Nimmos Pond II

Introduction

For many cold-blooded creatures, nothing feels better than spending a whole entire day basking in the satisfying warmth of sunlight. One particular Nimmo could not agree more with this statement because the only thing he wants to do is rest upon a lily pad and catch some rays. Unfortunately, the overabundance of lily pads have proven to be a great annoyance since they keep bumping into the Nimmo! Wanting to settle this once and for all, the Nimmo stocked up on ammo and is prepared to protect his pond to great lengths. Aid the brave Nimmo as he attempts to restore this body of freshwater back to its peaceful state.

Controls and Instructions

The game play of Nimmo's Pond is incredibly simple to understand. Destroy each and every lily pad in order to proceed to the next level. With every simplistic game usually comes few controls to remember; the Up, Left, and Right Arrows, the v and b keys, and the Spacebar. One unfortunate drawback is the omission of the down arrow key in the game. The only possible way you are able to reverse yourself in by facing the opposite direction and pressing the up arrow. The v and b keys allow you to collect power ups and use bombs while the Spacebar shoots ammo from the Nimmo's mouth. Below, the controls and instructions of the game are explained in a more in-depth manner:

Health Points- The red bar indicates the amount of damage that the brave Nimmo is able to endure. Each time a lily pad manages to collide into you, a portion of the health bar is removed depending upon the size. For example, a larger lily pad will cause more damage than a smaller one.

Paddle Power- As depicted by the blue bar, Paddle Power is the amount of energy stored within the Nimmo. From the very moment you press the up arrow on the keyboard, you will find yourself repeatedly pressing it to keep the Nimmo under control. All your arrow keys gradually deplete your Paddle Power until none is left. Momentarily leaving the arrows key alone will slowly replenish the Paddle Power. Once the bar is completely empty, the Nimmo will become too exhausted to continue and will sink like a rock into the watery depths below.

Bombs- Hovering above the iconic image of the Nimmo's face are the amount of bombs you have in stock. These bombs are represented by a red spherical shape with a lit fuse. When you first start a new game, three bombs are automatically available for use. Pressing the b key will detonate one of your bombs and damage any surrounding lily pads. The closer a lily pad is, the more damage it will sustain from the blast. It is possible to receive more bombs through power ups.

Power Ups- Occasionally, upon destroying a lily pad, bubbles containing power ups will form in the water to help aid the Nimmo. Inconveniently enough, the power ups will quickly float across the level and it is up to you to catch them. Unlike games where you usually need to move the player on top of a power up to collect it, Nimmo's Pond requires a more unique approach. When a power up is in reach, press the v key to release the Nimmo's tongue from its mouth. There are a total of seven power ups within the game to collect; four which deal with ammo and extra bombs, and the rest which deal with Health Points, Paddle Power, and speed. When a new power up appears onscreen, a small image is present within the bubble to help distinguish between them. The actual instructions to Nimmo's Pond lists them also for further reference.

Lily Pads- Literally anything can be a threat to someone, as evidenced by this game. As you can tell, the main and only enemy in this game are none other than lily pads. These strange plants come in a variety of sizes (Which can be either good or bad depending upon your situation). Each time a lily pad is hit a certain number of times by the Nimmo's ammo, it continually downgrades a size until it simply vanishes. The same is true regarding usage of bombs, but the lily pads will be destroyed much quicker depending on how close you are. Once a level is clear of all lily pads, it proceeds to the next one where you repeat the same process. The amount of damage you receive from colliding into a lily pad is dependent upon its size. Larger ones seem to cause more damage than smaller ones.

Tips & Strategies

It is highly advisable to never move the Nimmo throughout the entire game. When you begin moving, it is impossible to stop. Paddling makes the game more complex than it has to be since it includes another way to lose (Running out of Paddle Power will drown the Nimmo). Also, you are much more likely to crash into lily pads and end the game from too much damage before you even lose a considerable amount of Paddle Power. Whenever the next level starts, the Nimmo is not placed back in the center of the screen while waiting idly on his lily pad. Instead, he is still floating at the same speed as before. If you do manage to accidentally (or purposely) move the Nimmo, you will be relieved to know that there is a power up which resets the speed of your Nimmo. The catch is, however, that the Nimmo does not fully stop but is only reduced back to the lowest speed. That is why it is better to avoid the whole situation by not moving the Nimmo at all.

Conclusion

Nimmo's Pond is a straightforward game based on the classic arcade shooter "Asteroids". It hardly takes much time to play and it is simple to earn many Neopoints once you become accustomed to it.