Do you scoff at the Faerie Cloud Racers of the Game Graveyard? Was the updated version not enough for you? Perhaps you should try this extreme version. With a play setup reminiscent of labyrinth games (wherein you must solve the maze from within) and a lightning fast game pace, this Cloud Racers game is definitely a challenge. With a few tips, however, you'll hopefully begin to master the art of dodging and weaving your racer to victory.
Basic Game Play
The race consists of four faeries battling it out on a small square platform high in the clouds above Faerieland. You steer your chosen racer with the arrow keys; you may choose any of the four characters: Illusen, The Space Faerie, The Tooth Faerie or Taelia. It doesn't really matter which you choose if you navigate by the main game screen. If you use one of the tips in the strategy section, you may want to choose your faerie based on the orientation of the game screen.
The goal of the game is to outlast the other three faeries. You can try to use some of the strategies of the basic Faerie Cloud Racers game to block the paths of the other faeries, or you can just avoid them and wait it out.
Even without the use of power-ups, your tail will grow a little bit at a time the longer you stay alive in a level. If you're the last faerie standing, you'll move on to the next level and win yourself 40 points. If not, you'll lose a life and have the opportunity to play the round over. You also get bonus points if the other faeries crash into your tail: 5 points for the first faerie, 15 points for the second faerie, and 25 points for the third faerie!
With each level, the game speeds up so that levels start lasting milliseconds. At this point, you have to build up an instinct and run solely on that because there's little time to think about what you're doing.
You start the game with three lives, but earn additional lives at the following point thresholds:
- 501 points
- 1,251 points
- 2,501 points
- 5,001 points
Power-Ups
There are three power-ups available in the game as faerie bubbles of sorts floating above the surface of the racing area. Each power-up lasts for ten seconds, or until another power-up is activated.
Meerca Tail: The end of your cloud trail will remain stationary while still growing as you move for the duration of the powerup.
Tonu Charge: You gain the ability to fly through the cloud trails of the other faeries.
Sluggish Slorg: Your speed is suddenly decreased, making maneuvering much easier but chasing other racers aggravating.
Strategy
The game is intended to be played from within the midst of the racing faeries, like so:
*The space faerie whizzes by Illusen, currently under the influence of the Sluggish Slorg powerup!*
Your racer remains at the center of the screen, while the entire play area turns as you turn. I personally found it extremely difficult to navigate in this manner due to the extreme speed at which the faeries fly. Notice, however, the bottom left of the play screen: there is an overview map of the racers flying. It is far easier to navigate from above than from within the race area.
Just make sure you don't confuse your directions! Remember to always steer from the perspective of your faerie.
The coloured lines mark each faerie's cloud trail: Illusen's is green, the Space Faerie's is purple, the Tooth Faerie's orange, and Taelia's yellow. There is a small circle around your faerie to act as a "YOU ARE HERE" marker. Each faerie begins in a different corner (hence the earlier mention of choosing faerie based on game orientation), but the thing is, you're turning around so much that it still doesn't really matter for more than the first few seconds of each round which corner you start in. The small coloured boxes represent the powerups: blue for Meerca Trail, white for Tonu Charge, green for Sluggish Slorg.
Also note that the bottom right of the screen contains a large bubble with an image of your character and three smaller bubbles for each of the other characters. When the image is darkened, the player is out for the round. The small number on the top of the bubble tells the number of lives left.
If you have elected to adopt the "wait it out" method, it's best to try and stick to the outer edges of the playing area and just do laps. Or if one of the other faeries cuts you up, set aside a rectangle (preferably against a wall) and just fly round and round until the others crash and burn.
Bonuses
There are several bonuses available to you for skill and accuracy in your maneuvering. Essentially, the closer you are to a wall when you turn, the more points you get. A warning, however. I have personally experienced a slight flaw in the game wherein I make a turn worth a significant bonus (greater than 6 points) and earn the points but lose a life and "crash" despite the fact that the game tells me something like "tight fit, but you made it!" Just keep that in mind when you're attempting to go for the bonuses.
The bonuses are as follows:
- Daredevil: 3 points for turning close to a wall
- Daredevil Extreme: 6 points for turning even closer to a wall
- Double Daredevil: 12 points for turning close to a wall with another wall close on the inside (i.e., close between two walls)
- Double Daredevil Extreme: 21 points for turning even closer to a wall with another wall close on the inside (i.e., between two walls, but closer to one than the other)
- Master Daredevil: 42 points for turning super close between two walls
Each time you make one, your score will go up the appropriate amount, and you'll see a message at the top of the screen commending your close turn. Each bonus' message is different.
The Daredevil Bonus message.
