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                              ==THE NEXT LEVEL==
                                     FAQ

                     Pong: The Next Level for PC / Windows 
                     -------------------------------------

                           FAQ Written By: whiz kid
                    Copyright 2001 Sean Handwerk (whiz kid)
                           whizkid@nintendofact.com

______________________________________________________________________________
       ______________________            
 _____/  TABLE OF CONTENTS   \_______________________________________________
/                                                                            \

 I. Introduction
   A. The Next Level!
 II. Game Info
   A. Rules
   B. The Powerups
   C. General Strategies
 III. The Levels
   A. Zone 1
   B. Zone 2*
   C. Zone 3*
   D. Zone 4*
   E. Zone 5*
   F. Zone 6*
   G. Zone 7*
 IV. Miscellaneous
   A. Update Info
   B. Copyright Notice
   C. Credits

 *Coming Soon

______________________________________________________________________________
                                         _________________
________________________________________/ I. Introduction \___________________
       ______________________            
 _____/ A. The Next Level!   \_______________________________________________
/                                                                            \

   Pong was one of the first video games ever made. It was produced by Atari. 
 This game involved bouncing a little white ball between two paddles, 
 trying to get the ball into your opponents goal.

   Pong: The Next Level is a remake of this game, and with a lot of added 
 twists and features. Multiple balls, powerups, funky worlds filled with 
 obstacles and colorful characters give this game a modern-day twist. 

______________________________________________________________________________
                                         _________________
________________________________________/  II. Game Info  \___________________
       ______________________            
 _____/    A. The Rules      \_______________________________________________
/                                                                            \

   The object of the game is to get the ball into your opponents goal. 
 (Usually the end of the playing field) Getting the ball in earns you 1 
 point. The amount of points needed vary depending on the level, but in 
 most levels you must score 10 points to claim victory.

   When you or your opponent score nine points, the word MATCHPOINT will 
 appear at the bottom ofthe screen, warning you the end is near. If both 
 players score 9, the word TIE appears. The first player to score in a TIE 
 gets the ADVANTAGE. If that player scores again, he wins. But if a player 
 has the ADVANTAGE, and the other player scores, the score goes back to a 
 TIE. So this allows for some heated and extended matches, so stay on your 
 guard at all times.

       ______________________            
 _____/   B. The Powerups    \_______________________________________________
/                                                                            \
                                       
   Several powerups make an appearance in this game, and each has its own 
 helpful (or harmful) purpose. The powerups take the form of spinning tops. 
 When you hit one of these tops with a ball, it starts to spin toward you. 
 You must then "catch" the top with your pong to earn the power. You can 
 then use the powerup by pressing ENTER. If you have more than 1, you can 
 cycle through them by pressing SHIFT.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Some of the powerups include:

 Whack: Just as the name implies, a red top will let you WHACK the ball up 
 to 3 times. If timed right, the WHACKed ball will go flying toward your 
 opponent.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Grab: This power up lets your pong (Surprise!) GRAB the ball. You must 
 press and hold ENTER to hold on to the ball. You can then maneuver the pong 
 and use the left and right arrow keys to tilt your pong. Release ENTER to 
 send the ball on its way.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Slingshot: One of the more interesting powerups. As with GRAB, you must 
 press and hold ENTER to get the ball. By simply releasing ENTER, nothing 
 spectacular will happen, but if you release the ball while moving you pong 
 and/or tilting it, the ball will do something a bit more wild. 
 Upon release, a purple trail of smoke will come from the ball and it will 
 curve as it heads toward your opponent, changing its angle of approach on 
 the way there.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Skull: On most occasions, you will want to avoid this. It will start the 
 playing field's "obstacles" running, and then some interesting things will 
 happen, such as the blowing of wind, which will throw off the ball's angle 
 making it more difficult to hit. If you are comfortable with your 
 skill/level, you might opt to take these to tilt (sometimes literally)  
 the game toward you. However, be warned. The computer is very good in 
 dealing with these and will often use them against you.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Question Mark: Somewhat like the Skull, as in it will change the 
 conditions on the playing field... Really. However, the color of 
 the Q Marks can differ. For example, in LOG JAM: CUTS BOTH WAYS, getting 
 the teal Q Mark will make the teal logs roll, while getting the purple one
 will make the purple logs go.

       _______________________            
 _____/ C. General Strategies \______________________________________________
/                                                                            \

 -Keep your eye on the ball. It might sound like something out of baseball, 
  but be sure to do this, especially when any "obstacles" or powerups are in 
  play.

 -Position your pong according to where the ball WILL be, not where it IS. 
  Failing to do this will make your life harder. Also be on the lookout for 
  obstacles affecting the ball's movement.

 -Use powerups to your advantage. For example, if the comp is off balance 
  during a heated match, WHACKing the ball might be enough to make the comp
  miss the ball.

 -The ball is your FIRST priority. Don't risk missing the ball just to get 
  (or avoid) a certain powerup. Powerups are nice, but keeping the ball in 
  play is far more important.

 -Everytime the ball is hit, if not interfered with, will speed up. Don't be 
  caught off guard. Also, when the ball reaches a certain speed, it will 
  change color each time it is hit to reflect the pong that JUST hit it. This 
  can help you know which way the ball is headed.

 -When multiple balls are in play, there are two factors to consider in 
  deciding which ball to go for: The LOCATION of the balls and their SPEED. 
  Generally, you want to go for the ball that is closer to you. However, if a 
  ball farther behind is approaching at twice the speed, you'll want to go for 
  that first. Generally, this is a matter of eye judgment, and sometimes 
  you'll have to let a ball go off the edge or risk losing them ALL.


______________________________________________________________________________
                                         _________________
________________________________________/ III. The Levels \___________________

 -In this game, each zone has 4 levels, and each level has 3 variations. By 
  completing the first variation of a level, you earn 3 gold bars. Gold bars 
  are used to enter the subsequent levels. Completing the second variation 
  earns you two gold bars, and completing the third (and hardest) variation 
  of the level gets you 1 gold bar. (In the rest of this FAQ, Gold Bar will 
  be abbreviated GB)

       ______________________            
 _____/      A. Zone 1       \_______________________________________________
/                                                                            \

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Level 1: PENGUIN PONG
  GB needed: 0 
  Powerups: Seal (SEAL SAVER)
            Bear (POLAR POWER)
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

   This is the first level. It's set on an iceberg with two penguins 
 marching around on it. When you hit a penguin, it will "lay" another ball 
 that goes into play.

 SEAL SAVER: In this variation, obtaining a powerup will earn you 1 "seal 
 saver". When you press ENTER to activate this power, a seal will pop up 
 behind your Pong and will block balls for a limited amount of time. This 
 power is best used when multiple balls are in play.

 POLAR POWER: The powerups change in this level. Activating one makes a 
 polar bear tip up your side of the field, causing any balls landing on 
 your opponents side to stay there, effectively cutting the field in half.
 Also best used when multiple balls are in play.

 SNOWSTORM: This can be hard. Pretty often, wind will start blowing and 
 change the speed and angle of the balls. A good thing to do would be to 
 watch the direction the snowflakes are blowing. Then you know which way 
 the balls are likely to roll.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Level 2: SOCCER STARS  
  GB needed: 3
  Powerups: None
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

   In this level, you control two pongs. Set on a soccer field, one pong 
 is your "goalie" and the other is your "forward".

 PLAIN PITCH: This is pretty straightforward. Knock the ball into your 
 opponent's goal. If a ball rolls into your goal, your pong will "grab" the 
 ball and let you aim it. Use the left/right arrow keys to tilt your pong, 
 and combine this with movement. The comp is pretty tough to get by.

 MOLE HILLS: This time around, moles will appear and dig holes in the field. 
 These holes will distort the ball's angle and direction, so watch carefully.

 MOLE HOLES: Moles will once again appear on the field, except this time the 
 ball can fall in one of these holes. When it falls in, it will come out of 
 another one of the holes on the field. This can actually be used to your 
 advantage, especially if you have trouble getting past the comp after it 
 just scored. Line up your pong so the ball will roll into one of the holes 
 (if any) in front of the comps pong. It will probably come out somewhere 
 near the middle of the field, and if your lucky, near your opponent's goal.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Level 3: LOG JAM
  GB needed: 6
  Powerups: WHACK
            Question Mark (ONE WAY)
            Teal Question Mark (CUTS BOTH WAYS, SAW POINT)
            Purple Question Mark (CUTS BOTH WAYS, SAW POINT)
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

   In this level, there are logs in the middle of the playing field that will 
 roll different directions when the appropriate power-up is collected. 
 Collect two of the same Q Mark quickly, and the logs will roll at double 
 speed. The trick here is to keep the comp playing defensively, or you'll be 
 in trouble.

 ONE WAY: Obtaining the question mark here will cause the logs to roll in the 
 comps direction, making the ball go faster. *BEWARE* The comp get still get 
 the ball back to your side using the WHACK powerup. However, the comp will 
 usually miss a few balls during this period.

 CUTS BOTH WAYS: In this one, the logs in the center are split into two 
 groups: teal and purple. Collecting the teal Q Mark will make the teal logs 
 spin, and collecting the purple Q Mark will make the purple logs spin. If 
 logs are spinning your way, try to keep the ball on the half of the field 
 that the logs aren't spinning on.

 SAW POINT: Same as CUTS BOTH WAYS, but a saw blade spins across the center 
 of the field. Hitting this will either bounce the ball... or cut (!) it in 
 half, making two balls. Use that WHACK powerup or risk losing.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Level 4: CLOWN AROUND
 GB needed: 9
 Powerups: None
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

   This level is gonna drive you batty... You start on a tilting board, with 
 different colored crates off to the sides, and your pong is at the front.
 You must bounce the colored balls into the appropriate colored crates to 
 win. It's harder than it sounds... Trust me.

 TWO TONE: Two colored crates. Four yellow, four red. Watch for the balls 
 to roll down. To get aball in one of the bottom crates, wait until it 
 reaches the third (from the top) arrow and do a full tilt in the direction 
 you want it to go. To get a ball in one of the third crates, wait until 
 the ball reaches the second arrow and full tilt. To get a ball in a second
 crate, as soon as the ball lands, fully tilt the field. To get a ball into 
 one of the top crates, keep the field straight and bounce the ball off 
 your pong. As it heads back up, tilt the field to get it in one of the 
 crates.

 COLOR MATCH: This time, you get four different colors... yeehaw. You also 
 get multiple balls. The first ball down should be a red. Land it in the 
 bottom left crate. A blue ball comes intoaction. Wait until it gets to the
 second arrow and tilt the field. As soon as you do this, the green ball 
 comes, but if you've done it right, BOTH balls should roll into their 
 crates. The only other problem spot you might run in to is a green ball 
 followed by a red. In this case tilt the field to get the green one in, 
 then IMMEDIATELY tilt in in the opposite direction to get the red ball 
 rolling away from the edge. Then IMMEDIATELY tilt it back to land it in 
 the red crate at the bottom of the field...phew

 MULTICOLOR: Prepare for nightmares. You get two yellow colored balls at 
 the same time almost immediately, so land one in the top crate and tilt 
 HARD to keep the other yellow one in play. You're going to have to do 
 some crazy tilting in this level (good thing this isn't a pinball machine), 
 and it may take several tries.


______________________________________________________________________________
                                         ___________________
________________________________________/ IV. Miscellaneous \_________________
       ______________________            
 _____/   A. Update Info     \_______________________________________________
/                                                                            \

 v0.1 (09/21/01) - First writing of this FAQ. Expect and update of further 
                   zones very soon.


       ______________________            
 _____/ B. Copyright Notice  \_______________________________________________
/                                                                            \

  This document Copyright 2001 Sean Handwerk. All rights reserved. This
 document may not be copied, in whole or in part, and printed in a magazine,
 forum, book, or anywhere else without written consent of the author.

  If you would like to use this FAQ on your website, please contact me at
 whizkid@nintenodfact.com. It may not be altered, edited, placed inside a 
 frame, or anything else that would alter its content / appearance.

  If you use this FAQ as a basis for your own work, you do not need
 permission, as long as the author is given credit.


       ______________________            
 _____/     C. Credits       \_______________________________________________
/                                                                            \

 CJayC - For posting this FAQ
 You - For reading it

______________________________________________________________________________
Thus endeth this FAQ. You can stop reading now.            2001 Sean Handwerk
