____ ___ ____ _____ | _ \ / _ \ | _ \ |_ _| /\ | | | |_) || | | || |_) | | | / \ | | | __/ | | | || / | | / /\ \ | | | | | |_| || |\ \ | | | __ || |___ |_| \___/ |_| \_\ |_| |_| |_||_____| ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____ ____ | _ \ | | | || \ | || \ | || __|| _ \ | |_) || | | || \ | || \ | || |_ | |_) | | / | | | || |\\| || |\\| || _| | / | |\ \ | |_| || | \ || | \ || |__ | |\ \ |_| \_\ \___/ |_| \_||_| \_||____||_| \_\ A Portal Runner Multiplayer Strategy Guide v1.0 by Ober On (obero@yahoo.com) Last edited: November 20th, 2001 Own Portal Runner? Own two controllers for your PS2? Give the multiplayer mode a try. The following is a quick rundown of all the secrets and strategy to be found in the multiplayer mode of this... ummm... game. CONTENTS General Strategy Power-Ups Multiplayer Level One: Forest Frenzy Multiplayer Level Two: Castle Crash Multiplayer Level Three: Chess Match Multiplayer Level Four: Moat Arena Multiplayer Level Five: Jungle Tangle Multiplayer Level Six: Zero G Showdown +------------------+ | General Strategy | +------------------+ -Rules of Engagement: When you die (get 'tagged'), you lose no arrows and will be spawned at the spawn location farthest from the current location of the other player. There are 4 spawn locales in each level (not including the 4 in each secret arena). Killing yourself counts as a 'tag' for the other player. This includes falling from trees, jumping into the moat, getting struck by lightning, or killed by a chesspiece. Matches will end as soon as the preset number of tags has been reached. You can choose 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 tags. There are five total outfits, Vikki in Camo, Vikki Flintstone, Vikki in Medieval garb, Space Vikki and Bridgette, AKA Miss Manly. Not much difference between the costumes other than that certain costumes blend in better in certain terrains. Both players cannot pick the same costume. Incidentally, the second player can ONLY pick the costume, the second player may not choose the arena, or the number of tags. -How to hit: Auto aim. Portal Runner has a very generous auto aim built-in, taking into account velocity and facing of the target. If your target is running in a straight line, your auto aim will compensate and automatically 'lead' your target. The auto aim will hit the target as long as they aren't dodging, and as long as they remain within your auto aim cone. Your auto aim doesn't change facing with the movement of the second analog stick, but is fixed to Vikki's (or Bridgette's) facing. Firing at your opponent in first person mode should be avoided because you cannot move in first person mode. If you are strafing or running in the same direction, the auto aim feature will allow your opponent to easily strike you. So mix up your strafe with forward and reverse runs, jumps, etc. You cannot fire while jumping, so only jump to dodge while you are fleeing in terror. Be VERY careful of using the second analog stick while playing. You don't want to get off-center to the left or right. In many levels, you don't want to aim at your opponent so much as aim at things which will cause your opponent pain. Blowing up barrels they are near to, turning on the gravity when they are in mid-jump, knocking them into the moat, etc. Often these things will be as effective if not more effective than the most powerful arrows. Finally: these levels are HUGE! Use your opponent's screen as a radar to find them, or you will never find them in some of the larger arenas. +------------+ | Power-ups: | +------------+ Basic arrows are free. You start with several and get more each time you get tagged. They do 2 points of damage and have no blast radius. Speed rating: 10 (from 1 to 10, 10 being fastest) Fire arrows do 4 points of damage to your opponent and leave a few scorch marks. Speed rating: 3 Trident arrows fire three arrows in a spread and do 3 points of damage on contact. Each of the trident arrows also has a medium sized blast radius that does 1 point of damage. The spread is excellent for nailing even strafing opponents. Speed rating: 9 Explosive arrows do 6 points of direct damage and have a large blast radius that does 3 points of damage. Speed rating: 1 Lightning arrows do 8 points of direct damage and have no blast radius. The second fastest arrows in the game. Speed rating: 7 The piercing arrow is an instant kill, no substitutions or refunds. It will go through destructible objects and has a medium sized blast radius that does 7 points of damage! Speed rating: 4 Water arrows suck! They do only 1 point of damage and don't seem to have any blast radius. They only appear in the Moat level and are only good for putting out torches. The yellow heart heals one point, the green hearts heal 3 points and the red hearts will completely refill your health. You will not find: golden arrows, rage meat, stone keys, playing cards or any other key items in Multiplayer levels. +---------------------------------------+ | Multiplayer Level One: Forest Frenzy | +---------------------------------------+ This large multiplayer map is a sniper's dream. It has plenty of vantage points and very little cover on the ground. Health is moderately distributed along the forest floor. Some fire arrows can be found behind a few of the giant trees. Into the trees! Use the rising stone shafts to climb up into the trees for the best arrows. Use the floating leaves to safely descend back to forest floor. Be careful, the branches here are much more narrow than the ones in the single player forest level! A fall from them can mean an extra tag for your opponent! Lightning crash… Be careful of lightning strikes here. There are three giant stone lightning monoliths. Shooting one of them will light it up and center the lightning strikes near that stone. Lightning strikes hit power-ups and platforms, so when you enter an area with a stone, it's best to make sure it is not lit. Lightning strikes do a whopping 4 points of damage! Secret stash. There are two secret stashes in this level. Use the stone platform to climb up to the branch on the giant tree with the ramp. Then ride the leaf halfway down again and leap to the rear section of the tree. There are a bunch of explosive arrows behind the tree and a teleporter that allows you to get back out again. Use the stone platform by the large tree with the lightning stone in front of it to get up into the branches. Climb along the highest branch to where it connects to the tree. Jump to the right and you can get to a branch that is otherwise inaccessible. Walk to the end of the branch and several piercing arrows will appear! Use the leaf to ride safely back down. +--------------------------------------+ | Multiplayer Level Two: Castle Crash | +--------------------------------------+ Demolitions in a medieval setting? What could be better! This map is full of powder kegs, and plenty of fire arrows and explosive arrows to detonate them with! Make sure you collect a lot fire and explosive arrows and stay away from those kegs! Yellow hearts are distributed in either of the large courtyards. Beware large piles of kegs. Remember this: the larger the pile, the bigger the explosive radius and the greater the damage. The largest pile will take you out even if you are at full health! Piercing goodness. If you jump towards the grassy courtyard from the archways, you can get a piercing arrow! This is the only one in the level, but its one-shot kill goodness is more than worth the leap. Hidden Green Heart. Destroy the large crate in the grassy courtyard for a few extra points of health. Secret stash. Light the torch in the second story room with the giant powder keg pile. Then run out into the courtyard with the crate and the secret stash will be open. Run quickly, before the torch goes out. Inside you will find plenty of lightning arrows, and a red heart! The doors will probably close behind you, but there is another torch (and a few fire arrows) in there to let you back out. +---------------------------------------+ | Multiplayer Level Three: Chess Match | +---------------------------------------+ Chess Match is a fast and furious arena. All the good arrows are up high, and there's nothing below but dangerous chess pieces, basic arrows and a modest supply of health. Precarious Platforms. Those white platforms may let you get great ammo, but the other player can shoot them out from under you! If you are fast on your feet, you may be able to hang on, otherwise, you will fall to the floor below, possibly even land on one of the chess pieces! Powerful Arrows. The two outside platforms have 3 explosive arrows each, but the leap to reach them is difficult. Also from the rising platforms you can find a lightning arrow or a piercing arrow by facing towards the nearest tower and doing a long jump. +-------------------------------------+ | Multiplayer Level Four: Moat Arena | +-------------------------------------+ The moat is a small but complex arena. The central plateau provides no cover, and there are four platforms rotating around the plateau. Outside the plateau is a deadly moat. On the outer ring surrounding the central plateau is a large supply of yellow hearts. Precarious Platforms. Like in Chess Match, your opponent can shoot your footing out from under you, but here the result can dump you into the outer Moat! The inner pair of platforms follows a path of Fire Arrows. The outer pair allows you to nab explosive and lightning arrows. Shield Power. Firing at each pair of shields on the castle has a different function. The bottom pair of shields will temporarily raise the rotating platforms, keeping the other player from getting the arrows. Shooting the top pair will lower the platforms into the moat itself for a short while, taking an unwary rider for a dunk! The middle pair activates a temporary trail of platforms to the drawbridge area on the castle, where one can find a few piercing arrows and a fire arrow. Burning Bridges. Lighting the torches on the castle wall will raise a path up to the drawbridge area on the castle, but beware; the other player can put out the torches and strand you out there! Crystal Arena. Lighting the torches on either side of the main plateau will put both players into a secret crystal arena! The playfield is full of destructible crystals, and plenty of arrows to destroy them with. Watch carefully through the crystals for your opponent because trident arrows and piercing arrows will go right through the crystals. Two piercing arrows spawn in the center of the arena, and the trident arrows spawn along the edges. If the combat gets too sticky, light the torches inside and you will be transported back into the Moat Arena. +----------------------------------------+ | Multiplayer Level Five: Jungle Tangle | +----------------------------------------+ This sprawling jungle expanse is riddled with traps and powerful arrows. The health supply is moderate, and there is a red heart floating above the vine- covered pillars. Sniper Spots. There are 4 special sniping locations. Each one has arrows that automatically respawn when you run out. But there is also a trap on each one that the other player can activate to take you down. On the central Ziggurat at the very top, there are four lightning arrows, one at each corner. From this location, the player can fire upon most any other location in the level. The trap for this is on the Ziggurat itself, two steps down. The lightning trap buttons can be activated by touch or by firing at them, and when they are activated, lightning will strike from above, doing serious damage to the unlucky target. The fire arrow platform is directly behind player one's start location. Hop up onto the platform and ride it up. A few easy jumps and you are on the floating sniper platform. From here, you can cover the lightning arrow and piercing arrow sniping locales, and the large clearing where the firetrap trigger is. To activate the firetrap and burn away the sniper, simply step on the stone ring with the fire symbol in it. The explosive arrow platform takes a little more work to get to. Climb the vine-covered pillars up to the rising platform. Ride the rising platform and you'll be at the sniping spot. From here you can nail pretty much the same areas you can get from the fire arrow platform, except you can also cover the rocks that lead up to the piercing arrow platform. Be careful, the other player can easily dodge around the vine-covered pillars to activate the explosive trap. The fourth sniping location has two piercing arrows on it. To get there, climb the ziggurat on the corner near the second player's starting spot and hop across the floating stone platforms. There are two trap button locations, at either side of the ziggurat on the supporting wall. Just stepping on the button with the spiral inscription will cause the sniper to be vanquished by a heavy rain of piercing arrows. Explosives Arena. Shoot the hidden crystal flower atop the wall near the fire arrow platform, and two buttons will pop up on either side of the ziggurat. Light up both buttons and both players will be transported into the secret explosive arrow arena. All the darker platforms in the arena are destructible by explosives. Shoot one out from under your opponent and they will be swimming in lava! There is a red heart on either side of this arena, and an arch of platforms above with two piercing arrows. If it gets too hot in here, light up the two buttons on the wall to transport you back to the jungle. +-----------------------------------------+ | Multiplayer Level Six: Zero G Showdown | +-----------------------------------------+ This gigantic dome is an excellent stage for long-range combat. The farther up the globe, the better the power-ups get. This is the most complex of all the multiplayer levels. Gravity Well. The various buttons in this level will turn on or off the gravity when shot. If the button is red, gravity is low and aerial acrobatics are the norm. If the button is green, gravity is normal and long falls become deadly. Each setting changes the game play significantly. There are two buttons in the lower hall, one button in the bottom well, four buttons along the lower edge of the sphere, a button on the shaft below the center globe, and two buttons near the ceiling of the arena. Shooting arrows at the lightning walls also will cause the gravity to change. Red Heart. On top of the sphere in the center of the globe, there is a red heart. However, it is easy to get stranded if the other player turns the gravity back to normal. Moving Floor. When the gravity is low, the circular floor at the bottom of the level will move down into the lower pit, allowing the players to move freely to and from the lower hall. When the gravity is set to normal, the circular floor will rise and doors will seal off the lower hall from the rest of the level. Don't get caught in the doors, they are deadly! Lightning Walls. The lightning walls preventing access to the piercing arrows in the pit also are activated during low gravity. With normal gravity, they are shut off, but the floor rises to keep you from getting in there. The best way to get those arrows is to sit in one of the side niches and activate the gravity. When the floor moves by, you will be able to access the piercing arrow stash. Be careful though, if the opponent turns the gravity back off, the floor will come down and crush you! Energy Bridges. These bridges allow you to move from platform to platform while the gravity is normal. If the gravity is deactivated while you walk them, however, you will fall, possibly to your doom! Conveyor Ring. The conveyor ring along the outside moves counterclockwise while the gravity is off, and clockwise while the gravity is on. Ride the ring to pick up gobs of fire arrows for free. Rising Platforms. Along the bottom of the central area, there are six square platforms. Stepping up onto them will cause them to rise up to the conveyor ring. Teleporter. In the lower hall there is a teleporter that will take the player up to the very top of the level, and at the top there is a teleporter to take the player into the bottom hall. Very handy for exiting the bottom hall while the gravity is on. Secret Stash. On the topmost platform, go into hotshot mode and look around until you see a black box in the distance. Shoot it, and it will fly towards the platform. If you step onto it before it retracts, it will take you to a secret stash of piercing arrows. copyright Ober On! 2001.