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Halloween
For the Atari 2600
General FAQ
Last Updated 5/20/05
Version 1.0
Written & Compiled by "TestaALT"
Email address TestaALT@aol.com
This file is Copyright (c) 2005 Andrew "TestaALT" Testa. All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents:
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1. Version History
2. Introduction
3. Dedication
4. Controls
5. Overview
6. Strategies
7. Frequently Asked Questions
8. Credits
9. Legal Disclaimer
10. Contact Information
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1. Version History
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Version 1.0 (05/20/05): - Initial version of document.
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2. Introduction
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Halloween is definitely a unique game; saving children from a killer is an
interesting focus. However, Halloween lacks the qualities that make a video
game. It is neither fun nor rewarding. All you do is blindly go from room to
room, save children, dodge the killer, and get points. After saving a handful
of kids things get very boring. Try it out, but don't think it's one of
Atari's best.
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3. Dedication
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I dedicate this guide to all Atari 2600 gamers out there. They really keep
this system alive, even though it seems "dead." Atari 2600, in a lot of
people's minds, was the first gaming console ever created. This really isn't
true, as there were other obscure systems before it. However, this was most
people's first video game system - this is the system that brought them into
gaming. And so, I dedicate this guide to the Atari 2600 gamers that still
play this old system and keep it alive.
This guide is also dedicated to Brian P. Sulpher and AboveAverage. Where did
you go, AboveAverage? You told me which system to write for! And of course,
Brian taught all of us that you can write billions and billions of guides for
old games.
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4. Controls
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Fire Button: Used to get children to follow you and pick up/use weapon.
Joystick: Used to move your character.
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5. Overview
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The basic layout of the game:
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Lives -> ##
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#### <- Score
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<http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/02/halloween.html>
In Halloween, you play as a babysitter that needs to get children to safe
areas. The only problem is that Michael Meyers, wielding a knife of some
sort, wants to chop your heads off. He'll pop up on every screen and make
things very interesting. You can never really get rid of him unless you're in
the safe areas, at either end of the stories.
The game's split screens make it so you can see both floors. This doesn't
help in your crusade to get away from Michael because he'll show up on your
room no matter what. However, with both screens, you can see items and
children on a floor you're not on. Basically, you can scale through all the
screens and see where children are at in half the time. That's good.
When you find a child, use the fire key to have him follow you. From here on
out, if you see Michael he'll go straight for the kid, so dodge strategies
won't work. If you want to dodge Michael, you'll have to reenter screens.
After arriving at the safe areas on either end of the floor, you'll get a few
points and drop the kid off.
That's basically the way the game is played. Picking up children and throwing
them in safe areas while dodging Michael. After getting five in a safe area,
the difficulty increases and points per child are worth more. Stabbing
Michael is also fun, but it doesn't kill him. He'll only run off the screen;
the dog shows up in the next screen you're in.
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6. Strategies
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Pointers.
* If Michael is in the way, retreat to the last room and try the room
again. Usually, if you go through the room fast enough, Michael will
spawn behind you instead of in front of you.
* You CAN dodge Michael in the early difficulties. Just go diagonal right
before you're at him and you'll miss him.
* The children are scattered throughout the rooms. Run through every room,
looking on both floors, until you find one. Keep note of children not on
your floor, because they'll stay in that area until you save them.
* The safe areas are at the ends of either floors. Each floor has eight
rooms side by side.
* Michael not only pops out of the sides of screens but also doors.
* Doors can be used to change floors.
* One weapon is somewhere around the household - usually on the lower
floor in one of the middle rooms.
* Start off by descending to the lower floor so you can get a weapon.
* To hit Michael with your weapon, merely press the fire key while he's in
front of you. He's slow, so he's an easy target.
* Michael will head towards children automatically. They take precedence.
* At the rooms BEFORE the safe rooms, sometimes the lights blink out. This
doesn't make a huge difference, though, as they'll blink back on long
enough for you to see what direction Michael is coming from.
* Michael is slower than you by far.
* The only way you can score points is by saving the children.
* After saving five children, the difficulty increases a little, along
with the points you can acquire for saving children.
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7. Frequently Asked Questions
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Question: How many lives can you have?
Answer: Three lives.
Question: Who is the grey guy following me?
Answer: That's Michael.
Question: What do I do?
Answer: Not very enjoyable - save children from Michael. To do this, you
have to grab them and bring them to a safe room. You get points for
doing this.
Question: How many players can play?
Answer: Just one.
Question: When did this game come out?
Answer: 1983.
Question: Who created this game?
Answer: Wizard Video Games.
Question: My game doesn't work, how do I get it to work!?
Answer: You might have a corrupted version of the game, or perhaps the old
2 K version, which doesn't work very well.
Question: Where can I get this game?
Answer: The Atari 2600 hasn't had any new games made for years, so you
can't buy it from them. You can get the game at a garage sale or
ebay, if you like. ROMs also work, if you have the game and it is
broken, that is. I'm sure Activision made one of their "five hun-
dred games-in-one," too, and you get one from them.
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8. Credits
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* CJayC for creating GameFAQs.
* Brian Sulpher for showing me a good ROM site.
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9. Legal Disclaimer
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This document is Copyright (c) 2005 Andrew "TestaALT" Testa. All Rights
Reserved. This document may not be reproduced or retransmitted in any form
and under any circumstances without the complete consent of the author. It
may not be sold, altered, or published in any way without the advanced
permission of the author. All sources, which have contributed to this
document, are cited and/or credited in some form. The only sites I allow this
document to be viewed at are:
GameFAQs <http://www.gamefaqs.com>
IGN <http://www.ign.com>
If you see this document at any other site please email me as I do not allow
this document to be published at any other sources. Please do not ask me if
you want this document on your website, as the answer will most likely be no.
These terms have become binding once the recipient (or reader) opened this
document. Violation of these terms are strictly prohibited and will result in
a lawsuit. Please do not take these terms as threats and/or not read them as
they are all very much true. I can sue you for an act of plagiarism and will
not hesitate to do so. Thank you for reading this legal disclaimer and have a
nice day! =)
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10. Contact Information
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Contact me via email (TestaALT@aol.com) or AIM (TestaALT) if you have any
questions, comments, or suggestions about this guide. Just make sure that you
put the game name in the subject line. If you don't, I'll probably delete
you're email thinking it's spam. Also, make sure that the question isn't
answered in the latest version of the document, which can be found at
GameFAQs. Try to ask me legibly, as I can't decipher chickenscratch. For AIM,
just beep me whenever you like. Thanks for reading, and check some of my
other work at:
-> http://gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/23249.html <-
<- END OF DOCUMENT ->
