Creighton is off cruising around Europe, so he left me with the responsibility of writing the Pro Tip for this week. My goals for filling his shoes were simple: 1) Figure out which game to write about, 2) Figure out what tips would be worthy of the "Pro" designation, and 3) Post the column in a timely manner on Thursday. Oops. Better late than never, I suppose.
This week’s Pro Tip comes from the bloody mess that is Ninja Gaiden II, where well-timed strikes, not button mashing, are the first secret to success. Now I’m new to this Pro Tip thing, so I almost want to describe extensive strategy that will allow you to slay your foes faster than a PR rep spins NPD numbers, but I will save that for the strategy guide (coming June 2120), and focus on just one tidbit of life-saving tippage for today.
Pro Tip: After you finish off the armadillo, hold down the L trigger to block.
You see, if you kill this mammoth beast and then just run around aimlessly like I did, you are asking for a one-way ticket on the Game Over train. Once all of his health has been depleted, the armadillo will flash red and subsequently explode like the fourth of July (or a BOMB), instantly killing Ryu, and instantly irritating whoever is manning the controller. Holding L guards against this postmortem assault and allows you to finish the chapter successfully.
Stupid armadillo.
[Eddie Inzauto]
