Conversion - Atari System 1
Players - 1
Type - Shooting/Driving
Stages - 50
Monitor - Raster, Standard Res, Horizontal
Sound - On board with separate amp
Inputs - pedal, XY steering wheel with trigger and thumb button
Year - 1987
Made by - Atari

Description:

This driving simulator is set in the future. There are two main objectives to this game, first is to make sure you do not run out of gas and the second is to avoid all hazards and/or blow them out of the way. The game ends when your RoadBlaster vehicle runs out of gas so it is critical that you pick up as many green and red fuel balls that you can. The bonus red balls appear as you shoot at certain cars. Bonus fuel is also awarded when you cross the halfway checkpoint during each level. Reserve fuel is added at the end of the level based on accuracy and time.

There are several types of cars that you can blow up using your trigger activated guns. There is a standard red enemy car, a tan car that hits the breaks right in front of you, and a green car that can shoot fireballs at you. Along the side of the road there are mounted guns that can shoot at you also but a skilled shot can dispose of these hazards. Mines can be found in the road ways and there is also a purple car that cannot be shot but both can be blow up using the special weapons. There are four special weapons, a “EZ Cannon” that allows rapid fire, a nitro boost that allows you to speed through a portion of the level three times without using fuel, an invincibility machine that makes you transparent to hazards, and a bomb which destroys all hazards within site and then some. All special weapons are activated by the thumb button. After certain levels, you can select to bypass several levels and upon successful completion of the level you jump to you can receive as many as 200,000 bonus points.

Technical:

The game is designed to go in a System One cabinet; however, not all System One cabinets are identical. The other System One games are: Road Runner, Indiana Jones, and Marble Madness. Theoretically, all you have to do is switch the marquee, control panel, and daughter board and you can have a new game but Marble Madness seems to need a special version of the mother board. There are two different types of power supplies (one with a “big blue” and another designed with a switching supply), two different types of sound amp boards (that seem to correspond to the type of original power supply), and at least two versions of the mother boards. The steering wheels have two different fire button styles, the original has a long piece of plastic that serves better resembles a trigger but the new panels just have a small red button.

About My Game:

This was my second game; I purchased it at an arcade game auction in south Oklahoma City. When I bought it the steering wheel did not work, the special weapons buttons did not always work, and it did not have locks. Luckily, they were all easy fixes. A wire for the steering wheel was loose, the locks were easy to find at Home Depot, and I replaced the cherry switches on the special weapons buttons. The System One side art is there but not in great shape. My control panel is just a little faded and it has the original style of fire buttons. The monitor, a 19" WG 7901, also flickered a bit every once in a while but this has now been repaired. I have the original owner’s manual and schematics for this game. The “flexi” marquee is cracked in half so I want to eventually find a better one.

Repair Log:

12-18-04
Re-spliced a set of wires from the control panel to the pcb board with electrical tape so steering wheel would function properly.
5-12-05
Replaced the two cherry switches that act as part of the special weapons button; one was cracked in half and neither originally worked well. Super glued the buttons in place to ensure the plunger would hit the switch properly. I got the parts from Synergy Datacom in downtown OKC.
12-23-06
I began disassembly of RoadBlasters game for inspection. Repaired electrical tape splices (one was mine but the other two were from when I purchased it) on wires from pcb to the control panel with heat shrink tubing.
12-24-06
Finished disassembly of game and began cleaning. The came had several layers of dust and dirt from its previous life. Recapped the WG 7901 19” monitor with a cap kit from therealBobRoberts.net
12-26-06
Cleaned power supply block and found out that there was actually stickers under the dirt! Trimmed Plexis glass monitor bezel so the control panel would fit correctly. The Plexis glass was a replacement and was over an inch and a half too long. Reassembled game and installed a monitor ground wire. Reconnected the ground wire for the florescent light fixture.
01-03-07
Tested game, monitor colors are bright and screen flicker seems to have disappeared. Still needs some light cosmetic work like a new marquee, new side art, and new cardboard monitor shroud to be A+.