Weeks after the mega-release of Hot Air 2: All Blown Up, Nitrome has unveiled another slick Flash game titled Toxic. It combines your standard adventure platformer with ... bombs! Destructible environments! And ... more bombs! Imagine a roaming platformer game sprinkled with elements from Bomberman and you have a pretty good idea of what Toxic is all about.
Controls are simple, just move with the arrow keys, jump with [up], and place a bomb by tapping the space bar. You can also wall jump by tapping the opposite direction of the wall you're sliding down. As you pick up new types of bombs, you'll discover new ways to destroy the landscape around you and defend yourself from mechanoid creatures throughout the game's 20 stages.
Levels are mostly straightforward with a slight emphasis on puzzle solving rather than quick reflexes. Often you'll need to use a certain type of bomb to reach out of the way areas just so you can find the right kind of bomb to get you to the goal. Once you're familiar with each bomb type, it's a breeze figuring out how to make it through each stage, though that doesn't mean it will be an easy task getting there.
Analysis: Same high-quality presentation as Nitrome's other releases, but Toxic has a much dirtier feel to it, probably because of the, you know, industrial waste theme. Toxic also feels as if it were designed to appeal to a broad audience by keeping everything familiar to veteran gamers. Piloting a chairlift is unique and off-the-wall, but controlling a guy in a Hazmat suit dropping bombs is something we've all done in a video game once or twice. Toxic doesn't quite live up to Nitrome's more creative releases, but it still gets the job done extraordinarily well.
The only real bone I have to pick with Toxic is the hit detection. From a design point of view, it's a delicate situation to let players destroy the environment. That can create all kinds of unpredictable situations. In the case of Toxic, narrow ledges or leftovers of destroyed wall may look suitable for standing, but often you clip right through. It's a similar feeling when you stand back from a bomb blast only to realize you weren't far enough away.
Despite its more mainstream design, Toxic manages to reel you in with a good mix of action and puzzle gameplay.
The game is also available to Play at MTV Arcade.
The level where they introduce all kinds of bombs is hard!
There does seem to be some problems with hit testing. I find the second level to be a lot more difficult then it probably should be.
Classic game, i guess. Its very interesting that you cannot karate those robot to scrap pieces :P Anyways its a good game for play and review :D
I dunno everyone. I'm not actually a huge fan of Nitrome games. They never seem to grasp me. I got too frustrated with the first Hot Air to continue after the first couple of levels, so I never bothered with the sequel. I don't really recall being particularly impressed with any individual Nitrome game. The graphics are ALWAYS impressive and the ideas often border on superior, but the sluggish or frustrating gameplay mechanics always ruin their games for me.
Still, I'm always a fan of fully (or partially) destructible environments, so this game strikes a good chord with me and I'm glad I tried it out. Perhaps future Nitrome releases will impress me even more!
(These are, of course, my own personal opinions and I am sure that many Nitrome fans out there hate me. Please don't! I am open to discussion.)
Scramble125 - do yourself a favor and try out Hot Air 2. Complaints about the first one being hardcore difficult were listened to. The sequel is superior in many ways, not the least of which is its more accessible level of difficulty.
First of all, my mac using Firefox couldn't play it. It would register left and right arrows, but not up and down. I had to use Safari. Second, I almost completed level 3 or 4 or something. It wasn't hard, except for the fact that the character kept falling through little cracks & spaces and being unable to move. Especially the spot where there are like six boxes next to each other, with jars of goo in them. The character would bomb a little crack in a corner of the box, and fall in, and not be able to get out except for bombing, which decreased his life. I quit when I found I was fighting the game glitches more than I was the game itself. I was disappointed though, because it was pretty fun otherwise.
I have to agree with Scramble. I always *want* to like Nitrome games, but I just never feel compelled to play any one game for longer than a few minutes. "Sluggish" is the perfect word for them most of the time. It's like the character control has been dipped in molasses. And the control issues are particularly frustrating with Nitrome, because their ideas and presentation are always so good. I always want their games to just be more playable.
That said, I really had a good time with Hot Air 2. It's still hard as nails, but not to an unfair degree, and the control felt right to me. I wished that as long as they were going to make a Super Mario World-esque over-world map that they would put some actual branching paths in it, but other than that, it's a great game.
I'm pleased to see that they don't make you use the mouse to proceed between levels. That was a distraction in previous key-controlled games.
Sorry, could not get into this. When Level Two took about ten goes because of the health bar depleting, I figured it was just me getting used to everything; However, come Level 3 with the radioactive traffic cone things hanging from the ceiling...no. I couldn't set them off without getting hit because of their margin of registry. There were two at least, so that's two guaranteed hits. Then the six-box area had glitching, yes. I didn't even reach the bottom of that level.
And I DON'T usually dislike Nitrome Games. Hot Air WAS hella hard, and I think I got halfway in it when it first came out, after I gave up on the stars past level seven. Hot Air 2 had me over halfway done, with stars on the levels, but then it got too frustrating with the impossible-to-fine-tune fan controls for smooth balloon moving goodness (with my touchpad anyway, which I found easier than a seperate mouse), I loved the recently-reviewed munchy monster game, whatever it was called, SUPER cute, and I totally beat that.
ON a good note, though, I loved the little dying animation in this game, with the skeleton. Good thing too, 'cause I saw him a lot.
I was doing okay until level 8. The difficulty curve sorta spiked there for me.
Add me to the list of people who bailed on this one early.
The laser from the second level shot me through the indestructible wall while I was halfway down the slope beside it. So, after that, forget it. And, since everyone else is weighing in on these games as a whole, I tend to like the Nitrome games over half the time.
I haven't been able to get past level three the "right way"... but was able to proceed by skipping the first half of it.
It's possible near start of the level to blast a path off the top of the screen (Super Mario Level 1-2 Style), and then blast your way down the vertical fall on the far right, avoiding everything on the top entirely. I had laid a bomb on top of the second sign and sort of wall jumped through the ceiling.
I did this on accident the first time, but have been able to repeat it since. (Probably it is not intentional to be able to do that, but still haven't been able to beat that level otherwise).
I'm going to have to join the "I want to like the Nitrome games but really can't" club. This one is not exceptionally hard, but it does seem a bit hard to control (one commenter above described it as sluggish) and on the buggy side with collision detection. When I died on the third level and couldn't figure out why, I gave up.
I don't know, maybe I need to give these games more effort, but that kind of runs counter to the whole "casual gaming" thing for me.
The rate at which Nitrome pumps out games is impressive, but I can't help but wonder if a bit more time fine-tuning things might not be in order.
Here's a warning for anybody who goes through the whole game: the platforms that disappear when you step on them also technically disappear when a thrown bomb lands on them. However, the platform still looks like you can stand on it.
It took me ages to realise what was happening.
My only problem with this game is the slightly sluggish controls. I want to blow up robots, not go skating!
Another thing, there is a duck command on the down arrow. Useful for dodging some attacks.
I got to level 6 without a lot of trouble. The collision check problem is one I'm used to from Lemmings anyway. As always with Nitrome, I liked the look of the game a lot more than anything else. Their games look to me like all the sprites and the backgrounds simply _belong_ together.
I'd have to agree with Scramble and Co. I try out each Nitrome game when it comes out, but I don't feel compelled to try it for more than five minutes.
A pity, because some of them do have good ideas behind them.
Sorry for double posting, but now I _have_ found two complaints: One is the fact that you can't replenish your health anywhere during a level (as far as I know), the other one is that cannonballs still hit you even if you duck. What's the point of implementing a duck-button then? (I mean, apart from "duck" being a nice word, which I realized when I found myself feverishly murmuring "With a duck-duck here and a duck-duck there" to myself).
I liked it for the most part, but I agree with a lot of the comments above:
It is kinda sluggish.
There really should be a way to replenish your health.
And the hit margins need to be reduced... I mean, my main way of dying was continuously running into my own bomb explosions when I thought it was safe.
@ Darren:
Yeah that laser in level 2 got me through the wall as well. Not cool.
Not for anything, but it seems like Nitrome is pumping out games a bit too quickly. Maybe they should slow down a bit and polish them more before releasing them. This one could certainly use some polishing.
Just MHO.
I find Toxic addictive and with a good difficulty curve.
I stuck at it until I'd finished all 20 levels- I came second on the hi-scores:)For the moment.
But I agree with some of the bleeps people found. e.g.
1. No hearts to replenish your health?
2. The explosions take way too long to disappear, especially when enemies have just been blown up.
3. Those traffic cone things were too eager!
4. The lasers don't just stop when they reach a wall, they go a little further- bad news if you happen to be on one of those thin ones.
and 5. The main character is a baby in a romper.
But those aside, I liked this little game which kept me on until I'd finished. Good Nitrome.
In contrast to most of the comments here, I actually liked this game a lot. The graphics are exceptionally well done, combining different elements to create a very complete feeling to it.
I do not agree with the "sluggish controls" comments. The controls are actually quite responsive. There is a "real physics" aspect to it, in the sense that it takes time to speed up and slow down. That aspect I think is an integral part of the game and can be also used in some levels.
If I can give some criticisms as well, the game should give more information: what level you are on, how many points you have earned, how many targets there are in the level, how many levels to go...
Also, I experience a bug with Flash games in general, that also appears in this one. I wonder if other people have seen the same bug: if I switch off the music, then the game freezes for half a second after each sound effect that is played. This only happens with Windows Vista, not on Windows 2000, but it happens in both IE and Firefox. I have Flash Player 9.0.47.0
I usually like Nitrome, but this game flat out sucks.
The health bar goes down way to quickly. No hearts to replenish heath? There are too many close calls (such as level 4 with the vanishing floors... how hard is that? Seriously, it took me 8 tries to land on the second part of the floor). The bomb radiation takes so long to disappear, and one step too close and you're a fourth of the way to starting the level over again.
Nitrome usually does a great job, but they dropped the ball with this one. Count me out.
The biggest problem for me was really how long an explosion stayed on the screen. Half of the time, I'll blow up an enemy just to walk into it's explosion afterwards.
Anonymous coward, do you mean Level 5?
I loved the music, this is what kept me playing after the frustratingly slow explosion rings. Other than that, the game was too easy. Didn't have an ending. I was hoping our hero would take off his/her suit and surprise us. Something like a sexy robot or alien.
Dav: Yes, I meant Level 5. Pardon the mistake.
It took a few tries but I managed to get to level 10 without dieing. Once you get used to the feel of movement and the range of blasts (those little circles that happen after the main blast are the range) it is quite a fun little game.
I don't understand how the majority of you are having problems with the first 5 levels. I found them to be a breeze. Level 6 is frustrating though. I came very close to beating it, then ran out of the throw bombs (I needed 1 more) and tried to get more, but one of those drill npcs killed me on my way back up the level. So as of this time of writing, I have yet to complete level 6.
Yes, it's annoying to get hit by your bomb's blast wave and the fact there is nothing to heal yourself with, but I believe that was implemented to give players much more of a challenge. If healing items were added into it, then it might make the game too easy to beat snd then people would comment on how its too simple for their tastes, etc.
My take on the game? I like it alot. The music fits, graphics are nice and the controls are ok. Sometimes I accidentally press the space bar when I want to jump, but I can handle a few accidental deaths here and there.
Awesome game Nitrome :)
I've seen the lasers shoot through floors, I've been hurt by enemies that are already destroyed, I've seen enemies float in the air, I've fallen halfways through walls, and I find the 'soft' corners perpetually frustrating. Also annoying is the stupid wall jumping, it took me ages to find that if you want to just fall off a wall, you have to hold down, the entire time.
Nitrome games are generally beautiful, generally fun (to a point) and generally well developed. Yet I agree with all of the above in sayign they need more polish. Hot air 2 was possibly the best game of theirs ever, because it felt responsive. You accellerated *fast* and that's something important. It really dissapointed me to see that in this game there was such low accellaration. I mean, it's realistic to take a second to slow down, but not to have to run backwards to do so.
This is one of the few Nitrome games I've been able to finish. Yay! Yes, there is a bit of glitchy game play. The throw bombs need to go just a tad farther. It is very annoying to constantly injure yourself with your own bombs. I also thought the disappearing platforms should reappear after a while. (If they did, I never noticed.) Also, jumping up the walls was more frustrating than it needed to be. Overall I thought the game had a perfect balance of difficulty. Not too hard, not too easy. Great job... looking forward to a sequel :o)
This game is very buggy. I keep wanting to like this site's games, they always look good, but the problem of the bugs trumps the overall good looks of the game.
Tell them to fix their bugs.
Another cracking game from Nitrome. It's not with some annoyances which have already been pointed out. But what made this stand out for me were the details such as the character animations particularly player transporting to a new level or dying, and the recoil of the cannons. The bubbling toxic pool is also very impressive.
The hanging traffic cone bombs can be killed by
throwing bombs at them from above, or by bombing to get a very thin floor above them and setting a normal bomb to finish off the job. You can set a bomb right above two of them, in the middle, and it will kill both.
This truly is an annoying game. But addictive.
This is the only Nitrome game that I've played that I finished and enjoyed. The gameplay was really great, and I kept coming back to try and beat my personal record. The graphics were awesome too. My favorite game on their site!
I cant pass the Level 13
Does anyone have any tips for getting past level 13?
Alright here's the answer for level 13.
If you hop across the dissapearing platforms most of them won't dissapear. Hop across and collect the throw bombs (Not the drill ones) then hop back across, climb up, it is possible to avoid the cone guy, collect the 3 nuclear vessels or w/e then go back down and pick up the drill bombs. Go across again and then up and over the spiky area, then you're basically there!
I really love this game! I love the sound effects and music. It is annoying how the bomb blast can kill you but it just shows you that you have to be careful around bombs! I don't exactly like that you can't see the entire level like in Scribble but it just makes it more exciting when you do finish the level. For me it's an awesome game!
Thanks Kuhriynuh for the tip. I figured it out right after posting the question.
I do like this game now that I figured out the little weird things with the thin walls and the bomb blasts.
Does anybody know how to get past level 14? Its really annoying.
Karma:
You have to jump up to the second platform, bomb the tank with a basic bomb - jump back to the second little platform and up to the throw bomb. The saw-toothed bad guy can be taken out with a throw bomb. I haven't managed to get past the level, but I did manage to get one hop away from the exit platform before a drip from the last pipe did me in- apparently you have to time it on the second to last jump after a pause and I haven't managed to not skid off.
Hope that helps you.
How do you get thru level 4? its practically impossible!!!
Level 4:
Stand on either side of firing cannons so their shots go over your head. Work your way downward. Create a hole next to the platform directly above the goal. As you begin to fall, move your guy to the goal before he drops into the bubbling acid.
Anybody know how to beat lvl 16? I've passd the hanging walls you have to jump through. I'm stuck at the two cannons that shoot plasma I guess.
I passed level 8 but something is nagging me.
Is there a way to climb up? There seems to be a vertical passage between the lasers but I am unable to take it. Is this level just done by going right until you reach the red exit?
Has anybody been able to go up this level.
Toxicplayer: I've tried going up every vertical passage there is, and sadly there is only the ceiling.
If you found the first levels tedious to play, you don't even want to hear about the last ones. I just completed the game, but now I'm off to play some matchstick beat'em up that gives you direct control instead of making you try to maneuver a stoned sloth in a yellow plastic bag.
The player character is definitely too slow, but I think it's also the extreeemely slow explosions that keep the game from gathering any momentum. There are these extra place where you could to collect some more points, but I found myself trying to get each level done as quickly as possible. Oh, and if you're planning on completing this, don't hold your breath for an "ending", because
it just says "GAME COMPLETE". That's all. %(
@ patty about lvl 16:
Just blow the cannons up and march right through to the exit.
I LOVE NITROME!!! (wheres that complex heart siggy when you need it) anyways
i made it to about LVL 13! thats when it got hard...too hard. BUT...NITROME RULES (sorry about my yelling)
all these lvls are easy i dont know what you're talking about lvl 13 and up are hard! but until that area its easy :) i wish there was a way i could give you a walkthrought but im one of those people that cant finish nitrome games.
Destructible environment + Hazmat guy + Explosions + Awesome music + Pixelyness = BEST NITROME GAME EVER!!!
Ummm... hello? Why is nobody bothered by the fact that you can't switch bombs once you've got one? It's driving me CRAZY! Or is there something I've missed? Esp. Lev 13
Can anyone tell me how on earth to get through level 3? I am stuck at the very beginning with the introduction of mega bombs... help!
Well Skye, that is the puzzle element of the game, to make it challenging- you have to choose the RIGHT kind of bomb. As jayisgames said, 'there is a slight emphasis on puzzle-solving rather than quick reflexes'.
HOW TO I PASS LEVEL 20?! Good lord, I am completely obsessed w/ this game...
It sorta looks like megaman
because
1. slides on the wall. 2. jumps like the toxic guy 3. shows him getting hurt like megaman.
I really enjoyed the game but agree about the need for health boosts. There's a really good video walkthrough of levels 13 to 20 on YouTube:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=E9zbtbvfp6E&feature=related
I beat all ievels
lvl 11 is killing me!!!
Hey can you help me get past level 6
hi. can anyone please offer any help for level 12?? thanks! :)
Yuck! This is a horrible and shabby game. Finished all 20 levels ages ago, still took me a long time though. The difficulty curve is so steep that surely you cannot play without some trouble.
So shabby, I would tell Nitrome not to have a Toxic 2, but I don't have an e-mail address, so I can't use Windows Mail. If I make one up, I'm faced with a page telling me to tell it what internet connection I have. So I have to do it here.
Does anyone want to know my name?
Are you sure?
Are you positive?
Are you negative? (If you are you wouldn't click the next spoiler)
OK then.
Francis. I call myself "Visitor" because I'm not a member of JIG. I can use my name if you want to, so a reply would be nice.
Never mind. There's a screeny of Toxic 2, and I wanna play the preview!
Toxic 2 is in the making! Its at nitrome's blog.
I've gotten to level 13- but I'm stumped- How do you do it?
If you need help, please tell me.
Fun. The edges are kinda wierd, though, like you can go through walls that aren't completely gone, but it's really fun! I'm on level 13, and trying to figure it out. It's the hardest one so far. Go Toxic!
hello everybody.
RenRob, i am in the same boat. I have worked day and night for 3 days trying to complete level 20, and have yet to prevail. I would very much appreciate it if SOMEONE would be kind enough to post a walkthrough or something. How do you escape the lazers?
haha, nice Francis... do you want to know my name?
Are you sure about that?
I dont think you do.
If you're sure...
I dont think you can handle it.
you want the truth?
you can't handle the truth!
but if you really want to...
i suppose i could manage to tell you...
my name's emily. im very nice. and i desperately need help on level 20. im begging. please.
PLEASE!
I got past level 20!
So you just get to one of the platforms where the evil acid laser thing can't hurt you, and as soon as its passed you, you jump down and throw as many bombs as you can next to the mother. Then what I do is jump one platform up, and see if my bombs take effect or if the laser thing comes first, if it does, go back up and repeat. If your bombs work, her energy level will go down, and you need to jump down and put as many bombs as you can in the hole you created as soon as possible. Then jump one thing up again, and the hole will heal, but your bombs will still stay in her, and then she'll explode again. Just keep doing this till all her energy's gone, and then when she's dying, you have to jump up on all the platforms and go the whole way around her to get out.
Good luck!
Well, after playing a good amount of Toxic 2, I have some likes and some don't likes.
PROS
I'm a statistics kind of guy, and I really liked the many types of explosive.
Great feel. Like many Nitrome games the style, the look, was really happening. (In a good way.)
Solid gameplay. Not exceptional or revolutionary (I agree, Skywire was an epic study into the versatility of games) but solid.
CONS
Couldn't switch bombs. I understand the whole tactical use thing but it was annoying not to be able to go back to my basic infinite bombs.
Not quite enough of the specialized bombs at some points. Sometimes the specialized were just a convenience but other times they were a necessity, and they weren't available (too hard to get back to).
Not quite enough opportunities to heal. Yes, having too many kills the challenge. But too few, and it can get really annoying (not dangerous, generally, but annoying).
Destroying the environment gets a little tedious. (I'm not the Crysis type who likes blowing down trees a lot).
I have not gotten far enough to see what a lot of you guys are talking about, really, but I don't think the 'slow movement' or 'everlasting explosive radius' things are issues. The former is kind of annoying but only occasionally. And the latter, I got used to.
So not perfect (Skywire 2 and Jack Frost were good games, in my opinion), but good. Just a few minor issues. I usually like Nitrome games anyhoo.
Can someone tell me how to beat level 6? What do i do after i've passed the spiders and climbed the walls? How do i get to the higher platform? Going over the big tub with spiders doesn't get me anywhere.
I was playing this and noticed a glitch, when you place a sticky bomb and a robot moves over it, a bomb sticks to the bad guy, well thats pefectaly ok, thats what its supposed to do, but then you relize, now theres a clone of the bomb that stuck to the robot where the original bomb used to be (vice-versa but its still not supposed to happen)
Emily - September 1st 2008:
Yours is funny!
I NEED HELP ON LEVEL 6 OF TOXIC 2!!!
Update