store he is alerted to the fact that Harry Hooligan is going on a robbing spree and must be stopped. Of course given Harry’s jailhouse pinstripes it’s kind of hard not to notice that he is up to no good.
The good officer begins on the first floor and must catch up to the fleeing criminal, who has a floor and a half head start to his rooftop escape. Fortunately Kelly is not only fleet of foot, but can keep up his robust pace indefinitely, proving once again the importance of cardio. It’s not as simple as catching up to him however, as there are a multitude of obstacles standing in your way. Runaway shopping carts, beach balls, old timey radios, and the deadly biplanes. Touching most of these results in a loss of time, however the biplanes are a one hit kill.
There are two ways to reach the upper floors, escalators and elevators. The escalators are one way, so once you go up you are stuck, however the elevator will move you wherever you want to go. Using the lift can be hit or miss since it’s on a random timer, so you have to decide on the fly whether or not its worth waiting for. Paying attention to the in store security system is vital, as it is important not to get ahead of Harry, since he will change direction and move to a lower floor, making it difficult for you to catch up.
As the levels progress the obstacles gain enough speed that you must face them multiple times on a single screen. For the objects you leap over it’s not that big of a deal, but for the planes it can eat up a lot of time thanks to the stopping and starting required to stay alive. Thanks to this, your success it tied to how lucky you are with catching the elevator.
While it takes some time for the difficulty level to ramp up, requiring you to repeat the same basic stage multiple times, this is a solid title for the 2600 and is worth checking out.
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