Doomed
Can YOU survive three minutes in the death pit? By Tony Barnes
Doomed is a dodge-and-fight game so challenging that you only need to survive three minutes to win! This BASIC program works on all 8-bit Atari computers having at least 32K memory, with disk or cassette.
They throw you into the cell, and as you hit the cold hard floor they say, "If you can survive three minutes in that death pit you can have your freedom!" Three minutes, you think. Could it be all that bad?
Suddenly, strange beasts come at you from either side. Faster and faster they advance, sapping the very life from you with every pass.
As you concentrate on lasting those three minutes, you notice that one of the beasts disappears, and then another. Then you realize that your mind waves kill these creatures!
GETTING STARTED
To play Doomed, type in Listing 1, DOOMED.BAS, check it with TYPO II and SAVE a copy. If you have trouble typing the special characters in lines 50, 5530-5565, 11000-11010 and 20006-20010, don't type these lines. Instead, type in Listing 2. 'When you RUN Listing 2, it creates a file called LINES.LST. Merge this file with Listing 1 by typing LOAD "D:DOOMED.BAS and then ENTER "D:LINES.LST". Cassette users: CLOAD Listing 1, then insert the separate cassette used for Listing 2 and ENTER "C:". Remember to SAVE the completed program before you RUN it.
When you RUN Doomed and the main screen appears, press your joystick button to start the game. Pressing the joystick button will also bypass the introductory sequence.
Creatures attack from either side. Any creatures you can't avoid must be shot with your "mind-blaster". To activate it, press the joystick button while moving left or right.
The creatures on the ground are beyond range of your mind-blaster. Your only chance is to jump over them. Move the joystick forward to jump up. As you fall back, you may move left or right, zapping the upper-level creatures and evading the creatures on the floor.
As the game progresses, the ground begins to crumble away. Again, press the joystick forward to jump over the holes. Once you start to fall, move the joystick right or left to scramble onto the stable patches of bricks.
Flashing flags at the bottom of the screen indicate your remaining strength. Once you're down to your last flag, you're doomed to die--and your game is over.
Tony Barnes is a San Francisco community college freshman. His previous Antic games include Escape From Hell (June 1988) and Shutdown (April 1989).
Listing: DOOMED.BAS Download