Old vs New: Which Game is For You? Part III

Welcome all to the third part of Old vs New: Which Game is For You? Last week we took a look at Kau Korral vs Extreme Herder vs Extreme Herder II, Ice Caves vs Faerie Caves vs Faerie Caves II – Fyora’s Quest, and Nimmo’s Pond vs Nimmos Pond. All are fun games, but this week’s edition brings three games which I have spent numerous hours playing and enjoy very much. In fact, I’m sure we have all played these games from time to time. They are Freaky Factory vs Freaky Factory, Jelly Processing Plant vs Hungry Skeith, and Volcano Run vs Volcano Run II. Some of us may remember the original versions of these games, but for those of you who don’t, then let the following guide you along the way.

Title: Freaky Factory

Type: Action

Location: Game Graveyard

ID: 390 version 56

Status: RIP Y3

Hmm... where to begin? So many cute plushies to make: JubJubs, Kaus, Chombies, Scorchios and more! When this game first came out, I was so excited. I spent many hours day after day playing this game. Why, you ask? Well, because it’s fun. Game play is identical to the current version of this game. The only difference to me is this game was a bit slower, or maybe I was quicker, but whatever the case, this version is where I earned the avatar for the game. It is possible to earn the avatar in the active version of the game; I know because I’ve seen fellow Neopians receive it. All it takes is time, patience and of course practice!

Title: Freaky Factory

Type: Action

Location: Kreludor

ID: 390

Status: Active

The same name as its predecessor, Freaky Factory is a fun game which I still play. Where else do you get to make cute little plushies? Sounds simple, but to make those plushies can get hectic. Why? Well, you have three vats which you must fill up with corresponding colors: red, yellow, and blue. Again, sounds straightforward. Now this is where it starts to get a little complicated. You have varying sizes of color blobs crossing the screen and you must click on them to enter each vat. Be careful, though; some of those blobs are angry and you don’t want to click them as they will cause your overflow meter to fill up. Also, any amount of color above the fill line in a vat will cause the overflow meter to fill up. Angry yellow blobs and regular yellow blobs can come from either direction, meanwhile blue angry blobs come into sight from the right and regular blue blobs appear from the left. Finally, red angry blobs emerge from the left, while the regular red blobs become visible from the right.

Don’t forget there is a grundo thief waiting to steal your plushies off the conveyer belt, so bop him on the head with a blob or click on him to make him go away. There are two ways to lose in this game; your overflow meter is full or you haven’t made enough plushies in the allotted time. Scoring in this game is easy: basic colors (red, yellow, blue) are worth the least, then the intermediate colors (purple, orange, green), and finally the most advanced (rainbow). In addition to colors you have species, and each one affects points. From least to most they are: JubJubs, Poogles, Scorchios, Kaus, Chombies.

My pick: Once more, a tie. Go make those cute plushies.

*Side note: Even though the game identifications for Freaky Factory have the same number they are different versions of each other.

Title: Jelly Processing Plant

Type: Action

Location: Game Graveyard

ID: 95

Status: RIP Y7

Many fond memories reside with this game. You play a Buzz who must sort jellies, based on color, into three barrels located in the back. The jellies drop out of a chute onto a conveyer belt, and at the end of the belt a Skeith is waiting to eat, but he doesn’t like jellies. The jelly colors here are red, blue, and yellow. These colors may sound repetitive, but hey, why not use the primary colors as the basis in the games? The conveyer belt will speed up in each round. Occasionally the plant will make a mistake and send out some ice cream, which the Skeith loves! Make sure he eats the ice cream as each one will give you bonus points. The more he eats, specifically of the same color, the more bonus points you will receive. There are three ways to lose a life in this game; sort a jelly into the wrong color bin, place an ice cream into a color bin, or let the Skeith eat a jelly. Each life counts as a strike, monitored in the upper right hand corner, and once you have three strikes it is game over.

Title: Hungry Skeith

Type: Action

Location: Neopia Central

ID: 538

Status: Active

Hungry Skeith is very similar to Jelly Processing Plant. Once again you play a Buzz who must sort jellies, and the Skeith is back as well. Instead of ice cream cones, different desserts will appear among the jellies. Once again the jelly colors are red, blue, and yellow. The Skeith will eat the desserts, but alas, no bonus points are awarded for doing so. Each round is increased by five jellies, and the conveyer belt speeds up. Again you can lose a life by placing the jelly in the wrong bin, placing a dessert in a bin, or letting the Skeith eat a jelly. Unlike the first version, you will have five tries before it is game over!

My pick: Jelly Processing Plant!

Title: Volcano Run

Type: Action

Location: Game Graveyard

ID: 140

Status: RIP Y8

Volcano Run is yet a different game I didn’t understand until it made its journey to the Game Graveyard. A Scorchio called Glubgar has decided to fly through a volcano. Personally I would never try this, but hey, to each their own. The controls of the game are pretty simple: hold the left mouse button down to fly upwards, let go to drift downwards. Pressing space bar will slow you down; you should see Glubgar’s wings come forward when this happens. There doesn’t seem to be a way to speed up to get quickly past an obstacle. The object of the game is to avoid the top and bottom edges of the volcano along with fiery rocks; meanwhile you should be collecting gems which are worth approximately twenty points per gem. As far as I can tell, there is not a cap to collecting the gems. The longer you last without dying, the higher your score will be. After obtaining specific scores in the game it will speed up.

Title: Volcano Run II

Type: Action

Location: Tyrannia

ID: 761

Status: Active

Glubgar is back and doesn’t seem to have learned his lesson. Once again he has decided he needs to fly through a volcano. The object of the game is identical to the original, you must avoid the roof and ground of the volcano, while avoiding fiery rocks and fireballs all while collecting gems. Wow, that’s a mouthful! Game play has improved significantly from the first version of this game. You have two controls, C and V, to help you out. One will speed you up, useful in getting past certain obstacles, and the other will slow you down, when you need a little extra time to get through some obstacles. Most gems in this game are worth ten points, but there is a cap to the amount of gems you can collect. What is it, you ask? That is for me to know and you to find out! An avatar can be gained from obtaining a certain score in this game, and yes, it is possible. I did so myself, but only after tons of practice; therefore I know it is doable. So are you ready to challenge the volcano yet?

My pick: Volcano Run II!

I am going to remind you again that this series of articles is comparing games for the fun factor, not how much will it earn you per game. If that is the only reason you are playing the games, then these articles won’t help you. Several times my picks will be for the original versions of the game because I found them more challenging, but that isn’t to say I don’t enjoy the current versions of the game either. Other times my opinion will be for any version of the game, but everyone should form their own opinions by playing the games themselves. I also hope these articles will make some of you aware of the older versions of the games in case you weren’t around when they were. Next up will be visiting games that have been located in Tyrannia or still are. They are: Destruct-O-Match vs Destruct-O-Match II vs Destruct-O-Match III, Chia Bomber vs Chia Bomber 2, and Swarm vs Swarm – The Bugs Strike Back.