Congratulations! If you're reading this, chances are you already bought this year's best game thus far. No, seriously, it's our first 10/10 of 2013, that's actually a big deal!
So you've played through the levels, mastered collecting gold like the star runner that you are, so much that you're channeling CommanderVideo himself. However as much as you try to get that perfect run, you never manage to get even close to those crazy high leaderboard scores that taunt you at the beginning of each level. We're here to teach you a thing or two and maybe, just maybe, you'll manage to best the kings of the leaderboards.
Skip the Checkpoints
This is one of the more obvious hints, but one that not everyone might realize actually works. The checkpoints are a godsend to those that played the first game, only to be defeated by its insane difficulty. However, purists will be happy to know that jumping over checkpoints will disable them, retaining the challenge from the first game.
Boom! An easy 50,000 points. Now just survive the rest of the level!
If you're going for a high score though, jumping over checkpoints is an absolute must, as it automatically awards you with 50,000 points. Obviously the challenge ramps up as you're then required to finish the level in a single run, but the bonus will certainly help you get that much closer to the leaderboards.
Take the hard routes
Runner2's level designs are absolutely fantastic. Pair that with the fact that many levels have alternate routes, and you have a game of pure platforming bliss. There are two different kind of routes. The easy/difficult routes marked by a green and red arrow respectively, and then there are the easy/alternate routes marked by a green and blue arrow respectivelly. You'll want to focus on the former.
The hard routes are marked by the red arrow with a screw… or a sideways mushroom?
The red routes present you with a far greater challenge, as it throws a lot more enemies at you, giving you a chance to build up your score even more. Of course pairing hard routes with the fact you have to skip checkpoints will obviously result in some frustrating runs, but just remember, practice makes perfect.
The last, and arguably biggest reason to choose the hard route is that they sometimes have chests. It doesn't matter whether or not that chest was picked up already, you still get a massive boost in score for picking it up again.
Put on your dancing shoes
One neat feature I didn't discover until about a quarter of the game in is the fact that CommanderVideo (or any other character you decide to play as) has the ability to dance at any given time during a run. That's right, dance! By pressing the Right Trigger (you really should be playing this with a gamepad) your runner will do a short dance.
Twirling like a ballerina while collecting heaps of gold has never felt so exhilirating. Seriously, try it!
Dancing is a pure risk/reward scenario. Each time you press that trigger, you get a bonus of 2,000 points, which multiplies with each Red Plus you pick up, giving you 10,000 points by the time you pick up the fourth one. The reason that dancing is pure risk is because while you perform your dance, you can't actually break out of it, meaning you can't jump, slide, kick or do anything until you're out of the animation.
This makes learning the level pretty essential, as it familiarizes you with the best possible spots to pull the dances off. You generally want to avoid dancing right before a jump, though you can pull them off if you're going downhill. Generally you'll want to start dancing immediately at the beginning of the level, right around the checkpoint (but avoid hitting it) and right before finish line if possible. Those three spots are generally the best (and safest) to maximize that score.
Run towards the enemies
What?! This can't possibly be right, right?! But it is! First let's tackle the blockable square blocks that fly towards your runner. There will be cases when you think sliding under them is the best option, or outright avoiding the ones flying above the runner. This is a mistake since the only way you get points for those is by actually shielding them. That means you have to make the effort to actually jump and hit the flying squares that are slightly out of reach.
This blockable square is obviously out of reach, but simply running under it won't get you the 15k points for actually blocking it
There are also some enemies that will be easily avoidable thanks to the multiple routes some levels have. To get the most amount of points, you have to figure out how not to avoid them completely, and instead either jump, glide or slide some way to at least brush by them, netting you those sweet, sweet points.
Nail the bullseye
While this one is slightly trivial, nailing that perfect bullseye does award you with a hefty 10,000 points. While not a huge score in the grand scheme of things, it can be that final dealbreaker between you and another player's score. The bad thing about the bullseye is that unlike the running, which is purely skill based, the bullseye does have a slight factor of luck.
THIS right here, is a bullseye shot. Remember it!
However, I did figure out a pretty good way to get a decent grasp at nailing that 10k sweet spot. It's all about shooting right after the bullseye forms and the cannon starts pointing up. Give it a slight delay as hitting it immediately will make you shoot too low and waiting too long will overshoot it. You have about a second immediately after the cannon starts to aim up, which should generally get you into the bullseye's safe spot.
It will take some practice, and a few fits of rage and frustration, but once it clicks, you'll be nailing that bullseye (almost) every time.
I sincerely hope these tips and strategies will help you maximize that high score and I better be seeing your names on that leaderboard very soon.
