Atari Karts ----------- Introduction ------------ Here come the racers now. Regius has the lead by a beak, Miracle Man is flying 'round the inside bend in second and Bentley Bear is roaring up on the outside in third place. Miz Tress just picked up a rabbit bonus and swishes into first place, with hot competition coming from Fire Bug, who is scorching up behind her! Pum King is having problems controlling his cart after picking up a reverse steering hazard. He's howling mad because he sees another contender breaking through the racers. Yes, the heat is on here at the tracks today. The new contender skillfully avoided the turtle hazard and is keeping the pace going. He just picked up a burst of speed from the speed arrow bonus, and oh, lucky break, he collected an improved steering bonus from the steering wheel. It's all over now folks, the newcomer has the lead in the final lap, and the winner is... YOU! Now, come on in and meet the crazy drivers who race 'round some of the trickiest and slipperiest tracks ever invented. All eleven characters have great driving skills, so you'll need to look carefully at their different talents to pick the one who'll be the best for getting you first across the line. That's no easy task on these tracks, where you have marked and unmarked hazards, as well as bonuses and a whole bunch of fun. Getting Started --------------- 1) Insert your Atari Karts cartridge into the cartridge slot of your Jaguar 64-Bit Interactive Multimedia System. 2) Press the Power button. 3) Press the B button to leave the Title screen. Selecting a Challenge --------------------- There are four levels in Atari Karts: Beginner, Warrior, Miracle, and Jaguar Aces. The first time you play, you will only be able to choose Beginner. The next challenge will be available once you complete the Miracle Race. Once you have completed a level, you can choose that level or any level before it when you start a new game. You'll have to jam on the speed to make it through them all. Press the Option button to choose your Mode (flat or hilly terrain) or change your controls. When you are satisfied with your options, select Exit to go back to the Selecting a Challenge screen. Press the A, B or C button to go on to the next screen. Choosing a Character -------------------- At the Beginners challenge, you'll choose from seven supercool characters. Scroll down the list of names to meet each character and check out their driving abilities. Press the A, B or C button to make your selection. After you select your character you'll have the opportunity to change the name to your own. This name will be saved to the cartridge and will be associated with Player One or Player Two until the next time it is changed or the cartridge is reset. Regius - Top of the pecking order with a lot to crow about. Skully - Gets ahead quick, makes no bones about staying there. Pulpito - He'll have a grip on any track, and may win by a tentacle. Bentley Bear - Hugs the road and cuddles the corners. Vulky - He's keeping an eye on you but one blink and he's gone. Ptarmigan - He'll win by a nose. Miz Tress - Doesn't bat an eyelash at the hairy corners. You'll meet four more fearsome racers before you're through. If you come in first place in the Miracle Race of any challenge, you will be given the opportunity to select his/her car for use in the remaining races. The new character will have slightly better abilities than the others. If you don't pick the new character it'll be out to give you some serious competition. Haratari - From another planet, he can make it to first space (Available after you win the Beginner Challenge). Pum King - Be careful or he'll spook you with his scary acceleration (Available after you win the Warrior Challenge). Fire Bug - Hot competition with scorching speed (Available after you win the Miracle Challenge). Miracle Man - Marvelous speed, super accelearation and fantastic grip (Available after you win the Jaguar Aces Challenge). Two-Player Game In a two-player game the second player presses the A,B or C button after the first player has selected a character. Once the second player has chosen a character, player one presses the A, B or C button to start the game. The screen will be split so that both characters are visible. Cups & Races ------------ You will have to complete the Borregas, Carlton, and Tempest Cups as well as the Miracle Race on each level in order to move to the next one. There are 10 different worlds, each with several different tracks. You'll see them all in your race to become a Jaguar Ace. Finish your races in the top four places and advance through more tracks with progressively challenging terrains. Don't worry. If you don't make the grade the first time, you can try again! You have three cars at the start of a game. Every time you don't finish in the top four, you lose a car. It's gonna drive you crazy! You will be awarded points for your place after every cup race. The higher you place, the more points you get, so get on the gas for all you're worth. 1st place ....... 7 points 2nd place ....... 4 points 3rd place ....... 2 points 4th place ....... 1 point Other ........... 0 points Controls -------- The default controls for the game are : A button ...... Accelerate B button ...... Brake C button ...... Enables bonuses Joypad ........ Controls directions 4 button ...... Sharp left 6 button ...... Sharp right Note: If you own a Jaguar ProController(TM) the sharp turns are at your fingertips. Memory Save ----------- Your best times, current standings and game settings are retained in the cartridge even if you have turned off your Jaguar 64-bit Interactive Multimedia System. The cartridge will store up to 100,000 changes. After 100,000 changes have been recorded, no more changes will be retained. To clear currently saved changes, press *, # and Option while on the Atari Karts Title screen. Bonuses & Hazards ----------------- Bonuses and hazards are embedded in the tracks. You'll pick them up when you run over them. They are displayed at the top of your screen when they are active. In two-player mode, you can give some hazards to the other player. Only one hazard or bonus can be picked up at a time. If one is already active, running over another one doesn't do anything. There are also some natural hazards on each track. They're not completely obvious, but they can really slow you down. The Hazards or Bonus will flash when it starts to wear off. Bonuses Rabbit - Long burst of speed Gold speed arrow- Burst of speed Wheel - No friction (C button to activate) Steer - No skidding Heart - Extra life Ramp - Jump over slow areas Hazards Turtle - Slows you down Red <-> - Reverses your controls Green <-> - Reverses your opponent's controls when you press the C button Hint: Wait for the right opportunity before dropping a hazard on your opponent. Results Screens --------------- Finish your race in fourth place or better and you can examine your race results before moving on to the next track. Check out the lap times, the field results and the points scored. Keep tabs on your lap times like a pro or compare the results of your performance on different tracks. It's just like the real thing! Hints & Tips ------------ * Try to take the lead as soon as possible! You'll be more likely to avoid collisions. * Avoid the water on the ice world. * Take the inside edge for cornering, but stay away from the actual track edge. Contact with the edge of some tracks can really slow you down. You can cut some corners but watch out for natural hazards. * Avoid oil slicks on the Route 99 world. They'll spin you around and waste lots of time. * Be sure to avoid the blood on the Halloween world. * The ramps on the Beach world will help you cross the water without slowing down. * Avoid colliding with other competitors. * Look for jump ramps to help you over natural hazards, or give you a quick boost. Credits ------- Developed by : Miracle Designs Executive Producer : Bill Rehbock Producer : Loic Duval Programming : Filip Hautekeete, Peter Vermeulen Graphics, Sounds and Music : Miracle Designs Team Additional Sounds and Graphics : Loic Duval, Jen Smith Lead Tester : Jennifer Vernon Testers : Lance Lewis, Martin Krawetz, Jason Cordero Marketing Product Manager : Jeanne Winding Creative Services : Greg LaBrec, Diana Bredfeldt, designworks