Men in Black Alien Attack Tips & Strategy

This was a very creative thread posted on our discussion forums. Special thanks to MIB999999 for this very in depth guide to getting the highest score on Men In Black!

Hope no one minds but there have been numerous requests on the pm and on the boards for tips. This will not be the definitive final word on how to max-out on the points since I think only the designer knows that.
Since i hit the 999,999 4 out of every 15 times i ride I will share all that I know and have learned. (I can see the free Mythos meals by hustling people going down the drain.)

First I divide the game into five areas with scoring ranges for each.
AREA 1) THE TRAINING AREA: 40,000 TO 61,000
AREA 2) THE CRASH SITE AND TOWN AREA: 214,000 TO 342,000
AREA 3) THE AMBUSH: 414,000 TO 614,000
AREA 4) THE RUN FOR THE BUG: 800,000 TO 999,999
AREA 5) EATEN BY THE BUG: 999,999 TO 1,137,000

Basic guidelines:
1) always hold the trigger on the gun. even if you aim at the ceiling every ten NOISES that the gun makes is worth 1,050 points. SO NEVER LET GO OF THE TRIGGER.

2) With very few exceptions that I will note in the upcoming threads AIM FOR THE EYES or BETWEEN THE EYES. the do-right and dufus tape shows you can shoot the shoulder or neck area. You can if you want to stay the low score in the car.

3) free tip: the best cars to max out on the score are LEFT SIDE ROWS ONE AND TWO and RIGHT SIDE ROWS THREE AND FOUR. Now before you all try to get in only those cars, I have hit the 999,999 from all four cars in both front and back rows. I just find it easier to hit the 1,137,000 from these two cars.

I will stop here for now and see there are any objections to this plan by the moderators, or any specific questions. I will if allowed post a new thread every week or so. dealing with the strategy for right and left car in each area.

AREA 1 HANDBOOK:
Left Hand Track: As you enter the training area the alien on the right pulling the levers is not part of the game so ignore him. The best target is on the left wall on the second story. Hit the red dot below the chin of the target face as many times as you can, do not come off it until you can no longer see it. This is done for two reasons: 1) he is worth a lot of points for multiple hits. 2) this is the target you use to "sight in" your gun. So while you are racking up big points you are also getting the feel for how your gun aim needs to be adjusted. After you have passed by the first target concentrate on the second story ones dead ahead in the first section. After you finish the first section look to the left on the floor for the alien pivoting out of the wall. hit him once and then go up to the second floor for the alien swinging like a pendulum. hit him once. Aim high for the swinging alien just above the car. Hit him once. Now look straight ahead and hit the target on the floor close to the left hand wall. hit him once and then move 2 degrees to the right and hit the other floor target that has just started to move towards your car. Hit him once and then aim for one of the wall targets on your right at about 1:00. pick one and stay on it until the training session is over.

Right Hand track: follow the left hand track instructions while in the first section of AREA 1. After you finish the first section look to the right on the floor for the moving alien. Hit him once. Look ahead and slightly to the right for the alien swinging like a pendulum in the wall, not the one overhead. Hit him once and then go to the one over head for a single hit. Now aim across court to the two aliens on the floor on the left hand side of the room. Hit each one once. Now look straight ahead and pick one of the four wall targets and hit the red dot on one and stay on it until the training session is over.

Remember your trigger is always pulled and multiple hits add up fast.

for both tracks this AREA is the only one where you will aim for the red dots on the targets instead of the eyes. the red dots are on the chest of the alien.
The best score I have had in the area is 62,000. You want to come out of this area with 50,000 plus if you want to have a shot at the 999,999.

HINT: just because your guns are not shooting after the training session is over is no sign to relax. take a deep breath and get ready. The guns will start shooting before the AREA 2 aliens are ready so draw a bead on ol' four eye stalks right between the front set of stalks and start firing the second the guns are again active. You will have time to look at your score for the AREA 1 run but do not look to long cause the guns are active seconds after the score reappears.

About the guns: there are two types and I have hit the 999,999 with both. As a rule the noisy cricket II does not aim very well, but if it is right on it is as good of a gun as you can have. I prefer the larger gun and have found the aims to be more true but all will take a bit of adjusting on your part. Each gun should have sound effects that you can hear when you hit a target so you have both a sight and sound confirmation that you have hit the target. CAUTION: if you grow use to the sound effect it will cause you problems when the sound effect on a particular gun is not working, so get use to how your gun aim is set.

This area is the longest and will require much detail to cover it completely.

AREA 2 HANDBOOK:
Left Hand Track: Your guns will activate before you can see the targets so be shooting and rechecking your aim. Immediately after you clear the wall on your right, aim for the alien with four eyestalks. Aim for the head at dead center of the front two eyestalks. If you can keep him bobbing up and down you will score some points. As the car travels shoot between the eyes of the two blue aliens right in front of the car. The minute you can see the alien sitting on the fire hydrant between the two tracks aim for his eye and keep shooting until the car is past him and you can no longer shoot his eye. Immediately aim straight ahead to the far end of the track, in the lower window at the right side of the building. shoot this alien once and his eyes will turn yellow. Immediately go up to the second story on your right 90 degrees and shoot the alien 5 times. This alien's eyes turn red when you hit him and there is the sound effect of breaking glass each time you hit him. Go back 90 degrees to the left and hit the targets in either of the second story windows. By this time the car is spinning. After the car is done spinning, go back upstairs to the target in the left window. hit him once and pivot your aim 180 degrees to the three aliens on the left in the windows. I go for the second window and hit him right between the eyes. if for some reason his eyes do not change to red then to white switch back to the right side of the track and shoot the alien with the flower pot on its head. Now you have a choice of three targets coming up. And one that Barry likes to shoot.
1: the upper window on the right with the curtains over it. Hit this window in the lower left pane, in the upper right corner of that pane. Do not come off of it until the car pivots around to head into the ambush area.
2: the door straight ahead with the vertical blinds, shoot for the left eye of the alien target.
3: there will be an alien appear in the window on the second floor of the building straight ahead. This window is above the alien that shoots the water over your car when you shoot his eyes.
BARRY'S TARGET: The car to the left side of your vehicle has a big purple alien that pops out from under the hood. There is another alien hiding behind the drivers side door.

the number 3 target is touchy. If you do not get his eyes to turn red right away switch to one of the other two targets.

My favored method is hit 2 until I see the 3 target pop up I keep shooting him as long as his eyes keep changing and then switch to 1.
You are now entering the ambush area and should have between 214,000 and 325,000 points.

Right Hand Track: This side has its advantages and drawbacks so play it as best you can. this side requires the most precise execution. You are in the best position to hit ol' 4 eyestalk right between the front stalks in the head cause your track has an unrestricted view of him as he comes up. If you can keep him bobbing up and down with good accurate shooting you are robbing the left hand car of points since they will never have a shot at the scoring area of this alien. after he is down for good ( his eyestalks are no longer green, the lights go out) aim at the PEKINESE on the newspaper stand counter along the right hand wall. You will have to pivot in your seat to even see him and if you are in the front row center or left hand seat you will be hard pressed to even see him. Hit him in the head as long as your gun keeps scoring. Pivot left and hit the alien on the fire hydrant in the area between the two tracks. Pivot back to the right up to the second story and hit the target between the eyes. one shot only. Pivot straight ahead and hit the alien in the lower story window of the building. hit him once and turn 90 degrees to the right and hit the alien in the second story window that has the eyes that turn red and the breaking glass sound. hit him five times. By this time your car is spinning.
When the spin is done go upstairs to the right hand side and hit the target in the left window. Drop down to the first floor and pop each of the lower windows once.
above the flowerpot up on the second story is a window that has horizontal blinds. there is an alien there with a target area between the third and fourth louvers ( counting from the bottom up) If can squeeze a shot up there the blinds might open and you then have a clear shot at the red target. If not come back down and hit the flower pot and then the alien that is hiding under it. Now at this pint you will have the same 1, 2, 3 target selections. You will not have BARRY'S TARGET since the left hand car will be blocking your view. I go for the alien behind the door with the vertical blinds and watch fore the alien on the second floor above the water squirter alien. If his eyes do not change to red I go for the window with the curtains.

The big alien straight ahead is impressive but like most tempting targets in this game the point value is nil. Let the amateurs shoot him.

Again at this point you need to be at 214,000 to 325,000 going into the ambush.

AREA 3 HANDBOOK:
AREA 3: THE AMBUSH
This area is very short and simple with more do not's than do's.

Left Hand Track: While traveling down this alley way I frequently lean out and shoot back at the window mentioned in AREA 2 as long as possible. WHATEVER YOU DO KEEP THE TRIGGER PULLED. This is the most target rich side of this AREA. The big alien dead ahead will rise up and say SIX AGAINST ONE EH!. At this point the picture will be taken and all the aliens will activate. Do not shoot for the big alien eyes. no points. All of the aliens in this area are armed and to score points you must hit the sensor in the middle of the gun barrel of each alien. Since the big alien is waving his guns around they are a difficult target to hit. HIT AS MANY GUNS AS YOU CAN. also look up above for the alien moving from building to building on a clothesline. Pop him a couple of shots in the arse just before the spin takes place. As you finish the spin you will see the chess scene. Ignore the chess players and the chess board. On the left side are trees with four pairs of green eyes in them. pick a set of eyes and stay on them. aim for right between the eyes. as you move out of range of one pair of eyes shift your aim to another set and stay on them until your gun stops working. You are now entering the scan area. In the first scanner you can wave to the people on the other side and they can see you. The second screen is the alien insertion into the car and real big points are about to come into play in AREA 4.

Right Hand Track: This side has a shorter interval between the end of AREA 2 and the point where the big alien dead ahead says " SIX AGAINST ON EH!. From this point on for this area the instructions are the same as those for the Left Hand Track. as you come out of the spin on this track you will see dead ahead the blockade and the alien swinging on it. NO POINTS. IGNORE IT. Look to the far left side and pick out a set of eyes in the trees and shoot them until the gun stops working because of the scan area. Aim for right between the eyes. No points are able to be scored during the scan so sit back, make funny faces at the other car and take a break cause the high point area is just a few feet away.

You should come out of the ambush area with between 414,000 and 614,000.

Your gun will become active again just as you clear the scanner so have it ready and the trigger pulled.

Anyone know what it should be aiming for as you clear the last scanner?????

JessicaR is correct, you had better be aiming for the opposite car exhaust port, that is if you are in it for the points.
AREA 4 HANDBOOK:
AREA 4: THE RUN FOR THE BUG:

Left Hand Track: This is the area you want to be in the car that loaded from rows 1 and 2.
As you clear the last of the two scanners you need to have your gun up and trigger pulled aiming for the EXHAUST PORT RED CIRCLE OF POINTS. There are three things to shoot at in this area. 1) THE EXHAUST PORT, 2) THE EXHAUST PORT, 3) THE EXHAUST PORT. The only time you will not be shooting the exhaust port is while the other car is spinning because you shot the exhaust port. There are green eyes on the right hand wall, There are aliens in the ceiling area that will cause your car to spin if you do not shoot them first. There are lots of secondary targets to shoot. The green eyes are my favorite, maybe due to the high point value of the green eyes in the tree in AREA 3. The second the other car is done with a spin aim for the exhaust port and do not come off of it. Even if the other car does not spin you are racking up points at the rate of 20,000 per hit. Even as you approach the hot dog cart and the green smart mouth alien and your car pivots forward, lean around the edge of your seat and still hit the exhaust port on the other car if you want 999,999.

Right Hand Track: This is the area you want to be in the car that loaded from rows 3 and 4.
As you clear the last of the two scanners you need to have your gun up and trigger pulled aiming for the EXHAUST PORT RED CIRCLE OF POINTS. There are three things to shoot at in this area. 1) THE EXHAUST PORT, 2) THE EXHAUST PORT, 3) THE EXHAUST PORT. The only time you will not be shooting the exhaust port is while the other car is spinning because you shot the exhaust port. There are aliens along the left hand wall and there is one alien in the ceiling that will cause your car to spin if you do not shoot him first. As you head down the straight-a-way you have an extra good target in the second story of the building on the left. A pair of green eyes that when you hit them they turn red. You will only hit this target if the other car is spinning and you can not get a clear shot at the exhaust port. The second the other car is done with a spin aim for the exhaust port and do not come off of it. Even if the other car does not spin you are racking up points at the rate of 20,000 per hit. As the car in front and to the left of you pivots to face forward the red circle will disappear. switch aim to the trailing car on the left hand track and target it's exhaust port. Do not come off of it until you can no longer get a clear shot.

You are now making the turns that will take you to the BUG.
You should have between 800,000 and 999,999 by this time.
Keep those triggers pulled and keep shooting even if you do not see any targets, do not let go of the trigger until the final spin sequence begins.

Things I have noticed of late.
1) You can be dead on the exhaust port and it will not register. some exhaust ports will only register with a side hit and not a straight on hit. It stinks but it happens.
2) Some guns score better on the exhaust ports than others. IT HAPPENS so do not get your knickers in a twist. Do not complain to the ride attendants. just hop back in the single riders line and give it another go. IT IS JUST A GAME, so have fun and enjoy it.

AREA 5 HANDBOOK:
AREA 5: EATEN BY THE BUG:

Left Hand Track: as you round the the first curve at the end of the straight-a-way, continue to shoot at the exhaust port of the car in the right hand lane. If there is no car behind you then shoot at anything you find interesting. I have found no major point accumulators in this section of the track. The second you make the second curve aim at the eyes of the BUG and keep shooting. If you listen you will hear Zed say " ONLY ONE THING LEFT TO DO, PRESS THE RED BUTTON. When you hear the word LEFT start pressing the red button and keep the trigger on your gun pulled and pointing at the BUG'S eye. This will not guarantee you the 100,000 bonus but you will get it 95 out of 100 times by doing this. By this time you are under the bug and being fogged on and sprayed with internal bug juices. If you have over 800,000 you really have done very well and with just a bit of fine tuning and precise execution the 999,999 is within your reach.

Right Hand Track: As you round the first part of the curve continue to shoot at the exhaust port as long as you can. Yeah I know it is not easy to hit it from a turning moving target, but if you want 999,999 then keep trying. As on the Left Track there is very little to accumulate points with in this area, so just keep shooting at whatever you want but KEEP SHOOTING. As you round the last part of the curve, aim for the bugs eyes and keep shooting. . If you listen you will hear Zed say " ONLY ONE THING LEFT TO DO, PRESS THE RED BUTTON. When you hear the word LEFT start pressing the red button and keep the trigger on your gun pulled and pointing at the BUG'S eye. This will not guarantee you the 100,000 bonus but you will get it 95 out of 100 times by doing this. By this time you are under the bug and being fogged on and sprayed with internal bug juices. If you have over 800,000 you really have done very well and with just a bit of fine tuning and precise execution the 999,999 is within your reach.

Hint: I have seen as many as three people in one car get the 100,000. Usually it is 2 per car.

the only way to get more than 999,999 is to have this total on one gun before the end of AREA 4, no one sitting beside you, you pick up that gun and finish out the run with that gun and get the 100,000 bonus at the end.

I have tried the old wild west trick of using two guns at once and I will never embarrass myself in that fashion again. It may look cool in the photo area, but if you are all about the score do one gun at a time, cause you are not that good. I found out I was not that good with two at once.

Well this is my routine and I am sure I will try some new wrinkles as continue to play this game. It has been fun sharing this with those who requested it. If you have any questions just ask or I am usually out there at 10:30 on saturdays just stop me and ask away.