******************************************************************************* Front Line for Atari 2600 FAQ by BHodges Version 1.0 Created 01/01/17 This document Copyright © 2017 by Brian Hodges. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. ******************************************************************************* Table of Contents I. Introduction II. Background Story III. Getting Started IV. Basic Gameplay A. Objective B. Controls C. Soldier D. Tanks E. Lives V. Areas A. Forest B. Brush C. Desert D. Fort VI. Strategies & Tips VII. Scoring VIII. Version History IX. Contact Information ******************************************************************************* I. Introduction This is a FAQ for the Atari 2600 game Front Line. It contains information on how to play the game as well as tips for winning. Front Line is a port of the arcade classic from Taito. The gameplay is similar to Capcom's Commando: you play as a lone soldier who has to make his way through enemy territory to destroy their fort. ******************************************************************************* II. Background Story Here is the background story from the instruction booklet: "It's dangerous. It's mean. It's WAR! And now, you are there! Your mission? Invade enemy territory and knock out the fortress. To do it, you'll have to travel over tricky terrain and fight against overwhelming odds at every step. Evade attacks, search and destroy lumbering tanks! Storm the river bridge to face your most difficult challenge: the enemy fort! You must demolish it or die. And if you succeed? A new assignment is yours on another front, against a more experience army. There's no rest, no relaxation, no letting down your guard. You're in the Army now!" ******************************************************************************* III. Getting Started On the title screen press the GAME SELECT switch to cycle through the available game modes: Skill Level The number at the top of the screen represents the game's skill level. There are four levels available: Skill 1 is the easiest while Skill 4 is the hardest. On Skill 1 the max number of enemies that can appear onscreen is two, on Skills 1-4 the max is three. Number of Players The number of tanks next to the skill level represents the number of players (i.e. one tank is a one player game while two tanks is two player). In a two player game players take turns: when player one loses a life, player two plays and when player two dies, player one resumes play. ******************************************************************************* IV. Basic Gameplay ............................................................................... A. Objective The object of the game is to infiltrate the enemy's fort and destroy it by destroying the big gun at the end. ............................................................................... B. Controls On Foot Joystick Move/Aim Button Fire pistol/Throw grenade/Enter tank In Tank Joystick Move/Aim Button Fire Hold Button Exit Tank (while stationary) ............................................................................... C. Soldier Your soldier is armed with a pistol and grenades, both with unlimited ammo. You will switch weapons automatically based on the type of enemy you are facing. Pistol Press the button while fighting enemy soldiers to fire your pistol. You can only fire a single shot at a time. One hit from your pistol will kill an enemy soldier. Grenade Press the button while fighting tanks or the big gun at the end to throw a grenade. You can only throw one grenade at a time. One hit from a grenade will destroy any enemy. ............................................................................... D. Tanks Heavy Tank Heavy tanks are slow moving and armed with a cannon with unlimited ammo. The cannon will destroy enemy tanks with a single shot but is useless against the big gun at the end of the fort. Light Tank Light tanks are quick moving and armed with a machine gun with unlimited ammo. Your machine gun will destroy enemy tanks with a single shot but is useless against the big gun at the end of the fort. Commandeering a Tank Starting in the brush, you will occasionally come across blue squares. These are actually empty tanks that you can commandeer! To commandeer a tank, stand over it and press the button. Exiting a Tank You can exit a tank at any time by holding down the button while the joystick is in a neutral position. Please note that if you exit a tank, you lose that tank. Tank Armor Both Heavy and Light Tanks have terrible armor, one hit from enemy fire is all it takes to destroy them! Once your tank is hit, you only have a second to jump out before the explosion kills you. To jump out of the tank, press the button. ............................................................................... E. Lives You begin the game with five lives. Destroy the enemy fort to earn an extra life. You lose a life when the following occurs: - You touch an enemy or are hit by enemy fire while on foot - You fail to exit a tank before it explodes ******************************************************************************* V. Areas ............................................................................... A. Forest You begin in the forest and must make your way north to the enemy fortress. The forest is full of trees that you can neither move nor shoot through. It is also full of enemy soldiers! Take them out before they can end your mission prematurely. ............................................................................... B. Brush You'll know when you reach the brush because the background will turn brown. Unlike the trees in the forest, you can both move and shoot through brush, but it will slow you down. At the beginning of the brush you'll see a blue square, that is a heavy tank you can commandeer! Enter the tank by standing over it and pressing the button while the joystick is in a neutral position. Once you enter the tank the enemy soldiers will scatter, from now on you'll be fighting their tanks. ............................................................................... C. Desert The desert is full of cacti and boulders. You can neither move nor shoot through them. At the end of the desert you will see the bridge leading to the enemy fort... ............................................................................... D. Fort Enter the fort by crossing the bridge. At the end of the fort is the big gun you must destroy. The gun can ONLY be destroyed with grenades, if you are in a tank you must exit it (by standing still and holding the button). It takes just a single grenade to take out the big gun and destroy the fort. Once you've destroyed the fort you'll be awarded an extra life and the game will loop you back to the forest so you can do it all over again. ******************************************************************************* VI. Strategies & Tips - There's a limit to the number of enemies that can appear onscreen (two on Skill 1 and three for Skills 2-4). Use this to your advantage by trapping an enemy (or two) at the bottom of the screen then continually heading up as fast as you can! - You can only fire one shot at a time so make them count - While on foot you move much faster diagonally than you do moving up/down or right/left - Tanks appear from the brush onwards - The first blue square you come across is a heavy tank, the second is a light tank, the third is another heavy tank, and so on - While in tank you move fastest when going left/right - Remember that you cannot destroy the fort with the Light Tank's machine gun nor the Heavy Tank's shells, you will have to get out and use your grenades ******************************************************************************* VII. Scoring /===================================================\ | Scoring | |---------------------------------+-----------------| |Defeat Enemy Soldier | 100 pts | |---------------------------------+-----------------| |Defeat Enemy Tank | 100 pts | |---------------------------------+-----------------| |Destroy Fortress (Skill Level 1) | 1000 pts | |---------------------------------+-----------------| |Destroy Fortress (Skill Level 2) | 2000 pts | |---------------------------------+-----------------| |Destroy Fortress (Skill Level 3) | 3000 pts | |---------------------------------+-----------------| |Destroy Fortress (Skill Level 4) | 4000 pts | \===================================================/ ******************************************************************************* VIII. Version History 1.0 01/01/17 Completed FAQ. ******************************************************************************* IX. Contact Information You can contact me at bhodges080@aol.com Please leave constructive comments. I especially appreciate emails letting me know if I have made a mistake, missed anything, or if you have any ideas for improving this FAQ. End