Volcano Run II

Introduction

Our good friend Glubgar is back with another installment of the ever-popular classic, Volcano Run - aptly titled Volcano Run II. As in the first game, the goal of Volcano Run is to get our little Scorchio friend as far as you can through the treacherous tunnels of a volatile Tyrannian volcano. With updated graphics and animations, Volcano Run is sure to be as popular as the first.

Controls

Like in the original game, Glubgar is constantly moving. The left mouse button is held down to make Glubgar ascend (go up) and is released to make Glubgar descend (go down). The V key is held to make Glubgar accelerate, and the C key is held to make Glubgar decelerate.

Obstacles

There are 5 main types of obstacles in Volcano Run II. Crashing into any of these objects loses you a life, so watch out!
First off are the walls themselves. The walls are represented by dark, jagged objects running on the top and bottom of the screen.
Static boulders are floating boulders in the middle of the screen. These will never move - unlike boulders in the original, where they would start off as static boulders and eventually start to move.
Moving boulders look the same as static boulders, except they move in a constant, up and down motion.
Projectile boulders resemble comets, and move towards Glubgar. Although most commonly found individually near bonuses, these boulders may also come in large groups away from bonuses.

Lava pits are another deadly obstacle. The lava pits appear after 500 meters. They are randomly distributed and occasionally eject a column of lava. They can only be avoided by pressing C and V keys.

Bonuses

Bonuses, like the rest of Volcano Run II, have gotten a bit of a makeover. In the newer version, the standard bonuses resemble yellow diamonds. Collecting them ads ten points to your total (cumulative) 'bonus' score.
There is also a red bonus, which rewards Glubgar 20 points.
All bonuses come in a string of three. A 'projectile boulder' usually comes towards you while nearing the bonuses; so watch out! Unless you have a satisfactorily high score, do not risk a life for the bonus points.

Shield

The shield moves like a projectile obstacle, in the way that it comes towards Glubgar. The shield is represented by a small, translucent bubble. Collecting the shield surrounds Glubgar in a larger representation of the bubble - the shield. Hitting the wall or another obstacle removes the shield, rendering again Glubgar vulnerable to loss of life.

Scoring

At the bottom of the game screen is a box with an up-to-date display of your score. Best Distance indicates your best distance achieved overall (in the duration of the 3-live-game). Distance indicates your current score in the duration of one life). Bonus indicates the amount of extra points obtained through collecting diamonds.
The Best Distance is changed every time a score overrides your previous Best Distance. Distance is reset every time you lose a life. Bonus is cumulative, meaning the amount of bonus points you collect never resets, and builds up throughout the 3-life-game.

Your final score is calculated by taking your Best Distance and adding it your Bonus score.

Lives

Note that, unlike the original, Volcano Run II gives Glubgar 3 lives. Your remaining number of lives can be seen in top-right-hand corner of the screen. The game ends when you have 0 lives.

Tips & Strategy

Safety is 1st priority, followed by gems and extras. Don't put yourself into dangerous situations for only a few bonus marks. It isn't worth it.

Use the decelerating and accelerating keys! In extreme conditions, they are your saviors. They are a MUST for escaping the clutches of lava also.

The level starts off with a very wide cave and no obstacles at all. Grasp this opportunity! This is the best time to type 'glubgar' for an extra life. After about 1000 metres though, the cave will grow narrower, even tight enough just to slip Glubgar through. That's where most experts get killed. Don't hold your mouse button too long. Keep it short.

Bonuses are essential to achieving a high score but the game limits you to getting only 450 points out of them. You can get a few extra bonuses if you never hit 450 though. If you have 440 points, you will still run into diamonds in groups of three. Using this method, you can usually get 20-50 extra bonus points that might be the difference if you are aiming for the a trophy or the avatar.

Cheats

There is 1 cheat for Volcano Run II. Typing in glubgar during the game gives you an extra life. It is recommended that this cheat is entered in during the beginning of the game, where there is a safe stretch of cave.

Easter Egg

Weepit sure gets around. Sometimes, you will be able to see a boulder he vandalized in-game:

Conclusion

Like the original game, Volcano Run II is a little hard to start off with at first, but as they say: practice makes perfect. Experiment with the 'accelerate' and 'decelerate' keys. Some people swear by them, others avoid them like the plague. See what works for you.