Blast Corps

1. Pick Backlash for the first mission. The dump truck is the most intuitive vehicle—reverse into buildings to slide the cargo bed and demolish them. Get comfortable with the reverse-and-drift mechanic before touching the robot or bulldozer.

2. Clear the carrier path first, then explore. The nuclear carrier moves on rails; anything in its way ends the mission. Demolish buildings blocking the route, then hunt for survivors, RDUs (radiation dispersal units), and time-trial medals.

3. Learn the brake-turn. Tap brake while turning to pivot vehicles sharply. Essential for the Ramdozer’s tight corners and the Backlash’s drift-angle setup. The J-Bomb (giant robot) ignores this—it somersaults instead.

4. Watch the carrier’s countdown timer. Some missions give you 3+ minutes of buffer; others demand sub-60-second clears. If the timer’s tight, ignore collectibles on the first pass.

5. Destroy everything for platinum medals. 100% destruction + all scientists rescued + all RDUs collected = platinum ranking. Bronze/silver/gold only require clearing the path.

6. Use the Ballista (dump truck with a ramp) to launch cars into buildings. Push vehicles onto the ramp, reverse to tilt it, and send cars airborne. Sounds gimmicky; it’s the only way to clear certain layouts.

7. Expect vehicle-switching mid-mission. Later stages force you to swap between the J-Bomb, Thunderfist (punch mech), and Cyclone Suit (bulldozer). The game teaches through necessity, not tutorials.

• Always clear the path first, medals second. The carrier truck follows a fixed route at constant speed — if it hits a building, mission over. Scout ahead, demolish obstacles in its direct line, then loop back for bonus buildings and time trials once the carrier is safe.

• Backlash’s reverse-whip is the core move. Tap reverse to swing the dump bed backward; the momentum snap demolishes buildings far more efficiently than ramming. Master the rhythm of positioning, reversing, swinging — most Backlash levels expect this, not frontal impacts.

• Ramdozer slides on inertia. Release the gas before impact and let momentum carry you into buildings; active acceleration often bounces you off or misaligns the hit. Treat it like a curling stone, not a battering ram.

• J-Bomb requires full-speed launches. The rocket booster only triggers above a threshold velocity — hitting ramps at half-speed sends you into a low arc that undershoots targets. Floor it on approach, even if it means a wider turning radius.

• Destroy all buildings for the gold medal, not just the path. Platinum medals (unlocked post-game) require gold on every stage first. Every structure counts, including the small sheds and fences you’d normally ignore.

• Ballista missiles lock to the camera angle. Rotate the view before firing to aim at buildings outside your forward cone. The projectile travels where the camera points, not where the vehicle faces.

• Scientist and civilian RVs unlock bonus stages. Ferrying survivors to the evac zone isn’t mandatory for mission success, but each rescue adds a new challenge level to the roster — completionists need every transport.

• Train levels demand pre-planning the switch sequence. You can’t outrun the locomotive once it starts rolling. Walk the track backward from the carrier’s route, flip switches in reverse order, then sprint to safety before the timer runs out.

Simian Acres — J-Bomb Puzzle

The second J-Bomb level demands precise robot positioning to knock buildings into the carrier path. Players routinely miss that the J-Bomb can push itself by firing downward while airborne — jump, rotate 180°, fire at the ground mid-flight to rocket horizontally across gaps. The critical building on the far island requires this self-propulsion trick; walking the perimeter won’t reach it.

Ironstone Mine — Backlash Drift Control

Ironstone Mine introduces the Backlash motorcycle on a winding mountain road with the carrier already moving. The Backlash’s drift-boost mechanic — hold A through turns, release for speed burst — is never tutorialized. Players who treat it like a standard racer get overtaken. Tap the brake entering corners, hold A through the apex, release on exit. The platinum time becomes trivial once the boost rhythm clicks.

Oyster Harbor — Thunderfist Stamina

Oyster Harbor’s Thunderfist mech runs on a stamina meter that depletes with each punch and jump. New players spam attacks and find themselves immobilized mid-level with buildings still standing. Destroy only carrier-path obstacles first, ignore side structures. Let the meter refill completely — about 3 seconds of standing still — between building clusters. The carrier moves slowly enough to permit full recharges.

Angel City — Train Derailment Trigger

Angel City requires derailing a runaway train before it hits the carrier. The derailment point is a specific switch junction marked by flashing lights, but the game never explains you must hit the switch box itself, not the tracks. Players waste time ramming random rail sections. The Ramdozer must strike the small gray control box adjacent to the junction — one clean hit flips the switch and sends the train into the quarry.

Skerries — Platinum Medal RDU Placement

Platinum medals require activating all RDUs — Radiation Dispersal Units, the scientists. Skerries hides one RDU inside a building that isn’t on the carrier path. Players who focus solely on clearance miss the southeastern warehouse. The minimap shows RDU icons, but only after you’ve driven within proximity range once. Do a full perimeter sweep before starting demolition.