Do you happen to be in Las Vegas this weekend, August 1-2, 2010, and do you like classic games?
Check out the Classic Gaming Expo 2010 show. Also in Vegas (permenantly) is the Las Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame.

Area 51

Manufacturer: Atari Games
Year: 1995
Class: Wide Release
Genre: Shooter
Type: Videogame

Monitor:

Orientation: Horizontal
Type: Raster: Standard Resolution
CRT: Color

Conversion Class: unique
Number of Simultaneous Players: 2
Maximum number of Players: 2
Gameplay: Joint
Control Panel Layout: Multiple Player
Controls:

Gun: Optical

Sound: Amplified Mono (one channel)

Click here to contribute another image.

Area 51 Control Panel Image

Area 51 Description

Kill the aliens and their mothership.

Cheats, Tricks and Bugs

Secret Rooms:

There are many secret "rooms" that can be entered by shooting combinations of inanimate objects in the game. For example, shooting all the office windows out after going up the ladder in the hangar will take you to "Shake your Buddha", where you can take shots at the stationary heads of the development team and increase your score and streak. Taking out all the windows on the back wall of the hangar will take you to another secret room full of power-ups.

Kron Hunter:

Instead of starting out the game normally, avoid shooting the aliens. Instead, shoot the first three members of STAAR that appear on the screen (the guys in blue). Do not worry, after your health gets down to one, the aliens will not hurt you any more. After shooting the third member of STAAR, you will get an info screen talking about Kron Hunters, and you will start the game over as one. The graphics pallette will be completely whacked, and when you are done, a Kron Hunter symbol (a green K) will appear next to your high score, rather than a military ranking.

Conversion

This game can be converted into Maximum Force, and the Maximum Force / Area 51 hybrid.

Game Introduction

The plot of this game is very simple. Aliens have invaded, and you and the other members of STAAR must defeat them. The game is pretty much a standard light gun game, with enemies appearing over a prerendered background. The introduction of secret rooms helps replay value, as does competing for a higher score with a partner.

Game Play

Through the game you will go from the Hangars of Area 51, into the Labs and then into the mountain cave for a final showdown. During the trip, you shoot at the aliens, with your Light Gun, shoot power-ups to collect them, and shoot inanimate objects (windows, barrels, etc) to get bonus points and open secret rooms.

CAPS/VAPS Arcade Census

There are 6,862 members of the Classic Arcade Preservation Society / Video Arcade Preservation Society, 3,937 whom participate in our arcade census project of games owned, wanted, or for sale. Census data currently includes 64,459 machines (3,753 unique titles).

Common - There are 40 known instances of this machine owned by Area 51 collectors. Of these, 17 of them are original dedicated machines, 13 of them are conversions in which game circuit boards (and possibly cabinet graphics) have been placed in (and on) another game cabinet, and 10 of them are only circuit boards which a collector could put into a generic case if desired.

This game ranks a 26 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most commonly seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census ownership records.

Wanted - There are 6 VAPS members currently looking for Area 51. There is one VAPS member looking for a Area 51 circuit board set.

This game ranks a 18 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most commonly seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census want list records.

For Sale - There are 7 VAPS members with Area 51 machines for sale. There is one VAPS member with an extra Area 51 circuit board for sale. VAPS members are totally independent of VAPS and the International Arcade Museum, and we are unable to recommend, endorce, or guarantee any person or company selling games or game parts.

Rarity is NOT necessarily an indication of value. [More Information]

Technical

System based on R3041 MIPS CPU.

Legacy

Manuals

Operators Manual 4964 Pages, 56 KB File.

Contribute Links

eBay Listings

Click to search eBay for Area 51 Videogame machines and related items.

Click to search eBay for machines and parts made by Atari Games.

Check out the IAM/KLOV report of the hottest coin-op machines on eBay, powered by Ace.com.

Area 51 - Title screen image

Click here to contribute another image.

Return to the index | Return to the Main Page

If you wish to use material from our web sites, please take a look at our Acceptable Use, Copyright, and Trademark Page. Except as described on that page, any use of the information found here may not be copied or reprinted on any medium, either physical or electronic, without the express written permission of The International Arcade Museum.