I can guarantee you that it's doable on this version as well, even if the plane seems to fly slower... I'll try to record it to show you.

Well basicly, even if the bolt touches you.. you can still dodge all the rest / pick everybody up / collect all stars and get your 4 medals.

If you want the achievement Against the odds : just chose the easiest difficulty (towers have less health), hover in circles to avoid the bolt (i play with the gamepad so it's probably easier) and shoot all the towers.. DONE!

level 5 key point : magnet skill
and carefully... ;)

Just don't stop moving. Seperate run for rescues

It's doable in Insane mode on the PC version, but movement on mobile is definitely way, way better and easier to get the achievement on (I've been using an Android VM to play). The plane in the PC version is very laggy, but on mobile it's almost instant so you can dart around more to avoid bullets/laser balls.

Basically you need to destroy the first 3 laser ball towers as fast as you can so that you're already shooting at the first laser tower on the left as it comes on screen. One of these 3 laser towers will give you a laser power up and then you can take out the MG tower on the right with this power up and at least 2 of the next laser ball towers on the right. Once you've done that the rest of the level is pretty straight forward because you'll have way more space to dodge the EMP.

The only thing you have to be really aware of on the PC version is that it's difficult to outrun the EMP missile in a straight line (much easier on mobile), so you'll need to do way more circle dodges.

You'll get enough laser powerups from destroying towers to get through the harder tower clusters at the end of the stage (try to keep 3 laser power ups if you can).

Other than this, stage 5 is a great level to farm stars on for upgrades because you don't need much of an upgraded plane to take full advantage of it. Make sure you sink all of your stars into the magnet upgrade to begin with until it's max'd out, othewise you'll be missing stars and they'll clutter your screen, making it harder to dodge.

Thanks for the extensive guidance and tips Decapitator!
I will try to practice the way you describe it.

EDIT: aaaaand managed to destroy all towers on easiest level! Amazing what a difference some pointers make. Thanks again all who helped here :)

The EMP makes me crazy and while I guess you could say it turns the gameplay upside down for a level (change of pace and all that), I'm not really a fan of the choice of being chased by an EMP sprite for the duration of a map, or otherwise just letting it hit me and not being able to shoot for an entire level. Kind of defeats the purpose of a "vertical arcade shooter" and essentially turns the game into a "runner" for a level. :)

imho, maybe more fun would be if you had the option to try to "lead" the EMP sprite so it crashed into an electrical tower or something (and then the sub could maybe fire another one a little later). I don't expect them to make any changes in the game, so it's just a dreamy hypothetical suggestion. :)

Originally posted by BlackjackGT:

The EMP makes me crazy and while I guess you could say it turns the gameplay upside down for a level (change of pace and all that), I'm not really a fan of the choice of being chased by an EMP sprite for the duration of a map, or otherwise just letting it hit me and not being able to shoot for an entire level. Kind of defeats the purpose of a "vertical arcade shooter" and essentially turns the game into a "runner" for a level. :)

imho, maybe more fun would be if you had the option to try to "lead" the EMP sprite so it crashed into an electrical tower or something (and then the sub could maybe fire another one a little later). I don't expect them to make any changes in the game, so it's just a dreamy hypothetical suggestion. :)

Once you've done it 20 times you'll get the hang of it :) It's a great level for farming stars and upgrading your entire plane :)

So frustrating. Does this thing really chase you for the entire level? And once it hit me, I never got my weapons back. Total BS. I could understand losing weapons for a period of time. Seems like you should be able to trick the EMP into exploding on enemies.

Originally posted by Izorion:

So frustrating. Does this thing really chase you for the entire level? And once it hit me, I never got my weapons back. Total BS. I could understand losing weapons for a period of time. Seems like you should be able to trick the EMP into exploding on enemies.

That's the idea. The "regular" way of doing it is to just get hit and focus on collecting the stars. There is an achievement that you get for destroying all the towers i think. I don't think its "total bs." The rest of the game is a bunch of shooting and stuff so it was cool to have a level that the gameplay is turned on its head.

I find if pretty stupid because it is not as per the story and mechanics of the game and also doesn't make any sense. If the enemy had a weapon that could leave me crippled and then I die, why wouldn't TC they uh se it on every level when they are so dedicated t ok making bigger badder weapons. Wouldn't that be a part of their force? This is like starting a race with my tyres flat. I don't think it is a good idea

Originally posted by BlackjackGT:

The EMP makes me crazy and while I guess you could say it turns the gameplay upside down for a level (change of pace and all that), I'm not really a fan of the choice of being chased by an EMP sprite for the duration of a map, or otherwise just letting it hit me and not being able to shoot for an entire level. Kind of defeats the purpose of a "vertical arcade shooter" and essentially turns the game into a "runner" for a level. :)

imho, maybe more fun would be if you had the option to try to "lead" the EMP sprite so it crashed into an electrical tower or something (and then the sub could maybe fire another one a little later). I don't expect them to make any changes in the game, so it's just a dreamy hypothetical suggestion. :)

Agree with your post, the game was fun until this level... I'd rather play darius burst a good bullet hail.

My son and are were playing the game and basically hit a hard wall when we hit this level. Sure sucks the life out of the game. We'll have to give it another try now that we read this.

I destroyed all enemy turrets without touching EMP, I'm feel good

I just bought the game and played it for about an hour and really like it. However, I hate how you have to do the same levels over and over again and now reading this... refund. Incredibly stupid design decision.