Knight Rider is a 1989 video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System

Nintendo Entertainment System

The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...

 that is very loosely based on the television show of the same name.

Mission Mode

Terrorists have raided a U.S. military

United States armed forces

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...

 site; only a man

Michael Knight (Knight Rider)

Michael Knight is a fictional character and protagonist in the 1980s Knight Rider television series played by David Hasselhoff. The character first appeared in the opening scenes as Michael Long, played by Larry Anderson in the beginning of the pilot.- Michael Long :Born Michael Arthur Long on...

 and his robotic car

KITT

KITT is the short name of two fictional characters from the adventure TV series Knight Rider. While having the same acronym, the KITTs are two different entities: one known as the Knight Industries Two Thousand, which appeared in the original TV series Knight Rider, and the other as the Knight...

 can chase them across the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to stop their evil plan. A time limit helps put pressure on the player as he attempts to defeat the terrorist forces. KITT has structural shielding; however the vehicle is considered destroyed if it repeatedly crashes or enemy gunfire depletes the shielding. Despite the non-violent

Nonviolence

Nonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...

 premise of the television show, "Mission Mode" makes use of firearm

Firearm

A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...

s as way to enhance play, similar to RoadBlasters

RoadBlasters

RoadBlasters is an arcade game released by Atari Games in 1987. In RoadBlasters, the player must navigate a sports car through 50 different rally races, getting to the finish line before running out of fuel.-Object of the game:...

. Shooting non-combatant (blue) vehicles deducts from the timer, making the completion of a level more difficult.

Drive Mode

There is also a drive mode that allows players to go on a simple drive through the game's stages without weapons or enemy fire.

Ways to lose a life

Players can and will lose lives if any of these things happen: running out of gasoline, destruction of the player's vehicle, or if time is allowed to run out. Occasionally, allies will give the player either extra time, extra shields, or extra gasoline. It is important to be able to discriminate between enemies, civilian

Civilian

A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...

s and allies. Losing lives is possible in both the "normal" and the "drive" mode. Unlike a racing game, speed is not important; instead the emphasis is on being able to make the journey from the start of the level to the end without running out of fuel or having excessive contact with the other vehicles.