It’s the three year anniversary of Mythlink, do you know what that means?! Nothing really, except that this project has been in development for three years and that is a long time.
Alright, so this month is all about the new training game that will be available with the June update: “Punch Junction”. Those with memories from the past 3 years of Mythlink may see the similarities from this game to the “Punch Dummies” from a previous version.
Let’s break down this gif and explain exactly what is going on in this game. First, you’ll notice the obvious red square on the large machine unit. These should be the main focus of your attacks while you play since defeating these grant bonus points and are your best bet to landing high scores. They don’t disappear on their own, so as long as one is active, no new ones will spawn until the current ones are dealt with! You can track how much “life” they have left by the red effect as the size directly correlates with their remaining HP.
Next, you’ll notice the flames that come shooting out from the side of the machine. Not every strength game can just be wildly punching at your targets, so this game adds a touch of finesse to the mix. Each of the machines comes equipped with 3 flame-throwing attachments on the left, right, and top of the unit. When dormant, these attachments will have a blue ping-pong effect enabled. When they become active, this effect changes from green, to yellow, and eventually to red, while also increasing in speed, indicating a pending attack. When the attack launches, flames will shoot out from the attachment and if you are within the area of attack you will take one damage. It is worthwhile to note that you only take damage if your main body is colliding with the flames. Those boxing gloves happen to have excellent flame resistance. As with “Engine Buster”, you have 3 HP before the game ends. Punch Junction is all about being quick on your feet while landing devastating attacks!
Some of you may be saying to yourself “well, this seems exploitable”, and perhaps it is in some way I haven’t thought of, but I didn’t make it easy. You may have noticed on the far left in the gif is a yellow wall. This wall marks the barrier of the zone of play for this game. If, at any point, you step outside the “arena” you’ll be penalized by taking a very large hit to your current score. This penalty will continue to apply for every second you are outside of the zone. It is also worth noting that the Punch Junction arena does not scale with your current play area. Whether you have the minimum virtual reality play area or an entire warehouse, you’ll find no advantage against these reckless machines! Still too easy for you? The gif example only shows battling against the minimum number of units (two), but players who are really looking for a challenge can fight as many as four units at once! Keep your head on a swivel and be ready for attacks from all sides!
And there you have it, a brief rundown of Punch Junction. It’s probably my favorite strength game of the set even if I haven’t quite cracked the code at how to be good at it. Practice makes perfect, but for now, it’s on to some more battle developments so I can hopefully get some networking in for the June update. Until next time!