Up'n Down
| Up'n Down | |
|---|---|
 Arcade version screenshot | |
| Developer(s) | Sega |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Platform(s) | Arcade (original) Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit, ColecoVision, Commodore 64 |
| Release | 1983 |
| Genre(s) | Racing / Maze |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
Up'n Down is a video game developed and published by Sega.[1] It was first released in 1983 as an arcade game, then later ported to the Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Atari 8-bit family, and Commodore 64. In Up'n Down the player drives a car forward and backward along a branching, vertically scrolling track, collecting flags and jumping on other cars to destroy them.
Gameplay
Up'n Down is a vertically scrolling game that employs a pseudo-3D perspective.[citation needed] The player controls a purple dune buggy that resembles a Volkswagen Beetle.[citation needed] The buggy moves forward along a single-lane path; pressing up or down on the joystick causes the buggy to speed up or slow down, pressing right or left causes the buggy to switch lanes at an intersection, and pressing the "jump" button causes the buggy to jump in the air. Jumping is required to avoid other cars on the road; the player can either jump all the way over them, or land on them for points.[citation needed]
To complete a round, the player must collect 10 colored flags by running over them with the buggy. If the player passes by a flag without picking it up, it will appear again later in the round. The roads feature inclines and descents that affect the buggy's speed, and bridges that must be jumped. A player loses a turn whenever the buggy either collides with another vehicle without jumping on it, or jumps off the road and into the grass or water.[citation needed]}
Atari 2600 port
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Sega released a port for the Atari 2600 in 1984, noted for its jarring background music.[citation needed] According to Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design by Karen Collins, the arcade version's "bluesy F-sharp minor groove" was transformed by the Atari 2600's sound tunings into "a very unsettling version based in C minor with a flattened melodic sound".[2] The AtariAge rarity guide gives the 2600 version of Up'n Down a rating of "7 - Very Rare", the most rare rating of any game released by Sega for the 2600.[3]
See also
References
- ^ "Up'n Down". The International Arcade Museum. Retrieved 9 Nov 2013.
- ^ Collins, Karen (October 31, 2008). Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design. MIT Press. p. 23. ISBN 0-262-03378-X.
- ^ Yarusso, Al. "Companies - Sega". AtariAge. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
External links
- Up'n Down at the Killer List of Videogames
- The Atari 2600 version of Up'n Down can be played for free in the browser at the Internet Archive