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PSP
Every Extend Extra
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New Import, Ships Today |
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NCS
Game Synopsis
«©NCSX»
From
humble beginnings in the proving grounds of freeware
downloads, Every Extend garnered buzz before it
attracted the interest of Q Entertainment. Only the
developer's third game after Lumines which has now
sold over 700,000 copies worldwide and Meteos which
won the CESA Game Award for 2004-2005, Every Extend
Extra sends gamers on bombing missions.
As the game starts, a pulsating gold star flies into
the stage followed by combustible star-shapes or
polyhedrons of different colors and varying
velocities that enter from the sides of the screen.
The gold star is the player's bomber and the polyhedrons
are the targets. Roam around by using the d-pad or
analog nub and press any of the face buttons to
destroy the star. The goal is to ignite an explosion
so that its blast radius touches the polyhedrons
which in turn explode to ignite additional
explosions with contiguous objects. By chaining
together explosions in this manner, outward
radiating blasts may be created which destroy nearly
everything on screen.
The player starts the game with
12 stars and each detonation destroys a star.
However, creating adequate chain explosions
replenish life stock while screen-clearing chains
add life stock to the player's reserve in addition
to replenishing the stock that was used to start the
explosion. A "Next Extend" score keeper on the
lower-left corner of the screen keeps track of how
many points are needed before the next extend (life)
is granted. Creating a 60-chain combo generally
grants 2 or more lives to the player's stock. The Arcade Mode of E3 is made up of
levels called "Drives" which feature 2 parts. The
first part concerns the player with star or
polyhedron destruction and the second part throws a
rainbow-colored boss into the fray.
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NCS
Game Notes
» In the intro to the game, red, yellow and blue
spheroids drop from the top of the screen and waft
downwards. Leave the game alone and a demonstration
starts which teaches players the ways of chaining
blasts together. A kaleidoscopic tunnel courses
around the perimeter of the screen as the
star-icon-ship throttles ahead in time to the tunes.
» Press START and the player is prompted to enter
his name. We entered "ICEMA" for our moniker. We
wanted "ICEMAN" but the name entry only allows 5
letters.
» Game Modes are as follows:
SINGLE MODE / Arcade or Original Mode. Two ???
modes may be unlocked.
VS MODE / Challenge another player wirelessly
SHARING / Link up with a PSP player within range
OPTION / View ranking, VS History, Play a tutorial,
Edit ID, and Clear Data from Memory Stick
CREDIT / View the names of the designers and
creative staff that worked on the game in shaky text
that ripples off screen after a few seconds.
» The secret unlockable
modes in the game are Boss Mode and Caravan Mode. In
the former, players may face off against only the
bosses that have been conquered in the game. Caravan
Mode allows players to select stages to play once
they've been conquered in the Arcade Mode of the
game.
» Either the D-pad or analog nub may be used to move
and any of the face buttons are used to ignite a
blast. To charge up for a larger explosion in Arcade
Mode, hold any face button for a couple of seconds.
» Arcade Mode Stage 1 : Saturday Night Drive where the star-ship
moves into a green area with geometric squares in
the background which spin and change color slowly.
Four point star shapes in different colors enter the
stage from all directions and one has to maneuver
around and blast them. When the timer reaches 50
seconds remaining,
Mira-Drive opens up where player has to create
chains to damage the rotating center circle that
shoots out purple, pink, and green shots. As stars
rotate in and one explodes them, any star that is
near the circle will explode also and then damage
the center circle. After creating a 5-blast chain, a 12-blast chain
must be created followed by a 30-blast chain. Falter
and the game will eventually end as your stock
dwindles to nothing.
»
On the lower right corner of the screen, the
amount of life stock left over is shown. Each game
starts off with 12 stock and the goal is to create chains so one's
life stock is constantly replenished. In addition to the ever diminishing stock of
life, a relentless timer counts down from 2:30
minutes on the upper left. Once time runs out, it's
game over regardless of the amount of life stock
available. Time extenders may be picked up however
to add 10 seconds to one's timer. On the
middle-right of the screen is the Max Chain counter
which keeps track of your longest chain. On the
upper right, the Quicken gauge which lights up one
arrow when you pick up a purple quickening upgrade.
»
In the Arcade Mode, holding down the ignition button
for a couple of seconds increases the blast radius
to catch more victims in the vicinity. In the
Original Mode, one blast size fits all.
»
E3 is difficult but rewarding. Once one gets the
hang of the game mechanics, things get slightly
more familiar but later levels scale higher in
difficulty. In addition to the objective of creating chains to
stay alive, boss objects also shoot buckshot and
provide challenging obstacles in reaching the later levels.
» After a performance, the game ranks you as a "Dot
Eater?" if your bombing skills weren't particularly
impressive.
» On the high score table, lead eagle is "Omega"
which was the moniker of the programmer who designed
the original Every Extend game.
» The second level in Arcade Mode is "Sakura Drive"
where stylized bumble bees are the targets of your
destruction. As each group of bees are destroyed,
they'll explode in starbursts that infect and
destroy other bees. The bosses in this level are
killer plants which arc from the top and bottom of
the screen. At first, two killer plants attack
followed by four plants which fill the screen up
with blue-colored bullets.
» The third level in Arcade Mode is "Nostalgic
Drive" which features a glittering background of
neon-lit carnival lights that spin slowly. The
objects that fly around in the level are spiky
spheres which explode into beautiful fireworks that
ignite more fireworks around them. Nostalgic Drive =
video eye candy. The boss is two halves of a
merry-go-round which travels around the screen and
splits into its component halves to attack the
player.
» The
fourth level is called "Cambrian Drive" which
features a hypnotic centerpiece...
» Powerups and Specials. Create chains near them to
release:
● Yellow Sphere: Like napalm that burns for a few
seconds longer and explodes at the end to ignite
more
explosions
● Purple Diamond: Quicken
● Yellow Diamond: +10 seconds
● Green Diamond: Bonus points. Pick them up
consecutively for a bonus score multiplier.
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This document and photos are ©NCSX 2006. All rights reserved. No
reproduction in whole or in part of this document
may be made without express written consent of
National Console Support, Inc.
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