Desert Falcon

All around you are long stretches of sand, ancient pyramids baking in the hot dead air, and constant danger.

The legends that brought you here are 30 centuries old. The tales tell of thieves who plundered the Pharaoh’s tomb, loading bags of gold, silver, and precious gems onto their camels, then making off into the desert. But in the night, horrible desert beasts pursued the robbers, and the priceless treasure was scattered and lost. Not even a camel was ever seen again.

Now you search for the lost treasure, daring the beaks and claws of the desert guardians. As you scan the endless sand for the glitter of jewels, your eye catches sight of gliding shadows. Something’s coming!

You could turn back now and be safe. Or you could go on, and dare to steal the Pharaoh’s jewels.

About the Game

Desert Falcon was originally developed for the Atari 7800, but was also released for the Atari 2600. Many people referenced similarities to Zaxxon, and Desert Falcon did indeed share a similar diagonal, isometric view and “shoot ’em up” style gameplay with the classic arcade game.

With the release delay of the 7800, Desert Falcon came out at a time when Atari had to compete against other systems such as the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Master System. Unfortunately, Atari’s 2600 couldn’t match the hardware of the new systems, and the 2600 version of Desert Falcon suffered from limited graphics and sluggish controls.

How to Play

The Pharaoh’s lost treasures—enormous gems, big golden eggs, and silver ingots—are scattered among the ancient pyramids and obelisks. Fly toward the treasures, then hover or hop over them to pick them up and earn points. Use your joystick to maneuver.

The treasures are guarded by flying and crawling beasts. Burrowing Uwes crawl out of the sand to charge at you, and Vultures, Warrior Phleas, Scarabs, Flying Fish, and Phantom Gliders attack from the air. Darts fly at you, spit out by the Howling Sphinx waiting at the end of the trail. All these enemies will destroy you if they hit you.

Protect yourself by firing darts. A direct hit destroys enemy creatures and results in points. You can also maneuver around enemies. At higher levels, watch out for flame-throwing Fire Pots and dart-shooting Mini-Sphinxes.

You begin the game with five lives. Each time you’re hit or you crash into an object you lose a life, but you will recover as long as you have lives left.

The end of each desert trek brings you to the Howling Sphinx. You must shoot this Sphinx in the middle of its face to get past it, all the while dodging the darts and nasty creatures it spits at you.

Super Powers

Hop over any three hieroglyphs scattered in the sand to gain super powers. Super powers give you great advantages, such as letting you destroy all enemies on-screen at once or paralyze the Howling Sphinx.

Check the Gaming Box at the bottom of the screen to find out which power you’ve gained. Some powers are used up when you double-press the red controller button; other powers last for about 20 seconds. A new power is awarded when you pick up three more hieroglyphs, whether or not the previous power was used.

There are many super powers for you to discover. But beware: in the higher levels of play, you also have a chance of earning super problems, such as Shackles.

Gaming Box

Hieroglyphs

Scoring

Shooting Desert Beasts

Each enemy you destroy earns you points. Destroying a flying enemy increases the base value of treasures. You cannot shoot the Howling Sphinx’s darts.

Destroying the Howling Sphinx

The first Howling Sphinx destroyed is worth 5,000 points. Each additional destroyed Sphinx is worth your previous Sphinx score plus an extra 1,000 points. The maximum value for destroying a Howling Sphinx is 10,000 points.

Stealing Treasures

During regular gameplay, each treasure you pick up earns you the base value, and increases that treasure’s value multiplier by 1. In the bonus round, each treasure is worth the base value times its value multiplier.

Bonus Lives

You earn a bonus life at every 10,000 points scored. You can have a maximum of four lives remaining.

Bonus Round

Destroying the Howling Sphinx gains you entrance to the bonus round. Here your goal is to pick up as many treasures as you can in the time allowed.

During the bonus round, your time allowed is counted down in seconds in the Gaming Box. The bonus score is tallied next to the time. When the round ends, the bonus score is added to your current score. The last hieroglyphs or super power you gained reappears, along with your remaining lives.

You are not attacked in the bonus round, and colliding with objects doesn’t cost you a life; only time is lost.

Gaming Box

Desert Guardians

MINI-SPHINX

FLYING FISH

HOWLING SPHINX

GOLDEN EGG

WARRIOR PHLEA

FIRE POT

BURROWING UWE

GEM

SCARAB

VULTURE

PHANTOM GLIDER

SILVER INGOT