Mini Video Game Guides

“Mini Arcade Game” -wisconsincheeseman.com

In this post, I will share as much wisdom regarding the many video games I’ve played in my life in as few words as possible.

If you haven’t play the games in question, I apologize; this won’t make much sense, if any.

• Lego: Star Wars
  • Jar Jar can jump really high. Take advantage of this in free play to make the platforming bits easy.
  • Some gunslingers like Han Solo can dodge incoming blaster bolts if you press the fire button just as the bolt is about to hit.
  • As a lightsaber-wielding character, it’s often faster to stand still and reflect incoming blaster bolts towards your enemies, rather than running around and slicing ’em up.
  • If you want to find all of the secret passageways and easter eggs, destroy everything in sight.
• Guitar Hero
  • There are five buttons for your four fingers. Rather than have your pinky do double duty on the last two buttons, shift your whole hand up and have your pointer finger cover the first two buttons. This won’t work for all double/triple notes, but it’s good home-base for harder songs.
• Ty the Tasmanian Tiger
  • Just throw those boomerangs baby.
• Dance Dance Revolution
  • Don’t jump as high as you can for the double hits; it will throw off your timing.
  • Every note is actually two steps: one to hit the arrow and one to return to the middle. Try to space these out evenly so that you stay on balance and in rhythm.
• Wii Sports: Tennis
  • If you can nail the power serve every time, do it.
  • If you can’t nail the power serve, the best thing to do is wait until the ball has almost hit the ground and serve underhand. Otherwise, it will be fairly easy for your opponent to return the ball at an extreme angle that is very hard to get a racket on.
• Mario Kart
  • Master the art of driving whilst holding a banana/shell behind you. This will save you from many a red shell.
  • Blue shells are the most pivotal item in the game. If you can be 1/3 of a lap or more ahead, it’s fine to spend most of the race in first. Otherwise, stay in second and wait for the person in first to get hit by a blue shell on the last lap, then make your move.
  • Drifting and drafting yield huge speed bonuses. Use them
  • Memorize the shortcuts on every track. At a high enough level, these are not optional.
• Call of Duty: Zombies
  • Headshots, headshots, headshots. After a certain point, the game becomes a question of conserving ammo, and the zombies get progressively tankier as the rounds go on. Headshots, however, do significantly more damage, and give you a point bonus per zombie.
  • In the early rounds, however, it can be important to maximize points per zombie, in which case body-shots and knife-finishers are essential. Like many games, zombies is all about being able to control the pace of the game given your present goals. Body shots kill zombies slowly but maximize points per round of the game. Head shots kill zombies quickly and maximize points per bullet.
  • As delightful and iconic as the “Ray Gun” is, keep in mind that the splash-damage from the gun itself is almost sure kill you if you whip out the gun in close quarters.
  • Whenever possible, advance through the map’s easter egg to earn guaranteed mythical weapons.
• Batman, Arkham Series
  • Spam the “Inverted Takedown” in stealth mode, but be aware that goons make some noise while hanging upside down, so you’ll want to relocate to a different gargoyle until the hubbub dies down. Also, if you want to re-use the same perch for another take down, you’ll need to cut down the first goon with a well-placed batarang.
  • In combat, manage open space by moving around/dodging fairly constantly. Most of Batman’s attacks are single-target, so it’s best to try and separate the enemy horde, systematically incapacitating them one at a time. Also, once you’ve achieved a combo and entered into “focus mode” you’ll be doing way more damage with each strike (assuming you selected this upgrade, which you should). At this point, using a special move will end focus mode. Because of this, special moves should be avoided mid-fight unless you need to deal with a particularly threatening enemy.
  • The grapnel-accelerator upgrade (introduced in Arkham City) is invaluable when it comes to getting around the map efficiently. Get it, use it, never touch the ground.
• Breath of the Wild
  • If you see something that looks odd or interesting in the world, go check it out. Odds are there will be something worthwhile to find.
  • Use your bow and aim for headshots to thin out enemies before jumping into combat.
  • Weapons break, get over it. Don’t get emotionally attached to a particular style of weapon either, as different types of enemies will be easier to defeat with swords/spears/boomerangs, etc.
  • Speaking of boomerangs, if you can time the catch as the boomerang flies back to you, take advantage of a high-damage ranged weapon that can, if I remember, stun an enemy out of their attack animation.
• Fortnite
  • When mining for resources, definitely hit those little circles. It’s a bit finicky at first, but you do double damage to the material. A trick: if you get up close to the object, the circles will spawn close to one another.
  • Again, headshots, headshots, headshots! Limited ammo and fast-paced fights make this non-negotiable.
  • When in trouble, build a ramp. Walls are great and can give you cover to stand behind, but if you’re just going to spam-build, ramps are better than walls because they give you cover that you can peek around from 3 sides (left, right, and top) rather than just two. If you can throw a wall up in front of your ramp, all the better. This is more of a beginner-intermediate trick, but it’s saved my butt on more than a few occasions.
  • The accuracy increase for assault rifles first few shots is massive. Fire a few rounds, then stop. Also, the accuracy bonus for standing still is very high, which can make this weapon viable in long-range engagements.
• League of Legends
  • Ranged champions are difficult, and melee champions require you to put yourself in harm’s way. If you’re new to the game, a mage with AOE and skill-shot spells can be a good place to start. Just make sure to stay out of danger while your spells are on cooldown.
  • In the early game, the first rift herald is extremely important, as it can create a huge advantage in one of the lanes (ideally mid-lane). In addition to creating an early gold advantage, this helps your team set up for dragons (important later in the game) and Baron Nashor (a crucial end-game goal).
• Borderlands
  • Headshots again. Seems like this should be something like a golden rule of shooter games. There’s just no excuse not to aim for the head.
  • When upgrading your character’s skill tree, think about ways that certain upgrades interact with others. For example, my current character has one upgrade that gives him a damage bonus while his special ability is active and another upgrade that extends the duration of his special ability. Synergies like this can be near game-breaking in their efficacy.
• NBA Live 2006
  • Find a team with a 3-point specialist and let it fly. If you get the timing right on the shot its very hard to miss. You can also pump fake until the defender jumps, then get a free shot.
  • The ally-oop is a near-guaranteed 2 points, if the 3 pointer isn’t your style.
• Minecraft
  • Erm, it’s Minecraft. You just kinda do stuff.