_ _ __ ___
/ \ ___ __ _(_)___ \ \ / (_)_ __ __ _
/ _ \ / _ \/ _` | / __| \ \ /\ / /| | '_ \ / _` |
/ ___ \ __/ (_| | \__ \ \ V V / | | | | | (_| |
/_/ \_\___|\__, |_|___/ \_/\_/ |_|_| |_|\__, |
|___/ |___/
==============================================================================
Game: Aegis Wing
Console: Xbox 360 (downloadable via Xbox Live Arcade)
Guide: FAQ/Walkthrough
Author: Steve "SPJglitches" Jacobs
Version: 1.2
Copyright: Copyright, 2007
Email: spjglitches[at]gmail[dot]com
History: 6/16/07: Version 1.0 started
6/18/07: Version 1.0 completed
6/19/07: Version 1.1 completed
- updated layout, divided up Guide Related section, made separate
sections for bosses, updated bosses' names, made minor edits,
updated Table of Contents.
6/22/07: Version 1.2 completed
- added Frequently Asked Questions section, added Glitches and
Exploits section, updated Power-ups section, updated Special
Thanks, made minor edits, completely redid Table of Contents and
section labels.
==============================================================================
[00.00] Table of Contents
==============================================================================
[01.00] Introduction
[02.00] Controls
[03.00] Gameplay Tips
[04.00] Achievements
[05.00] Walkthrough
[05.10] Turning Point
[05.20] Hostile Welcome
[05.30] Hive and Seek
[05.40] Last Hope
[05.50] Re-Entry
[05.60] Gigantomachia
[06.00] Power-ups
[06.10] Arcus Missile
[06.20] Hades Beam
[06.30] Gorgon Burst
[06.40] Lambda Shield
[06.50] Health
[06.60] Rescue Ships
[07.00] Enemies
[07.10] Red Fighters
[07.20] Blue Fighters
[07.30] Red Lamprey
[07.40] Blue Lamprey
[07.50] Purple Laser Ships
[07.60] Yellow Fighters
[07.70] Green Fighters
[07.80] Mines
[08.00] Multiplayer
[09.00] Glitches and Exploits
[10.00] Frequently Asked Questions
[11.00] Guide Related
[11.10] Legal Stuff
[11.20] Special Thanks
[11.30] Other Stuff
Use Ctrl+F to search for specific sections of the document.
==============================================================================
[01.00] Introduction
==============================================================================
Aegis Wing is a side-scrolling shooter similar to games such as Gradius and
Defender. You fly your ship around, blow up enemy ships, dodge Mines, avoid
enemy fire, and fight the occasional boss battle. The most fun to be had in
this game is over Xbox Live, where up to four players can fight through the
campaign cooperatively. Each player controls their own ship, but you are also
able to link ships together to allow for a single pilot while the other linked
ships act as gunners. Linking ships together allows each player's "Super
Weapons", special power-ups that have different offensive and defensive
abilities, to increase in effectiveness. Linking ships together will also
decrease their overall mobility, however.
The game's story is completely irrelevant, but I might as well tell it anyway.
The year is 2105, and humanity has just left Earth and headed off to a new
planet called Europa. (I guess we should've listened to Al Gore.) The humans
make it to Europa, but soon they are attacked by an advanced alien race called
the Araxia. The humans go ahead and steal some Araxian flight technology, and
soon the Europa Fleet develops an experimental fighter called the Aegis
starfighter. You and other elite pilots, flying in what is called the Aegis
wing, must defend Europa from the Araxians and save humanity.
The history behind this game is actually pretty interesting, though. It was
announced out of the blue by Microsoft and was developed by three interns at
Microsoft. With the help of Carbonated Games, they were able to get the game
ready for Xbox Live Arcade and, as a reward for their hard work, Microsoft
decided to release the game for free so other people could experience it.
Pretty cool if you ask me.
I hope you find this guide useful, and if you have any comments or suggestions
to improve the guide you can send me an email about it.
==============================================================================
[02.00] Controls
==============================================================================
----------------
Flight controls
----------------
Control ship's movement: Left stick
Fire: A button or Right trigger
Attach to or detach from ship: X button
Use Super Weapon: B button or Left trigger
-----------------------
Controls when attached
-----------------------
Fire in any direction: Left stick or Right stick
Fire: A button or Right trigger
Attach to or detach from ship: X button
Use Super Weapon: B button or Left trigger
---------------
Lobby controls
---------------
Choose ship color: Up/Down with D-pad or Left stick
Ready yourself: A button (press B to unready)
Exit Lobby: B button (then confirm)
Look at a player's Gamercard: Y button
Submit a Player Review: Left bumper
Change difficulty: Right bumper
Boot player (when host): X button
Start game (when host): Start button
==============================================================================
[03.00] Gameplay Tips
==============================================================================
Having played a fair amount of Aegis Wing, I have a few gameplay tips I'd
like to share with you guys. Of course, you can always send me an email if you
have any tips or strategies you would like to add.
---------------------------------
Tip #1: Attach whenever possible
---------------------------------
Even though it's a lot of fun being the pilot, attaching to other ships is
extrememly important when playing multiplayer, and especially when playing on
the Insane difficulty setting. Attaching to other ships makes your Super
Weapons more effective, and you'll need the added power to get through Insane
mode. Also, the gunner is allowed to shoot in any direction, which allows them
to hit enemies that are difficult to reach or dangerous to face head-on.
Of course, there are some situations, particularly during boss battles, where
it doesn't make sense to attach to each other, but in general it's highly
beneficial to be linked up with the other players in your game.
---------------------
Tip #2: Fly in pairs
---------------------
I've found that flying in pairs is usually the most effective way of getting
through Insane mode with four players. Granted, linking all four players
together allows for the strongest Super Weapons, but you sacrifice speed and
your ability to dodge projectiles when you do this. Pairing up allows for a
great balance of agility and firepower that will do a lot of good on the
Insane difficulty.
--------------------------------
Tip #3: Avoid enemy projectiles
--------------------------------
This may seem obvious, but it's important to remember nonetheless. Avoid enemy
projectiles by moving up and down between them and keeping an eye out for
openings to pass between them. Many times myself and others have been
seemingly trapped by all of the shots around us, and we ended up dying as a
result. By keeping watch for spots to fly between them you can avoid
embarrassing deaths and keep yourself alive.
-----------------------------------
Tip #4: Revive your teammates ASAP
-----------------------------------
This is important for a few reasons. First, the Rescue Ship power-up you need
to fly over disappears fairly quickly because of how fast the background is
moving behind you. Secondly, you never know how or when you might get blown up
so make sure your downed teammate is able to play if you get taken down.
==============================================================================
[04.00] Achievements
==============================================================================
Aegis Wing, like other Xbox Live Arcade games, has a total of 200 available
achievement points. Some are very easy (Epic Warrior) and some are very
difficult (Ace), but I think there is a nice balance between their difficulty
and the amount of work the player must put into them. Awarding a quarter of
the points for beating the game on Insane seems a little insane, though.
Yeah, you liked that pun.
Ace: Earn 185,000 points [20 points]
Diplomat: Complete a level without firing [15 points]
Epic Warrior: Form a four-ship (Epic) formation [10 points]
Exterminator: Destroy all enemies in a level [15 points]
Halfway Point: Finish Mission 3 on any difficulty [5 points]
Hero: Complete the game on Normal [25 points]
Immortal: Complete a level without dying or losing allies [15 points]
Legend: Complete the game on Insane [50 points]
Rookie: Earn 30,000 points [5 points]
Teamwork: Score 10,000 points while attached in a level [15 points]
Untouchable: Complete a level without taking damage [15 points]
Veteran: Earn 100,000 points [10 points]
==============================================================================
[05.00] Walkthrough
==============================================================================
Boss battles:
[05.1A] Turning Point Boss (TPB)
[05.3A] Hive and Seek Boss (HSB)
[05.5A] Re-Entry Boss (REB)
[05.6A] Gigantomachia Mid-Boss (GMB)
[05.6B] Gigantomachia Final Boss (GFB)
This is where I tell you how to get through Aegis Wing's campaign. Since the
levels are basically the same except for added enemies, I'm going to take up
most of this space describing each level's boss battles and giving strategies
for how to beat them.
----------------------
[05.10] Turning Point
----------------------
Isn't the turning point supposed to be after the battle has already begun?
Whatever...
Level description:
"2105: Humanity flees a dying Earth for the distant world Europa, but their
new home is soon threatened by an advanced alien race, the Araxia. With stolen
Araxian technology, Europa Fleet develops an experimental starfighter, and
assigns four ace pilots to test it. This is your mission."
Enemy types:
- Mines, Red Fighters, Blue Fighters, Red Lamprey, Blue Lamprey
Walkthrough:
Turning Point is the first level of Aegis Wing and, as you might imagine, is
the easiest level to complete. For help getting to the boss at the end of the
level follow my gameplay advice (3. Gameplay Tips) and read my individual
enemy strategies (7. Enemies).
- [05.1A] Turning Point Boss (TPB)
The first boss you will face in Aegis Wing looks like a sideways, robotic
tripod. Turning Point Boss, or TPB for short, is just like the other bosses in
that it can only be damaged when its "eye" is red; when it is white it cannot
be damaged.
TPB follows a pretty simple pattern that shouldn't be too hard to get the hang
of. This boss shoots out projectiles in an arc that gets wider as the arc
moves further away. While it is shooting, TPB will move up and down, making it
more difficult for you to dodge its attacks. Its eye will be red while it is
doing this, so you should be firing as you are dodging its projectiles.
Entering its second phase, the boss will open up into a fan shape and its eye
will turn white. Four Red Fighters will emerge from behind it and will attack
you. Destroy the Red Fighters and it will return to its first phase. TPB will
switch between these two phases until you have successfully destroyed it.
For defeating the first boss you'll get 5,000 points.
If you're playing multiplayer, only attach all of the ships if one or more
players have the Lambda Shield; this way you can deflect TPB's projectiles and
you won't have to worry about dodging them. You can also use the Gorgon Burst
to dissipate its projectiles. If no one has either of these Super Weapons or
you are playing by yourself, stay unattached so that each player is better
able to dodge TPB's projectiles. This advice holds true for the other bosses
as well, so I won't bother repeating it later.
------------------------
[05.20] Hostile Welcome
------------------------
And did they expect to be greeted with open arms?
Level description:
"The Aegis starfighter is a success! But as you return to the Fleet, nothing
greets you except scrap and radiation. The Araxia have begun their invasion,
and only the Aegis wing remains to fight them. Communications are jammed --
you must return to the nearby Fleet research station!"
Enemy types:
- Mines, Red Fighters, Blue Fighters, Red Lamprey, Blue Lamprey
Walkthrough:
This level doesn't even have a boss, so there really isn't too much to say
about it. Lame. Like I said for the last level, you can check out the Gameplay
Tips and Enemies sections of the guide if you need help defeating the enemies,
but this level is basically the same as the last so you shouldn't have too
much trouble finishing it.
----------------------
[05.30] Hive and Seek
----------------------
This pun is even better than the one I made up in the Achievement section. Or
not...
Level description:
"It seems you're not the only ship en route to the Fleet station. A massive
hive ship, trailing hundreds of Araxian starfighters, paints a wide splash
across your sensors. You change course to engage, and a scratchy alien voice
crackles over the radio. 'We need this world. You shall perish.'"
Enemy types:
- Mines, Red Fighters, Blue Fighters, Red Lamprey, Blue Lamprey, Purple Laser
Ships
Walkthrough:
This is the first level with a new enemy type in it so, as you might have
guessed, this is the point where the game's difficulty begins to ramp up. If
you need help defeating the Purple Laser Ships you can check out the "7e" part
of the Enemies section of the guide.
- [05.3A] Hive and Seek Boss (HSB)
Besides the fancy new scenery, this level plays very similarly to the first
two levels... except halfway through you meet a brand new boss. Hive and Seek
Boss, or HSB, is a flying robot that has four lasers arranged in a cross
formation by its sides. Its fighting pattern is a little more difficult to
follow than TPB's pattern, but it's still pretty manageable. In its opening
attack, HSB begins shooting from all four lasers while moving to the bottom of
the screen, then up to the top of the screen, and then back to middle again.
Just dodge its projectiles and you'll survive this initial attack.
The first phase of HSB's fighting pattern will now begin. The boss' eye will
turn white and four Red Fighters will appear and begin shooting at you. As
this happens, HSB's eye will turn red and it will begin to spin rapidly. The
second phase of its attack will start when it unleashes a huge salvo of
projectiles and moves to the bottom of the screen. These projectiles are only
shot in the middle portion of the screen, however, so it's fairly easy to
dodge them by moving above or below them.
The third phase of its attack begins as it is rising from the bottom of the
screen. HSB will fire eight projectiles on the way up, and then it will return
to the middle of the screen. The pattern will then repeat from there,
beginning with phase one and ending with phase three.
Phases one through three will continue until HSB eventually flies away. Wuss.
Complete the second half of the level and HSB will appear just like it had
before. Its pattern is exactly the same the second time, so just do what you
did before and you'll be able to destroy it with ease. For defeating HSB you
will be rewarded with 5,000 points.
------------------
[05.40] Last Hope
------------------
Actually, Mission 6 is your LAST hope...
Level description:
"At last, the Fleet research station is in sight... and under attack by a wave
of enemy ships. But this station developed the Aegis starfighter, and the same
technology was built into the station's defense cannons. With luck, they can
hold out until you repel the Araxian raiding party."
Enemy types:
- Mines, Red Fighters, Blue Fighters, Red Lamprey, Blue Lamprey, Purple Laser
Ships, Yellow Fighters
Walkthrough:
Last Hope sees the introduction of Yellow Fighters to the campaign. You can
read up about Yellow Fighters by looking at "7f" in the Enemies section of the
guide. There's no boss in this level, so Yellow Fighters are really the only
significant difference between this level and the earlier levels. If you knew
how to get past the earlier levels and you know how to take down Yellow
Fighters, you should be just fine when playing Last Hope.
-----------------
[05.50] Re-Entry
-----------------
But they never entered the capitol to begin with...
Level description:
"As the last Araxian raider flares into dust, comm channels to Europa are
cleared of static. The attack on the research station was just a distraction!
The Araxian Hive Mother has led the bulk of her fleet to Europa's capitol
city. If humanity is to survive, the Araxia must be destroyed."
Enemy types:
- Mines, Red Fighters, Blue Fighters, Red Lamprey, Blue Lamprey, Purple Laser
Ships, Yellow Fighters, Green Fighters
Walkthrough:
Green Fighters make their very first appearance in Re-Entry, and they will be
very happy to see you. You can read more about Green Fighters by looking at
"7g" in the Enemies section of the guide. Other than the addition of Green
Fighters, the only different thing about Re-Entry is the background, the
amount of enemies, and the boss battle. Noticing a trend?
- [05.5A] Re-Entry Boss (REB)
Re-Entry Boss, or REB, is one of my favorites in Aegis Wing, losing only to
the last boss of the game. But we'll get to that later. REB looks kind of like
a robotic spider, having eight pincer-like arms and a large "abdomen". Its
attack pattern is predictable because it cycles between only two phases, but
its attack in the second phase is always random. The first phase of REB's
attack pattern, which includes its initial attack, involves the boss reaching
its arms behind itself and grabbing eight Mines, which it proceeds to release
in front of it. Don't get hit by the Mines and you'll be fine.
The second phase of its attack begins immediately after it releases the Mines.
In this phase, the boss will shoot out a laser that will destroy all Mines and
ships in its path. Its laser does not always go the same direction, however,
and the boss does not always move the same way while it attacks. Below are
four diagrams that will explain its four different laser attacks.
X = Re-Entry Boss
o = Your ship
- / or \ = Laser
Up/Down = Direction laser is traveling
_________
| \ | #1
| \ o | In this laser attack, the boss, represented by "X", sweeps its
| Down \X | laser in a downward arc. The "o"s represent places that are safe
|_____o___| for you to be while this happens.
_________
| o | #2
| | This is the same as the first attack, except the laser is moved in
| Up /X | an upward arc. Hide below the boss or above the arc to avoid
|_____/_o_| receiving damage.
_________
| o | #3
| ------X | This laser attack involves the boss moving downward while the
| Down | laser is focused horizontally. Move either above the boss or to
|____o____| the very bottom of the screen so you don't get damaged.
_________
| o | #4
| Up | This one is the exact opposite of #3; REB travels upwards. Hide on
| ------X | the top of the screen or move below the laser to avoid being
|____o____| harmed by the laser.
Its laser attacks are completely random, so there is no way of knowing which
attack REB will do. If you pay attention, though, you'll be able to tell when
each attack will take place because the boss takes a second or two to move
into the proper position to carry out the attack.
Continue damaging the boss and avoiding its attacks and you will eventually
defeat it, receiving 10,000 points for your effort. One last thing to make
note of is that REB's eye remains red throughout the entire battle.
----------------------
[05.60] Gigantomachia
----------------------
Finally, a clever title that doesn't actually mean anything...
Level description:
"Two species; one planet. Humanity's refuge is also the Araxia's hope for a
new homeworld. The battered Aegis wing faces off with Yena, the Hive Queen,
and the future of both species hangs in the balance. This is your last
battle... humanity is counting on you!"
Enemy types:
- Mines, Red Fighters, Blue Fighters, Red Lamprey, Blue Lamprey, Purple Laser
Ships, Yellow Fighters, Green Fighters
Walkthrough:
There are no new enemies in Gigantomachia, but this is by far the most
difficult level in the game. It is essentially two levels bundled into one,
and it also features two boss battles instead of one. I personally feel that
this level should have been split into two, making the game have a total of
seven levels, so that it wouldn't feel so artificially difficult. Oh well.
- [05.6A] Gigantomachia Mid-Boss (GMB)
Like I mentioned a few lines ago, there are two bosses in Gigantomachia. The
first boss appears right in the middle of the level. Gigantomachia Mid-Boss,
or GMB, looks like a horizontal tripod with three wings that fold next to the
legs of the tripod. Unfortunately, GMB has no set attack pattern so it's
impossible to know the order of its attacks. Don't worry, though, because the
attacks you need to worry about are given away by small clues that you can
train yourself to look for.
Its first and most common attack involves the boss flying in a circle around
the center of the screen. This one is easy to spot because GMB will rotate
itself so it is facing either up or down, depending on the direction it is
about to fly. When it is facing down it will circle clockwise, and when it is
facing up it will circle counter-clockwise. To avoid being damaged by this
attack just stay in the center of the screen and away from its wings.
GMB also has a lunge attack that can be very dangerous if you're not ready for
it. During its lunge attack, GMB will hurtle across the screen, taking out
whatever is in its path with one hit. Luckily it's nice enough to give you a
warning that it's about to happen. Just before it lunges, the boss' wings and
legs extend behind it, and its legs make a strange flapping motion as it
launches off. As long as you're able to see those movements you should have
plenty of time to move to either the top or the bottom of the screen to avoid
the attack. After the attack is completed, eight Red Fighters will appear on
the right and move towards you, eventually disappearing to the left if you
allow them to.
GMB's final method of attack is a barrage of projectiles, similar to what some
of the other bosses do in previous levels. In this attack, the boss will bring
its arms and legs back like it did for its lunge attack, but now it will move
its three legs forward in a gunner position and it will fire about twenty
rounds at you. These are easy to dodge because they only fill up approximately
half the screen. Just move to an empty part of the screen and you'll be fine.
The boss will cycle between these attacks, favoring the flying attack I
mentioned first, until you finally blow it up. You'll get 15,000 points for
doing so. Once you destroy it you'd think that the level would be over, but
you still have another half of the level to complete. If you haven't read my
Gameplay Tips or Enemies sections by now I suggest doing so, because this part
can be especially difficult to complete, and dying now would be mean replaying
the first half of the level and fighting GMB again.
- [05.6B] Gigantomachia Final Boss (GFB)
Once you complete the second half of the level you will be faced with one last
boss. Gigantomachia Final Boss, or GFB, looks really cool and has the most
varied attacks of any of the bosses. Picture a sideways cone with a half
sphere on the end of it made up of multiple "eyes" and you've got GFB. To
defeat this boss you must destroy all of its eyes, but it won't be easy.
Its attack pattern is in no way repetitive; it has three main attacks that
occur randomly and one last attack of desperation that it does when it is
about to be defeated. Its first main attack involves the boss separating its
eyes into two rings, a larger one directly around the boss and a smaller one
in front of the boss. The ring in back is sent forward and the ring in front
is sent backwards, and when the two rings meet GFB will unleash a salvo of
projectiles. As the rings are moving in and out and the projectiles are
getting closer, you can avoid them by simply moving to the top or the bottom
of the screen. Be careful, though, because one or two may go astray that you
will have to dodge. Once the projectiles have all disappeared, GFB's eyes will
turn white, it will return to its normal state, and six Red Fighters will
emerge from the right. Destroy them to get power-ups as GFB gears up for its
next attack.
Another one of GFB's attacks involves it forming its eyes into two rings
again, except this time it launches the two rings forward. To avoid the rings
you can move to the top or the bottom of the screen, but if you want to be
extra sneaky you can stay in the very middle of the screen and let the rings
go around you. This way you can avoid the rings but still be able to shoot at
the boss.
GFB's last form of attack is my favorite because it's extremely scary trying
to avoid it and it looks really cool at the same time. In this attack, the
boss will extend its eyes around it in a large circle, and it will train
lasers on the left side of the screen. The trick to avoiding these is to watch
and see if the laser is red or white. When the laser is red, it can and will
destroy you in one hit. When the laser is white, it means that it's just about
to turn red and that you need to move away from it before you get destroyed.
Avoid red lasers, move away from white lasers, and continue firing and you
should be able to survive this scenario.
Keep taking out GFB's eyes and it will eventually reach its final attack mode,
signifying its imminent defeat. GFB will shoot out a continuous stream of
projectiles that will fill up the entire screen in a wide semi-circle. To
avoid being damaged, find a spot in between two lines of projectiles and fire
away. The boss will move up and down while this is happening, however, so you
will need to adjust your position depending on where it moves. If you have the
Lambda Shield during this attack then you can use it to your advantage by
charging at the boss and deflecting its projectiles back at it while you
continue shooting. You will eventually blow it up, receiving 20,000 points for
your victory.
Congratulations! You have just completed Aegis Wing, the longest video game
the world has ever seen! Now that you've done that, you can always try getting
some more Achievements or increasing your rank on the leaderboard. Of course,
if you completed the game on the Insane difficulty then you now are able to
use the Level Select option, allowing you to start from any level of your
choosing.
==============================================================================
[06.00] Power-ups
==============================================================================
There are six types of power-ups in Aegis Wing. They are found by destroying
enemy fighters and can be picked up by flying over them in your ship. You will
receive 50 points for picking up a power-up.
Super Weapons are the offensive and defensive power-ups in Aegis Wing. There
are four types of Super Weapons in the game and each ship can hold only one
Super Weapon at a time. Each Super Weapon power-up allows you four uses, but
you can pick up more of the same Super Weapon power-up to get a maximum of
eight uses. The other power-ups, Health and Rescue Ships, are used to regain
health and respawn teammates, respectively.
----------------------
[06.10] Arcus Missile
----------------------
The Arcus Missile is sort of a misnomer because it actually shoots out
multiple missiles instead of just one. Oh well. The missiles it shoots are
heat-seeking, moving towards enemy ships and causing damage when they collide.
Attaching more ships together will cause the amount of missiles to increase.
On your HUD, the Arcus Missile is represented by three arrows with tails
pointing to the right. The Arcus Missile power-up looks like a large red and
white rocket.
-------------------
[06.20] Hades Beam
-------------------
The Hades Beam is basically a big laser beam that takes out anything and
everything in its path. Personally, it is my favorite of the four weapons,
especially when all four ships are attached to each other. When every ship is
attached it creates a massive laser beam that can cut through about one half
of the enemies and Mines on the screen. Wicked!
The actual Hades Beam power-up appears as a teal blue canister, and it looks
like a horizontal cylinder on your HUD.
---------------------
[06.30] Gorgon Burst
---------------------
You could never tell by the name, but this is the equivalent of an EMP charge.
The Gorgon Burst has two effects. One effect is that it disables all enemy
ships in the radius of the blast. The other effect is that it makes enemy
projectiles disappear. When more and more players attach, the radius of the
blast becomes larger.
The Gorgon Burst power-up looks like a yellow cube, while the logo on your HUD
looks like a double-ellipse with a lightning bolt in the middle of it.
----------------------
[06.40] Lambda Shield
----------------------
This is your basic energy shield that deflects enemy projectiles, forming a
bubble around the ship(s). The shield doesn't last forever, however, and it
will disappear after several seconds. Increasing the number of attached ships
will increased the radius of the shield. One thing to note is that it will
not prevent damage normally received from collisions.
The power-up for the Lambda Shield looks like a green coin with a "C" in the
middle of it, and it looks like a horizontal egg with a half dotted border on
your HUD.
---------------
[06.50] Health
---------------
The Health power-up regenerates the health of your ship. It appears as a white
and red direction pad (D-pad) on the battlefield. All you have to do is fly
over it and you will regain full health. If you are attached to another ship
and both ships touch the power-up, the health will be divided between the two
ships.
---------------------
[06.60] Rescue Ships
---------------------
Rescue Ships will respawn one of your teammates if they are destroyed during
battle. Fly over these white ships to bring a teammate back into to the game.
If more than one of your teammates has been destroyed, the Rescue Ship will
respawn the teammate who died first.
==============================================================================
[07.00] Enemies
==============================================================================
These are the enemies that you will face in Aegis Wing. Here I've provided
basic information about them and strategies for how to best defeat them.
--------------------------------
[07.10] Red Fighters: 50 points
--------------------------------
This is the basic Araxian ship type. Red Fighters fire one shot at a time and
can move up and down.
You should be able to take out Red Fighters with relative ease, but using the
Arcus Missile is a good way to take out a bunch of them at once. If you want
to avoid having a screen full of projectiles you should try taking them out
before they get a chance to fire.
------------------------------
[07.20] Blue Fighters: 50 points
------------------------------
The Blue Fighters are just like the Red Fighters except they fire three shot
bursts that spread out as they travel.
You can use the same methods of taking out Blue Fighters as you can for Red
Fighters; just watch out for an increased amount of projectiles.
-------------------------------
[07.30] Red Lamprey: 50 points
-------------------------------
These enemy fighters move up and down as they travel towards you and have
little tails that hang off the end of them. Some friends and I call them
"sperm ships" for reasons that you can probably guess. Red Lamprey have a
tendency to loop around and attack you from behind, so they can be pretty
dangerous if you aren't paying close attention.
Red Lamprey move up and down in a straight line, so lining up a shot with the
Hades Beam can be a great way of taking out a bunch of them. If a Red Lamprey
gets past you and loops around to attack you again, just move so that you can
get it in front of you and take it down that way.
--------------------------------
[07.40] Blue Lamprey: 50 points
--------------------------------
These guys are just like their red counterparts, except they are slighty
tougher and more agile.
The Hades Beam method works with both Red and Blue Lamprey, so you can use
that as well as regular attacks to take them down.
---------------------------------------
[07.50] Purple Laser Ships: 150 points
---------------------------------------
These are, in my opinion, the most difficult of the enemy types to deal with.
Equipped with a weapon similar to your Hades Beam, Purple Laser Ships will
take you out in one hit if you aren't careful.
You can try taking them down head-on before they get a chance to fire, but
this often ends in disaster. Using the Arcus Missile, hitting them with the
Hades Beam before they fire, or having an attached player shoot at them
diagonally are all good methods of taking them down.
------------------------------------
[07.60] Yellow Fighters: 200 points
------------------------------------
These ships are larger than the previously mentioned enemy types and they
shoot differently also. After moving around to find a good spot to shoot from,
Yellow Fighters will fire at you diagonally.
To take them out, the best way is usually just to wait until they stop moving
and fire at them like you normally would. Having an attached player shoot at
them diagonally works too if you aren't able to get a good shot off of them.
----------------------------------
[07.70] Green Fighters: 500 points
----------------------------------
Green Fighters are the largest of the non-boss enemy times and they are the
hardest to kill. Green Fighters look like they would be the motherships of the
Araxian, and they fire three shot bursts that spread out as they travel.
Green Fighters fire one shot horizontally and two shots diagonally, so if you
position yourself slightly above or slightly below the horizontal shot you
should be able to take them down with your normal attack. To avoid their
projectiles altogether you can fire at them diagonally with an attached
player.
-------------------------
[07.80] Mines: 40 points
-------------------------
These are not enemy spacecraft, but they will still make you blow up if you
don't watch out. Mines appear as red and black spheres that pulsate every few
seconds.
Mines can be destroyed by a shot from the Hades Beam, but most of the time it
is easier to just go around them.
==============================================================================
[08.00] Multiplayer
==============================================================================
The developers of Aegis Wing made it pretty easy to set up and search for
multiplayer games, but I'll briefly go through how to do those things before
wrapping up the guide.
Going into the Multiplayer menu you have four options: Quick Match, Custom
Match, Create Match, and Local Multiplayer.
Hitting Quick Match makes the game automatically begin searching for matches
for you to join, regardless of the difficulty level or how far the players
have progressed through the campaign.
Choosing Custom Match will allow you to pick what difficulty level you would
like to play on. You can choose Normal, Insane, or Either. Choosing Either
does pretty much the same thing as Quick Match, except you are able to look at
all of the available games in a list. Once in the Game List, you will see
categories for Host, Difficulty, Ping, and Seats. Under Host will be the
gamertag of the party's host, under Difficulty will be the difficulty setting,
under Ping will be the host's ping, and under Seats will be the amount of open
seats in a party out of four.
Your next option is Create Match which, as you might imagine, creates a
multiplayer match. Once there you can choose if you want to play on Normal or
Insane, and you can choose how many Public and Private Slots you want to leave
open. If you want to play with only invited friends, move the three people
icons to the Private Slots side. If you want to allow anyone access to the
party then you should move the three people icons to the Public Slots side. If
you've beaten the game on Insane you'll be able to choose which level you want
to start on as well.
In Local Multiplayer, you'll have all of the same options as Create Match
except you won't have Public or Private Slots because you won't be playing
over Xbox Live. Once you have your settings the way you want them you can
proceed to the Lobby.
When you're in the Lobby, you're able to ready or unready yourself, exit the
Lobby, submit a Player Review, change your ship's color, or view a player's
Gamercard. If you're the host, you are also able to start the game once all of
the player's have hit ready, and you are able to boot players from the Lobby.
Specific controls for how to do these things can be found in the Controls
section of the guide.
==============================================================================
[09.00] Glitches and Exploits
==============================================================================
This is where I talk about various ways you can cheat the game to do something
that the game designers didn't intend to happen.
----------------------------------------
Exploit #1: Infinite points on Re-Entry
----------------------------------------
This is an exploit that can potentially give you an infinite amount of points,
but it will take a very long time for you to amass a large number. As I
mentioned in the Walkthrough section of the guide, Re-Entry Boss will release
eight Mines during the first phase of its attack pattern. During its second
phase, it will use a laser attack that will destroy most of the Mines on the
screen. When it does this, you will receive points for each Mine that it blows
up. As long as you don't kill the boss, and you continue avoiding the Mines
and REB's laser attacks, you can theoretically keep doing that until the end
of time and you will continue getting points.
To give you guys an idea of how long it takes to get a significant amount of
points, I'll set up a possible scenario. For destroying a Mine you get 40
points and for picking up a Super Weapon you get 50 points. If REB destroys
eight Mines per laser attack, and you pick up one Super Weapon after
every attack, you will get a total of 370 points. If you wanted to get the Ace
achievement, a total of 185,000 points, you would need to go through REB's
entire attack pattern 500 times! That's a lot of time to spend dodging lasers
and Mines in Aegis Wing.
If you were wondering how the people at the top of the leaderboards got their
scores, this is probably how they did it.
---------------------------------
Exploit #2: Easy Ace achievement
---------------------------------
There are many methods for obtaining the Ace achievement, but there is only
one that can be classified as an exploit. To perform this exploit, the only
things you'll need are two controllers and a bit of skill. This can be done on
the Normal difficulty setting, but there are more enemies and thus more
available points on the more challenging Insane difficulty. Pick your poison.
To start, set up a local match and have both controllers join the game. You
should now position the second controller in a place where you can easily hit
the B button or the Left trigger. I'll explain why in a bit.
Once you start the game have both ships attach to each other. This will
increase the effectiveness of your Super Weapons, and your agility will only
be slightly decreased. Here's where the second controller comes in. While
you're flying and shooting with the first controller, you can use the second
controller to use the Lambda Shield so that you are protected while you are
flying. The second ship will not gain any points for using the Lambda Shield,
so the first ship will get all of the points while still being protected by
the second ship.
You're still going to need to blow up a lot of enemy ships, but it should be a
lot easier to do so when you use this exploit.
----------------------------------
Glitch #1: Get outside of the map
----------------------------------
This was discovered by lonesome killer from the Xbox.com forums.
To do this glitch, have two players fly to the bottom of the screen. Have the
first player attach to and then detach from the second player. Have the second
player do the same thing to the first player. Repeat this pattern until both
ships are below the screen.
From there you can attach the ships together and have the non-pilot fire up at
the enemies above.
==============================================================================
[10.00] Frequently Asked Questions
==============================================================================
-------------------------------
Where is Aegis Wing available?
-------------------------------
For right now, Aegis Wing is only available for download in North America. Of
course, there are ways to get around that...
-------------------------------------------------
Why would they only release it in North America?
-------------------------------------------------
I wish I knew. Whatever the reason is, it probably has something to do with
the fact that the interns that created it were from North America. Of course,
that is just speculation.
----------------------------------
How long with Aegis Wing be free?
----------------------------------
Aegis Wing was released for free on May 16th, 2007, and though Microsoft has
said that they will eventually charge for it, they have not announced a date
when this will happen.
----------------------------------
How do I get the Ace achievement?
----------------------------------
Most people get the Ace achievement by playing through either Normal or Insane
by themselves, killing as many enemies and destroying as many Mines as they
possibly can. If you do not possess the necessary skills to do that, you could
always look back at the Glitches and Exploits section for other methods.
-------------------------------
Will there be an Aegis Wing 2?
-------------------------------
Apparently there were some things that were left out of Aegis Wing due to time
constraints, but there has been no official announcement regarding a sequel to
Aegis Wing.
---------------------------------------------------
What's with all of the Greek mythology references?
---------------------------------------------------
I'm not really sure. "Aegis", according to Dictionary.com, is the shield or
breastplate of Zeus or Athena which, coincidentally enough, bears the head of
the "Gorgon". The "Gorgon" were three sister monsters with snakes for hair
and eyes that turned anyone looking into them to stone. Considering that the
Gorgon Burst freezes all enemies in its radius, I think that it's a good fit.
In Greek mythology, "Hades" is the underworld that is inhabited by the souls
of the dead, and considering how destructive the Hades Beam is I can see how
the developers came up with the name. "Lambda" is the 11th letter of the Greek
alphabet, but that doesn't really have anything to do with what the Lambda
Shield does. Whatever. Finally, the word "arcus" has absolutely nothing to do
with Greek mythology at all, but is a structure resembling a bent bow or an
arch, which is pretty much the shape of an Arcus Missile as it is traveling.
---------------------------------------------
Who thought of all of these great questions?
---------------------------------------------
No idea.
==============================================================================
[11.00] Guide Related
==============================================================================
This is where I talk about various things related to the guide.
--------------------
[11.10] Legal Stuff
--------------------
Copyright 2007 Steve Jacobs. All rights reserved.
This guide may not be reproduced for any reason except for personal and/or
private use. This guide may not be placed on any website or distributed
publicly without receiving prior written permission. Use of this guide on any
website without permission is strictly prohibited and is a violation of
copyright laws.
Aegis Wing (c) 2007 Microsoft Corporation.
The only website with the right to host this guide is GameFAQs.com. If any of
you see this on any other website I would appreciate it if you would email me
and let me know. If you are hosting this guide on your site without permission
then I will respectfully request for you to take it down.
-----------------------
[11.20] Special Thanks
-----------------------
- My girlfriend for being incredibly supportive of me, even when I do geeky
things like writing this guide.
- RHelgDrez from the GameSpot.com forums for his informative post about point
values for defeating the various enemies in Aegis Wing.
- Attacksloth32 from the Xbox.com forums for his Aegis Wing FAQ and Guide
which served as a major inspiration for mine.
- lonesome killer for discovering how to get outside of the map.
- The developers of Aegis Wing for making a fun game and including lots of
information I was having trouble finding in the How To Play menu.
- Microsoft for creating Xbox Live Arcade in the first place and making Aegis
Wing available for free in North America.
- All of the cool people I played with on Xbox Live while researching the
various boss battles.
--------------------
[11.30] Other Stuff
--------------------
This guide was written using Notepad++, a program that I highly recommend if
you're ever going to make a guide of your own. I suggest searching for it at
Download.com and getting it from there.
You can send me an email with any questions or comments about the guide at
spjglitches[at]gmail[dot]com, and I'll do my best to respond to everyone.
Oh, and you can check out my trick and glitch page by copying and pasting the
link below into your address bar.
http://www.youtube.com/spjglitches
Thank you for reading the guide, and I hope that you found it helpful.
-SPJglitches
==============================================================================
