Skywire 2

Skywire 2 is the sequel to the game Skywire, and was released on June 2nd, 2008. It is the second game in the Skywire series. Like the original Skywire, the player controls a cable car and tries to safely carry three passengers to the station, avoiding robotic animals such as ostriches, parrots, rhinos, and camels.

Player 1
up Up arrow key - Accelerate/Move forward

down Down arrow key - Brake/Move backwards

Player 2
W  W key - Acclerate/Move forward

S  S key - Brake/Move backwards

Levels
The objective of each level of Skywire is to get to the station at the end of each level while keeping at least one passenger in the cable car. More points are awarded for less time taken and more passengers in the car by the end of the level.

Level 01
The cable car travels in three large loops to the station. Ostrich heads rotate around the centres of the loops, pink and red. One loop has two ostriches, the next has one, and the third has four. At the end is a straight line to the station, which is also patrolled by two rotating ostriches.

Level 02
Here, the cable car goes in straight lines, horizontally and diagonally. Camels are placed along the track, whose humps bounce up and down. Some have two humps, and others have three. Also, perched on the track are parrots which only fly out of the way for about a second if the cable car comes close.

Level 03
In level three, the cable car uses winding turns to get to the end. Gradually its curves lead down to the station. Birds are above the cable car at certain points, which drop bombs. Rhinoceroses are standing on patches of grass. When the cable car comes near them, rhinoceroses charge at the player. The danger in this level is that two of the birds drop bombs which will hit the cable car if the player just speeds.

Level 04
In this level, the cable car goes up and down diagonally with very long parts. Pandas with parachutes descend from the sky. After three and a half down-and-up sequences, the cable car reaches the station.

Level 05
This level's wire curves in different directions to the end. Along the way, the player must dodge kangaroos whose joeys jump out of their pouches. They rarely hit, but sometimes on a downward slope the joeys happen to hit the cable car.

Level 06
In level six, the cable car goes mostly in straight lines, slowly downward near the sea and back to the middle, to meet the station. On the wire, dangers are cobras. Cobras come out of the pots when the cable car comes close, and if the player tries to just accelerate through the car will be hit by the cobras. At the bottom is an octopus that jumps out of the water.

There is a shortcut in this level - at one point, there is a line where part of the track falls off after a while of staying on it. If the player lets the cable car stay there, when the track falls the skywire will land on a piece of track closer to the station.

Level 07
Level seven's wire track turns left and right to reach the station, at the top-right. Along the way are gophers that go in and out of reach of the cable car. Parrots are also on the track, and bomb-dropping birds are also here. Here, parts of the track do not connect, so the player has to accelerate enough to get to the next part.

Level 08
Here in level 8, the cable car loops in five circles or parts of circles. In the circles are peacocks whose tails spin around until a certain time, when they fan out their tails that extend to half of the circle. Also near the track are bombing birds.

Level 09
In the ninth level, first the track winds up and down, which makes the player lose control of their speed. Unfortunately, parrots stand at the top of the curves, so the player must control his or her speed.

Next, the trail goes up and down with bigger curves, and now there are giraffes whose heads and necks pop out of boxes. Finally, the player must go underwater and go through circular chains of snakes, which have two openings. After going underwater, coming up for air, and coming down again, finally the cable car comes up and reaches the station.

Level 10: Boss
Level number ten is shown as a skull on the level menu, because it contains a boss. The track winds around a large sea turtle, and goes underwater.

The track is designed so that part of the time it is safe, but other times it is unsafe. After going around the turtle, the track finishes at the station, which is right above the beginning point.

Level 11
Level eleven is a level of many different features. First is a loop with a jumping frog in the middle, and the loop's track ends midair at the end so the cable car jumps to the next piece of track.

Immediately after the jump is a pop-out giraffe, and loop with a two rotating ostrich heads in the centre. Next is a slope with two pop-out giraffes and after that is a jump to another track, which is easy to reach. Finally the track winds over another jumping frog and reaches the station.

Level 12
The cable car travels around islands with crabs on them, which move to the sides of the islands and snap their pincers. There are in total six crabs. In this level, the track goes up and down in small amounts that cause the cable car to accelerate. Therefore, holding down the accelerate button without regard to the crabs will cause a quick death.

Level 13
Level thirteen, a difficult level, features a track that goes in two circles and then the station. First is a row of three pop-out giraffes. Next are two rotating ostrich heads. At the bottom is a jumping frog. Throughout the level is a flying elephant that follows the player.

Level 14
The cable car here progresses so that it touches several rotating geese heads.

Level 15
Here, the cable first breaks off near the station, causing the player to jump. Above is a rotating goose head and then another jump with two rotating ostrich heads. Next the track becomes fragile so they fall off under the pull of a cable car for more than a second.

It loops around a goose head. The track stays fragile until it becomes stable, over two gophers. Finally, the track becomes fragile again. It loops over a kangaroo and joey and leads to the station.

Level 16
First, the skywire loops over two jumping frogs. Then it goes underwater, over an orca whale, another frog, and a swimming piranha. Back over the water, the track goes over the two frogs again twice. It goes back into the water, again over the previous frog and orca whale to the left.

It goes out of the water to a space in the track that leads to another part of the track, which is over the two frogs. The track curves around another jumping frog and goes underwater again. It goes through the swimming range of two piranhas underwater. At the end, the track goes over an orca whale and to the station.

Level 17
Level seventeen's cable goes in many, many loops, of which all of the track is fragile until the end. At the end of the track, the track becomes sturdy and straight with a jump. It goes over an orca. Among the track are many, many bomb-dropping birds, and at one point, gophers. In this level, many shortcuts can be taken to quickly get to the end of the track, which is below the rest of the track.

Level 18
This level has several rotating snake chains and hippopotamus heads. It is rather short. All of the rotating snake chains are the same, with two openings, but there are both big and small hippopotamus heads.

Level 19
First, the cable is straight and there is a gorilla hanging on the track. Below the track is a parrot, which comes up if approached slowly. The gorilla moves its arms off the track one by one, with a large range. There is another gorilla, with a robotic arm and face.

The cable car goes into the field of a rotating geese head and then loops around a small island, with the parrot from the beginning on top of the loop. The cable car then goes back into the field of the same rotating goose head. Finally, there is another gorilla on the track, two rotating geese heads, and the skywire reaches the station.

Level 20: Boss
In this level there is a boss. It is a large vulture that follows the skywire car as it progresses in the level, starting at the top. First there is a nest and a row of eggs, in which only two have baby vultures that pop out. Next the track goes down and into the hit field of two small flying vultures which go back and forth and a baby vulture that pops out of a half-open egg shell.

Next is another baby vulture popping out of a shell and another small flying vulture. There is another nest of eggs, where 3 vultures pop out. There is another flying vulture and two egg vultures. On an island next to the track there is a walking small vulture with an egg on its head. There are two more egg vultures and two more flying vultures. At last, the track goes down and over a nest of eggs, where 2 more vultures pop out. After the nest, the cable car reaches the station.

Level 21
In the final ten levels, the background and scenery change to a dark purple and black place with streetlights on some islands, with volcanoes and clouds in the background.

Quickly after the level starts, the first part of the cable is fragile and goes over a camel with three humps. The cable car progresses down to the left, through a chain of bees, and around a rotating geese head. The track goes back to the bees, which go in a line positioned just below the track, so that they will hit the cable car. There are spaces between them, but they go slowly.

The slow speed of the bees creates problems as there is a camel with two humps under the track. The track becomes fragile, so the car falls to the next part of the track, which goes over the camel. Finally, the track goes up through the bees to the right, and loops upwards. At the top of the loop there is a swinging chain of monkeys. At the end of the loop there is a gopher and then the cable car goes to the station.

Level 22
A short but hard level, this level mostly takes place underwater. First the track goes down underwater vertically, in the field of three different piranhas. Next the track goes diagonally upwards to the right, in the fields of the three same piranhas. Near the surface and below the track is a puffer fish which becomes big and then small, every second.

It is a danger at the part of the cable which is over the puffer fish. The track goes back down, in the field of just one piranha. Then the track goes up and down in hills, in the field of a piranha. Next is another piranha and another puffer fish, and then the track goes up above water.

The cable then goes underwater again and in the field of a piranha swimming just below the track, like the bees in level 21. Finally, the cable car goes up and in the field of another piranha, above water, and to the station.

Level 23
First, the track goes down to the right. There are 3 bomb-dropping birds and then a break in the skywire. The track then goes up through 2 goose heads. There is then another goose head, then a break and a curve around a four-goose head. At the top of the curve is a parrot.

Going down, there is a goose head from before and another hill with another parrot. There are two former goose heads and a break in the track. Near the end is a hill with a break in the middle. Finally is the last parrot, and the station.

Level 24
At the beginning are two hopping frogs, and then the track goes down into the field of two goose heads. Underwater, there is a piranha swimming back and forth, an orca under part of the track, and a crab on an island next to the track, The track goes out of water into the field of a goose head, and then to the right and back underwater.

There are two piranhas and at the bottom there is a curve with a frog under the bottom. The cable goes back up, next to the same crab and a same piranha, and out of water. It crosses through the same goose head. Finally, there are two more goose heads. At the end of the track are two frogs and another goose head, then the station.

Level 25
The track goes straight to the right. Hanging onto the track is a gorilla, different from the other gorillas in that each time it goes off and back on, it moves slightly to the right.

The track curves down through a swinging chain of monkeys. Next there are two more regular gorillas, and another curve down with swinging monkeys. Finally, there is another straight line with another moving gorilla, and then the station.

Level 26
The majority of this level is underwater. A duck travels on the surface of the water, which follows the cable car, and it goes straight down into the water whenever the car passes under it. First, the track goes downwards into the water and back up, and the only hazard is the duck. Next, the track loops underwater, where a piranha passes through two parts of the track.

Then it loops above the water, and two pop-out giraffes both cross with the loop. The cable goes back underwater, deep to the near bottom of the water, where the only hazards are one piranha and the duck. Since the duck is not much of a hazard if the player keeps the cable car moving. Finally, the track goes back above water, crosses between two more giraffe heads, and leads to the station.

Level 27
Throughout this level, a chomping alligator head follows the cable car on the track. When the head's mouth opens, the car can quickly move behind the alligator head (of course, at the cost of one passenger). The track first goes down and slopes back up diagonally, with three hopping frogs. Then, it goes in curves through rotating snakes.

It goes down and two a curved hill, where three frogs surround it (one at the centre of the hill). The track goes up and left across two gophers. Note that the alligator's jaws can open wide enough on the track below (or above) to hurt the car. The cable goes up and to the right through another pair of rotating snakes and over a gopher, and slopes down through a rotating snake head and two more gophers to the exit.

If the car moves behind the alligator head, the level cannot be completed, since the alligator head stops at the station.

Level 28
In this level, several bats travel on the track like the alligator head in level twenty-seven, except that they are smaller and faster. A new bat appears about every ten seconds at the beginning of the track; the level starts with two. The track wraps around twice with different locations and curves.

There are several small hills and valleys placed to avoid bats, which overlap more than one track line. This level requires careful planning, as the bats' size makes it so that on every track they are on, the part of the track directly below is also 'covered' by the bat until it reaches a hill in the track or the lower track reaches a valley.

Level 29
The track starts out to the right, going under three bomb-dropping birds. In this level, whales move back and forth on the water, shooting up large spouts of water which does knock out passengers.

The track loops up and down several times, and the player has to avoid both more birds at the horizontal parts of the track and looping flies (from Pest Control at the top of each loop. The flies do not cross the crests of the loops. The track finally ends after several vertical and horizontal loops and valleys.

Level 30: Boss
The final level of Skywire 2 is another boss avoidance: the giant cat. The cat opens and closes its mouth, and after each time it stays open for about second and one teeth retreats, making space for the cable car to go through. The track goes back and forth shaped in long lines that all cross the cat's giant mouth.

First are two straight lines, and after the third straight line the track loops to go to the next line. The line then goes outside of the cat's mouth, requiring the player to go quickly to the next tooth opening, or giving the player a short break.

The next line is a straight line, but the next line goes up in down in short heights like in level twelve with the crabs, except all horizontally. The last line goes up and down in bigger heights, making the cable car harder to keep still to keep it safe from the other teeth of the gigantic cat. After that line is the final station, finishing the game of Skywire 2.

April 24, 2008
A video trailer of Skywire 2 - showing clips from the game - was released on April of 2008.

Enemies
"Main article: Enemies (Skywire)"

Bosses
Bosses appear in level 10, 20 and 30 of Skywire. Unlike other Nitrome games, however, the player is only required to pass by the boss, not defeat it.


 * Sea turtle - The cable car must navigate under and over water, avoiding the turtle's moving flippers.


 * Vultures- The mother vulture follows the cable car through the level, while her children (the smaller vultures) try to stop the player from completing the level.


 * Cat- A giant black Panther that will follow the cable car through the level. As the player tries to complete the level, the cable car has to go through its mouth as there is always a gap between his teeth.

Scoring
A player's score is the number of time units (start with 999) multiplied by the number of passengers still on the cable car. This is totaled up every level, but when the player loses three passengers, the score is reset to zero.

The high score list shows the top 100 scores.


 * Jay is Games
 * Best of Casual Gameplay 2008
 * Best Action or Arcade (Browser games) game of 2008 - Audience Award
 * Won - 18.1% of votes
 * Jay is Games
 * Best of Casual Gameplay 2008
 * Best Action or Arcade (Browser games) game of 2008
 * Nominated
 * Flash Gaming Summit
 * The Mochis
 * Best Family Game
 * Won
 * }
 * Won
 * }

Trivia

 * The gopher enemy is also an enemy in Off the Rails.
 * Two of the many passengers are the green and blue Trolls from Square Meal.
 * There are two passengers that look similar to Vikings from the later game Ice Breaker.
 * The pufferfish is also an enemy from Aquanaut.