Cheating the 2600
by Russ Perry Jr.
Here's a few shortcuts that may help you in your quest for high
scores....
Lost Luggage (by Apollo)
Want to get a really high score? Play the opponent-guided barrage
variation and have the other player hold the joystick down. This
will make the bags easier to collect and your point totals higher.
Unfortunately, the game sometimes tires of your trickery and quits
for no apparent reason.
Decathlon (by Activision)
For a real impressive score, wait for the pole vault event. When
you let go of the pole by hitting the fire button, hit it a couple
more times, as quickly as you can. You'll reach some incredible
heights. Also, in general, I find using a button controller, such
as the one that came with Track & Field (by Atari), gives
me higher scores than a joystick, but most people can't seem to
work it.
Q*bert (by Parker Brothers)
Get Coily to follow you to the top cube of the pyramid, then jump
off to the right. In its zeal to increase your score, the game
will forget to tick off a lost life. Repeat this for a long time
to make your score really large. Also, if you get trapped by Coily,
try jumping at him at the same moment he jumps. You will often
pass through each other unharmed.
Dragonfire (by Imagic)
On your way out of the door, after collecting treasures, get hit
on the legs with a fireball. It apparently hurts the second player
more than you.
Superman (by Atari)
Turn on the game and hold the fire button down. Move the joystick
to begin and wait for two seconds to tick off the clock. Superman
will not turn into Clark Kent and the bridge will not explode.
You can find bridge pieces in the blue subway, but these are extras.
You can ignore them. Since you don't have to collect the pieces
to the bridge, just capture the criminals! Change back into Clark
Kent and head back to the Daily Planet! You can complete the game
quickly and score a record time! (This bug may have been only
present in original carts with no picture of Superman on the label.)
Space Jockey (by U.S. Games)
Select game #15. If you fly your ship at the bottom of the screen,
jumping over the tank blasts, you can stay alive. Other game selections
allow you to obtain a really high score, as long as you keep shooting
and dodging.
Video Chess (by Atari)
If you don't like the idea of cheating a poor, innocent machine,
perhaps you should try this: Select level 6 or 7. Once you get
involved in a game of chess against the computer, you can occasionally
catch the 2600 cheating. Upon thinking and deciding upon a possible
move, the computer will move pieces!
Have you discovered some cheating tactics, too? Please share them!
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