Wile E. Coyote is persistent. Crafty. The Acme company's best customer. Most importantly, he's hungry! What he isn't is very lucky. That's one reason why he has yet to catch his dream meal, the Road Runner. Of course, the Road Runner is also incredibly fast, capable of outrunning even the most desperate of predators. But don't count the coyote out, especially when you are responsible for keeping the Road Runner safe from his clutches!
In Road Runner, you control the title character as he runs the highways of the desert, keeping up his energy while avoiding both hungry coyotes and the perils of the environment. The goal of each of the game's levels is the same: eat all the birdseed there is to be found, and don't die! How you achieve this goal is where the levels differ. In Level 1, truck barrel down the road, capable of crushing both road runners and coyotes. In Level 2, Wile E. tries to catch the Road Runner with new Acme products, first an Acme Rocket and then an Acme Pogo Stick. Falling rocks also add to Level 2's dangers. In Level 3, forks and dead ends make the road harder to navigate, and Acme Cannons force the Road Runner to stay light on his feet. In Level 4, oil spills and Acme Portable Helicopters cause trouble for the Road Runner, and that's before the cliffs that threaten to send the Road Runner plumetting to certain doom!
A Seed Meter at the top of the screen shows you how healthy the Road Runner is. If the Road Runner misses a pile of bird seed, or takes too long to reach the next pile, the Seed Meter goes down by one. If the Seed Meter empties, the Road Runner loses a life!
Every four levels, the Road Runner begins traveling the same highways over again, but now with even more perils, and more rewards! Landmines, birdseed laced with magnetic steelshot, and cans of invisible paint make it even more of a challenge to stay ahead of Wile E. Glasses of cool lemonade, however, can add bonus points to your score... that is, as long as the Road Runner can drink them without getting caught! Good luck!