Xenocrate 2 Guide

androooo · #1 10-21-2008, 03:05 PM

Powerups

As I see it, the blocks containing powerups are randomly selected before the start of each level, and told whether to contain a 100 point powerup, a 5 point powerup or a star. When you hit a block, it then randomly selects a powerup to drop from the list of possible powerups for that group. (For example, hitting a 100 point block selects between level skip, large ball, large paddle and so on.) This means some levels contain lots of powerups while others contain only a few. Similarly, some levels contain 4 or 5 stars, while others contain none.

In general, you should try and collect all the powerups, no matter what they do to you. A good tip is to try and bounce the ball to where a powerup is falling from, or keep it in the immediate area. That way you can easily pick the powerup up without fear of missing the ball. The only one you should always avoid is the skull powerup, which kills you and takes a life off.

The level skip powerup (grey arrows) should only be collected when you are very near the end of a level (3 or 4 blocks left) as the chances of you getting another powerup in the last blocks are slim. It's a gamble however, as sometimes it works in your favour, sometimes it doesn't. I generally don't pick them up unless they drop from the 2nd last block (You can't pick up the very last block powerup no matter what it is). If a powerup is falling right beside a level skip and it's too close to get, just leave it, its better you finish the level than skip it.

The star powerup is the most important powerup to collect. Don't hesitate to collect this even if it means you lose a life in the process, as the benefits far outweigh losing a life, and how well you do is partly based on how many stars you collect.

The superball powerup (Blue block with an S on it) is great for clearing lots of blocks quickly. Be cautious on later levels with lots of blocks however, as it may drop too many powerups for you to collect and you will miss some.

The fireball is probably the safest powerup to collect. As well as hitting a specific block, it also affects all blocks touching that block. This means you can hit unbreakable blocks and destroy blocks sitting on them from below.

The field powerup creates a forcefield at the bottom of the screen. If you miss the ball, it will bounce off the field saving you a life. The fields don't build up however, so even if you collect 5 field powerups, if the ball hits it it will disappear.

The multiball powerups give you an extra ball or 2 balls. The single ball shoots up vertically from the paddle, while the double balls shoot off left and right from the paddle. these multiballs are great if you can control them, but often they can lead to confusion and missing powerups. Generally, I just let the extra ball drop past the paddle.

The multiballs take on the properties of the ball you already have however, so you could end up with 3 fireballs, 2 superballs, 3 miniballs and so on. If you pick up a multiball powerup, picking up another will not give you any more balls until you only have 1 ball in play.

The life powerups will only appear if you have less than 5 lives. I'm still undecided as to whether losing lives affects your score, but I'm sure it doesn't, so if you see this powerup, be sure to pick it up.

The paddle powerups affect the size of the paddle. Because of the size difference, they also affect the maximum angle you can bounce a ball. The mini paddle won't give you a very good shooting angle, while the large paddle can send the ball at about 30-40 degrees if you hit the edge. They don't really affect the gameplay however, except having the mini paddle means you have to be super accurate bouncing the ball.

The ball powerups change the size of the ball. Again, they don't really affect gameplay that much. If you have a mini ball, picking up a superball or fireball will make the ball large as well as change it into a super or fireball.

The ball speed powerup (Red arrows) speeds up the ball. It's not incremental, so it won't keep getting faster and faster if you pick up a few powerups. it's still not that fast so it's still easy to control.

The laser powerup gives you lasers at either end of your paddle. Depending on your paddle size, they give you a small or wide firing range. Keep clicking when you have this to help get all the blocks. Remember that powerups can appear from blocks you shoot, so always keep the ball in control, and always shoot near the ball.

Stuck between a powerup and death

Occasionally, you'll end up in a situation where your ball is falling at one side and a powerup is falling at the other, and they'll pass your paddle at approximately the same time. If it's a red powerup, just go after the ball, those 5 points aren't really worth a life. If it's a 100 point powerup, it's up to you if you get it or not, depending on how many lives you have. if you have a forcefield active, always get the powerup instead of the ball.

Some powerups however, you should always get instead of the ball. the star is the most obvious, but you should also get the forcefield or multiball powerups. The forcefield will create a powerup fast enough for the ball to bounce off it and not lose a life. The multiball powerups will create more balls from your paddle, so you can forget about your original ball.

Level Scores

Level 1 (base score: 640) (total base score: 640)

Level 2 (base score: 840) (total base score: 1480)

Level 3 (base score: 1045) (total base score: 2525)

Level 4 (base score: 670) (total base score: 3195)

Level 5 (base score: 1100) (total base score: 4295)

Level 6 (base score: 705) (total base score: 5000)

Level 7 (base score: 1020) (total base score: 6020)

Level 8 (base score: 2400) (total base score: 8400)
You get your first rock blocks here, and you can see what they do to your score. If you pick up a fireball or superball this level isn't very tedious.

Level 9 (base score: 1950) (total base score: 10350)

Level 10 (base score: 1565) (total base score: 11915)

Level 11 (base score: 670) (total base score: 12585)

Level 12 (base score: 680) (total base score: 13265)
This level is quite hard if you don't have good control of the ball, or if a level skip powerup drops down. try not to hit the ball at too much of an angle or you'll lose control of it.

Level 13 (base score: 1290) (total base score: 14555)

Level 14 (base score: 1410) (total base score: 15965)

Level 15 (base score: 1810) (total base score: 17775)

Level 16 (base score: 310) (total base score: 18085)
This level is terrible

if you don't have a fireball powerup, you could be on some time getting those blocks at the very top, and there aren't a lot of blocks to give you powerups either. Your best bet is to try and hit the ball at as great an angle as possible, you'll eventually hit them.

Level 17 (base score: 2945) (total base score: 21040)

Level 18 (base score: 3000) (total base score: 24040)
This is a good example of a level where having a superball could spell disaster. If you do get one, try and bounce at as small a angle as possible so you don't get powerups falling down all over the place, and you can avoid the bad powerups.

Level 19 (base score: 1220) (total base score: 25260)

Level 20 (base score: 6030) (total base score: 31290)
Wow, all hail the epic last level. You get an immense score off this level, since it's got so many metal blocks in it (90 points for each metal block). If you haven't got a fireball, superball or lasers then it will take a while to get through all the blocks.

The importance of powerups

As you can see, the blocks only make up for less than half of the scores you can achieve, so it's really important to pick up everything. The red powerups might not seem important, but they can easily add up to 2-3000 per game.

The star placement appears to be totally random throughout each level. if you have a crap start to the game, it's almost a certainty that the later levels will give you a lot of stars, and conversely if you get loads of stars at the start, you probably won't get that many towards the end. It's all about luck though, and sometimes you might not get very many stars at all.

If you think you aren't doing too well, remember that almost half your points are gained in the last 6 or 7 levels so its always better to finish a game completely.

if you aim for at least 30000 points by level 15, you should be well on your way to getting around 60,000 total score.

Good luck

If you've got anything to add to this or think something needs changed or whatever, just reply and i'll edit and bung it in.