Instructions

Welcome to the Jedi Wars: Battle of Geonosis instructions page. If you have played any of my games before, you probably have a good idea of what to expect, but Jedi Wars has many new features and controls which make it my most complex creation yet. The multiple weapons and powerups return from the XvsTie series, but this game is unique with its addition of experience levels and the use of the Force. It plays like Zelda and has a bit of Jedi Knight thrown into the mix. And of course, do you have what it takes to make the SECRET COW LEVEL?

Controls:
Movement is accomplished with the arrow keys. Left moves left, right moves right, and so on. Diagonal movement is possible as well, but Obi-Wan will face the direction you were originally moving. If you want to change directions, stop moving. It is also possible to strafe (move one direction while facing another) by holding down the CONTROL key. This can come in very useful when trying to position yourself to block with your lightsaber or get a good angle to fire with the blaster.

Weapons are fired with the SPACEBAR. Depending on the weapon you have selected (indicated by the icons at the bottom of the screen), there is a different effect. The light saber strikes out at an enemy, the blaster shoots a laser, the flamethrower fires a steady stream of flame, and a thermal detonator causes an explosion. Weapons are switched with the 1 through 4 keys.

The force also has some specific controls. Your current force power (indicated in the bottom right corner of the screen, is used by pressing the 'F' key. You can switch to a specific force power by pressing the corresponding 5 through 9 key. You can also cycle through your current force powers by pressing the 'Z' and 'X' keys.

Gameplay/Enemies/Scoring:
As stated earlier, the game plays very much like any of the older Zelda games. You have an overhead view of Obi-Wan, whom you move around the screen and attempt to kill as many enemies as you can. You use various tools to make this easier, including several types of weapons and the force itself. As you kill more enemies, you gain not only points but experience. When you earn enough experience, you level up and receive more health and a force point, which you can spend on a force power of your choosing.

Enemies appear randomly from the edges of the screen. They can appear at any time coming from any direction, so beware. The game will be slightly different any time, as the number of enemies and their locations are completely random, with the only constants being the types of enemies and a specific boss group. A level is won when all enemies are killed. Types of enemies include the following:

-Battledroid:
The battledroid is the basic grunt of the Trade Federation and Commerce guilds. This rather flimsy attack unit patrols randomly with little focus, but attacks diligently when it locates an enemy. Their true strength, however, comes in their numbers, and their numbers can get to be quite high.

-Droideka: (destroyer droid)
The droideka is one of the fiercest weapons in the Separatist arsenal. Its twin guns fire lasers at a rapid rate and its speed is unparallelled amongst droids. Its most dangerous aspect, however, is likely its defensive shields, which defelct lasers harmfully back at the person foolish enough to try such a weapon on this shielded beast.

-Super Battledroid:
Used prominently for the first time in the Battle of Geonosis, these terrors mean great danger to any who may oppose them. They seek out their foes with great zeal and unleash storms of lasers at a rate of fire beyond that which is humanly possible. Beware these mechanical terrors.

-Acklay, Nexu, and Reek:
These ferocious beasts are kept by the Geonosians and unleashed in the arena in order to provide entertainment for their people as they tear apart prisoners in the arena. Even alone one of these creatures can be quite a handful, but they are often unleashed together. Though they are unable to attack from a range, they will speedily seek out opponents and trample them with ease.

-Jango Fett:
He is the best bounty hunter in the galaxy, and most feared. His arsenal of weapons is great, and he contains many which can kill a person, even a jedi, within a matter of seconds. Hired by the Separatists for some unknown reason, he is a great threat should you happen across him.

-Count Dooku:
All that is known about this former Jedi is that he has started the Separatist movement which has become increasingly hostile lately. Whatever his true motivations may be, he is not to be trusted. Beware if you come across him, since the force is strong with this one.

Here is an example of what the gameplay screen looks like (click on image to enlarge):

Points are awarded every time an enemy is killed, with different enemies being worth different point values. Be efficient with your killing, since if you wait too long an enemy will just walk right off the screen, leaving you empty handed. Points are also awarded for picking up powerups, though these are not worth very much. At the end of every level, 100 points is awarded per unit of health you have remaining, so try not to get hit. Also, if you manage to beat the game with more than one life remaining, you receive a bonus of 10000 for each additional one.

Levels and Experience:
Levels work fairly easily. When you reach a certain amount of experience you level up. Each additional level rewards you with a random amount of additional health (between 0 and 3), as well as a force ability point to spend on a skill of your choosing (provided you have the prerequisites). Experience is awarded for killing enemies. This number is always equal to the point value of an enemy, and while there are other ways to earn points, experience you only get from killing. This makes it all that much more important to defeat every enemy before it leaves the screen, since you don't want to be too under powered.

When a battle is complete, you see a screen like this (click on image to enlarge):

Using the arrow keys, you can spend all of the force points you have on force powers. Move the yellow selection indicator to the force power you would like, press enter, and then notice the update on the left side of the screen to see that you have successfully (or unsuccessfully) acquired a force power. When you are ready to proceed to the next battle, move the selector to EXIT, and press enter.

The force ability system of the game provides a certain degree of customization. While the other elements of the game, such as weapons and powerups, are almost pure luck, you have direct control over what path your jedi takes through the force. Do note, however, that the highest force level for each power is 5, and that teleport and lightning have prerequisites. Lightning even takes a level of 2 in its 3 prerequisite force powers.

Once you have acquired a force power, its icon at the bottom of the screen will change to have a little red dot in the corner, as shown in the images below:

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You can then press the number indicated on the icon to access this power, or you can cycle to it with 'Z' and 'X'.

Leveling up also makes the damage of the blaster grow drastically, as well as increases your force energy recharge rate.

Weapons and Ammo:
There are four different types of weapons: the lightsaber, a blaster, a flamethrower, and thermal detonators. The only weapon you start with is a lightsaber, while the rest must be acquired from powerups. The lightsaber has unlimited ammo, but the other three weapons can only be used so many times before you need to seek out more ammunition. The first time you acquire a weapon's powerup, it grants you that weapon. Subsequent acquisitions result in a boost to your ammo levels. Pay close attention to the bottom left of the screen when using these weapons.

Lightsaber (1 key): The Jedi's most powerful ally, next to the force, is his lightsaber. The lightsaber can be used not only as an offensive tool, but also to deflect laser fire back at opponents. In the heat of battle, when lasers are flying everywhere, this can be quite useful. The lightsaber, while strong, has a major downside in that it requires you to be adjacent to an enemy for use. The lightsaber is also the weapon of choice against an opponent armed with this same weapon, since two lightsabers facing eachother will be blocked.

Nothin too special here.

Blaster (2 key): Even a jedi must set down his lightsaber when times require something beyond simply "aggressive negotiations." The blaster is a powerful ranged weapon, and only gets stronger as one masters it and becomes more accurate. Its use means that a jedi must let his guard down, and some enemies are unaffected by it.

Oooh, pretty colors!

Flamethrower (3 key): This weapon almost instantly incinerates any enemy. Its power is so great, however, that it is impossible to move while using it. Its range is longer than that of a lightsaber, and can be used to kill many enemies at once, or quickly dispatch those that would take a great amount of time to kill with a saber or blaster.

Nothin' like roasted droid
in the morning. Or evening.

Thermal Detonator (4 key): Thermal detonators are a powerful explosive device. Though only one can be thrown at a time, they can clear an area of enemies very quickly. Since they can be thrown, it isn't even necessary to approach those enemies too closely, making it perfect for when enemies gather in a group.

to
Throw........then BOOM!

The Force:
The force is what gives a jedi his power. You have a limited amount of force energy to use, and it recharges at a rate based on your level. Every force power costs a certain amount of energy, and can only be used when you have enough in your energy bar. Force power costs increase as you increase the skill level though, so be careful you don't make things too costly to be of benefit to you. This is what the force energy bar looks like:

There are six different types of force powers: Heal, Speed, Push, Protect, Teleport, and Lightning. Some force powers require the Jedi to focus so much on himself that he is unable to use another force power while using these, namely healing, speed, and teleport.

The force is a powerful ally, so any enemies affected by the force and a standard weapon are worth double the points and double the experience. Push and pull are the primary force powers used for this. Push enemies away if they get too close, and pull them if you fear they are about to leave the screen. Manipulating them in this manner has great rewards, particularly on some of the harder boss enemies.

Heal (5 key): This power is one of the jedi's most powerful. By focusing the energies of the force in on his own body, he is able to heal sometimes the most grevious of wounds. As he grows in comfort with this skill, he can focus on healing for an even longer amount of time to an even greater effect, almost fully recovering his strength.

LEVEL 5 EFFECT: Instantly heals you fully. Eliminates the gradual healing of other levels and lets you use more force powers right away.

Speed (8 key): When the jedi feels the force flowing through him, he can turn that energy into raw physical energy. His movements become more swift and he can eventually build up enough speed to out run lasers. The more attuned he becomes, the faster he goes.

LEVEL 5 EFFECT: Instantly increases your speed for the remainder of the level. No need to use it again and you can use other force powers.

Push (6 key): The force can have a great influence over physical objects, and a trained jedi can manipulate them with his mind. Enemies who present too great a threat can be forced away from the jedi to a safer distance. While the Padawan learner can only focus on one direction, the well trained Jedi Knight can expell enemies in all directions around him.

LEVEL 5 EFFECT: Pushes all enemies around you to the edge of the screen. It expands outward from you and is most useful when you are surrounded.

Protect (7 key): Concentrating all his strength on his own body, the jedi is able to turn himself into a nearly invincible force. Lasers bounce away from his body as if he were a walking lightsaber, and the most powerful masters of this power can even become immune to all means of harm.

LEVEL 5 EFFECT: You are completely invincible to everything for 10 seconds.

Teleport (0 key): Those most closely attuned to the force and themselves can manipulate the very matter of their own bodies. Through the energies of the force and their tight focus on themselves, they are able to transport their entire body from one location to another. As they grow in power, no distance is too great for teleportation.

LEVEL 5 EFFECT: The range is almost the entire screen and the cost is reduced to almost nothing. It can be cast with little effort and you are free to bounce around offensively or defensively.

Lightning ( 9 key): Typically associated with dark jedi, even the noblest of jedi are forced to use this great power in times of dire need. It channels the raw energies of the force outward at any who may stand in the way. The most powerful of jedi are not only able to outright destroy those in their field of vision, but can extend the lightning outwards in all directions at any distance.

LEVEL 5 EFFECT: Instead of sending lightning in one direction, it extends in all directions and kills practically everything. Think XvsTie2 super bomb.

Powerups:
There are fewer powerups in this game than there were in XvsTie2, but they are just as important. Point and health powerups make a return, but the other three types of powerups act as a means of acquiring new weapons and getting ammo for them. Here is a rundown of all the powerups in the game:

Points:
50 points	-Gives a 50 point bonus
100 points	-Gives a 100 point bonus
250 points	-Gives a 250 point bonus
500 points	-Gives a 500 point bonus
750 points	-Gives a 750 point bonus
Health:
Health	-Restores two units of health
Weapons:
Blaster	-Gives the blaster weapon and 20 units of ammo
Flamethrower	-Gives the flamethrower weapon and 30 units of flame
Thermal Detonator	-Gives the thermal detonator weapon and 1 thermal detonator to throw

Thats it! Enjoy the game!!!