Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!oxy!reavis
From: reavis@oxy.edu (Paul Herbert Reavis)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.games
Subject: Re: Need help with Blood Money
Message-ID: <150401@tiger.oxy.edu>
Date: 2 Mar 91 22:22:40 GMT
References: <45765@nigel.ee.udel.edu> <2734@beguine.UUCP> <27203@dime.cs.umass.edu>
Organization: Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA  90041
Lines: 56

one of my absolute favorite arcade games... mostly because it was such a
nightmare to finish. challenge! (sheesh!)

several things i've noticed while playing:
    1) rapid-fire joysticks are _god_ in this game. controllable rapid fire
(i.e., fires in bursts as long as button is depressed), of course... i took
a repeater chip out of some cheap $8 atari joystic (continuous fire--what a
nightmare) and patched it into a slik stik (sp?), and had incredible amounts
of fun...

   2) if you buy long-range (the first $200 item, middle of right column),
it produces gaps in your fire spray... i think it has something to do with
the number of missiles/bullets allowed on the screen at once from a single
launcher.  this produces some nasty problems when you do any tight
infighting-- you may trigger a burst and not get anything. bam. advice--
avoid long-range, especially on the first world. i usually wait until i'm
at the very end of the second before i buy it.

   3) yes, bombs are huge amounts of fun, especially when you have 3 or 4
launchers... but be really careful when going through turnstiles (things
that spin when you shoot them), since a bomb will make it fly--which is
not a good thing when you're trying to navigate.

   4) BUY SHIELDS! this is _so_ important... nothing is more expensive than
losing all your equipment, plus a life. the $250 is WORTH it.

   5) when starting, it is actually better to start on the second world
than the first. i find it a lot easier to get through, and i always seem to
come out with a lot more equipment and cash. the last few screens on the
first world are some of the hardest in the game. the first time i completed
the whole game i did it 2-4-1-3.

   6) don't rag on back-fire. it has saved my ass (literally) hundreds of
times. this isn't a subtle game--go for the maximum firepower (up, down,
front, back, 4Xbombs, etc), charge in, kill everything, take the money.
simple. i like it that way. a bit distracting at first (i used to find it
hard to distinguish between bombs and enemy fire), but you get used to it.
impresses the audience, too.

   7)if you push a sliding turnstile (it works like it sounds) or some
analogous object off the screen with bullets/bombs, it will disappear. pound
it to 'em.

  8) KILL TURRETS. Nothing is as deadly as a turret. they'll get you every
time. "Operation Bloody Stump" my best friend dubbed it, on the second world
with the barfing fish. use top/bottom fire, kill them before they even get
on the screen if possible. but kill them.

does anyone know anything about dave jones' next game (drool, drool)? if
it's even half as good...

e-mail me for additional info, score comparisons, etc. have fun.

as usual,

paul