A Guide To Snow Roller

On the 27th day of Awakening, a new game was introduced--Snow Roller! This fun game was set on Terror Mountain's highest peak after a fresh blanket of snow has fallen. You take the place of a small furry minion sent out by the Snow Beast himself, due to the fact that the Snow Beast wants revenge on the residents of Terror Mountain for waking him up with their happy-go-lucky frolicking and fighting in the Battledome and getting loud icy blasts from the Snowager. He sent you out to stop their loudness once and for all.

Controls

As you roll down the mountain, you'll have a set of controls. You use two basic controls on the keyboard--the left and right arrow keys--to move your snowball left and right in an attempt to dodge those pesky obstacles and collect those crazy power-ups . There's also another way to dodge those dastardly obstacles. You can use the space bar to jump up and soar above those obstacles. Don't forget about that escape from trying to dodge the obstacles--I know I did!

Objective

But what is the point of this game, you ask? Good question! The point of this game is to run over as many pets and items as you can while remaining your snowball intact and continuing to collect snow to make your snowball bigger--to tell how much of a percentile of snow you have from the greatest amount, look at the bar on the top-left side of the screen. Either beating all the levels that are divided into parts of two in three overall levels or losing all the snow in the snowball by bumping into too many obstacles ends the game. Collecting an item bigger than the snowball you're riding in also ends the game.

Items

There are a variety of items and Terror Mountain citizens you can run over for points. The Slushies, Neggs, Masks, Chia Pops, and Brucicles are 10 points, the Abominable Snowmen and Taelia are 20 points, and the Chias, Poogles, and Snowbunnies are worth 40 points. There are also some items that give special abilities to your snowball and rack up points. The Super Traction Slushie is worth 30 points and allows your snowball to go much faster, while the Black Hole Slushie is also worth 30 points, sucking the snowball towards all the items ahead of it.

Tips

Here are some handy tips to help the beginner in this game:

1. Watch out for obstacles. It may be obvious, basic, and simple, but it's important and crucial. As I said before, don't forget your jump button. We don't want to run into things and get kicked off Terror Mountain, now do we?

2. Contrary to popular belief, those little yellow slicks and ice patches are not designed to make your snowball go faster. The tricky little gold slicks are just going to make your snowball act like it's run into an obstacle (which it has) and get it covered in a yucky yellow gunk. The ice patches will make your snowball skid out of control, only being remedied by running into an obstacle. So just watch out for those.

3. Be aware of the invisible. You must be thinking, Is she absolutely crazy? What does she mean by invisible? Well, I mean that there are some obstacles that are not easily seen on the white snow as you're speeding along in your snowball, such as the snow wall and igloo.

4. Get all the items you can. Another basic fact, another very crucial one. With those, you can rack up the points and get highly coveted place on the Snow Roller High Score Table. And who doesn't want that cute little trophy?

5. Collect as much snow as you can. At the end of each level, how much of a percentage of snow you have from the biggest snowball adds to your overall total. To tell how much of a percentage of snow you have, look at the top left side of the screen. A small gauge is placed to show how much snow you have, which is really convenient if you ask me.

6. This is very well the most important one: Pay attention. No, I don't care if you just won a million Neopoints or had the greatest restock in the history of Neopia or just got your Neopian Times entry accepted. Pay attention. If you don't, you'll end up skidding into a bunch of obstacles and landing in a disgruntled heap with a pathetic score of 0. Zilch. Nothing. Pteri egg. How will you get that trophy now?

7. Persevere. Don't give up. Yes, I do know that I'm spitting a bunch of cliches at you, but that's too bad because they're true. Even if you feel like it's taking forever to make it down the first part of level one, keep going, because in the end, it'll all be worth it when your on the Snow Roller High Score Table, telling all your Neofriends in a joyful neomail.

8. On some computers, this game lags. If it's making your computer lag, try closing all the programs you are using, along with all those pesky tabs to remember things. Maybe then you'll stop going down the mountain in those bursts of speed.

9. Enjoy it. Remember, it's not all about the Neopoints and glittery trophies. If you absolutely hate it (which I'm hoping you don't), then move on. Even a trophy isn't worth going through misery.

Overview

Snow Roller is a great game, refreshing and new compared to the ones of old. Rushing down Terror Mountain in a hurried frenzy is exhilarating and fast-paced as you collect all the items, trying to dodge the obstacles. The music is light and joyful, one of those soundtracks that you want to hear as you're going around Neopets or reading the Neopian Times. And those little screams of "AIEEEEEE!" from Taelia are hilarious and amusing, along with all the Neopets' and Petpets' reactions. C'mon, how could you not laugh at the Abominable Snowman's wide eyes as the large snowball rolls past?

I hope you enjoyed my guide to Snow Roller, and maybe it will help you achieve the highest goal in Snow Roller--the coveted first place on the High Score Table! Feel free to neomail any comments to me, as this is my first article. :)