-----------------------Introduction and Disclaimer (intr1)--------------------
Greetings, soldier! This here's my guide and walkthrough for the PC version of
Heavy Weapon Deluxe! Just listen to me, and you'll be able to destroy all the
forces of Red Star all by yourself - or die trying! If you feel like it, you
can also post this guide on other websites - as long as you don't try anything
funny like pretend YOU wrote it! But enough with the jibber-jabber - Let's get
started! Ten-hut!
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-------------------------------How to Play (howt2)----------------------------
The game will teach the controls should you click the 'help' button in the
main menu screen, but should you need a reminder, here they are:
Moving the mouse moves the firing reticle/Tank
Left-click to fire primary weapon/s. Hold for continuous fire.
Right-click to fire nukes.
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------------------------------Mode overview (mode3)---------------------------
There are primary modes in Heavy Weapon: Mission Mode and Survival Mode.
Survival Mode is unlocked by completing 3 stages in Mission Mode.
MISSION MODE:
You're the last line of defense against the Red Star invasion! Journey through
9 action-packed levels set in countries with names like 'Blastnya' or
'Tankylvania' and restore order to the world! Rise up the army's ranks as you
progress - from simple private to a full-fledged General of the Army!
SURVIVAL MODE:
Those darned commies have won... No one is left to stand against them. The
entire civilized world has been razed to the ground. Well, you won't stand for
it! This may be a losing battle, but before you go down, you'll make sure to
take as many dirty Red Star soldiers to hell with you! How long will you last,
I wonder?
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--------------------------Power-Ups and Upgrades (Powu4)----------------------
What would a classic arcade game be without power-ups? From increased
shielding to laser cannons, these doohickeys are sure to turn your Atomic Tank
into a fearsome engine of mass destruction!
POWER-UP 1: ATOM BOMBS
You get one of these to start, and can get more as you progress. They have
amusing effects on the background ocasionally, but you'd better save them for
the bosses. If you decide to use them in the level itself, their primary
purpose is basically to remove all threats currently on-screen.
POWER-UP 2: SHIELDS
Your energy shield is quite literally the only thing standing between you and
total obliteration. I guess that tank must be made of wet paper. Either way,
like the atom bombs you also start with one level of shielding. Getting more
throughout the level results in better protection, so keep a lookout for them.
Be warned, however, that bulldozers and enemy nukes disregard your shield
level, one-shotting you if you're not careful.
POWER-UP 3: MEGA-LASER!
A super-weapon so powerful it's been divided into four parts. Getting them all
temporarily upgrades your primary weapon from 'peashooter' into 'unstoppable
laser cannon'. It burns out after a while, but it's so powerful it one-shots
anything unlucky enough to be hit by it!
There doesn't seem to be a pattern as to when the parts for the mega-laser
appear, but the one constant seems to be that you'll never ever be able to use
it on a boss.
POWER-UP 4: SPEED BOOST
Upgrades the Atomic Tank's treads, making it capable of faster movement.
Useful in the later levels, where you'll have to make lots of precise moves.
Make sure to get as many as possible.
POWER-UP 5: RAPID FIRE
Upgrades the tank's primary firing mechanism, allowing you to fire faster. Do
I even need to explain why this is useful?
POWER-UP 6: GUN POWER UP
Arguably the most self-explanatory power-up, your shots do more damage now.
Don't skip out on these - You'll need that fire power to avoid those darn atom
bombs!
POWER-UP 7: SPREAD SHOT
Instead of firing single shots in a straight line, you now fire multiple shots
at once - up to five. This is one incredibly useful power-up, as it basically
increased your effective range and DpS all at once!
UPGRADE 1: DEFENSE ORBS
Availability: Unlocked from the start
Effect: An energy orb revolves around your vehicle in a clockwise formation,
blocking rockets and plasma orbs that hit it. It can even protect you from
atom bombs! Upgrade for extra orbs (Up to 3.)
UPGRADE 2: HOMING MISSILE
Availability: Unlocked from the start
Effect: Your primary weapon will also ocasionally fire a homing missile
which... well, homes in on enemies. It seems to be as accurate as a red
rocket. Upgrade for faster firing rate.
UPGRADE 3: LASER
Availability: Unlocked from the start
Effect: Not to be confused with the Mega-laser, this upgrade will make your
primary weapon ocasionally also fire a thin laser beam. Though not very
powerful, a laser beam by any other name is still a force to be reckoned with.
Upgrade for increased damage.
UPGRADE 4: ROCKETS
Availability: Unlocked after beating Mission 2
Effect: Simple rockets that will fire in the direction of your firing reticle.
Unlike the homing missiles, they lack a targeting system, so you'll have to do
the legwork here. Upgrade for more rockets at once.
UPGRADE 5: FLAK CANNON
Availability: Unlocked after beating Mission 3
Effect: Fires explosive shells in the area of your firing reticle, encouraging
you to position it wisely. The word Flak is a contraction of the german word
for anti-aircraft cannon: (Fl)ugzeug(a)bwehr(k)anone! I have another german
word for you: Gesundheit! Upgrade for increased radius & duration.
UPGRADE 6: THUNDERSTRIKE
Availability: Unlocked after beating Mission 4
Effect: Adds a blue radiation symbol on the side of your tank, which for some
reason causes your primary weapon to release lightning bolts. So why is it
called 'Thunderstrike' then? Shouldn't it be called Lightningstrike or
something? Guess there wasn't enough space. Upgrade for increased duration &
power.
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------------------------Frequently-asked questions (faq5)---------------------
Q. The controls are really finicky! How do I make them better?
A. Play the game on windowed mode. Having less space to move your mouse
through makes your response time better. OR you can purchase the XBLA version
of the game, which allows you to move your firing reticle separately from your
tank. Why wasn't this simple improvement ported over to the PC version? Who
knows! It probably has something to do with the fact that PopCap was bought by
EA and now they don't remember this game exists!
Q. I bought a new computer or need to format my current one. How do I make
sure I don't lose my progress on this game?
A. Your information, as well as other players', is saved in the 'userdata'
folder located in the same folder as the game executable.
Q. If there are only 9 levels, doesn't that mean I won't be able to upgrade
all my weapons to maximum power?
A. Oh, don't worry about that. You most certainly will get the chance to
upgrade all of your weapons to their fullest. I guarantee it...
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-----------------------------Level run-through (leve6)------------------------
Mission 1: FRIGISTAN
The first level is of course the easiest, with nothing but a few airplanes to
fight. Some of them don't even carry bombs! Surely Red Star can do better...
Mission 2: BLASTNYA
Things start ramping up pretty fast, as you can tell from the enemy variety in
this level. Armored planes, planes that drop multiple bombs, planes with
laser-guided bombs... try not to die here, as it'd be pretty humiliating.
Mission 3: PETROVAKIA
Be especially wary of the pickup trucks, as they fire very close to the
ground, and can easily hit you if you're not careful. Also of note are the two
helicopters, one firing slow energy pellets that can't be destroyed by
conventional means, and the other firing very fast, guided missiles that are
easily dispatched by a skilled marksman.
Mission 4: DICTASTROIKA
This level introduces two new types of bombs: Armored bombs and frag bombs.
Armored bombs are harder to get rid of than normal ones, and if your firepower
isn't that great, you should avoid them instead. Frag bombs are nasty - they
split into four energy pellets when hitting the ground! Make sure to blast
them whenever you see them. Finally, there are ballistic missiles and Kamikaze
planes. The missiles are easy enough, but the Kamikazes can appear rather
suddenly. Fortunately they tend to show up in groups.
Mission 5: ZAMBLAMIA
This level is mostly comprised of enemies you've seen before, as well as
harder versions of the same, with one exception: The blimps. Exercise extreme
caution when dealing with these, as they explode in a rain of energy pellets
that can be very hard to dodge.
Mission 6: TANKYLVANIA
A spooky level with a VERY spooky addition to the enemy roster: The atomic
bomber! Remember to blast their nukes at all costs - they will kill you if
they hit the ground regardless of your shielding! Speaking of shielding,
there's a new plane that has one. Hitting it disperses energy pellets in
random directions until you manage to break through.
Mission 7: VODKAVANIA
The atomic bombers are gone, and so are the blimps! This is basically a
breather level - After the tension of Tankylvania, you can kind of relax and
not try as hard here. The real challenge lies in the fact that this level is
very long, way longer than the ones preceding it. Be careful not to lose your
edge!
Mission 8: ANTAGONISTAN
Well, that was a short breather, wasn't it. Both the atomic bombers AND the
blimps have returned for a diabolical tag-team that you'll be sure to lose at
least one life to! The only real relief is that there are no ballistic
missiles popping up in the horizon.
Mission 9: KILLINGRAD
The final level adds two new enemies to the mix: The bulldozer and the attack
satellite. They're both quite difficult to shake. The bulldozer charges ahead
indefinitely, killing you instantly if it reaches your tank, regardless of
shield level. The attack satellite charges up a laser beam at a random
location - which, if you happen to be trying to kill it, might very well be
where you are. They are quite sturdy, actually. Also, the amount of ballistic
missiles launched per volley has reached its maximum of six. Prepare yourself
for the hardest final battle of all... or is it?
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-------------------------------Boss guide (boss7)-----------------------------
The ultimate weapons of the Red Star army, incapable of being mass-produced.
They will give the hardest challenge to your atomic tank!
BOSS 1 - TWINBLADE
Pretty sure this guy was the only boss in the browser version of the game.
Surprisingly he isn't all that easy, throwing out homing missiles and energy
pellets at fast rates and not leaving much room for your atomic tank to
maneuver. My suggestion? Bring some nukes to the battle to chip away at some
of his health!
BOSS 2 - BATTLESHIP
The Battleship has several turrets that you can destroy on it, diminishing its
damage output. Do note that they're not part of the boss's health bar, though,
which means you basically have two routes you can take here: Focus solely on
the center, putting you at more risk but killing the boss faster, or blowing
up the turrets first and dealing with the actual boss later when he's more
vulnerable.
BOSS 3 - WAR BLIMP
A flying doohickey with the capabilities of launching 'roto-mines' at high
frequency at your direction, as well as the ability to literally summon
meteorites. Having low DpS at this point is a bad idea, since it's very
possible for those roto-mines to overwhelm you if you can't take them out
easily. And they move at weird angles to boot...
BOSS 4 - WAR WRECKER
Remember the first boss in Sonic 1? This is a slightly more complex version of
that. Just look at the ball's pattern of movement and dodge under it when you
see it drop lower. This boss literally does nothing else.
BOSS 5 - KOMMIE KONG
This socialistic simian will throw missiles that split into six energy pellets
in your direction, or failing that, start jumping all over the place. Poor
motor coordination is your enemy here, as you'll need to ride your tank under
him when he jumps!
BOSS 6 - EYEBOT
A multi-eyed flying octopus thing. The smaller eyes on its tentacles(?)
release purple lightning that can one-shot you, so get out of the way when
they light up. As for the center eye, it released your favorite - energy
pellets!
BOSS 7 - BUSTCZAR
The robotic likeness of some communist leader's head. Launches very durable
homing missiles from the holes in its face, and can do a bombing run using
several armored bombs, though fortunately you're strong enough by this point
to deal with them easily.
BOSS 8 - MECHWORM
Sandworm alert! This overgrown vermin jumps out of the ground with very little
warning, throwing up rubble that can damage you if you're close. While it's in
the air, those holes in its body release armored bombs for you to deal with.
If only the head remains, it also launches homing missiles at high velocity.
Not actually all that difficult - just annoying.
BOSS 9 - H-Bot
A giant robot that continually jumps to and fro while releasing homing
missiles and eye beams. If you managed to survive Red Star's assault up to
now, he shouldn't pose any considerable threat to you. After all, you should
have had a lot of practice ducking under bosses by this point.
FINAL BOSS - SECRET WEAPON
A three-phase final boss to cap off the game. The first phase uses tons of
laser beams - straight beams, diagonal beams, wavy beams, you name it. After
you blow up the exterior shell, it begins throwing energy pellets all over the
place at random directions, and the ocasional atom bomb that you have to blow
up. After blowing up even more of the machine, the communist leader is
revealed, and you're assaulted with a veritable torrent of homing missiles,
both normal and the Bustczar variety. Fortunately there are no more atom bombs
being thrown, and once you beat this form, the Red Star offensive is finally
done for. As for how you'll find this boss in the game... Well, like its name
says, it's a secret!
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-------------------------------Special thanks (Thx8)--------------------------
I thank PopCap Games for making this highly enjoyable game. Most of the people
who made this may not work there anymore, but it still counts.
I also thank anyone who might be interested in this game enough to read this.
As this is the very first Heavy Weapon FAQ on this site, any suggestions for
improvements are welcomed.
Finally, I thank GameFAQs itself, for helping me more times than I can count
and inspiring me to help others with my own video game knowledge.
