M.A.D.

How to play M.A.D. online

• Aim the Photon Cannon: left and right arrow keys (seven firing angles)
• Fire: Space bar
• Player 2: T/F/G/H to move, A to fire
• Attacking in the two-player game: move the cursor with the joystick, hold fire to lock onto a missile, then release fire to drop it
• Choose Game 1 (one player) or Game 2 (two players): F11 (the console’s Select switch)
• 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

Your score sits at the top of the screen, the missiles fill the sky, and your Photon Cannon stands in the middle of the ground with three energy stations on either side. The cannon cannot move; it only swings between seven fixed angles. Missiles break away from the formation and dive at your stations, and each wave is more aggressive than the one before.

In the one-player game the computer picks the attackers. A missile turns white just before it falls, which is your warning. In the two-player game, one player defends while the other steers a cursor across the formation, locks onto a missile and drops it. Players swap roles, and both get the same number of rounds on offence and defence. Player 1’s score and ground are red, Player 2’s are green. A missile that lands on the cannon itself knocks it out for two seconds.

Tips

• Make every shot count. Only two of your shots can be on screen at once. In the early waves, use the first shot to judge the angle and the second to hit.
• Be ready for wave four. Here the missiles come in from both sides and are all white, so you get no warning before one drops. Shoot the lowest missiles first.
• Let a missile aimed at the cannon come close. Firing when it is almost on top of you gives you the most accurate shot.
• Defending against a friend: follow the attacker’s cursor and aim a little below it, because dropped missiles fall fast.
• Attacking a friend: go for the cannon. A direct hit disables it for two seconds, which gives you time to aim the next missile at a station.

History

U.S. Games started out making handheld electronic sports games. Quaker Oats bought it in 1982 so it could compete with Parker Brothers, which was owned by the rival cereal company General Mills. M.A.D. was one of only 14 cartridges the company released. Wikipedia credits the game to the developer Western Technologies, and the game database AtariMania lists John Hall, Patrick King and Steve Morris as its programmers. None of U.S. Games’ titles became a hit, and Quaker closed the division in March 1983, during the video game crash.

The game lived on in Europe. The French company Carrere Video sold U.S. Games cartridges there from late 1983, and M.A.D. also turned up under other names, including the German Angriff der Luftflotten and Paris Attack, which you can also play on this site.