ULTIMATE GUIDE: ROAD RUNNER
RETRO GAMER | 63ACCELERATTI
INCREDIBILIS
■ Don’t race too far in front of
Wile E. If he disappears off the
screen to the right, he’ll strap on his
rocket-powered rollerskates and
come racing after you. Slow down
regularly to ensure he’s always
visible on the screen.HELIUS VULGARIS
■ At stage four Wile E will turn
up the heat by taking to the air
in an Acme-produced backpack
helicopter, and to confound things
more he’ll start lobbing sticks of
dynamite at you. To avoid being
blown up, run at full speed while
moving diagonally up and down.EATIUS BIRDIUS
■ On the third loop (stages nine
through 12) you’ll begin to see
piles of birdseed laced with steel
shot that you must avoid. If you
accidentally gobble them, Wile E
will pursue you with his magnet
that pulls you towards him and is
difficult to escape.POINTUS SCORUS
■ At its heart, Road Runner is all
about hauling as many points as
you can. The value of birdseed
increases if you collect them in
sequence, and you can earn bonus
points by drinking cool lemonade
(if you have time) and giving Wile E
the ‘tongue’.BOMBUS
ASPHALTUS
■ Mines are introduced on the
second loop (stages five through
eight). Stepping on these is an
instant kaboom, so you’ll need to
use the ‘hop’ button frequently. Of
course you can turn the tables by
luring Coyote onto them.DISAPPEARIALIS
QUICKIUS
■ The final new feature introduced
on loop four (stages 13 to 16) is
magic paint. If Wile E finds a can it
makes him invisible and harder to
evade. The trick is to grab the can
first, as this makes you invisible
and confuses the hell out of him.RULES OF THE ROAD
Top tips to prolong your life and boost your scoreAtari game which ran on similar hardware as Road
Runner and had been a massive home hit for US
Gold. The firm commissioned Liverpool-based Canvas
Software (which had handled the Leaderboard and
Super Cycle conversions) to develop the game for the
Commodore 64, Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Atari
ST. The C64 version was the highlight, with C&VG
magazine scoring it 10/10 and awarding it the ‘Game of
the Month’ accolade, calling it “almost an exact copy”
of the coin-op. All of the versions were pretty faithful –
and there was good reason for this. “The licensing side
of the Road Runner deal is complex,” revealed Chaney
in 1987. “Each version must be sent to both Atari
Games and Warner Bros once a month. If they take
exception to anything it could well mean going right
back and starting from scratch.”
Mindscape later released a version for the PC
that was evidently based on the ST version. Console
versions followed in 1989, first for the NES and then
the antiquated Atari 2600. This was one of the final
2600 titles to be released, and while it was only loosely
based on the original, it did remove that damned ‘seed
meter’ and was all the better for it.
Due to the Warner Bros licence, Road Runner hasn’t
been included on any of the Atari retro compilations
that have been released over the years. If you want
to revisit the game then MAME is probably your best
option, although the controls can be an issue. This
is because the original coin-op uses a ‘Hall effect’
joystick that gives you precise, analogue control (the
more you push, the faster Road Runner moves). Under
emulation using a mouse is preferable to using keys,
but if you’re able to configure an analogue joystick
then it’s worth the effort to enjoy the game as it was
original intended – LaserDisc notwithstanding.It was available
as an upright cab or
as a conversion kit
for Atari’s existing
System 1 games
Acme Delivery
Truck
Acme
Magnet Crispy Coyote
And Road Runner