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The secrets with the * before them only appear in program version 5.1: The
Warlords. The operator of your favorite arcade should be able to get the full program
update from Atari or from the distributor that sold T-MEK to that arcade.
The update includes new ROMs and also some decals and signs. These signs
and decals are the easiest way to spot a T-MEK station that has been
updated with version 5.1: The Warlords. Another way to tell is what happens when you start the game. Unless the arcade has turned it off, the first thing you see when you start a new game is a screen telling you that you are playing the Warlords version. The
next giveaway is the new screen where you are asked to peg yourself as a
BEGINNER or ADVANCED.
Now you can feel what it's like to be one of Nazrac's warlords! Identify yourself as an awesome boss by entering the proper name at the start of the game. If you play a warlord, you will be given a specialized MEK with a new look and unique abilities. BAKED has an big AssaultMEK with more firepower-- but it's a bit slower. SHOCKA flies an extreme HyperMEK that goes even faster and has even less armor--only speed freaks need apply. Shocka's MEK also hops over those pesky boulders in her native Storm Rift. VENUSIVA's glowing hot StealthMEK is not harmed by the fire nor stopped by the spikes in her abode, Inferno. PHANTOM's ghostly SuicideMEK doesn't show up on the radar, and in his Stone Web he can pass through the inner walls! Watch your back, though, because he has less armor and no defense. BRK'OTH takes the form of a slimy green LurkerMEK that in its birthplace, the Alien Nest, is hard to see and can ooze right through most obstacles. And NAZRAC's redesigned SpeedMEK? Its looks alone strike terror, and the fire of the Killing Floor and his Attic does no harm to it.
When you see Nazrac's tournament ladder, you can jump right up to a
challenge versus the wicked Venusiva if you hold both sticks outward (the
right one to the right, the left one to the left) and then hold down both
thumb buttons. Do it fast-- Venusiva won't wait for you to get up your
nerve!
If you get to choose the next arena in a rank challenge, you can open up a
new world. If you choose the Stone Web while holding the left stick to the
right, prepare to enter the mind-bending Abyss. If you choose the Killing
Floor while holding the left stick to the left, you will find the key to
the red-hot maze of Nazrac's Attic. Prepare for some extreme MEK battles.
In those sweaty few moments while you are waiting for the Big Metal Doors to open, you can mess with your opponents' world. During the "Waiting for Others" countdown (while you are sitting in front of the doors that are about to open and let you into the arena), hold your control sticks in the proper position to achieve some cool effects. To kill off everyone's radar, keep the left stick pushed right and the right stick pushed left. You don't appreciate something until it's gone... To roll the fog into the arena, keep the left stick pushed left and the right stick pushed right. This stuff is thicker than Brk'oth's slimy blood! To tweak the color phase of any arena except for the Killing Floor, the Abyss, and Nazrac's Attic, keep both sticks pulled back. Enter the Moon's Bed, Iceferno, and Psychedelic Rift!
In the Storm Rift, Alien Nest, and Stone Web is lurking the star of another
one of TWI/Atari's games: Sauron of Primal Rage. In the Storm
Rift, he hides in a secret canyon behind a false wall in the left side of
the squared-off nook. In Stone Web, he lurks behind a false wall in one of
the outer wall's gentle bends. In the Alien Nest, you must blow away a
bunch of the thin tubes to find a passage between the Watchers (those eye
stalks that encircle the arena). If you blast all three Saurons and then
kill Nazrac, you will (after the credits) enter a new arena that fans of
Atari classics will be sure to recognize. In any case, it is the way to
stay on top of the high score screen!
When going through the blue light of the reload platforms, try pushing both sticks outward at the last moment. It's tricky! If you succeed, you will get five special weapon charges instead of three. Likewise, hold the sticks in as you pick up an energy core in the wreck of a MEK. You will get a much larger boost of energy and defense charge. |