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The Atari 2600 was first released in North America in September 1977 and featured 9 launch titles: Air-Sea BattleBasic MathBlackjackCombatIndy 500Star ShipStreet RacerSurround and Video Olympics. The final licensed Atari 2600 game released in North America was Secret Quest in 1989, and the final licensed game released in Europe was Klax and Acid Drop in 1990 and 1992. Even with their 1980s limited colors and block graphics these games are still entertaining to play today! We have over 500 Atari 2600 games for you to play online for free using our Atari 2600 Javascript Emulator.

This game is mobile device friendly and Iphone compatible. Enjoy!

Instructions and Keyboard Controls towards bottom of page.
Click “Game Reset” or F12 to Start Game

Air Raiders

INSTRUCTIONS:
If you grew up in the 80’s you shouldn’t need instructions!! You might find some help at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Atari_2600_games and look up the game you need assistance playing.

CONTROLS:
Click “Game Reset” or F12 to Begin/Restart Game
Arrow Keys – Move
Space bar to fire/action button


TRANSCRIBED ORIGINAL ATARI GAME MANUAL AND INSTRUCTIONS
M NETWORK 
AIR RAIDERS 
INSTRUCTIONS 
(For 1 player) 
For Your Atari Video Game System 

The object of the game is to blast enemy aircraft out of the sky...and dodge ground missiles!!!  Zero in on enemy planes!  Bank left, bank right, dive, climb out!  Watch your elevation!  Keep track of the fuel?  Run out of ammo...land and refuel...take off again! 

(c) Mattel, Inc. 1982 Hawthorne, CA 90250 PRINTED IN U.S.A.  All Rights Reserved. 
*ATARI is a trademark of ATARI INC. 
  

THE GAME 

It's a dogfight...you against the enemy!  You're the pilot, gunner and navigator all in one!!!  Enemy planes are buzzing you.  Anti-Aircraft ground forces are shelling you! 

Get an enemy plane in your sights and FIRE!  Try to shoot down as many as you can!  If ground fire (flak) explodes in your sight...you're hit...you quickly lose altitude.  Climb back up!  Stay clear of the flack! 

You must shoot down at least 10 planes before you can land to refuel then take off again!  The game ends when you run out of ammo completely or when you crash!  Press RESET and start again.  Try to get a better score each time.  Challenge a friend! 
  

THE CONTROLS 
------------- 
Use the left joystick controller for this game.  Be sure the controller cable is securely plugged into the back of your game console.  Hold the controller so the RED BUTTON is to your upper left. 
  

LET'S START THE ACTION! 

CHOOSE LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: 

Before the game begins, set your LEFT Difficulty Switch to "A" or "B".  It's much harder to get away from enemy shelling in the "A" position. 

TAKE OFF: 

When you start a game, and after you refuel, press the RED BUTTON.  The runway lights appear to move as your plane starts to move.  When you gain speed (about 4 seconds), pull back on the the JOYSTICK for takeoff.  If you try to take off before gaining enough speed, you will crash!  Wait too long before takeoff and you will run out of runway.  You'll quickly get the hang of the timing! 

Once airborne, keep clear of enemy flak and be on the alert for enemy planes!!! 

FLY THE PLANE: 

Fly the plane by pushing on the JOYSTICK.  You can make the plane fly in four different directions.  You can quickly change the direction the plane is flying.  If you don't move the Joystick, you level off and fly straight ahead. 

Push (DOWN) to make the plane climb 
Push (LEFT) to make the plane bank left 
Push (UP) to make the plane dive 
Push (RIGHT) to make the plane bank right 

Your point of view is through the cockpit window.  As you "turn" the plane, your view changes. 

Turn left and dive: see more ground 
Turn right and dive:  see more ground 
Turn left and climb:  see more sky 
Turn right and climb:  see more sky 

AIM AND FIRE: 

You're on a gunnery misson!  To fire, get the enemy in your sights, then press the RED BUTTON.  Make a direct hit and the enemy plane blows up! 

IMPORTANT:  Don't stop shooting until you are really low on fuel!  It's important to make as many hits as you can when airborne! 

WATCH THE GAUGES 

It's important to keep an eye on your gauges.  You can fly to a maximum 40 altitude (This is 40,000 feet).  There aren't many enemy planes at this altitude.  Be extra careful when you dive.  You lose altitude fast!  Get down under 10 and you'd better climb out before you crash! 

Once you are airborne you begin using fuel.  Climbing uses about 4 times as much fuel as diving, and about twice as much as flying level. 

When you get really low on fuel, it's time to land and refuel!  Time this carefully or you might run out of fuel and crash! 

Watch the plane position indicator.  Fly into the red zone and you're into heavy flak.  This zone is even more dangerous at the low altitudes.  Keep out of this zone as much as possible. 
  

LAND...REFUEL...TAKE OFF AGAIN: 

You can land at any time.  BUT you can only refuel and take off again if you made at least 10 hits the last time up!  Wait until you are really low on fuel then fly down to 00 altitude.  Wait for the runway to appear, approximately 4 seconds.  Push forward on the JOYSTICK until the horizon is all the way up, then release the JOYSTICK.  You've landed! 

Once you land to refuel, you lose some ammo.  Check you ammo gauge.  You only have as much ammo as the number of hits you made last time up.  For example, if you got 11 hits then landed, you will take off with 11 ammo after refueling.  If you are a crack shot, you can refuel several times! 

Once the plane is level after landing, you can take off again.  Remember to gain enough speed before takeoff! 

IMPORTANT:  The game ends if you crash, or if you run completely out of ammo and cannot take off again! 

ENEMY PLANES: 

Enemy planes usually fly in threes.  Shoot one and two are left.  Go after them!  This is when you need to get fancy with your flying.  If they fly left or right, follow them.  If you need to conserve fuel, try to shoot down as many enemy planes as you can without climbing or diving. 

SCORING 

Rating         1st Time Up   Entire Game 
Student Pilot     0 - 10        0 - 10 
Novice           10 - 20       10 - 30 
Fighter Pilot    20 - 30       30 - 50 
Ace Pilot        30 - 45       50 - 70 
Double Ace       45 - 65       70 - 90 
Triple Ace         65+           90+ 
  

WINNING TIPS 
------------ 
* Shoot down as many enemy planes as you can the first time in the air.  Don't refuel until you absolutely need to.  The more hits you make, the more ammo you get the next time up! 

* When you see flack near your sight, pull back on the JOYSTICK so you are climbing when you get hit.  This way you won't dive as much when you actually get hit. 

REQUIRMENTS:
Our Atari 2600 emulator utilizes Javascript to run in your browser. No plugin is required, but a fast modern web browser will enhance the game play.

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SAMPLE IPHONE GAMEPLAY SCREENSHOT

Emulation on mobile devices will drain your battery quite fast. I recommend playing while device is plugged into charger.


KEYBOARD CONTROLS

controls
help

AirRaiders Arcade Game Emulated on the Atari 2600. Play AirRaiders in your web browser or mobile phone. This Atari 2600 console emulator provides very accurate AirRaiders gameplay. AirRaiders is a classic 1980s Atari 2600 video game.