''Enduro'' is a

racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...

Atari 2600 The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocess ...

and published by

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

. Miller previously wrote '' Spider Fighter'' for Activision. The object of the game is to complete an

endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from an ...

race, passing a certain number of cars each day to continue the next day. The visuals change from day to night, and there is occasional inclement weather. A

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 ...

port was published in 1984 Activision released ''

The Great American Cross-Country Road Race ''The Great American Cross-Country Road Race'' (UK re-release title: ''American Road Race'') is a racing video game written by Alex DeMeo for the Atari 8-bit family and published by Activision in 1985. It was ported to the Apple II and Commodor ...

'', which expands upon the design of ''Enduro'', for home computers in 1985.

Gameplay

''Enduro'' consists of maneuvering a

race car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organis ...

in the National Enduro, a long-distance endurance race. The object of the race is to pass a certain number of cars each day. Doing so will allow the player to continue racing for the next day. The driver must avoid other racers and pass 200 cars on the first day, and 300 cars with each following day. As the time in the game passes, visibility changes as well. When it is night in the game the player can only see the oncoming cars' taillights. As the days progress, cars will become more difficult to avoid as well. Weather and time of day are factors in how to play. During the day the player may drive through an icy patch on the road which would limit control of the vehicle, or a patch of fog may reduce visibility. If a player succeeds in racing five days or more, an on-screen racing trophy pops up. At the time of release, if the player sent a photograph of this achievement to Activision, they received a patch declaring them an "Activision Roadbuster". The game has no end. If the player reaches 999.999 points or km, the counter resets and starts from zero and the game continues in an infinite loop.

Release

In 1983, Activision ran the "Enduro Race-For-Riches Sweepstakes". The grand prize was a

Datsun 280ZX The Nissan S130 is a sports coupé produced by Nissan in Japan from 1978 until 1983. It was sold as the Datsun 280ZX, Nissan Fairlady Z and Nissan Fairlady 280Z, depending on the market. In Japan, it was exclusive to Nissan Bluebird Store locati ...

pace car and a trip for two to Caesars Palace Grand Prix Weekend. The second prize was a

Datsun 200SX Datsun (, ) was an automobile brand owned by Nissan. Datsun's original production run began in 1931. From 1958 to 1986, only vehicles exported by Nissan were identified as Datsun. Nissan phased out the Datsun brand in March 1986, but relaunch ...

Hatchback SL, the third prize was a trip for two to Caesars Palace Grand Prix Weekend, the fourth prize was one of 50 radio controlled cars, the fifth prize was one of 500 Activision ''

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

'' video game cartridges, and the sixth prize was one of 2,000 Datsun Racing posters.

Reception

''Enduro'' received the award for "1984 Best Sports Videogame" at the 5th annual

Arkie Awards An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...

where judges praised it for "featur ngsome of the best graphics presented by a 2600 and boast ngan intriguing concept". ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' reviewed the game in 1989, giving it a 77% score.

Legacy

In 1985 Activision released ''

'', a home computer game that follows the design of ''Enduro'', but with enhanced visuals, audio, and some additional gameplay elements. ''Enduro'' was later included in ''Activision's Atari 2600 Action Pack 2'' in 1995 and the ''

Activision Anthology ''Activision Anthology'' is a compilation of most of the Atari 2600 games by Activision for various game systems. It also includes games that were originally released by Absolute Entertainment and Imagic, as well as various homebrew games. The Mi ...

'' collection in 2002. ''Enduro'' is a mini-game within '' Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War''.

References

External links