Attack of the Slorgs

-from the side- "N00BS!!!"

What? Oh.. no, it's not them this time, they continue to plague the chat boards.. but that's another Newsflash story! The critters in question are:

SLORGS!!!

-collective gasps all around- AAHHHHH!!!!!!

That is no exaggerated scream! This is no small threat, readers. Slorgs are on the loose and you know what this means?! Slimey salad, full of holes. Yes, you heard correctly: salad; the way your grandmother makes it. It's horrific, but there may be some hope yet.. in the form of jazz_invincible. *insert cool superhero tune here* Over to you, Jazz!

Well, thank you.. err.. Newsflash Reader, and grave times are ahead, but follow these tips, and we can battle this infestation and all will be well. I hope you're all ready to play Attack of the Slorgs.

OK, as many of you have noticed, a game featuring Slorgs recently appeared on the News Features. A Yurble farmer from Meridell has had some problems with an infestation of Slorgs attacking his crops, destroying "the finest fruits and vegetables in the whole of Neopia". This can not be pleasing King Skarl at all, but then; What does?!

OK Neopians, time for us to help. Armed with our trusty Slorgeriser X4 we are going to tackle this situation head on. First, an explanation into how this all works.

The Slorgeriser X4 is a completely over-the-top piece of machinery (I mean, what happened to good old fashioned Slorg Pellets in a plastic bottle?) that fires balls of Slorg-B-Gone of various colours. Green, Brown, Blue, Red and Pink. There is also a Grey coloured Slorg-B-Gone which will become a Grey Slorg. This is relatively useless however, seeing as Grey Slorgs do not appear in the game (at least not up to level 12). it's best to just throw these off screen, I'm sure nearby Pteris will pick up the mess.

Slorgs will only be repelled (or destroyed, seeing as they seem to explode) when there are 3 or more in a row. If there are less when you fire, the Slorg-B-Gone ball will become another Slorg of the same colour. This pushes the entire row of Slorgs in front of it a little further towards the food. The Slorgs will continuously come out of the entrance in the top, left corner at a steady rate, following a preset line towards the food.

There are 6 different levels, which repeat. Levels 1-6 are exactly the same as levels 7-12.. only 7-12 have faster Slorgs and you have to repel a lot more of them to advance. I don't know what happens past level 12, as I haven't yet managed it. They're very fast.

Level 1, 2 and 3 only contain Blue, Green and Brown Slorgs. Level 4 introduces Red and Level 6 introduces Pink Slorgs.

Sounds simple, right? Well, there are a number of special Slorg-B-Gone balls which can assist you, or ruin it for you. The powerups are as follows:

Slowdown - Fairly self-explanatory. When you fire this at the line of Slorgs, they will all slowdown making their journey to the food a much longer one. This gives you more time to think about where to fire. Be warned though, if you fire ANY other powerup at the line of Slorgs, they will assume their normal speed once more.

Slorg Block - Wherever you fire this ball, a concrete Slorg will be created blocking all Slorgs before it. Any after will continue moving so you should definitely focus your attention on those. If you destroy the last Slorg in the moving row (the one at the back), then the rest will fly back to the concrete Slorg, destroying it. This means they will all start moving again. If you destroy ALL Slorgs in the moving line, the others will stay motionless for around 10-20 seconds, until the game detects no movement, and the Slorg Block is removed. (This is a handy tip which will be explained later)

MultiSlorg - This is a BAD powerup, more of a powerdown really. It will create a number of Slorgs and push the line along by a large amount. Do NOT use under any circumstances, unless of course you REALLY like Slorgs, and actually want to help them... in which case, why are you here? Grr! Always fire this powerup off screen, being sure not to hit the line of Slorgs.

Super Slorgenizer - This is a nice little powerup, it will destroy about 2-3 Slorgs each way, so it's best to fire it where there are a number of lone colour Slorgs. It will destroy a nice little group, adding to your total. I wouldn't use it if you have the Slowdown powerup in play though, since the Slorgs will speed up again after using this.

Slorg Destruct - This is a powerful tool, so use it wisely. Make sure you have on your protective goggles, and thick gloves. This powerup is a mighty Slorg-B-Gone. When fired, it will destroy/repel EVERY single Slorg before it. It therefore makes sense to fire this as near to the front you can, to insure destroying as many as possible. A good tip is when this powerup appears, just wait for the line to get really long, until they're about to reach the food, then fire it as near to the front as possible, and destroy those pesky Slug Wannabees!

Puddlewater - The rarest of all the powerups. When fired at the Slorg line, it will turn all on screen a random colour. Useful on later levels, as you can then discard other colour Slorg-B-Gone until the one you need comes, and BAM! you can destroy many of the Slorgs in one hit.

Now remember, you can fire any Slorg-B-Gone you don't want to use off screen without penalty.. so don't use any powerup that isn't going to help you. Aim it at the edge of the screen, make sure no Slorgs are in your way, and fire it away. Again, I'm sure the Pteris will pick these off the fields, and have a feast!

So, that's the basics.. But you will notice that the Slorgeriser X4 was self built, and does not have the quality of the items you can get from Neopian Stores. There's no 3 year guarantee here, and I'm afraid it shows. After a short time on each level, the Slorgeriser X4 will start to malfunction, and the laser which helps you aim will flicker, and eventually turn off completely. The main thing to do here is remember where your last shot went, and adjust accordingly. As you play a few times, this becomes much easier to judge, and you'll stop relying on the laser line so much. There is nothing that can be done about it. It will only come back when you complete the level.

Now for the slightly advanced tips. After you've gotten familiar with all of the above, you'll find you're easily reaching level 10 or so. Your score may be averaging the late 1,000's but this just isn't going to cut it if you want a trophy. There are a few more tips that are going to be of great help.

Firstly, type "marrow" when you start the game. This will magically create an extra life. Another chance to repel some Slorgs, and bump up your score a little. This can only be done once each time you load the game. If you want to use it again, you will have to close the game, and reload it. See? Your parents were right. Vegetables are good for you!

Secondly, use combos to your advantage. This will take a bit of getting used to, but they can greatly enhance your score. Example:

You have Slorgs in a row like so: R G G Br Br G R R

You get a Green Slorg (G) next, and your instinct is to fire it where the other 2 Green Slorgs are to get rid of them. Don't. Fire it off screen. Your next Slorg-B-Gone ball is a Red Slorg (R), and again your instinct is to fire it at the group of Red Slorgs on the right. Ignore this instinct, and shoot the ball offscreen. What you want is a Brown Slorg (Br). Fire it at the two Brown Slorgs moving along... they will disappear... bringing the Slorgs to this:

R GG G R R

That makes 3 Greens together, and BOOM! They will disappear and leave this:

R R R

That's now 3 Reds together. BOOM! They disappear, and you've gotten a 3x combo. There are many other patterns to watch out for, and you will pick these up as you go along. If you manage to clear the entire screen, then you get the Clear Bonus which adds to your multiplier again.

Now, what happens if you don't see the powerup name? Or you missed it because you weren't paying attention. You don't want to risk using a Multislorg ball, but then, if you throw it away, you may have needed that important Slorg Destruct ball. There's a simple way to tell. ALL powerup balls will be pulsating slightly, and each powerup has its own colour.

Slowdown = Green

Super Slorgenizer = Brown

Slorg Block = Blue

Multislorg = Red

Slorg Destruct = Pink

Puddlewater = Grey

Got that? Good. You're well on your way to being an "Attack of the Slorgs" Champion!!!.

Now, you've played the game enough and there's something still on your mind bugging you. You're SURE you saw a frog appear just below the Slorg entrance every so often, but when you checked there again, it was gone.

Fear not my friends, you aren't going crazy. This is the ultimate in bonuses. This is the trick that will get you a score of over 3,000 (with a little practice). When that guy pops his head up, and you hit him... you are awarded a 25 point bonus. The Crazy Frog Bonus. The equivalent to repelling 25 Slorgs.

I know what you're thinking. He very rarely appears, it happens at random, and it's only for a second. You're never going to be able to hit him if luck isn't on your side.... WRONG!

This is one of the hardest tricks to master, but gives you the greatest score increase. The Frog will NEVER appear in the first 15 seconds of play, so at first, play as normal, and hope for a Slorg Block powerup. When acquired, fire it so you block in all Slorgs except ONE. Leave this Slorg to move along towards the food. Let him think he's gotten away. Now, aim your Slorgeriser X4 just below the entrance where the Slorgs come out... now hold the Space bar so you continuously fire at this location. If the lone Slorg gets too close to the food, destroy him... and the rest of the Slorgs will remain motionless for around 10-20 seconds.

If the Frog pops up during this time (and in many cases, he will) you will already be rapidly firing at him.. And you will be able to get 3,4 sometimes even 5 or 6 hits on him. That's anything up to a 150 point bonus. A HUGE amount! if you get another Slorg Block during this time, you can use it again and hope for him to pop up for more points. On level 1, you will eventually be able to do this 3 times with ease (and a bit of luck). That's a 450 point bonus.

Oh, and I have one final tip. It's the final tip because it's to be remembered. It's the most important of all. DO NOT PANIC. You'll only end up messing up shots, and making the game even harder for yourself.

Try it yourself. See what tactics work for you, and have fun playing one of the best games Neopets has yet programmed. Good Luck. Do not show those Slorgs any mercy!