''S.T.U.N. Runner'' (Spread Tunnel Underground Network Runner) is 3D

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...

shooter game Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using the weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range ...

released in arcades by Atari Games in 1989. The player pilots a futuristic vehicle which can exceed 900 mph, through various tunnels and courses with changing environments, hazards and enemies. ''S.T.U.N. Runner'' uses polygonal graphics for the vehicles and track, and is based on an evolution of Atari's ''

Hard Drivin' ''Hard Drivin'' is a driving simulation video game developed by Atari Games in 1989. It invites players to test drive a sports car on courses that emphasize stunts and speed. The game features one of the first 3D polygon driving environments v ...

'' hardware. The custom cabinet was designed to resemble the craft that the player pilots in-game. The arcade game was released in Europe by Jaleco, and in Japan by

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, ...

and Sega. Home ports were released for the Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64,

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 Si ...

, and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...

. An

Atari Lynx The Atari Lynx is a hybrid 8/16-bit fourth generation handheld game console released by Atari Corporation in September 1989 in North America and 1990 in Europe and Japan. It was the first handheld game console with a color liquid-crystal disp ...

version was published by

Atari Corporation Atari Corporation was an American manufacturer of computers and video game consoles. It was founded by Jack Tramiel on May 17, 1984, as Tramel Technology, Ltd., but then took on the Atari name less than two months later when Warner Communica ...

in 1991.

Gameplay

The final goal is to reach the "Ultimate Challenge", an endless race filled with surprises, where the player must simply get as far as possible in the allotted time. Markers on the Ultimate Challenge course show the names of the five players who have traveled the farthest, who are tracked independently of the game's traditional high score table. Twin triggers fire laser cannons mounted atop the craft, and the Start buttons double as the triggers for the Shockwave "smart bomb" weapon.

Reception

Commodore User ''Commodore User'', known to the readers as the abbreviated ''CU'', was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. With a publishing history spanning over 15 years, it mixed content with technical and video game features. Incorporating ''Vic ...

'' reviewed the arcade game, giving it a 90% rating.

Legacy

''S.T.U.N. Runner'' is included in ''

Midway Arcade Treasures 3 ''Midway Arcade Treasures 3'' is the third and final compilation of classic arcade games published by Midway Games for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. This compilation includes 8 racing games that were not in the 2003 and 2004 releases '' ...

'' for the PlayStation 2,

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

, and GameCube. It was also released for Microsoft Windows as part of ''

Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition ''Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition'' is an arcade compilation released exclusively for Microsoft Windows on February 15, 2006 in North America, and on March 17, 2006 in PAL regions. It is a compilation of ''Midway Arcade Treasures 2'' and ' ...

'' in 2006.

References

*Game info, Midway Arcade Treasures 3 *Manual, Midway Arcade Treasures 3

External links

*
''S.T.U.N. Runner''
at the Arcade History database {{Atari Games 1989 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Arcade video games Atari arcade games Atari Lynx games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games DOS games Science fiction racing games Namco arcade games Sega arcade games Vehicular combat games Video games developed in the United States ZX Spectrum games Jaleco games