Entombed

Entombed is an action game for the Atari 2600 published by U.S. Games in 1982. In the game players control an archeologist trapped in a maze-like tomb full of zombies and need to escape safely. The game can be played by one player with the goal of earning points or by two players simultaneously with the choice of playing cooperatively or competively.

Entombed takes place in the "Catacombs of the Zombies". The game screen consists of a maze which scrolls vertically at a constant pace. Players control an archeologist which starts at the top of the screen and needs to be guided through the scrolling maze until the bottom is reached. The maze contains numerous dead ends that players need to avoid; since the maze scrolls continuously, once players head down a path that's closed off they are unable to backtrack. Initially, the maze scrolls very slowly but increases in speed slightly each time a level is completed.

With the maze being large enough to not fit on the screen, determining which path leads to a dead end isn't always obvious and some luck is involved in navigating to the end. To help out with this challenge, players begin the game with a single make-break; the make-break allows a new hole to be created in the walls allowing escape from an otherwise deadly situation. Additional bonus make-breaks also appear in the maze and can be picked up by players to increase their supply.

In addition to avoiding dead ends, players also need to avoid zombies that appear from time to time. Some of the zombies (colored blue) must also following the maze paths, while others (colored orange) are able to walk directly through the walls as well. Players have no defense against zombies and must simply avoid them. Players begin the game with 3 lives (archeologists); a life is lost each time the player comes into contact with a zombie or becomes trapped and is pushed off of the top of the screen.