Who are your foes?

You're not going to get a moment's rest. You're surrounded by nasty foes bent on your destruction. Here's a sampling of what you'll find yourself up against:


Snakes:

Most of the foes you'll encounter will be snakes. These rows of baastards swoop all around the screen, with a larger "head" at the front, and a number of tail segments following behind. They will fire bombs at you (moslly from above, but later from below and from the sides!) And even when you manage to kill them they can get their revenge by leaving behind pulsing pods which will eventually (if not cleared away by you) explode, sending out spikes of death that you had best avoid. The simplest behavior exhibited by snakes is scanning from side to side down the screen like the centipedes from.. um.. Centipede. But most snakes will use other tricks to try and out maneuver you. Some examples:

  • Some snakes will home in on you, moving towards you no matter where you are. They might just home slowly and steadily.. or they might be fast but have some momentum that will make them overshoot.
  • Some snakes will encircle you, trying to keep you pinned in one place.
  • Most snakes will climb back up the screen behind you, usualy diagonaly, and try to climb your tail-pipe.
  • Many snakes will also make wide turns, trying to nail you when they change course.

    • Sometimes you'll destroy the head of a snake only to release all of its tail segments in a frenzy of individual activity, and often snakes will be shielded, requiring several shots to kill them.


    Bombs:

    At the start of the game many snakes will drop little white bombs on you. You can shoot them or avoid them. Watch out though.. on later levels bombs will get shot up from below and even in from the sides.


    Pods:

    Pods are left behind by snake segments when they're destroyed, and also left in long trails by drop ships. These little pulsing spheres will explode, sending out long lines in the four cardinal directions of the grid. Shoot the pods or avoid the spikes to delay your demise.


    The Zapper:

    You will soon learn to fear the noise of an impending zap. There is a cube in the grid that bounces slowly back and forth. When it is nearest the front of the grid it will unleash a deadly jagged beam of death that crosses the playing field completely from right to left and bottom to top. Luckily for you it makes a lot of noise, and an impending zap is preceded by converging lines that show you where it will be. Quickly maneuver out of the way lest you get de-rezed.


    Drop Ships:

    These speedy foes cross the screen, leaving behind a trail of pods that can severely (and often fataly) restrict your movement. Be sure you nail them fast and clear out the pods before they clear you out.


    Click here to go back to the main strategy guide.

    Check out the Llamasoft homepage for more information regarding Gridrunner ++ and the other works of Jeff Minter.


    This page created and (possibly) maintained by Andrew Wheat. Last updated on August 2, 2002.