The semi-famous maniacal duo of sign_me_nobody and little_hamsters365 has been terrorizing the Avatar Board for as long as many newbies can remember. Their wildly popular screenshots have been a conversation point on the boards for months. Now, the pair that brought you The N00b Wall of Shame presents Swarm – The Bugs Strike Back – The Guide.
sign_me_nobody: At first glance, the sequel to the extremely violent Swarm looks…violent. And it is. However, it is so much more.
little_hamsters365: In Swarm – The Bugs Strike Back – The Guide, we will take you through the finer points of this relatively new game.
sign_me_nobody: We're not pretending to be experts, but we can get you 3,000 Neopoints a day and the warm fuzzy feeling you get when you win a game.
little_hamsters365: So let's get started! *Jams to the funky beat of the Swarm – The Bugs Strike Back music in the background*
The Basics
You play a nameless Wocky with a tank. The goal of the game is to destroy as many foul, winged, flame-throwing bugs as possible. However, these aren't just any bugs – they march in formation. There are ten "waves", or levels (military people have such cool jargon). You have three lives and unlimited ammunition and time. You also have five stone walls for protection. These will be blown up during the course of the game, so don't worry about it.
Playing Swarm – The Bugs Strike Back
Your tank remains behind the blockades the entire time, so you may move from side to side but not back to front. Use the arrow keys to move and the spacebar to fire. Along the right side of the screen is a dirt-colored bar with statistics on it. Read on for more information of this bar.
The Bar
From the top to the bottom, these are the parts of the bar:
Score: Pretty self-explanatory. This shows your current score.
Wave: This shows the "wave" (*sign_me_nobody does the quote signs with her fingers*) number that you are on.
Lives: You start out with three lives. If you are hit by fire, you lose one. Once you lose all three, the game is over.
Weapons:
Laser: This is a contraption that you get from a power-up (more on those later). Lasers can take out an entire column of bugs. Be warned - as soon as you fire it, it will hit the column, so don't try to time your shot.
AP Slugs: These are fun. They also come from a power-up, and are giant missiles. They move faster than your typical missiles. However, for each power-up that you collect, you receive only five AP Slugs.
Shield: You get this from yet another power-up. It surrounds your tank with a blue force field that can protect you from one bolt of flame. You can use the shield only once per power-up collected.
End Game: You end the game here. Duh.
"Waves"
There are ten "waves" (*finger movements*). Each wave is different from the one before it. They all consist of bugs moving back and forth and spitting flame. Also, there is a giant green bug that goes across the top of the screen from time to time, shooting huge barrages of flame. It always gives a power-up when you kill it, and gives you more points for said deed. The "waves" (*finger movements, little_hamsters365 slaps sign_me_nobody*) are arranged thusly:
"Wave" 1: Columns – 4 Rows – 4 (16 total)
"Wave" 2: Columns – 4 Rows – 5 (20 total)
"Wave" 3: Columns – 5 Rows – 5 (25 total)
"Wave" 4: Columns – 6 Rows – 5 (30 total)
"Wave" 5: Columns – 6 Rows – 5 (30 total)
"Wave" 6: Columns – 7 Rows – 6 (42 total)
"Wave" 7: Columns – 7 Rows – 6 (42 total)
"Wave" 8: Columns – 8 Rows – 6 (48 total)
"Wave" 9: Columns – 8 Rows – 7 (56 total)
"Wave" 10: Columns – 9 Rows – 7 (63 total)
Power-Ups
Various power-ups appear randomly throughout the game once you destroy a bug. To activate a power-up, all you have to do is move into its path and catch it. Some power-ups work to your advantage, while others work against you. All are small and oval-shaped. Note: You can have more than one power-up working at the same time.
Good
From left to right:
Shrink: Shrinks your tank.
Wall: Rebuilds your protective walls.
Fast: Increases your speed.
Laser: Gives you the ability to fire a single laser beam.
AP Slugs: Gives you five large missiles.
Shield: Protects you from a single fireball.
Bad
From left to right:
Grow: Increases your tank size.
Slow: Decreases your speed.
Tips
In later "waves" (*little_hamsters365 kicks sign_me_nobody*) it is important to destroy the first line of bugs so they can't get close to you.
As the "wave" (*sign_me_nobody curls up whimpering in a corner*) number increases, the bugs move faster, shoot more frequently, and move from front to back as well as side to side.
It takes the missile a while to reach its target, so fire in advance.
sign_me_nobody: My violent colleague and I wish you luck!
little_hamsters365: Have fun, and don't get swarmed!
sign_me_nobody: …*smack*
Both: *"wave"*
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