C64 Action Biker Resources / Map / Walkthrough

Resources

• Commodore 64 Emulator - Vice
• Action Biker Page and Rom (Direct Download) on C64.com

 Map

• Direct link

Gameplay Hints and Walkthrough

The ROM linked above contains trainers for infinite lives, time, fuel and to turn of collisions with obstacles. Retro games can be quite brutal with the challenge compared to today's games but Action Biker is an exception. Especially with the aid of the walkthrough it's actually not so tough to complete, although you might still consider turning on infinite lives just because the collision detection can be a little bit off in a couple of risky places, in particular:

• On top of the planks in the building site
• When using the ramps to jump into the fenced in area.

Playing the game is straightforward, all you need to do is collection the items in order. Only the next item to pick up will appear at any time, so you my handy map to work out where the next numbered item is without having to drive all over the map.

A few items give you upgrades, such as an extra gear or bigger fuel tank. The extra gear is mostly useful when performing tight navigation on the building site planks, because you can keep the bike in high gear and therefore low acceleration to help you creep round the right angle corners.

The water skis are also useful of course, in that they are necessary to complete the game. Be careful however, they only specifically let you drive on the large lake next to the building site and the little pond just behind the fuel station, you'll still crash into small rivers.

There are a couple of times you need to drive on thin areas in order to collect a package, namely the building site and the roller-coaster. The roller-coaster is actually quite easy because the turns are 45 degrees and the runway fairly wide. However, the building site has 90 degree turns and thinner runways, so these form the most difficult to get packages. Some tips:

• Turn round the corners like the 90 degree turns they are. In other words, drive straight until the middle of your bike is in the middle of the plank you need to turn to and stop dead. Then, in high gear, creep forward slowly and do a hard turn onto the next plank.
• Don't try and do a smooth turn onto the next plank. The background/collision detection can be ropey and there is a risk you'll fall off even if you think you shouldn't.
• When on the plank with the item, drive near the bottom edge of the plank such they your wheels are touching the line that forms the side of the plank. You need to be this low to actually pick up the item or you'll drive right through it.
• If you do miss the package, don't panic. Using the same trick as turning corners, just creep forward and do a hard turn before your back wheels pass the package and you should be okay.
• After you've got the item, just drive of the edge of the plank in a safe fashion so you don't hit anything on the way down. As long as you drop to the ground, there is no penalty for falling from a height.

Once you have all 40 items you just need to finish the drag race. You do have to wait for the game cues to do this properly or nothing will happen.

• Once you get the last item and are prompted to enter the drag race, drive to the south-west end of the drag strip (long brown strip that runs parallel to the north-east/south-west road. You'll see a start flag at the south-west end of the strip.
• Stop your bike dead before the start lines and wait there. Get into low gear in preparation.
• The game will prompt you that the green light will start the race. If you look on the start flag there is a red-coloured block in the middle of it. This is actually the start light, currently red.
• Wait for the red light to turn green and then tear off straight down the strip! Don't forget to switch to high gear at the right time to keep accelerating.
• Despite it being called a drag race, you don't actually need to complete the race in any particular time. You can sit on the green light for as long as you want, as long as you drive through the start flag and straight through to finish, you can take as long as you want to successfully finish the game.

Further Images