Level Analysis
Moscow
Moscow is one of the hardest levels in the game. There are only
three healths in the entire level, and two of them will be gone
within thirty seconds. In addition, the level is very small, and
if you get in trouble, there's nowhere to run to. Obviously,
this level favors the big boys. Lightning can be a very powerful
weapon in Moscow; when fired, it will hit anyone on the ramps. But
be sure to fire off all your lightning before leaving the level,
because there are no generators for the next several levels.
In fact, you can't use it again until Hong Kong. So until you
get there, they'll just be taking up space in your weapons bay.
Paris
First of all, if you haven't figured it out yet, you can blow up
the Eiffel Tower by setting off a remote bomb inside or
underneath it. It looks way cool, and the tower becomes a bridge
you can use to get to the rooftops. I don't reccomend doing this
until after you kill a couple of bad guys, though, because if
you do then several of them will congregate at the top of the
tower, waiting for you to come up there and die. And the odds are
you will need to get up there, because two of the level's four
healths are located on the rooftop. The healths are all usually
available for your taking. There are pick-up weapons everywhere,
so don't be afraid to unload on people. Be careful not to be
cornered in the streets or the super-narrow alleys, and avoid
big crowds of bad guys. Oh, and by the way: kill as many mimes
as possible.
Amazonia
Easiest way to beat this level: Load up on homing missiles, then
use the ramps at the end of the bridge to get on top of the
building. Then rain fiery death down upon your enemies. There
are four healths on this level. The only one that is likely to
be taken is the one on the bridge. There are also a ton of
pick-up weapons available. One neat trick is to lure somebody
into the lava, hit them with freeze blasts, and let the lava
burn them away. After you beat the level, you'll be pitted against
Minion, the boss from TM1. Minion is a massive Hum-Vee, whose
special weapon is a combination freeze blast/Patriot Missile (see
Warthog, Character Profile). Also, he does a ton of damage by
running over you. Fortunately, his pattern is fairly predictable.
He pretty much always stays on the roadway, out of the lava.
You can wait on one of the larger flat areas at either end,
waiting for him to come to you, and feel safe that he won't
fire until he turns the corner and is pointed right at you.
The idea is to freeze him before he gets there, hit him hard
and fast, and then run away. Once you get the hang of it, it's
not terribly difficult.
New York
Watch where you're going, that first step's a doozy. The bad
news is that there are only three healths on this level. The
good news is that all three are well protected and are likely
to be there when you need them. the easiest way to rack up
kills in New York is to load up on ricochet bombs and power
missiles and blast people off the edge. It's also great to get
into the swimming pool, get the remote bomb in the locker room,
and set it in the pool, waiting for some poor fool to come
falling into your trap. One more tip about theus level: kill
Spectre first. Otherwise, he'll put three walls between you and
him and nail you with ghost missile after ghost missile.
Antarctica
Antarctica is similar to New York in that it's easy to fall off
the edge. There's also the added difficulty of the ground
occasionally dropping out from underneath you. There are four
healths on the level; two are almost impossible to get, and two
are out in the open and often get picked up by your opponent.
Pick-ups are plentiful, especially homing missiles. I recommend
staying out of the trench, only zipping through it quickly to
get the ricochet bombs and turbos located there. The cheesiest
way to beat this level: Get all the ricochet bombs and power
missiles you can find, then take the teleporter out to the
island, where there's two more ricochet bombs and power missiles
to pick up. Then, wait for some poor sap to 'port onto the
island, and blast him to an icy demise. Heh-heh.
Holland
This, in my opinion, is the most fun level in the game. It's
also the most simple: It's a big rectangle, perfectly flat,
with a couple of windmills. There are a ton of power-ups
(including a health) in the top of the windmills, so take a
teleport up there and load up. Both windmills can
be blown up, eliminating all those power-ups, so get them as
quick as you can. There is also a health located next to the
windmill with the health up top; this health, too, is almost
always picked up before you can get to it. There are three other
healths on the level that are usually available for your taking.
While this level is a lot of fun (especially for the fast guys),
it's also very difficult, because there is nowhere to hide, and
a whooooole lot of bad guys to kill.
Hong Kong
Probably the hardest level in the game. Healths are plentiful
(six in all) and are usually missed by the computer players.
The exception is the health in the middle of the street by the
waterfront, which is often picked up by a bad guy due to
complete random chance. The bad news is, you're going to need
every single one of them, because you are going to get pounded.
The level is pretty damn big, with a temple and a subway to hide
in (both places contain healths, too), so running away is almost
always an option. But eventually, you'll have to come out and
fight. Power-ups are fairly minimal, except for the waterfront
area, where there's a bunch of toys to play with.
Dark Tooth
Oh, shit. Dark Tooth, the boss of the game, is a black ice
cream truck with pink polka dots. He is positively massive: about
half a block long, and two stories high. And the scariest part
about his size is, he likes to jump on you. Oh, god, it hurts.
There's not a lot of advice to give here. The general pattern
is to throw up a force field, freeze him, hit him with
everything you've got, and then run away. The problem with this
is, he's usually faster than you, too. You'd better be packing
a hellacious amount of armor, or you're in for a tough fight.
(Come to think about it, you're in for a tough fight even if you
do have a hellacious amount of armor.) A quick note: it took me
an hour and a half of solid playing (probably 25-30 games) to
beat Dark Tooth with Grasshopper, but she has unquestionably the
coolest ending in the game.
Quick, boy, back to the Temple of Vin!
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