User:SnapPenCubeCap/newdirk

Dirk Valentine and the Fortress of Steam is a Flash-based game designed by Nitrome Limited and released on March 27, 2008. It is designed much like many other Nitrome games, and has 24 levels total. At the beginning of the game, a prologue appears, telling the player what the reasoning is behind the late 19th century-styled machines. It reads: ''The year is 1897. For five long years Europe has been ravaged by Baron Battenberg's steam-powered war machines. Led by Great Britain, a handful of defiant countries remain free of the Baron's tyrannical rule. But time is running out for them as his forces grow stronger every day. As dawn breaks high above the Atlantic a tiny airship arrives at its secret destination. Onboard, Britain's greatest explorer, spy, and master of esoteric fighting arts readies to strike at the heart of the Baron's empire!''

Controls
The player is Dirk, the hero of late 19th century England, who is armed with a breakthrough device — the chain cannon, which can be fired at any moment with the click of the mouse. The cannon can create bridges to get across ditches and can destroy enemies. Bridges will only be made if you fire them from a special surface which is less lighter than the other surface, and attatches to the same kind of surface. The arrow keys move Dirk in the corresponding direction. The down arrow key is used to drop through chains. The Baron's henchmen are scattered along the steam fortress. The airships and clouds in the background give the feeling that the player are high up in the sky. In March 2008, Dirk Valentine was #5 on the Top 5 Games on Nitrome, although has now sunk off the charts.

Level Descriptions

 * 1: ROOF AREA 1: As you arrive on the roof of the fortress of steam you leave your small airship behind, wondering what on earth this machine can do. You get a radio flash. "Hello Dirk, Monty here! Jolly good to be working with you again. Looks like our nifty plan to sneak onto the fortress has worked!" You move on and get some other friendly advice. If you climb up to the higher platform, Monty tells you what to do: shoot the guards. After a lot of screaming, you get another flash. Monty shows you a simple way to free spies. The freed spies give a shout of happiness. You take the elevator to roof area 2.
 * 2: ROOF AREA 2: "Try and collect as many medals as you can. If you can't get to them use the chain cannon." The chain cannon is the wacky the machanism that you are holding. 4 medals, 2 guards. If you shoot at black armoured walls, your shot ricochets off of the surface. Your chain will stick if you shoot at a green non-armoured surface. "It still hurts if it doesn't make a chain!" What the heck was that supposed to mean? We'll find out using the guards in roof area 3. "Dirk, hope you're getting the hang of it. Our spies have discovered the fortress is a maze of weapon factories. Use the cannon to get around it."
 * 3: ROOF AREA 3: "Dirk, you are entering the fortress's outer defenses." 1 metal, 1 guard. What strange cannons! 3 guards, 2 metals. A maze of guards, 2 prisoners. A giant zigzag. Too easy! "Have you tried using the chain to stop a missile? It's pretty useful!" Dodge. Shoot. Leave.
 * 4: ROOF AREA 4: "Oh, no. Moving parts. My what a cliché! Does the Baron seriously think these will be a challenge? But be careful Dirk, they can crush you against walls." "Keep an eye out for white hotspots. Hit them with the chain to make the platform stop moving." Okay. What an awkward position! What a wild ride! What a moron Baron Battenburg is for installing convenient elevators!
 * 5: AIR VENTS 1: "Ahh, the strange teleporters reported by our spies. Dirk, I have a hunch. Fire the chain and see what happens." The chain teleported! Useful. "Experiment as much as you can." ZAP! OW! ZAP! OOF! Music to my ears. Zap! Zap! This is fun! Oh, look! Hidden captives! Bye!
 * 6: AIR VENTS 2: "Watch out, Dirk, looks like the Baron's flying bomb makers are active here. They aren't armoured so just smash the ballistic blighters out of the sky!" Ping! Wham! Make a chain. Hop off. Wait until you see the black of his hat! Knock him loose! Hop to the unarmoured green. You now have 2 choices: shoot up, go up, OR, shoot right, move right and up. Interesting. A teleporter. 2, actually. Wait until the fly-bomber is under the unreachable one. SMASH! Enjoy. Climb, run, avoid, shoot. Up, smash bomber. You now enter a mass danger zone. Escape!
 * 7: INNER ENTRANCE: Dirk, the leaked plans say you are directly above an entrance into the fortress. You're doing great but i fear the Baron ust know you're on board by now. Hmm, try shooting that teleporter with the glowing arrow. I suspect it'll trigger that winch." Wow, a chain magnifier! Ow! Yoww! This could be useful. Zckitchh! Ow! Ow! Let's smoosh this guard. Shoot the newly opened teleport. Going down. "I've got a feeling these winch platforms are the key to getting around the fortress. Best to try and stay with them when they move." Ow! Ow! Bang! Boom! Wheeee! Ow! Zap! What? Hyupp! Hyupp! Bang! Boom! Zap! Whee! Zap! Whee! Tzchh...
 * 8: GAS FACTORY 1: "Time for a plan, eh? Dirk, these are dark times. The Baron has committed the foulest of deeds; stolen Queen Victoria! The baron knows we have discovered his secret fortress and thinks we won't attack with her inside. But if you can get in, free her and escape, the royal navy is ready to destroy the fortress! The Baron will not give up without a fight. The fortress is the lynchpin. He builds his monsturous machines and houses his repellent army of mutant men... it is the black heart of his evil empire! Phew, I got a little bit over excited there. Green poison gas? Avoid it. You run throgh, avoiding gas spurts. The trick is not to chain, because it will break. Drop down and ready your cannon to shoot. Move on to kill the third, then free two captives. Whitehot. Ow! Wait. Gas off. Hop, hop, hop, zap. Out, or squash. Your choice. That was a close one! Yowww! Herrp! Avoid as well as jump. Oww! "Look out for these refreshing Earl Grey tea pick me ups.
 * 9: TRAIN STORAGE: "Oh, the plans say there's big armoured beasties in this area. Luckily they have weak hotspots at the back. Try using your fine deflection sklls! Not unlike a good game of cricket, eh?" Simple. Weird. Dangerous! Cool, it blocks bullets! Ooh, don't mind if I do! Another block! Bang! Boom! Bang! Boom! Freed spies! Freed Dirk!
 * 10: BATLE AREA 1: "Something's up, dirk," said Monty, "I think the Baron's onto you... We are getting strange signals near you. Be careful." "Ha ha hah!" cried Baron Battenburg, "Does the british government honestly think that Dirk Valentine can defeat me? Face the wrath of my steam powered Batter-berger!" Dirk found a safe place to stand where Battenburg could not poison gas him, but he could hit Battenburg on the hotspots. The Baron began malfunctioning, and left, making an elevator exit available for Dirk.
 * 11: INNER ENGINE ROOM:

Trivia

 * A Wilhelm Scream is heard when you kill a guard sometimes
 * Certain parts of the theme resemble the "Sesame Street Theme"
 * Many may say the games' use of a mouse and keyboard at the same time provided some inspiration for Final Ninja, another Nitrome game released a few months after Dirk Valentine, but this really came from Frost Bite, a 2006 Nitrome game.

Credits

 * Artwork - Simon Hunter
 * Programming - Aaron Steed
 * Music and Sound Effects - Lee Nicklen

Game by Nitrome Limited

References/External Links

 * Dirk Valentine
 * Nitrome Limited

Category:Flash games