| Rally-X | |
| Arcade version of Rally-X | |
| Developer: | Namco |
| Publisher: | Midway Games |
| Conversion Class: | Namco Galaxian |
| Release date: | 1980 |
| Genre: | Retro/Fixed Shooter |
| Game modes: | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
| Cabinet: | Standard and sit-down |
| Controls: | joystick |
| System hardware | CPU: Z80 at 3.072 Mhz |
| Monitor | |
| Orientation: | Vertical |
| Type: | Raster, standard resolution (used 288X224) with 32 colors |
| Notes | |
| Notable for being the first game with a "Challenge" level. | |
Rally-X is an arcade game made by Namco in 1980. It holds a few similarities to Pac-Man.
Description
In the game, the player controls a blue car through a labyrinth. The car will automatically move in which direction the joystick is pushed, but if it hits a wall, it will turn around and continue.
Several red cars patrol the maze, and if the player hits any of them, he loses a life. However, he can use smokescreen against the red cars. If any of them runs into a cloud of it, the car will freeze for a moment. However, he has limited fuel to use it, and it runs out on its own. There are also boulders that the player must avoid.
In each stage, ten flags are scattered around the maze. The player must collect all of them to move on. The flags increase in value as they are collected: the first is 100 points, second is 200, third is 300, and so on. There are also bonus flags- if the player collects one of them, the value earned from flags doubles for the rest of the round. If the player dies, however, the first flag value is set back to 100 and the double bonus is lost.
Every few rounds, a bonus stage will start. The player must collect flags in the normal way, but the red cars are stuck. If the player runs out of fuel, the cars will start moving.
Ports
Rally-X was not ported to any of the major systems of its day, i.e. ColecoVision, Atari or any of the other systems. However, it was included in the Namco Museum series of the late 1990s, which was released for the PlayStation, among others.
Sequels
The game had a sequel, New Rally-X. It was basically just the original with better graphics. Also, something called the "Lucky Check Point" was added, which gives you extra fuel.