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Assignment 53 - A Guide to Getting the Avatar


by return_of_weatherbee

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The Neopets Team has released a new game called Assignment 53, and it has been a huge hit with Neopians all around. To add to the excitement of this trivial game, you can now earn an avatar (almost always) by completing the game! Oh, and don't forget the bragging rights.

If you're interested in getting the avatar, then you're in the right place. I achieved the avatar by going through the bare minimums in the levels. This guide will go through the basics of Assignment 53 and give you a walk-through. So open a new tab, load up Assignment 53, and get ready to play!

*Note – Assignment 53 is much like Hannah and the Pirate Caves or our old-school Mario games. The best way to win is to practice. I do not expect you to get the avatar the first time through (though that would be quite impressive if you did), and you shouldn't either. It took me about ten plays to finally achieve it. This guide should help you achieve the avatar faster, but don't get discouraged if you don't get it the first time.

Power-ups

Nerkmids – Nerkmids will give you one extra life for every 100 you collect. Also, you receive a sweet amount of bonus points at the end of the level for collecting the nerkmids. It's not recommended to skimp on Nerkmids in favor of getting through the level faster.

Gravity Boots – The Gravity Boots will make you jump higher, and higher, and higher!

Force Field – The Force Field protects you from enemies and allows you to kill them by simply walking into them. If you look in the bottom left corner of the game, you will see a timer with a small blue-white ball. That's the Force Field timer. Once it runs out, monsters can hurt you again. Pay attention to the timer.

Gross Foods – You can collect gross foods to refuel. You can be hit by a monster three times before you die. If you collect a gross food, it basically heals you one hit. So, say you run into an enemy. You can only be hit two more times and then you lose a life. If you collect a gross food, you can be hit three times before losing a life. Also, if you collect a gross food and your health is at full, you get 100 points, which comes in handy.

The Basics

Your mission is to find and retrieve the Alien Aisha scientists (your crew), and save them from the Alien Aisha Invaders. Your commander, Supreme Commander Arlhox VII, will be very pleased with you if you save all the scientists. He's even more pleased with his main point of the mission, which you will find out at the end of the game. ;)

You can control one of two characters – Eddix or Moxie. It doesn't matter which one you pick. During the game, use the arrow keys to control your character. Left and right moves Eddix or Moxie, up makes him jump, and down will make him duck. Lastly, you can kill most enemies by jumping on top of them. There are some you cannot kill unless you have the Force Field, but they are pretty easy to recognize.

Filled to the brim with information? Ready to begin? Let's start the walk-through!

Walk-through

Wuba Prime, Act 1: You begin in Wuba Prime. There will be two acts per planet. At the end of all the first acts, your goal is to reach the last signal beam. This will move you on to act two. During all levels, you will see many signal beams. Walking into these will enable you to start back in that spot, rather than going back to the beginning of the level. You can think of the signal beams as a kind of checkpoint. At the end of the second acts, your goal is to reach the space ship and retrieve the scientist.

Ready? Here we go.

There's not much trouble in Wuba Prime. Just kill the enemies and collect ALL the nerkmids. If you move fast enough, you can kill the last enemies that shoot things at you with the force field. The highest score you can receive is 1408 on this level, so move super-quick, and you'll get it! This nice high score can be the difference between getting the avatar and just beating the game.

Wuba Prime, Act 2: Yes, there's a floating bridge at the beginning of the level. Don't get over-zealous like I did and jump, thinking you will land on soft grass. You won't. The bridge will take you to the other side. Once you get close, one of the monsters will shoot at you. In order to keep from dying, you will need to duck as soon as you see the monster shoot at you. After you jump on the monster's head, go ahead and duck, or you'll get hit and knocked backward by the second monster, losing a life. Did you do it? That was the most troublesome part of the level. Congrats!

Octozodi, Act 1: This level is a bit annoying, but once you get the hang of jumping, it's easier. When you're jumping up the steps, evading the enemies, use the up arrow key to jump, and press it again once you reach the step. Also, don't jump on the purple cactus-like monsters you'll see towards the middle of the level. These are one of the few enemies you cannot kill, unless you have the force field. Now that you can tell the difference between enemies you can destroy and those you can't, you can handle the enemies without my help.

Octozodi, Act 2: Pretty much the same as the other levels. Just avoid enemies, kill them when it's safe, and grab as many nerkmids as possible. You can float through this level by staying as high up as you can. This is the easiest way to get through. If you're an over-achiever and you're going for a high score spot, then feel free to travel through the entire level. It's kind of fun, too!

Wuba Secundus, Act 1:This level gives you your introduction to the Gravity Boots! Grab the gravity boots. To begin, jump around. A lot. Press the up arrow until you're finger is sore. See what's happening? Learning how to use those gravity boots now? Good! Grab the force field (yes, there's one located in this level), run like mad, getting through as many as the monsters as quickly as you can until you can reach the next signal. This is a tough level, and if you can kill the monsters by simply running into them rather than dodging and hopping on their heads, then you will lose less lives on this level. *Note – don't expect to use the gravity boots successfully in this level the first time. It will take a few tries to figure it out. If you ever find yourself getting discouraged, play until you get game over, and stop for about an hour. I had better luck giving the game a rest for an hour or so and then trying again than trying again immediately after a game over.

Wuba Secundus, Act 2: Tricky. Keep your eyes OPEN and stay focused, because there are monsters all through this level. You'll be trying to eliminate one enemy, and get yourself killed by the one you didn't notice if you're not careful. For the rest of the level, use your same tactics and game-play you've been using. Did I mention you're over half-way through the game at this point?

Gorignak V, Act 1: Lots of new enemies. Watch out for the Sludgies as they shoot mud balls, and can knock you off a cliff. Also, towards the middle of the level, you'll come on one of the monsters that roll around. There will be two sets of two nerkmids and a gaping area between two cliffs. Use your gravity boots here. You'll have to jump to the left, up arrow, up arrow, and hooray! NERKMIDS! Yes, you WILL need these nerkmids. Not because I am expecting a lost life at this point, but because you really need to rack up as many points as you can in these last levels, and nerkmids are the easiest way to achieve this goal.

Gorignak V, Act 2: Much the same as the first part of Gorignak. It's actually one of the quickest levels in the game. Just watch your jumps and keep an eye on the mudballs.

Kreludor, Act 1: Again, easy, and just like all the other levels. Stay on the elevators and collect as many nerkmids as you can. Watch out - some of the monsters can shoot things straight across the ENTIRE screen, and with those gravity boots it's easy to lose a life or two. Stay at the top of the game and pay attention and you shouldn't lose any lives. Congrats to making it this far in the game. One more level to go, then you get to fight the boss!

Kreludor, Act 2: No other way to describe this level than YUCK! Tons of monsters, expect to lose a couple of lives. Concentrate on getting tons of nerkmids as this is the last chance to collect them and they make a huge score difference. Getting tons of nerkmids during this level is easy, and you NEED them to get the avatar. Lastly, concentrate on evading monsters.

All done? Time for the final level!

Final Act: In the final act, you will destroy the big boss. The boss will jump 3 times, stop, and shoot either fireballs or small laser beams at you. If you're close to him when he shoots the fireballs, you're going to take a hit. If he shoots the beams, get on the ground, and duck if you're paranoid. Either way, the beams are easier to avoid. Once the boss is finished shooting at you, you're aim is to jump on his head. You will need to jump on it a total of ten times (though not at once) to beat the boss. Only jump on the boss AFTER it's finished shooting or you'll end up getting hit. Finally, after a lot of frustration, Mr. Boss will start to break down, you will receive 1000 points, and win the game! Don't miss the credits, and remember to send your score to get the avatar. Congratulations!

Thanks for reading my guide! I hope it helped you with the basics and most of the surprises during the game!

 
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