 Old vs New: Which Game is For You? Part VIII
by lakefox
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Hey, everyone! Welcome to the last edition of Old vs New: Which Game is For You? *wipes tear* I can’t believe it is nearly over. For those of you who forgot last week we took a look at the following games: Maths Nightmare vs Maths Nightmare and Faerie Cloud Racers vs Faerie Cloud Racers vs Extreme Faerie Cloud Racers, as well as Meerca Chase vs Meerca Chase II. Sound familiar now? Of course I had to save the best for last, so this week we are looking are some of my favorite games: Deckswabber vs Stowaway Sting and Dubloon Disaster vs Dubloon Disaster.
Title: Deckswabber
Type: Action Location: Game Graveyard ID: 19 Status: RIP Y8
Numerous hours were spent playing this game, and in fact many hours are still spent playing it. Myncies, Techos, and Kikos, oh my! A lot of information is available on screen and I will give you a brief overview. Along the bottom of the screen you will have a picture of tiles, which in turn will show you what color the tiles will convert to if you step on them; this will be different for each level. Keep an eye on the goal color tile, because to advance to the next level all the tiles will need to be that color. The boards will also change from level to level. What game would it be if you didn’t have foes? The foes in this game are Cannons, Myncies, Techos, and the dreaded Skull Kiko. If one of the first three intercept you, then your health will be lowered for as long as you are connected. If the Skull Kiko touches you, then your health will be lowered to zero and it will be game over. Luckily there is a way for the enemy to be killed, and it is the wonderful sword. Should the sword hit one of the pirate enemies then he will be obliterated, but keep in mind that you cannot pick up the sword as it will move around the board on its own. If you don’t collect crates before they “self-destruct”, then they will alter the tile color surrounding them. Keeping all this in mind, there are items that you can collect called TREASURE! The treasure can be dubloons are even a treasure chest, very helpful to increase your score. The last thing you need to know is the flag pole to your left is your health and if it drops to the sand, it is game over, although in some levels you can collect more health. I managed to earn the avatar on this version of the game, and since it is such a fun game I think you should give it a try!
Title: Stowaway Sting
Type: Action Location: Krawk Island ID: 852 Status: Active
Stowaway Sting is very similar Deckswabber. Once again you are changing tile colors to a goal color for each stage. Your pirate foes here are Kougras and Skeiths. Keep an eye on your health meter because if it hits zero it will be game over. The treasure you are able to collect in this version are gems (white diamonds), but you can also collect health items as well. These are random, so you never know what is going to appear next! Watch out for the orbs, though, as they will change your tile colors if you do collect them. Unlike Deckswabber, you have a finite number of levels, and you have a set time limit for each level! Your score depends on how much time you have left and how many gems you collected in each level. If you fail to turn the tiles the proper color before time ends, then I’m afraid to tell you that it's game over! This is a fun game, and I’m proud to say I hold a gold trophy in it!
My pick: Deckswabber! I do enjoy both games, but I don’t like to be rushed through levels.
Title: Dubloon Disaster
Type: Action Location: Game Graveyard ID: 143 Status: RIP Y8
This game is one which took me a while to develop a strategy for, but once I did, I got significantly better at the game, but wasn’t good enough to earn a trophy before it retired. Close, though; if I had just another couple of months I’m sure I would have. You want to know my strategy, well, good luck because I’m not sharing it. However, I will break down some of the information for you. Dorak, a young Krawk, has decided to collect treasure, but all he had was a row boat. You must control the row boat with the arrow keys while collecting the treasure, which is dubloons. Be wary, though, because every time you collect a dubloon, a mine will appear. The mines will be fascinated by the row boat and head toward you. Stay clear of the mines or it is game over. Tip: If mines run into each other, they will be destroyed. Pretty nifty, huh? Another way for mines to be destroyed is the whirlpool, but I don’t like it very much. The whirlpool will draw everything to it, mines and Dorak. Although it's rare for it to show up, I would have a tough time not being drawn in. In this version of the game, the dubloon coins are worth their face value in points, i.e. a Two Dubloon Coin is two points while the extremely rare Two Hundred Dubloon is worth two hundred points.
Title: Dubloon Disaster
Type: Action Location: Krawk Island ID: 772 Status: Active
Once again Dorak is back and he is collecting treasure from Krawk Harbor. Mines are being fired from the Black Pawkeet and you must avoid them. If you should run into a mine, or it into you, then you guessed it: game over! There are options you are able to change in the game like wave and wake effects. Adjusting these may help those with slower computers. Same overall game concept as above, but the point value of dubloons has changed. Every dubloon is now worth five times its’ face value. For example, the Two Dubloon Coin is worth ten points, while the occasional Two Hundred Dubloon Coin is worth one thousand points. I enjoy spending time on this game, but have yet to earn a high enough score for a trophy. Someday I hope to correct this!
As a side note, the trophy for this game looks identical to the original version of the game. So if you are looking at someone’s lookup and they have one, please don’t be confused. Trophies on users’ lookups are in game identification (ID) order. So if it is surrounded by older games, it is from the first version of the game, but if it is surrounded by newer games, then it is from this version.
My pick: Once more it’s a tie; with identical game play, it doesn’t matter which version you play.
Alright, before we come to the end, let’s look at recap for all the games. My picks will be in bold, and if it was a tie between any game, then all games will be bold! Are you ready? Then let’s go.
Old vs New: Which Game is For You? Part I
Techo Says (ID: 1) vs Techo Says (ID: 1000)
Kiko Match I vs Kiko Match II
Codebreakers vs Time Tunnel vs Clockwork Codebreak
Part II
Kau Korral vs Extreme Herder vs Extreme Herder II
Ice Caves vs Faerie Caves vs Faerie Caves II – Fyora’s Quest
Nimmo’s Pond vs Nimmos Pond
Part III
Freaky Factory (ID: 390 version 56) vs Freaky Factory (ID: 390)
Jelly Processing Plant vs Hungry Skeith
Volcano Run vs Volcano Run II
Part IV
Destruct-O-Match vs Destruct-O-Match II vs Destruct-O-Match III
Chia Bomber vs Chia Bomber 2
Swarm vs Swarm – The Bugs Strike Back
Pterattack (ID: 63) vs Pterattack (ID: 587)
Part V
Mutant Graveyard of DOOM vs Mutant Graveyard of Doom II
MAGAX:Destroyer vs MAGAX:Destroyer II
Korbats Lab (ID: 85) vs Korbats Lab (ID: 801)
Carnival of Terror (ID: 131) vs Carnival of Terror (ID: 902)
Part VI
Grundo Snowthrow vs Snow Wars II
Ice Cream Factory vs Ice Cream Machine
Igloo Garage Sale vs Igloo Garage Sale – The Game
Part VII
Maths Nightmare (ID: 150) vs Maths Nightmare (ID: 885)
Faerie Cloud Racers (ID: 137) vs Faerie Cloud Racers (ID: 586) vs Extreme Faerie Cloud Racers
Meerca Chase vs Meerca Chase II
Part VIII
Deckswabber vs Stowaway Sting Dubloon Disaster (ID: 143) vs Dubloon Disaster (ID: 772)
Well, this concludes my series of articles entitled: Old vs New: Which Game is For You? Remember, games are here to be fun, and they don’t have to earn you neopoints to have the fun factor. There are many more games from the Game Graveyard that I didn’t write about. Why don’t you go take a look at what other secret gems this site may have to offer? Many of us forgot about places like the Game Graveyard around this site, so it is nice to be reminded once in a while that they are there. I hope you have enjoyed the trip down memory lane and now I’m off for now, but you never know when I’ll be back!
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