Blue Lightning [Model PA2020]

37 Years old Atari Lynx cart. Atari Corp. [CA, USA]

Blue Lightning © 1989 Atari Corp.

The top secret Blue Lightning combat jet has never been tested. The jet was still in the early stages of development when this war broke out. Now the allies are losing and the Pentagon is desperate.

The President ordered the Air Force to prepare Blue Lightning for action. Flight Command chose you to man the first combat flight. You weren't chosen because you are the best pilot in the Air Force. You were chosen because you are the class clown and frankly, you're expendable.

You look around you as you approach enemy territory. A trail of smoke warns you of an oncoming missile. You make a quick barrel roll and the missile misses your plane by inches. Now here come the jets! Hundreds of them. With guns blazing you fly into the thick of the enemy formation.

Can you penetrate enemy territory and successfully complete nine crucial missions? If you can, the Allies will win the war and you'll be a hero. If you fail, the enemy will win and no one will ever remember your name.

TECHNICAL

Model PA2020

SCORING

You receive points for everything you blow away. The targets vary from mission to mission. The list below contains the most frequently seen targets and their point values.
Missile	200 points
Artillery	350 points
Plane	500 points
Tan	750 points
Ships and subs	750 points
Radar bases	900 points

TIPS AND TRICKS

* Use the first mission to become familiar with Blue Lightning's controls. Learning to fly and shoot with split-second timing is essenhal to survival. Spend some time flying around and between ground obstacles. You will need these skills to complete certain missions.

* Fire missiles as soon as the computer locks on to a target. The computer may actually lock on to several targets at once. In that case, fire as many missiles as necessary. Obviously, this is not necessarily the best plan of action in some missions.

* Don't waste missiles on targets you can shoot with the cannon. Running out of missiles may cause you to miss an important target.

* Fire your cannon when enemy jets appear from behind you. Try to blast as many jets as possible out of the sky before they have a chance to attack.

* Learn to use your afterburners to catch up with enemy planes or get away from enemy missiles.

* Pay attention to the movement patterns of enemy jets. Learn to predict the direction an enemy jet will fly so you can quickly blow it out of the sky and concentrate on your next target.

* Level Passwords: Enter these passwords to start from the corresponding level...
Level 1: AAAA
Level 2: PLAN
Level 3: ALFA
Level 4: BELL
Level 5: NINE
Level 6: LOCK
Level 7: HAND
Level 8: FLEA
Level 9: LIFE

* Landing Upside-Down: In Level 6, do a barrel-roll (OPTION 2 and Left or Right), and then hold the plane upside-down, while pressing Up over an airstrip (to land). You will land upside-down, the cockpit opens from the fuel tank, and you take off backwards!

* Bonus Points - For bonus points, hit your afterburners as you enter the canyons on level 4. When you're in the canyons fire your afterburners for 65,000 points.

STAFF

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Programmer: stephen harland landrum

SOURCES

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ROM dump (MAME).