LoginRegisterContact

Dukes of Hazzard [Model CX2678]

Unreleased Atari 2600 cart. published 41 years ago by Atari, Inc.

Listed in MAME

Dukes of Hazzard [Model CX2678] screenshot

Dukes of Hazzard © 1983 Atari, Incorporated.

You control the General Lee and must attempt to break Daisy out of jail before Boss Hog can get his slimy hands on her. To perform this jailbreak, you must drive the General Lee to the top of a giant mazelike board and touch the jail (it's the big square block marked JAIL). Along the way you must avoid Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane and Deputy Enos Strate as they attempt to put an end to your reckless disregard for the law.

The General Lee is represented by a little car (which looks like a Volkswagen Beetle) with a white X on top. Rosco and Enos are represented by little white cars with flashing lights. If Rosco or Enos get too close to the General Lee they will switch to ramming speed and smash into the side of your car and you'll lose a life. Scattered around the level are little piles of dots (possibly caltrops), which you can pick up and drop in front of the enemy to temporarily stun them.

TECHNICAL

Model CX2678

TRIVIA

Dukes of Hazzard is not really a prototype. The game was actually burned onto regular ROM chips that were just about to be put into carts and shipped when Atari abruptly decided to cancel the game. According to the programmer Mark Hahn the game was still being worked on, so it is a mystery as to why Atari would go through the expense of manufacturing ROM chips. It appears that Dukes of Hazzard may have been the victim of internal Atari territoriality. According to Hahn he and his group were stationed in New York, while the bulk of Atari's programming staff was located in California. Apparently the California group didn't give the New York group much help or guidance and they were sort of forced to wing it.

Interestingly, this wasn't Atari's first attempt at a Dukes of Hazzard game. Atari had previously attempted to rework the graphics in the unreleased game Stunt Cycle into a Dukes of Hazzard type game. It's unknown why Atari abandoned the Stunt Cycle version, but it may be because it was too outdated by the time it was ready for release. This may explain why Atari was so eager to get this Dukes of Hazzard game out the door as quickly as possible (or perhaps Atari's use of the license was about to expire). Either way, the game was never released.

STAFF

Programmer: Mark R. Hahn

SOURCES

Game's ROM.