| Freeway | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Designer(s) | David Crane |
| Release date(s) | 1981 |
| Genre(s) | |
| Mode(s) | |
| Platform(s) | Atari 2600 |
| Media | Cartridge |
Freeway is a video game designed by David Crane for the Atari 2600 video game console. It was published by Activision in 1981.
Freeway was one of the first titles released by Activision in their bold move to publish independent games for the Atari 2600. The game is simple. Both players control chickens who can be made to run across a ten-lane highway filled with traffic in an effort to "get to the other side." Every time a chicken gets across, a point is earned for that player. If hit by a car, the chicken is forced back a bit, and in some modes is pushed all the way back to the bottom of the screen. The winner is the player who has scored the most points in the two minutes of allotted time.
The chickens are only allowed to move up or down. The chicken sprite includes a limited bit of animation and the character clucks when struck by a car.
Comparisons are often made to Frogger, since that game also included crossing a street filled with moving vehicles. But the gameplay is different and both games were developed independently at the same time. Freeway is not a cheap Frogger clone, but the similarities did help sales when Frogger became popular in the arcades and a home version was not yet available.
Trivia
- Many early Activision games included contests. If a player scored over a certain number of points and sent in a photograph of the television screen, Activision would send the player a cloth patch for that particular game. For Freeway, the player needed to score 20 or more points and was rewarded with a "Save The Chicken Foundation" patch featuring the Activision logo and the stylized "running chicken" image from the game package.
- David Crane came up with the game during the SCES in Chicago, when he observed someone attempting to cross Lake Shore Drive on foot.
External links
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