History VideoGame / DodgeEm

The gameplay is very straightforward and simplistic, but also deceptively challenging. You're a car racing through five mazes, trying to grab all the dots in each one while dodging an opponent car. Your car can only travel in one direction at a time, but can switch lanes when it finds an opening, and your only advantage over the opponent is a turbo button. Even scraping against your enemy car will cause the screen to reset. A few more deaths, and the game is over. The game comes with three multiplayer modes--one where your opponent is controlled by a second player, another which just alternates between you and your friend controlling the points car, and another which reverses who controls which car after each crash.

** Your opponent does not have its own turbo and can only change one lane at a time to ensure that you at least have a fair challenge. That said, the higher difficulty settings do increase its default speed.

* ArtificialStupidity: The opponents A.I. is very predictable--it never changes speeds, If its in the same lane as the player, it stays in that lane, and If in a different lane as the player, it switches one lane closer at the nearest gap, and never more than that.

* CarFu: Your opponent can freely use this on you, [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules but trying to do it yourself will cost you a life and reset the maze]], forcing you to play defense instead.

* DeadlyDodging: [[DefiedTrope Defied.]] Due to the identical speed and patterns the two opposing cars share and the way they're programmed to switch lanes, its impossible to trick the two into colliding into each other.
* DifficultyByAcceleration: The higher difficulty levels use this by speeding up your opponent(s).

* MyRulesAreNotYourRules: Your computer opponents are free to crash head-on into you without repurcussion, but trying to do the same costs you a life. And as noted above, its impossible to trick your opponents into crashing into each other, so you can't use their own tactics against them.
* NintendoHard: This is a game that requires you to be able to think on your feet and have fast reflexes. Your opponent racer is as dumb as a brick, but the maze is very cramped and only gives small windows for you to dodge it by changing lanes, and it is very easy to crash into him. Clearing even one screen in this game is not a cakewalk. And to say nothing of later screens, where you go up against ''two'' opposing cars, or the higher difficulty settings that make your opponent go even faster.
* NoPlotNoProblem: There is no story at all, not even in the manual. You're just a car racing for its life to grab as many dots as possible while dodging an enemy car to get a high score.

* OneHitPointWonder: Your car dies instantly if it connects with the opposing car.

* ScoringPoints: The entire goal of the game. Its impossible to kill your enemies, so all you can do is stay on the defensive and grab as many dots as possible.

* DeadlyDodging: [[DefiedTrope Defied.]] Due to the identical speed and patterns the two opposing cars share and the way they're programmed to switch mazes, its impossible to trick the two into colliding into each other.

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Your racer is colored green while your opponent is colored blue.

** Despite being smart enough to keep you on your toes, your opponent does not have its own turbo to ensure that you at least have a fair challenge. That said, the higher difficulty settings do increase its default speed.

* ArtificialBrilliance: Don't let the crude sprites fool you, the enemy car is very good at figuring out the right place and time to cornering you. Quite impressive for such an early video game.

* NintendoHard: This is a game that requires you to be able to think on your feet and have fast reflexes. Your opponent racer is ''smart'', the maze is very cramped and only gives small windows for you to dodge by changing lanes, and it is very easy to crash into him. Clearing even one screen in this game is not a cakewalk. And to say nothing of later screens, where you go up against ''two'' opposing cars, or the higher difficulty settings that make your opponent go even faster.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Despite being smart enough to keep you on your toes, your opponent does not have its own turbo to ensure that you at least have a fair challenge. That said, the higher difficulty settings do increase its default speed.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Your turbo button may seem like a big help out of the starting gate, but its also a double edged sword that should be used cautiously--due to the cramped nature of the maze making it very easy to get you bottlenecked into a head-on crash, it can just as easily cause you to crash into your opponent as it can help you evade him.

* OneHitPointWonder: Your car dies instantly if it connects with the opposing car.

* NintendoHard: This is a game that requires you to be able to think on your feet and have fast reflexes. Your opponent racer is ''smart'' and it is very easy to crash into him. Clearing even one screen in this game is not a cakewalk. And to say nothing of later screens, where you go up against ''two'' opposing cars, or the higher difficulty settings that make your opponent go even faster.

* ArtificialBrilliance: Don't let the crude sprites fool you, the enemy car is very good and figuring out the right place and time to cornering you. Quite impressive for such an early video game.

The gameplay is very straightforward and simplistic, but also deceptively challenging. You're a car racing through five mazes, trying to grab all the dots in each one while dodging an opponent car. Your car can only travel in one direction at a time, but can switch lanes when it finds an opening, and your only advantage over the opponent is a turbo button. Even scraping against your enemy car will cause the screen to reset. A few more deaths, and the game is over.

* ColorCodedForYourConvienience: Your racer is colored green while your opponent is colored blue.

* ColorCodedForYourConvienience: Your opponent is colored blue.

The gameplay is very straightforward and simplistic, but also deceptively challenging. You're a car racing through five mazes, trying to grab all the pellets in each one while dodging an opponent car. Your car can only travel in one direction at a time, but can switch lanes when it finds an opening, and your only advantage over the opponent is a turbo button. Even scraping against your enemy car will cause the screen to reset. A few more deaths, and the game is over.

* NoPlotNoProblem: There is no story at all, not even in the manual. You're just a car racing for its life to grab as many pellets as possible while dodging an enemy car to get a high score.

* NintendoHard: Your opponent racer is ''smart'' and it is very easy to crash into him. Clearing even one screen in this game is not a cakewalk. And to say nothing of later screens, where you go up against ''two'' opposing cars.

The gameplay is very straightforward and simplistic, but also deceptively challenging. You're a car racing through a maze, trying to grab all the pellets in each one while dodging an opponent car. Your car can only travel in one direction at a time, but can switch lanes when it finds an opening, and your only advantage over the opponent is a turbo button. Even scraping against your enemy car will cause the screen to reset. A few more deaths, and the game is over.

* NoPlotNoProblem: There is no story at all, not even in the manual. You're just a car racing for its life to grab as many pellets as possible while dodging an enemy car to get a high score.

''Dodge 'Em'' is a 1980 driving game for the UsefulNotes/Atari2600.

* NintendoHard: Your opponent racer is ''smart'' and it is very easy to crash into him. Clearing even one screen in this game is not a cakewalk. And to say nothing of later screens, where you go up against ''two'' opposing cars.