Assessing Assignment 53

GAMES ROOM – The newest game that's sweeping the Neopian nation is called Assignment 53. But don't panic, this assignment is not a homework assignment, but actually an action packed and fun filled game!

Rules and Scoring

The instructions of your assignment are very simple, and are given to you by Supreme Commander Arlhox VII. If you fail, the commander will begin to practice his singing, and trust me, NO ONE wants to hear that... So pay attention! You are to aid the Alien Aisha Invasion Force, by rescuing their scientists from various planets around the galaxy. These planets are, in the order that you will explore them: Wuba Prime, Octozodi, Wuba Secundus, Gorignak V, and last but certainly not least, as they were the winners of this year's Altador Cup, Kreludor! Each planet contains two acts, and then there is an additional final boss stage for you to complete as well.

To accomplish your task, you are to use the WASD or arrow keys to navigate either Eddix or Moxi the respectively green and red Alien Aishas through the treacherous landscape of the foreign planets. With these keys you can jump, crouch, and move left and right anyway you see fit to complete the mission and gather the various items you find during your quest.

There are also multiple power ups along the way to help you on your journey, and they are:

Gravity Boots – they are permanent, until you lose health, a life, or complete the level. These boots will allow you to reach amazing new heights. They will also allow you to bounce off walls, which opens up many possibilities for your exploration.

Force Fields – this shield will last for 15 seconds, and allows you to destroy all enemies in your path, even so called "invincible" ones! You can now simply walk through enemies to defeat them, but you can still jump on them to receive a slightly larger jump if needed.

Energy Wings – these nifty pair of wings last for 10 seconds, and give you super speed! With these, crossing planets should be a breeze.

You are given 3 lives to start out with, and with each life you have 3 orbs of health. There are also gross foods scattered across the levels, which replenish one orb of health, but if you are at maximum health, they will give you an impressive 100 points! Additionally, for every 100 nerkmids you obtain, you will be rewarded with one extra life. If you happen to lose a life, you will be sent back to the beginning of the level with all the nerkmids, gross foods, and enemies reset to how they were originally. However, if you managed to activate a checkpoint, then you will return to that spot instead! You will know that the tower has been activated because the lights will change from red to green.

At the end of each level, there are two bonuses that are given, and they are the air and nerkmid bonuses. The air bonus is simply determined by how quickly you completed the level. The second bonus is solely determined by how many of the golden nerkmids you obtain during the level, and you are given exactly 10 points per nerkmid that you collect.

Tips and Strategies

1. If you have any power ups, getting hurt will make you lose all of your current ones, so be careful! Also, sometimes it might even be best to avoid a certain power up, as in certain situations it can potentially make it much harder to navigate and can cause you to lose health or even lives.

2. Because Force Fields only last for a short 15 seconds, you should make the most of them. If possible, avoid landing on top of enemies, which could waste precious time especially if you are trying to get to a lower elevation quickly. Waiting to fall back down after bouncing may not seem like very long, but it can add up, especially if the force field is used in conjunction with the gravity boots. This will also give you more time to get to the harder parts of the level where there are many tough or invincible enemies! It also helps complete the level faster, earning you more air bonus points!

3. If you want to get a high score in this game, it is best to focus on a two things: avoid getting hit and losing lives at all costs, and collecting as many nerkmids and destroying as many enemies as possible, without wasting too much time. You only receive the 100 points for gross foods if you are currently at max health, so for every time you get hit, you are essentially losing a full 100 points if there are gross foods later in that level. Also, although losing lives does not directly affect your bonus score in anyway, it does reduce your air bonus because it is taking you longer to finish the level. Also take note that dying and returning to the beginning of the level or a checkpoint does NOT reset the air bonus timer; it starts as soon as you begin the level, and ends once you finish.

4. If your score is just a bit short of what you would like, don't worry! There are more than a few secret areas scattered through the planets, so challenge yourself see if you can find them all. You'll know when you find one because you will mysteriously be standing in what seems to be a solid wall. Their contents range from just one morsel of gross food, to a horde of nerkmids and a buffet of gross foods! One even includes a couple power ups!

5. Each time you play the game, the levels always remain exactly the same. For this reason, practice definitely makes perfect. There will never be any new surprises or situations. It can be a very good idea to practice a level repeatedly, to really get the hang of it. That way, since the levels never change, you can really master each one individually, and eventually the whole game!

6. To defeat the boss, you simply must jump on the big button on top of it. Sounds easy, right? Well, the difficulty lies in that you must hit it 10 times before it will be destroyed, you must do it all in one life, AND the whole time it will be jumping around wildly, shooting fireballs and lasers at you. However, there are a few ways to increase your survival rate. The giant robot will bounce off walls, making it completely safe for you to simply stand in a corner while it is jumping. When it begins shooting projectiles, you should do one of two things, depending on how far away the boss is from you. If it is close, then you should quickly get as close as you can to it and crouch down, to avoid any projectiles. If it is far from you, then just remain in the corner where you are and you should be perfectly safe. After it finishes firing the missiles, jump on a platform and onto its head, if possible. If you are quick, you can always jump on the robot's head in groups of three, so in actuality you only need a good shot at bouncing on his head four times. If you manage to successfully defeat the boss, well done! You just earned yourself an additional 1000 points, and hopefully a little bit of air bonus as well.

Hopefully with these tips you can earn yourself a high score, and possibly even a trophy! There's even word of a secret avatar if you can manage to collect enough nerkmids and rescue enough all of the scientists! Good luck and most importantly, have fun!