How to play Looping online
- Take off: down arrow while on the runway
- Pull the plane into a climbing or diving loop: up and down arrow keys (left and right do nothing)
- Fire: Space bar
- Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
- Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it
Gameplay
Every level begins on the runway. Once you are airborne, your mission is to destroy the terminal, the missile, or both, depending on the level, by shooting away the blocks they are made of. Your plane never slows down, so you only get a few shots on each pass. Balloons bounce around the sky at the same time. When the target is destroyed it turns grey, and a gate opens at the far end of the airfield.
Beyond the gate is the pipe maze, a series of rooms you must fly through to reach the finish marked “The End”. On the way you meet dripping green ooze, a bouncing monster and, in the last room, bouncing balls that guard the finish. Reaching the finish starts a new, harder level.
Tips
- Clear the building at the end of the runway. A late take-off ends the run before it starts.
- Use the nosedive. If the plane touches the top of the screen it drops straight down. That can get you out of a loop quickly when you have space below you.
- Take the lower route in the first pipe room. The upper path goes right past the dripping ooze.
History
The arcade Looping was made by the German company Video Games GmbH and designed by Giorgio Ugozzoli. In North America it was released by Venture Line. Coleco’s ColecoVision version sold well in 1983, and a 2600 cartridge was planned alongside it. The 2600 port is credited to Ed Temple of Individeo. Why it was cancelled is not known. The prototype seems finished, and one possible reason is its high difficulty, which takes much of the fun out of it. After it was found, a small boxed run was sold at the 2003 Classic Gaming Expo.
Similar games to play next
- Cabbage Patch Kids: Adventures in the Park – another Coleco 2600 game by Ed Temple
- Mr. Do! – a Coleco arcade conversion also made by Individeo
- Front Line – one more Coleco port by Individeo
- Super Cobra – steer through narrow caverns while shooting targets