Blast Corps. Side Mission Guide
This guide will tackle the bulk of the game play of Blast Corps. In between all of the high-tension missions involving the stray nuclear warhead, the Blast Corps never puts an end to your training, insisting that more difficult missions lie ahead. To keep you on your toes between destinations, you will be assigned thirty-or-so side missions. These odd jobs will involve the vehicles that you normally use to demolish the carrier’s path, but instead you will be destroying a set number of targets within a limited amount of time or racing against the clock. Some of these missions are easy enough, but as the game progresses, you will find a serious challenge on your hands.This guide is made to help you through these side missions as you travel the planet’s surface preventing nuclear holocaust. For the purposes of this guide, I will introduce each of the side missions in alphabetical order, not in relation to their location on the map or how they are revealed in play. This keeps things simple. Let’s get to it! There’s no time to waste!
Well, before we begin, let me also point out two things: there are five missions out there that are training missions, only used for letting you drive a vehicle before using it in a real stage. They are Backlash, Sideswipe, J-Bomb, Thunderfist, and Skyfall. These levels do not require explanation seeing as they pose no challenge at all. Any player will be able to complete these five introductory stages without any problem. It’s just a matter of getting used to the controls. Also I will mention that in parentheses after the title of each mission will be my personal best time for each stage. All of these times are within the Platinum medal time limit, so you can trust these methods as they allowed me to earn all 57 Platinums.
DESTRUCTION MISSIONS:
DAGGER PASS: (48.6 sec)
This mission is rather difficult, so be warned. There are eight rafts to be smashed here, but here’s the kicker: Each raft is in its own canal, and parts of these canals are covered. You can only touch the rafts when they are exposed, which is a very short amount of time. This will take the same technique that you use in Lizard Island (see below), but since you have the luxury of clear platforms, you can take advantage of that. As the raft approaches the open air, you can walk from the clear covering right onto the target if your timing is good enough. Otherwise, it’s trial and error. Have patience as you slowly but surely tap the tops of each of the rafts across this stage. If all else fails, float as close as you can get to the surface without touching it and wait for the rafts to hit your feet. There is a satellite dish here. It lies within the walls of the black castle.
DARK HEARTLAND: (36.3 sec)
This mission is a hassle. The biggest problem facing you is the limited number of missile crates in the area. There are a total of eleven downtown buildings to destroy in this medium-sized map, and only ninety missiles at your disposal. You know how fast these things get used. Be conservative with your ammunition as you make your way clockwise through the under-developed city, and grab all the crates that you can. You will probably not run out of missiles, but keep track of how many you use. Getting those two buildings in the distance can sometimes be a pain so aim carefully.
FALCHION FIELD: (20.8 sec)
There are six blue plants to flatten here, and with J-Bomb in the field, you shouldn’t have much to worry about. These plants aren’t right next to each other, though. So you might have to do some searching before you really get going. You will find these plants (1) directly to the north of the starting point, (2) to the north of that, (3) then to the south-east, (4) to the south-east of #3, (5) to the far south next to the railroad, and if you follow that railroad all the way to the north-east, you will find the last plant there.
GEODE SQUARE (19.2 sec)
There are ten magical moving metal spheres flying all over the place. It is your mission to stomp them into non-existence with J-Bomb’s feet. This mission is not difficult, so just remember to tap the vertically-moving spheres with your feet, and to properly time your drops onto the horizontally-moving spheres. This mission is no real challenge and is only an introduction to the ring of missions on the north side of the planet. The satellite dish here is hidden inside the red barn, the only building in the level.
KIPLING PLANT (11.9 sec)
This map is compact and cramped, but don’t let that get in the way of your missile bike. There are six plants to destroy here, and the time and missile availability are tight. Start out with the missile crate and blue plant in front of you. Drive past it, and to the north-east there will be another. Keep going and take out the one to the north-east. Find the construction yard. There are three within here, and order does not matter. Practice your route and this area should be little trouble.
LIZARD ISLAND (1:27.5 sec)
This island is huge, and since most of your targets are sea-born or aerial, J-Bomb has been called in for this training mission. For the sake of ease, start of by jetting to the south-west of the map. There will be some floating platforms in the water. What you must do is hit them with your robot and move on. Keep in mind that you CANNOT touch the water or you will fail the mission! To avoid stupidly rocketing to your doom, stay right above the water’s surface, and as soon as the target platform is underneath you, hit B. You will only drop a short distance, safely. Use this technique as you travel clockwise around the island smashing all fifteen targets. Some of them will be floating platforms that can’t stand still. Others will be floating metal spheres above the mountain or the water. Keep an eye on the spheres in the small volcanoes. Never slam down into these target; you will hit the lava and die! Quietly tap them one at a time and use small upward boosts to move yourself. This mission is pretty tricky, but since you have plenty of time, feel free to take as long as you need to accomplish this. Don’t forget about the lone platform at the south of the map. There is also a satellite dish here. On the north side of the mountain it lies. Just touch it.
MAGMA PEAK (50.9 sec)
Isn’t it comforting to think that the only safe surface in this volcano is the small rock in the very center, whereas the lava all around it will burn your giant robot instantly? No. Well that’s what Rare was thinking, too. There are fourteen targets in total, either metal spheres, moving rafts, or pole-top lights. Start from the bottom and work your way to the top of the volcano. Keep some distance from the walls and the lava. Make sure to avoid hitting the bottom of platforms as you rise, too. Other than that, approach each target carefully and gracefully. Lava will be touched, I promise you. Time, though, is on your side. If you are able to pick up after likely ragequits, this aggravating mission can be completed with a steady hand and concentration.
This is meant to let you practice as J-Bomb, so in order to beat this stage, controlling the gundam must become second nature to you. There is a satellite dish to find here. Leave the rim of the volcano to the south-west. There is a small grassy portion of the land mass that contains the dish.
MICA PARK: (28.8 sec)
This stage can be tricky due to the camera angle. The camera will stay centered at the very middle of the basin, and it will follow you as you zoom around and launch missiles to and fro. Since all the buildings are pretty close to you in this level, there is no need to go fast here, despite the fact that you’re riding a motorcycle. There are plenty of missiles to go around, so don’t be hesitant. The word here is control: don’t accelerate too fast, and keep good aiming at your targets. Don’t let the vehicles get out of hand. The best path here is a clock-wise circle, starting with what is in front of you. Aiming and timing are the only challenge here.
MORGAN HALL (34.5 sec)
This level is claustrophobic, to be sure, but it also confines your movement. That’s what makes this stage difficult. Thanks to all the dynamite blocks around, all you have to do is push one into a building and put it out of your mind. However, not all buildings have blocks right next to them, like the one at the south of the map. Conserve blocks and make sure, through thorough practice, that you will have enough for all seventeen structures. You can try your hand at back-lashing into some buildings, but do so as a last resort. Also, if a building has external additions to it (small structures right next to it), make sure that your dynamite hits that, as well, or you’ll have a tiny nugget of a house that needs demolishing, and that’s a pain.
SALINE WATCH: (40.9 sec)
What you have here is a giant pool of lethal water and several poles with lights atop them. Destroy all fifteen lights without touching the water. The poles are laid out in a square, so no searching is required. The water might be high at some point, and since J-Bomb isn’t designed from precision, extra care is needed while piloting it. Be slow and never over-use your jets. If you use to much power at one time, you won’t have enough propulsion to keep yourself out of the water. Slow and steady wins the race. There is a satellite dish here. It is on a black island to the north of the poles.
SALVAGE WHARF (37.0 sec)
While success in this stage is measured in dollars, the goal is still the same. You must destroy all of these multi-colored blocks to win. You are not given much time, however, so in order to complete this properly, a certain path must be established. First, select the bulldozer as your vehicle. Nothing can assure quick demolition like the bulldozer. With that, drive down the hill and into the piles of blocks. What you must do here is head to the north, while plowing through the right side of every stack of blocks. We will get the left side on the return trip. Clear a path all the way to the north side of the dock until you reach the two lonely orange and green blocks on their own special platform. As soon as those are pummeled, turn right back around and head back. Now, plow through the left side of the stacks, until you reach where you started. You should not have left any blocks behind. (This might take practice). From here, tunnel through the rest of the stacks, but do so slowly so
that you can turn and catch every block as you do so. Some stacks may require a bit of a turn-around so you can smash a block you missed; that’s fine. Make your way to the south-east and then the north-east until you reach the second pair of green and orange blocks. Smite those and the stage is yours.
SILVER JUNCTION: (29.1 sec)
This stage is seven city blocks divided by interweaving street. You start out in Thunderfist, surrounded by nothing but wooden crates. There are 25 in total. You must destroy all of them within the generous time limit. The easiest way to get them all reliably is to start crushing them from the north-west side, and visit each of the city blocks as you move your way south-east. If you miss one or two, you will have plenty of time to go back and find them. The point of this exercise is to hone your accuracy with Thunderfist so that you don’t rolling into any large explosives. Honestly, you could walk over all these crates and flatten them. You are a giant robot, after all.
RACING MISSIONS:
BISON RIDGE (1:05.3 sec)
This level is mostly an inverse of Corvine Bluff, in that you start at the top of a slope and race downward. This time, there is a jump that you must use to your advantage. The idea is to hit that jump at full speed, and while you are in the air, make the corner around the mountain onto the grass. You will have some momentum before the grass slows you down, so try to get all the way across the grass and back to the path as best as you can.
Vehicle of choice: police car
COBALT QUARRY (35.9 sec)
From your point-of-view in the center of the quarry you remote control your vehicle in this racing mission. Since you are often so far away, it is tricky sometimes to gauge how to turn around these nasty corners. Grab a vehicle with good grip and practice these turns a few times. Before long, you should master this level.
Vehicle of choice: A-Team van (black van): Good turning. ‘Nuff said.
COOTER CREEK(25.0 sec)
Most of this race can be skipped if you choose an off-road vehicle. Don’t even follow the road. From the starting bell, head left and race between the trees, drive through the river, and head right around across the grass back to the marker. This race can be a cinch if you know how to drive well enough. Also, there is a satellite dish in here. Who knew? Drive along the road to the north. You can drive through the meaningless wall there, and inside this next area will be a dish. Tap it.
Vehicle of choice: Starsky & Hutch mobile (red car)
CORVINE BLUFF(45.6 sec)
This racing mission is very simple and should require little effort on your part. Make sure not to get caught up too much on the bumps in the road, though. Also, you can shave off a fraction of a second by passing the lap marker by following the river in between the stone block and the fence. Trust me, it will still count as a lap. There is a satellite dish here, as well. Find it by following the river all the way to the left side of the map and driving underneath the bridge.
Vehicle of choice: Police car
GLANDER’S RANCH (1:33.0)
This is more of a commercial park than a ranch, but regardless of the logic, this cityscape serves as your next racing side mission. The pavement will serve for fast driving, and you must perform four laps around this track in a given amount of time. Hug the corners tightly, even when they get a little haphazard. There is one short cut here, although it’s not much of a short cut since it’s marked off with an arrow. Take that shorter route.
Vehicle of choice: A-Team van (black van). It can drive offroad with no loss of speed and can turn like a dream.
JADE PLATEAU (1:12.1)
This stage is a single loop with two useful shortcuts. The first is obvious enough; you can’t miss it through the short trees as soon as you reach the other plateau. You can drive through that easily, but make sure to turn right as soon as you pop out as to avoid the barn. The second short cut is only possible with offensive vehicles, preferably Ballista. If you take a wrecking machine onto the Jade Plateau, as soon as you return to the first plateau after traveling across the second, you will see a big, red barn to the south when you leave the bridge. If you so desire, you can destroy this barn and everything else past it, to clear a new path that will cut invaluable time from your clock.
Vehicle of choice: Starsky & Hutch mobile (red car). I could not achieve a Platinum by clearing the second path. Instead I used the fastest car to drive all the way around in even less time than it took to level the buildings.
MARINE QUARTER (35.6 sec)
This is a tiny, tiny course, but the specialists at Blast Corps are challenging you to get the quickest time imaginable here. Pick a vehicle and go at it a few times. Just watch the fences and avoid unnecessary stops.
Vehicle of choice: Police car. It has slow acceleration, but good handling and consistent speed.
MORAINE CHASE (1:00.5 sec)
The grassy remains of an ancient castle make for some ample races against the clock. Luckily for you, this windy, crazy map has some shortcuts for you to take advantage of if you aren’t satisfied with your times. From the start, drive along the path until you pass the third set of twin stone walls. Once you pass that third set, drive off road to the vehicle’s left (the south-east for you) onto the patchy grass. If you drive alongside a rise in the dirt, you’re headed the right direction. Drive until you reach the next part of the path and drive up it. Before you get onto course, you should go offroad a second time. You are about to ascend onto a curve in the road, but instead of doing that, drive to the north-east of the tight curve and hit the grass
again. Follow this small corridor of wall until you meet the road again. Jump on it this time. Follow it to the lap marker.
Vehicle of choice: The Starsky & Hutch mobile (red car)
SKERRIES: (1:34.6 sec)
This double-plateau stage is pretty straight-forward, but there are two measures you can take to assure success. If you’re really a stickler for time, you can shave a few seconds off the clock but driving between the trees and the mountain on the farther plateau. More importantly, on the nearer plateau, there is a simple but hidden shortcut. As soon as you cross back on the second bridge, head south to the mountain before you. There is a little bit of the mountain sticking out from the rest.
Before it is a hidden path that will lead you right to the marker. You might have to look for a little while to find it, but it’s there.
Vehicle of choice: Police car: Turning is key for the shortcut, and high speed is always nice.
SLEEK STREETS: (39.5 sec)
This racing stage takes place in a seedy part of town late at night, but other than that it is pretty straight forward. No shortcuts here, so you’ll have to play clean for once. It is very important to keep control when turning around these nasty corners. If you miss, you can find yourself stalling and seconds behind your target time. This is a short race, but to get a good time requires tight turning and steady coordination.
Vehicles of choice: A-Team van (black van). This vehicle has the best control, by far, and is fast to boot.
OTHER:
BABOON CATACOMB: (44.9 sec)
Does this stage look familiar at all? No? Well, I’m sure at some point in your life you’ve played Pac-Man. Rare tips their hat here to Namco and their classic cartoon glutton by placing you in Backlash within a maze of RDU’s. Collect all two hundred and twenty-four RDU’s without being touched by any of the multi-colored bulldozers. This is no easy task, I assure you. Most of your focus should be toward evading your enemy construction vehicles as you activate dozens and dozens of lights.
From slowest to fastest, the laziest dozer is the pink, followed by the orange one, then the green one, and then the blue dozer, which is the fastest. The AI is pretty dumb, so often they will have the chance to follow you and go another direction instead. You should be able to outrun them most of the time. To assign a route in this mission would be silly; no one can predict the routes of the dozers. The best idea is the wander a good distance away from the dozers and collect all RDU’s that you see. Grab the outermost RDU’s first, then work on the innermost ones when you have the chance. Never take a path whose exit you cannot see, especially when you haven’t run into a dozer in a while. This is more of a matter of luck than chance, really.
GIBBONS GATE: (1:13.9 sec)
We return to Rare’s homage to Pac-Man in this enormous map of RDU’s. There are a total of four hundred RDU’s that you must activate by driving over. And our friends the colored bulldozers are back. Since the stage is so large, you have been
given a serious advantage: portals. On all four sides of the map, there is a portal that teleports you to the opposite end. Use these to your advantage. You can have the dozers trail you at one end, then teleport to the other side and collect some RDU’s without interruption. Sadly, there is little else that can be offered as advice here. The best technique is the wander around and grab what you can while you have the chance. Never head directly toward where a dozer is, since they can easily corner you here. Only take the outer paths when you know that the other end is clear, since you cannot turn around at all. Be careful for the blue and green dozers. Keeping your distance is the key. It is very likely that you will have covered every
corner of the map, only to find that you are missing only a handful of RDU’s. This is aggravating, I know, but the only solution is to wander around with a safe distance between you and the enemies until you find that one nook with the last of the stragglers. This is a seriously difficult task for those of us who didn’t spend our Friday nights in the arcade playing Pac-Man as a kid. To be honest, victory here is mostly a matter of luck.
ORION PLAZA: (28.0 sec)
If you thought the premise of this game is weird, then you haven’t seen Orion Plaza. Vaudeville piano music plays as you drive upon a giant billiards table floating through space. Don’t even try to make sense of it. What you have to do here is push (or rather, break) all the dynamite crates on the north side of the table. Grab several crates with the front of your dozer and push one or more into each of the cue sticks in each of the pockets of the table. And no, I don’t know what the designers at Rare were thinking when they made this stage. It seems like something out of Super Mario Galaxy.
TWILIGHT FOUNDRY: (27.9 sec)
The mission here is to collect eighty-five RDU’s across this functional industrial plant. The best idea is the stick to the walls and collect RDU’s as you find them. By doing this, you should make your way around the stage and find every one. The
best vehicle here would be the bulldozer, since it is fast and it also has enough force to blow over most buildings in your way. Don’t worry if you slip up; this is bound to require a few tries.
CONCLUSION
And there you are! Most of these side missions are very simple and straight-forward. Only a few of them will pose any serious challenge to an experience gamer. Using these techniques has allowed me to earn Platinum medals in every side mission, so I promise you that following these pieces of advice will lead you to that fabled “You Can Stop Now” distinction in the game. More than anything, though, earning excellent times on these stages requires practice and patience. This may not be something that most gamers have, being the age of instant respawns and killstreaks. That is exactly why you will find a challenge in Blast Corps. You know you can do better, so why not push yourself?
This guide was composed and written by Kevin “PiyozR” Hartigan for Raregamer.co.uk. If you find an inaccuracies or flaws in this document, or have an questions or concerns, please contact the staff here at the Archives, and we can make modifications.