fangedwolf
11th March 2009, 18:47
Game Guide - Boom Box 2
The Basics
Boom Box is a crazy machine in which you have to connect four or more boxes of the same colour to make them go boom!
When the blocks go down and hit the red line, its game over.
http://vocalcafe.co.uk/picture.php?albumid=80&pictureid=626
1. Your current level
2. The amount of boxes you need to destroy to get to the next level
3. Your current score
4. The bonus you are currently using
5. The amount of time before your current turn is over (affects bonuses)
6. Bar fills from left to right to show when another line of blocks will be added
7. The next three blocks you get to use, bottom first
8. Nuke meter
9. Music on/off
10. Switch between mouse/keyboard controls
11. Pause
12. Your block gun
Bonuses
http://vocalcafe.co.uk/picture.php?albumid=80&pictureid=625
Laser: Wipes out an entire vertical line (no points)
Rotary Machine Gun: Destroys single blocks at +10 each
Double Points: Get double points for blocks destroyed
Bomb: Destroys a set of blocks surrounding where the bomb hits
Glow: Gives a vertical glow to help targeting
Biohazard: With blocks destroyed, it fills the nuke meter (no.8.). When it reaches the top, all blocks on the screen are destroyed (no points)
Death: Kills some of the charge on the nuke meter (no.8.)
Reverse Direction: Makes the block gun (no.12.) go the opposite direction to the controls
Surviving through the levels
As the levels increase, the time that (no.6.) takes to add a new line of blocks will decrease, making it increasingly difficult to get rid of them quick enough, so you run the risk of hitting the red line and getting game over.
This is coupled with the fact that as the levels increase, you are given more colours to deal with, meaning there are less blocks of the same colour to link together.
There are several tricks to surviving:
Sticky Blocks:
All the blocks are secured to the ones above them. So if you take out the one at the very top, all the ones beneath it will go boom. Use this to your advantage and target the very highest of the blocks to destroy as many as possible.
http://vocalcafe.co.uk/picture.php?albumid=80&pictureid=629
Block placement:
So you know to place blocks of the same colour next to each other right? Well try to encourage them to go horizontally if you are quite high up on the board (hardly any blocks there), and then leave it one block away from being exploded. Then build all your blocks on top of these ones, and when it gets too low, destroy the high horizontal length, thereby getting rid of all those blocks. Woohoo!
Weapon/Bonus Usage:
To get the best out of your weapon bonuses you need to use them to your best advantage. Using the two techniques above, you are trying to destroy as much as possible from the very top down. This would be near impossible if you have a solid expanse of blocks from the top all the way down the screen.
Laser: This can be used either to clear a particularly long vertical line you havn't managed to clear, but it can also be used to open up a space to the top so you can put a same coloured block up there to destroy everything underneath.
Rotary Machine Gun: This is often used to just keep the lowest of the blocks from touching the red line, but if you have kept the blocks fairly high on the screen, you can use it to open up several lines to the top before the new line gets put up there, like several lasers. If you do this (see the image with the numbers on it) you have various points by which to destroy the other lines from the top.
Bomb: The bomb can be used best if you have a single line through the blocks to near the top, as it will destroy the top blocks either side of where it lands, blowing up all below those as well.
http://vocalcafe.co.uk/picture.php?albumid=80&pictureid=628
Biohazard: This is the best to get when you are really struggling, as you don't need any lines to the top. My tip for using this is to leave the nuke bar nearly filled (no.8) and then when you are in real dire streights, you can grab a biohazard bonus when it falls and destroy one set of boxes and clear the screen. You really need to be able to use the nuke if you are wanting to get into the later levels.
Getting more points
Ok, so you are getting to later levels now, but that is only half the story if you arn't maximising your points.
First thing you should be aware of is that you do not get more points for destroying 6 blocks in one hit, than if you destroy them in smaller groups. Each block is still worth 10 points each.
Second thing is that if you destroy blocks, and there are those below them, each of those blocks will also add +10 points each.
Thats the basics, but there is a way to get more points for the same blocks. The first way is to use the consecutive destruction of blocks ie destroy several sets of blocks streight after each other. The more you do consecutively, the higher the points you get, which is especially good if you destroy a set of blocks that have others sitting under them, as these extra blocks will get the bonus as well, so leave the greatest number of blocks to the last one you can do (you can see using the (no.7.) next block icons.
- Good (x2)
- Great (x3)
- Amazing (x4)
- Godlike (x5)
http://vocalcafe.co.uk/picture.php?albumid=80&pictureid=630
If you want to be really lucky, you could use the above method along with the 'double points' bonus, and you will be really flying!
Troubleshooting
The main issue I have had with this game is when you are destroying a line of blocks from the top down, and during this, a new line is added to the top. This stops the addition of points, and leaves a ghost of where the blocks were.
http://vocalcafe.co.uk/picture.php?albumid=80&pictureid=627
The boxes hanging in midair are actually not there at all, and if you send a block up to them, it will pass right through, wiping them from the screen.
While this problem is rather minor, when you get into the later levels of the game, it can be difficult to tell what ones are real or not, as the blocks move so fast down the screen that the ghost blocks merge with the real blocks. A little confusion. Nothing too big though.
There was also a report that something in the game wiped out all the player's points. I have not had this happen myself though.
The issues might be related to what type of browser you are using.
Thanks and Good luck!
I would like to thank Karma for her input about the nuke meter, which allowed me to finish this game guide.
Good luck to you all!
The Basics
Boom Box is a crazy machine in which you have to connect four or more boxes of the same colour to make them go boom!
When the blocks go down and hit the red line, its game over.
http://vocalcafe.co.uk/picture.php?albumid=80&pictureid=626
1. Your current level
2. The amount of boxes you need to destroy to get to the next level
3. Your current score
4. The bonus you are currently using
5. The amount of time before your current turn is over (affects bonuses)
6. Bar fills from left to right to show when another line of blocks will be added
7. The next three blocks you get to use, bottom first
8. Nuke meter
9. Music on/off
10. Switch between mouse/keyboard controls
11. Pause
12. Your block gun
Bonuses
http://vocalcafe.co.uk/picture.php?albumid=80&pictureid=625
Laser: Wipes out an entire vertical line (no points)
Rotary Machine Gun: Destroys single blocks at +10 each
Double Points: Get double points for blocks destroyed
Bomb: Destroys a set of blocks surrounding where the bomb hits
Glow: Gives a vertical glow to help targeting
Biohazard: With blocks destroyed, it fills the nuke meter (no.8.). When it reaches the top, all blocks on the screen are destroyed (no points)
Death: Kills some of the charge on the nuke meter (no.8.)
Reverse Direction: Makes the block gun (no.12.) go the opposite direction to the controls
Surviving through the levels
As the levels increase, the time that (no.6.) takes to add a new line of blocks will decrease, making it increasingly difficult to get rid of them quick enough, so you run the risk of hitting the red line and getting game over.
This is coupled with the fact that as the levels increase, you are given more colours to deal with, meaning there are less blocks of the same colour to link together.
There are several tricks to surviving:
Sticky Blocks:
All the blocks are secured to the ones above them. So if you take out the one at the very top, all the ones beneath it will go boom. Use this to your advantage and target the very highest of the blocks to destroy as many as possible.
http://vocalcafe.co.uk/picture.php?albumid=80&pictureid=629
Block placement:
So you know to place blocks of the same colour next to each other right? Well try to encourage them to go horizontally if you are quite high up on the board (hardly any blocks there), and then leave it one block away from being exploded. Then build all your blocks on top of these ones, and when it gets too low, destroy the high horizontal length, thereby getting rid of all those blocks. Woohoo!
Weapon/Bonus Usage:
To get the best out of your weapon bonuses you need to use them to your best advantage. Using the two techniques above, you are trying to destroy as much as possible from the very top down. This would be near impossible if you have a solid expanse of blocks from the top all the way down the screen.
Laser: This can be used either to clear a particularly long vertical line you havn't managed to clear, but it can also be used to open up a space to the top so you can put a same coloured block up there to destroy everything underneath.
Rotary Machine Gun: This is often used to just keep the lowest of the blocks from touching the red line, but if you have kept the blocks fairly high on the screen, you can use it to open up several lines to the top before the new line gets put up there, like several lasers. If you do this (see the image with the numbers on it) you have various points by which to destroy the other lines from the top.
Bomb: The bomb can be used best if you have a single line through the blocks to near the top, as it will destroy the top blocks either side of where it lands, blowing up all below those as well.
http://vocalcafe.co.uk/picture.php?albumid=80&pictureid=628
Biohazard: This is the best to get when you are really struggling, as you don't need any lines to the top. My tip for using this is to leave the nuke bar nearly filled (no.8) and then when you are in real dire streights, you can grab a biohazard bonus when it falls and destroy one set of boxes and clear the screen. You really need to be able to use the nuke if you are wanting to get into the later levels.
Getting more points
Ok, so you are getting to later levels now, but that is only half the story if you arn't maximising your points.
First thing you should be aware of is that you do not get more points for destroying 6 blocks in one hit, than if you destroy them in smaller groups. Each block is still worth 10 points each.
Second thing is that if you destroy blocks, and there are those below them, each of those blocks will also add +10 points each.
Thats the basics, but there is a way to get more points for the same blocks. The first way is to use the consecutive destruction of blocks ie destroy several sets of blocks streight after each other. The more you do consecutively, the higher the points you get, which is especially good if you destroy a set of blocks that have others sitting under them, as these extra blocks will get the bonus as well, so leave the greatest number of blocks to the last one you can do (you can see using the (no.7.) next block icons.
- Good (x2)
- Great (x3)
- Amazing (x4)
- Godlike (x5)
http://vocalcafe.co.uk/picture.php?albumid=80&pictureid=630
If you want to be really lucky, you could use the above method along with the 'double points' bonus, and you will be really flying!
Troubleshooting
The main issue I have had with this game is when you are destroying a line of blocks from the top down, and during this, a new line is added to the top. This stops the addition of points, and leaves a ghost of where the blocks were.
http://vocalcafe.co.uk/picture.php?albumid=80&pictureid=627
The boxes hanging in midair are actually not there at all, and if you send a block up to them, it will pass right through, wiping them from the screen.
While this problem is rather minor, when you get into the later levels of the game, it can be difficult to tell what ones are real or not, as the blocks move so fast down the screen that the ghost blocks merge with the real blocks. A little confusion. Nothing too big though.
There was also a report that something in the game wiped out all the player's points. I have not had this happen myself though.
The issues might be related to what type of browser you are using.
Thanks and Good luck!
I would like to thank Karma for her input about the nuke meter, which allowed me to finish this game guide.
Good luck to you all!