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720°

December 18, 2023

720° is a skateboarding video game released in arcades by Atari Games in 1986.[2] The player controls a skateboarder skating around a middle-class neighborhood. By doing jumps and tricks, the player can eventually acquire enough points to compete at a skate park. The game's name comes from the "ultimate" trick, turning a full 720° (two complete circles) in the air after jumping off a ramp.

720°
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)Atari Games
Publisher(s)Atari Games
Designer(s)John Salwitz
Dave Ralston
Programmer(s)John Salwitz
Artist(s)Dave Ralston
Composer(s)Arcade
Hal Canon
Earl Vickers
Brad Fuller
NES
Neil Brennan
Platform(s)Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, NES, ZX Spectrum, Game Boy Color, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
ReleaseArcade
  • WW: December 1986
Game Boy Color
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)1-2 players alternating turns
Arcade systemAtari System 2

Plot edit

From official materials:

"It's just you, your trusty skateboard, and a hundred bucks as you skate, jump, slide, spin and move through four levels of difficulty, picking up loose cash, earning money through events, and finally, earning a ticket to one of the big skate parks! If you're lucky, you'll get to buy some rad equipment to make you the coolest skateboarder alive".

Gameplay edit

The game begins with the player controlling a skateboarder skating around a middle-class neighborhood using common objects as ramps for jumps.

The player begins with a number of "tickets", each of which grants admission to one of four skate parks, or "events" in Skate City, the "hub" between the parks. When a park is entered, one ticket is expended. The player gains additional tickets from earning points. Whenever the player isn't in an event, a bar counts down the time remaining until the arrival of a swarm of killer bees accompanied by the caption of "SKATE OR DIE!". Once the bees arrive, the player still has a small amount of time in which to get to a park, but the longer the player delays, this the faster the bees become, until they are unavoidable. Getting caught by the bees ends the game, though on default settings the player may elect to continue by inserting more money. Reaching a park with a ticket gives the player the chance to earn points, medals and money with which to upgrade equipment, and resets the timer.

The player constantly races to perform stunts, both in the events and in the park itself, in order to earn the points needed to acquire tickets. Thus, the player's score is directly tied to the amount of time available to play the game. In order to win, the player must complete a total of sixteen events through four hubs, a difficult task.

Structure edit

 
The "Skate or Die" message appearing, as the player is running out of time.

The game consists of four levels each consisting of four events:

  • Ramp: the player climbs around a half-pipe structure, trying to gain more and more height and performing tricks in the air to earn the most possible points. This ends when the timer runs out.
  • Downhill: a long course consisting of slopes and banks must be navigated to reach a finish line. The quicker the player reaches the finish, the more points are earned.
  • Slalom: an obstacle course in which the player is required to pass between pairs of yellow flags scattered across the course. Each gate passed grants a little extra time, and scoring depends on time remaining upon crossing the finish line.
  • Jump: the player jumps from a series of ramps, attempting to hit a bull's-eye target off the screen. There are cryptic marks on the ramp before the jump that provide clues as to the location of the target. This ends when the timer runs out or the player crosses the finish line, whichever comes first.

Scattered through the levels are several "map" icons placed on the ground which when activated show a map with the roads, parks, shops, and the player's location marked on it. Also scattered about the level are hazards and obstacles; jumping over hazards earns points.

The player earns points and money for high scores in each event, and doing well at the events earns the cash needed to buy equipment that improves player performance, and a chance at a bronze, silver, or gold medal. Completing all four events in all four classes completes the game.

Equipment edit

There are four types of skating equipment to be purchased at different shops. The prices for each are the same, beginning at $25. Upon each return to Skate City after visiting a park, the price increases by $25, to a maximum of $250.

  1. Shoes: Allow higher jumps and faster acceleration.
  2. Board: Allows higher top speed.
  3. Pads: Give quicker recovery from wiping out.
  4. Helmet: Makes the player more aggressive, according to the console description, which translates to making the player spin faster.

Arcade cabinet edit

The speakers for the game are mounted atop the cabinet in a structure resembling a boombox, in line with the game's skate-rat theme. The display is larger than that of a typical arcade game and very high resolution (similar to that used for Paperboy). The joystick is rigidly mounted to a disc at a steep angle and moves in a circular fashion, instead of in compass directions like standard joysticks. The game also has two buttons, one for "kicking" (which refers not to actual "kicking", but to pushing the skate board with a foot for speed) and the other for jumping.

Development edit

The game program for the arcade version was written in BLISS.[3][4]

Other versions edit

The game was released to the Commodore 64 (twice) in 1987, the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum in 1988, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1989, and the Game Boy Color in 1999. There is also an unreleased port for the Atari Lynx.[5][6]

The Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, and the first Commodore 64 versions were developed by Tiertex Design Studios and published by U.S. Gold. Sinclair User described it as "US Gold's finest hour".

The Game Boy Color version was developed by Game Brains and published by Midway Games. It was originally released in March 1999 in North America and Europe.[7]

Reception edit

The game received an overall positive reception among both users and critics. In 1995, Flux magazine ranked the game 79th on their "Top 100 Video Games", writing: "Unbelievably addicting and completely unique for its time".[16]

Legacy edit

Emulated versions of the game are included in Midway Arcade Treasures, released in 2003 and 2004, Midway Arcade Origins, released in 2012.[17][4]

References edit

  1. ^ . Game Informer. 1999-10-12. Archived from the original on 1999-10-12. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  2. ^ "720°". The International Arcade Museum. Retrieved 5 Oct 2013.
  3. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the  : GDC (2019-05-01), Classic Game Postmortem: Paperboy, retrieved 2019-05-10
  4. ^ a b Kieren Hawken. "The Making of 720". Retro Gamer. No. 141. pp. 62–65.
  5. ^ "Atari (UK) – Lynx Log - 1992". atarimania.com. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  6. ^ "Atari (UK) – Lynx Log 2 - 1992". atarimania.com. from the original on 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  7. ^ "720 Degrees for Game Boy Color - GameFAQs". GameFaqs. Retrieved 2020-10-21.
  8. ^ "CVG Magazine Issue 075". EMAP. January 1988. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  9. ^ "Crash Magazine Issue 47". Newsfield. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  10. ^ "Classic Reviews: 720°". Game Informer. Vol. 10, no. 91. November 2000. p. 162.
  11. ^ "Sinclair User Magazine Issue 068". EMAP. November 1987. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  12. ^ "Your Sinclair Magazine Issue 25". Dennis Publishing. January 1988. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  13. ^ "The Games Machine Issue 02". Newsfield. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  14. ^ "MicroHobby Magazine Issue 164". Hobby Press. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  15. ^ "ACE Magazine Issue 04". Future Publishing. January 1988. Retrieved 2012-02-11.
  16. ^ "Top 100 Video Games". Flux (4): 32. April 1995.
  17. ^ Midway Arcade Origins Review – IGN

External links edit

  • 720° at the Killer List of Videogames
  • 720° at the Arcade History database
  • Contemporary reviews at Solvalou.com
  • 720° at SpectrumComputing.co.uk

December 18, 2023
this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, june, 2008, learn, when, re. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 720 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message 720 is a skateboarding video game released in arcades by Atari Games in 1986 2 The player controls a skateboarder skating around a middle class neighborhood By doing jumps and tricks the player can eventually acquire enough points to compete at a skate park The game s name comes from the ultimate trick turning a full 720 two complete circles in the air after jumping off a ramp 720 Arcade flyerDeveloper s Atari GamesPublisher s Atari GamesDesigner s John Salwitz Dave RalstonProgrammer s John SalwitzArtist s Dave RalstonComposer s ArcadeHal CanonEarl VickersBrad FullerNESNeil BrennanPlatform s Arcade Amstrad CPC Commodore 64 NES ZX Spectrum Game Boy Color PlayStation 2 GameCube Xbox Windows PlayStation 3 Xbox 360ReleaseArcadeWW December 1986 Game Boy Color NA March 4 1999 1 EU March 1999Genre s SportsMode s 1 2 players alternating turnsArcade systemAtari System 2 Contents 1 Plot 2 Gameplay 2 1 Structure 2 2 Equipment 3 Arcade cabinet 4 Development 5 Other versions 6 Reception 7 Legacy 8 References 9 External linksPlot editFrom official materials It s just you your trusty skateboard and a hundred bucks as you skate jump slide spin and move through four levels of difficulty picking up loose cash earning money through events and finally earning a ticket to one of the big skate parks If you re lucky you ll get to buy some rad equipment to make you the coolest skateboarder alive Gameplay editThe game begins with the player controlling a skateboarder skating around a middle class neighborhood using common objects as ramps for jumps The player begins with a number of tickets each of which grants admission to one of four skate parks or events in Skate City the hub between the parks When a park is entered one ticket is expended The player gains additional tickets from earning points Whenever the player isn t in an event a bar counts down the time remaining until the arrival of a swarm of killer bees accompanied by the caption of SKATE OR DIE Once the bees arrive the player still has a small amount of time in which to get to a park but the longer the player delays this the faster the bees become until they are unavoidable Getting caught by the bees ends the game though on default settings the player may elect to continue by inserting more money Reaching a park with a ticket gives the player the chance to earn points medals and money with which to upgrade equipment and resets the timer The player constantly races to perform stunts both in the events and in the park itself in order to earn the points needed to acquire tickets Thus the player s score is directly tied to the amount of time available to play the game In order to win the player must complete a total of sixteen events through four hubs a difficult task Structure edit nbsp The Skate or Die message appearing as the player is running out of time The game consists of four levels each consisting of four events Ramp the player climbs around a half pipe structure trying to gain more and more height and performing tricks in the air to earn the most possible points This ends when the timer runs out Downhill a long course consisting of slopes and banks must be navigated to reach a finish line The quicker the player reaches the finish the more points are earned Slalom an obstacle course in which the player is required to pass between pairs of yellow flags scattered across the course Each gate passed grants a little extra time and scoring depends on time remaining upon crossing the finish line Jump the player jumps from a series of ramps attempting to hit a bull s eye target off the screen There are cryptic marks on the ramp before the jump that provide clues as to the location of the target This ends when the timer runs out or the player crosses the finish line whichever comes first Scattered through the levels are several map icons placed on the ground which when activated show a map with the roads parks shops and the player s location marked on it Also scattered about the level are hazards and obstacles jumping over hazards earns points The player earns points and money for high scores in each event and doing well at the events earns the cash needed to buy equipment that improves player performance and a chance at a bronze silver or gold medal Completing all four events in all four classes completes the game Equipment edit There are four types of skating equipment to be purchased at different shops The prices for each are the same beginning at 25 Upon each return to Skate City after visiting a park the price increases by 25 to a maximum of 250 Shoes Allow higher jumps and faster acceleration Board Allows higher top speed Pads Give quicker recovery from wiping out Helmet Makes the player more aggressive according to the console description which translates to making the player spin faster Arcade cabinet editThe speakers for the game are mounted atop the cabinet in a structure resembling a boombox in line with the game s skate rat theme The display is larger than that of a typical arcade game and very high resolution similar to that used for Paperboy The joystick is rigidly mounted to a disc at a steep angle and moves in a circular fashion instead of in compass directions like standard joysticks The game also has two buttons one for kicking which refers not to actual kicking but to pushing the skate board with a foot for speed and the other for jumping Development editThe game program for the arcade version was written in BLISS 3 4 Other versions editThe game was released to the Commodore 64 twice in 1987 the Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum in 1988 the Nintendo Entertainment System NES in 1989 and the Game Boy Color in 1999 There is also an unreleased port for the Atari Lynx 5 6 The Amstrad CPC ZX Spectrum and the first Commodore 64 versions were developed by Tiertex Design Studios and published by U S Gold Sinclair User described it as US Gold s finest hour The Game Boy Color version was developed by Game Brains and published by Midway Games It was originally released in March 1999 in North America and Europe 7 Reception editReceptionReview scoresPublicationScoreCrash81 9 Computer and Video Games28 40 8 Game Informer9 75 10 10 Sinclair User nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 11 Your Sinclair9 10 12 The Games Machine83 13 MicroHobby ES nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 14 ACE721 15 The game received an overall positive reception among both users and critics In 1995 Flux magazine ranked the game 79th on their Top 100 Video Games writing Unbelievably addicting and completely unique for its time 16 Legacy editEmulated versions of the game are included in Midway Arcade Treasures released in 2003 and 2004 Midway Arcade Origins released in 2012 17 4 References edit Game Informer News Game Informer 1999 10 12 Archived from the original on 1999 10 12 Retrieved 2023 04 06 720 The International Arcade Museum Retrieved 5 Oct 2013 Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine GDC 2019 05 01 Classic Game Postmortem Paperboy retrieved 2019 05 10 a b Kieren Hawken The Making of 720 Retro Gamer No 141 pp 62 65 Atari UK Lynx Log 1992 atarimania com Retrieved 2019 04 21 Atari UK Lynx Log 2 1992 atarimania com Archived from the original on 2018 04 09 Retrieved 2019 04 21 720 Degrees for Game Boy Color GameFAQs GameFaqs Retrieved 2020 10 21 CVG Magazine Issue 075 EMAP January 1988 Retrieved 2018 05 08 Crash Magazine Issue 47 Newsfield Retrieved 2018 05 08 Classic Reviews 720 Game Informer Vol 10 no 91 November 2000 p 162 Sinclair User Magazine Issue 068 EMAP November 1987 Retrieved 2018 05 08 Your Sinclair Magazine Issue 25 Dennis Publishing January 1988 Retrieved 2018 05 08 The Games Machine Issue 02 Newsfield Retrieved 2018 05 08 MicroHobby Magazine Issue 164 Hobby Press Retrieved 2018 05 08 ACE Magazine Issue 04 Future Publishing January 1988 Retrieved 2012 02 11 Top 100 Video Games Flux 4 32 April 1995 Midway Arcade Origins Review IGNExternal links edit720 at the Killer List of Videogames 720 at the Arcade History database Contemporary reviews at Solvalou com 720 at SpectrumComputing co uk Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 720 amp oldid 1173021807, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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