Part nostalgia-bomb, part note-taking and part FAQ, what started in GameTrailers as a video game blog is now on Blogger. This blog is a look back at video games, both popular and obscure, from the video game industry's infancy all the way to the previous console generation.
Wile E. Coyote is driving a vehicle with reckless abandon again, and once again, you'll need to jump off the roof of it to get to higher areas. If you're used to the level layouts for Levels 3 and 4, you'll feel right at home here. Just watch out for the bird seed traps, and keep in mind that you'll have less room to work with on the blue ACME van.
Some of the tumbleweeds, if you're able to jump on them, may give you extra lives.
Level 12: Hop Skip and Jump
Once you've played through Level 12, you'll have a good idea of how to get through here. Once again, be ready to jump around and memorize which bird seed plates are actually traps, and be ready to eat those big bowls to ensure you're at top health. Once you beat this level, you'll beat Desert Speedtrap on Normal! Now to play it on Hard...
The mine levels are among some of the most interesting in the game, due to all the things you'll be dodging. It only makes the return of "Flying Wile E." make much more sense.
The level design here is pretty interesting. Unlike other levels, instead of just going from left to right, you'll be going from the top to the bottom and then back again while going from left to right. The mine levels are more of a maze than what you've seen so far.
The bats act just like the buzzards; they're just smaller.
You may have seen a spring in the last level, but that one launches you into the air. The ones on the wall will bounce you back if you run into them.
There will always be mine carts at the bottom of the mine levels. You can stand on top of them, but they will hit you if they move right into you.
If you find the first teleporter, you'll find the second! The second teleporter is to the right of the first bonus room, and you'll have to deal with Wile E. Coyote on a jetpack to get there. Yes, he's airborne again, and you'll want to duck to avoid him if you're on solid ground before making a little bit more progress, just like last time.
Fire damages you. Don't touch it.
The ice is much like the oil, but you'll spin around if you stop moving.
Level 10: Up and Under
You'll find the bonus multiplier from one of the scorpions at the start.
You'll need to be pretty fast to get all of the stars in the bonus area.
Be careful when jumping around when dealing with Wile E. Coyote, as it is pretty easy to be sent back to the beginning of that section and deal with Wile E. and all the fire again.
The scorpions will shoot at you if you're anywhere near them. They'll also double back if necessary when they shoot, too.
The "spikes" are actually just floors covered in either oil or tar, and I didn't figure this out until after I uploaded this Let's Play. If you move around in them, you'll slide in the direction you're going, and you'll also get slowed down quite a bit.
The two teleporters in this level are right next to each other, and that will allow you to collect a lot of stars - and time - in a hurry.
You'll have a bit of a maze when you encounter Wile E. Coyote, who will be rocketing towards you with rocket-powered roller skates. Be ready to jump over him. As for the bird seed, some of the plates will heal you, while others will do two units of health worth of damage. You'll have to memorize which ones hurt you so you can get through this area relatively unscathed, and you'll also have to watch out for the man-eating plants at the same time. At this point, the game is about to become a little more unforgiving.
Level 8: Coyote Canyon
You can get the bonus multiplier from the buzzard above where you start.
While there are robot enemies here, there are no teleporters. All of the stars will be out in the open and easy to collect.
You'll have another maze full of plant enemies and bird seed traps when you meet Wile E. Coyote again. I get through the maze as quickly as possible without eating any of the birdseed because I'm not even in the mood to memorize which bird seed plates are actually near-death traps.
Down and to the right of the start is a teleporter. In case you haven't noticed yet, there will always be a robot enemy ready to shoot projectiles at you near all the teleporters. You'll want to go in there and nimbly jump over the carnivorous plants while grabbing all of the stars in the bonus areas.
To press buttons down, you'll need to stand in front of them and peck them. You can also jump on top of them to bring them down and activate whatever it powers nearby. This will allows you to use a platform that will take you further to the exit.
Wile E. Coyote will be on a gyrocopter for these next two levels. The best way to avoid him is to stay on land and duck down. Wait for the sound of him passing by, and he'll sail over you while coming close to hitting you, but not quite doing it. There's a bit of timing involved, but it can be done.
Level 6: Gone to Seed
There's a ton of stars to the right of where you start. Be sure to get them all before you continue. If you explore thoroughly, you'll be able to get over 100 starts easily. The teleporter area, should you get in there, will also net you a ton of stars.
Get the stars below where you start, and make sure you get all those large groups of stars that you see afterwards. You're going to need the time boosts whenever you can get them.
Always jump off a ledge; never just move off of it. If you do the latter, Road Runner will run off the ledge, stop in midair, and then drop down. This can leave you vulnerable and can get annoying pretty quickly.
The pools of mud are much like the pool of water, and as long as you run through them at full blast without stopping, you won't sink and get slowed down.
The tumbleweeds damage you, so you'll want to avoid them.
You'll eventually see a vehicle barreling down the road from one side of the screen to the other at regular intervals. This is Wile E. Coyote trying to run you over. You obviously want to jump over the big red van, but what you can also do is time your jump so you land on the van, then immediately jump upwards off of the roof to get to a platform above. If you just stand on the moving vehicle, you'll slide right off, so you'll need to time your jumps carefully to do that.
When you reach the exit, Wile E. Coyote will crash and then comically walk onto the screen with the steering wheel in his hands.
Level 4: Highway Runnery
Once you've played through Level 3, you'll have a good idea how to get through Level 4.
There are dips in the road when you can duck under the bus, which can prove useful if you're trying not to get run over. Invincibility will help you from getting run over, too, so grab those haloes if any enemies leave them upon defeat! Also, running in the same direction as the bus for a second and then jumping forward is pretty cool.
Yep, it's a Road Runner game. Thankfully, I had plenty of fun with this one, and I found it somewhat playable, unlike Death Valley Rally.
Left and Right move left and right, Down lets you duck, Button 1 pecks and Button 2 jumps. If you move left or right for long enough, which isn't long, you'll pick up speed and go fast.
Level 1: Cliffs and Ledges
You'll need to collect stars for more points when you get to the exit.
You'll have four hit points, which are shown in the upper-left corner. Pecking at birdseed allows you to refill health, and the bigger the pile of birdseed, the more you'll need to pick and the more health you'll get back. Some of the birdseed plates act as checkpoints signified by checkered flag signs with the Road Runner head on them, while others act as traps that shake the screen and cost you two of your hit points.
You'll also have a timer in the lower-left corner. Collecting stars will add to the timer for each one, but you'll need to collect a lot at one time to really add a good amount of time back to the timer.
By moving left or right for long enough, you'll be able to pick up speed. This will allows you to more easily avoid swaths of hazards, including man-eating plants, water that will slow you down, and other things.
The water dripping from the stalactites will damage you.
The buzzards will lower towards you when you get close enough to them.
Watch the arrow signs. They will tell you where to go next...and there's a lot of them.
Crabs can be jumped on, but watch out for their projectiles. The robots near the teleporters will try to shock you if you get close enough to them.
The teleporters take you to bonus areas where you can get a ton of stars. There are 250 stars in a level, and if you collect them all, you'll get a nice score bonus at the end. You'll only be in these areas for so long before you're forcefully teleported back out again, so make an effort to get everything in these areas. Also, while you're in them, time will stop until you teleport out.
Enemies will drop pick-ups that float upwards into the air when you defeat them. Pick-ups include rockets that will cause you to speed up a bit (which I end up avoiding because the extra speed can become a bit of a headache), score multipliers that multiply your end-of-level point bonus by ten, halos that give you temporary invincibility and clocks that add 30 seconds to the level timer.
At the end of every level, you'll have to dodge Wile E. Coyote as you get to the exit sign. For the first two levels, Wile E. Coyote will be flying around on a rocket, and you'll need to pay attention to where he comes in from on both sides of the screen and jump and duck and avoid accordingly.
When you beat a level, you'll get a level bonus (which increased with each level cleared), a superstar bonus (which you only get for collecting all 250 stars in a level) and a time bonus for each second left on the clock. If you picked up the 10x bonus multiplier, it will be applied after all the points are tallied up. Sadly, you cannot get extra lives off of points.
You do get your health refilled upon completing a level. Take advantage of that.
Level 2: Cliff Chase
Go down at the start of the level for a teleporter to a bonus area. Be sure to get the halo from the nearby robot. The top path is the way to go in this area, but don't forget to go down, especially when you don't have to, for stars. There's a ton that you can run through for a good amount of bonus time near the end.
Be careful jumping to the exit when you see Wile E. Coyote, as you do suffer knockback whenever you get hit.
