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''720°'' is a 1986
sports video game A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with video games, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize playing the sport (such ...
developed and published by
Atari Games Atari Games Corporation was an American producer of arcade video games, active from 1985 to 1999, then as Midway Games West Inc. until 2003. It was formed when the coin-operated video game division of Atari, Inc. was transferred by its owner Wa ...
for arcades. Based on the action sport of
skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...
, the player controls a skateboarder as they compete in various skating competitions, such as ramp jumping and downhill races, to earn cash. The game has been ported and re-released to various home console and computer platforms.


Gameplay

The game begins with the player controlling a skateboarder skating around a middle-class neighborhood using common objects as ramps for jumps. The player begins with a number of "tickets", each of which grants admission to one of four skate parks, or "events" in Skate City, the "hub" between the parks. When a park is entered, one ticket is expended. The player gains additional tickets by earning points. Whenever the player isn't in an event, a bar counts down the time remaining until the arrival of a swarm of killer bees accompanied by the caption of "SKATE OR DIE!". Once the bees arrive, the player still has a small amount of time to make it to a park. The longer the player delays this, the faster the bees become until they are unavoidable. Getting caught by the bees ends the game, but on default settings, the player may elect to continue by inserting more money. Reaching a park with a ticket gives the player the chance to earn points, medals and money. The money is used to upgrade equipment and the timer will reset upon completion of an event. The player constantly races to perform stunts, both in the events and in the park itself, to earn the points needed to acquire tickets. Thus, the player's score is directly tied to the amount of time available to play the game. In order to win, the player must complete a total of sixteen events through four hubs. The game has four levels, each consisting of four events: * Ramp: the player skates around a half-pipe structure, trying to gain more and more height and performing tricks in the air to earn the most possible points. This ends when the timer runs out. * Downhill: a long course consisting of slopes and banks must be navigated to reach the finish line. The quicker the player reaches the finish, the more points are earned. * Slalom: an obstacle course in which the player is required to pass between pairs of yellow flags scattered across the course. Each gate passed grants a little extra time, and scoring depends on time remaining upon crossing the finish line. * Jump: the player jumps from a series of ramps, attempting to hit a bull's-eye target off the screen. There are cryptic marks on the ramp before the jump that provide clues as to the location of the target. This ends when the timer runs out or the player crosses the finish line, whichever comes first. Scattered in the levels are several "map" icons placed on the ground which when activated show a map with the roads, parks, shops, and the player's location marked on it. Also scattered about the level are hazards and obstacles; jumping over hazards earns points. The player earns points and money for high scores in each event, and doing well at the events earns the cash needed to buy equipment that improves player performance, and a chance at a bronze, silver, or gold medal. Completing all four events in all four classes finishes the game.


Development

The game program for the arcade version was written in
BLISS BLISS is a system programming language developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) by W. A. Wulf, D. B. Russell, and A. N. Habermann around 1970. It was perhaps the best known system language until C debuted a few years later. Since then, C ...
, and utilized the Atari System 2 hardware.


Other versions

The game was released to the
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...
(twice) in 1987, the
Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for "Colour Personal Computer") is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the ZX Spec ...
and
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer developed and marketed by Sinclair Research. One of the most influential computers ever made and one of the all-time bestselling British computers, over five million units were sold. ...
in 1988, the
Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...
(NES) in 1989, and the
Game Boy Color The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...
in 1999. There is also an unreleased port for the
Atari Lynx The Atari Lynx is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth-generation handheld game console, hand-held game console released by Atari Corporation in September 1989 in North America and 1990 in Europe and Japan. It was the first handhe ...
. The Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, and the first Commodore 64 versions were developed by Tiertex Design Studios and published by U.S. Gold. ''
Sinclair User The ''Sinclair User'' was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was pub ...
'' described it as "US Gold's finest hour". The Game Boy Color version was developed by Game Brains and published by
Midway Games Midway Games Inc. (formerly Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known simply as Midway) was an American video game company that existed from 1958 to 2010. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (franchise), Ra ...
. It was originally released in March 1999 in North America and Europe.


Reception

The game received an overall positive reception among both users and critics. In 1995,
Flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications in physics. For transport phe ...
magazine ranked the game 79th on their "Top 100 Video Games", writing that it was "addicting" and completely unique for its time.


Legacy

Emulated versions of the game are included in '' Midway Arcade Treasures'', released in 2003 and 2004, '' Midway Arcade Origins'', released in 2012.Midway Arcade Origins Review – IGN
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References


External links

*
''720°''
at the Arcade History database

at Solvalou.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:720 1986 video games Amstrad CPC games Arcade video games Atari arcade games Cancelled Atari Lynx games Commodore 64 games Game Boy Color games Midway video games Nintendo Entertainment System games Extreme sports video games Skateboarding video games Tiertex Design Studios games U.S. Gold games Video games scored by Ben Daglish Video games scored by Brad Fuller Video games developed in the United States ZX Spectrum games Multiplayer and single-player video games