I just want everyone to know that I have given up completely trying to get the other achievements. The shrine of Zuma is just so damn difficult to do and I can never beat it, and I have given up on the sharp shooter achievement. So I deleted the game from my console and I won't be reloading it anytime soon.

Lol, I wouldn't have deleted the game but yes I have to agree with you that its really hard to get. I find that if you try to just focus on achievements the game isn't going to be fun though.

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[-]http://card.mygamercard.net/cylinder/Spybreaker.png[/-]

I think Zuma gets difficult too fast. I have already given up and I'm on the first temple 3-4 . I also only have one achivement in it.

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You're True Gamerscore

highest i can get is 8-4 and it sdrivin me bonkers lol

i just picked this game up...yeah, pretty difficult.  but it's fun and addictive!

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"The disease of me leads to the defeat of us."

 wvjethro wrote:

highest i can get is 8-4 and it sdrivin me bonkers lol

I think I've hit 8-5 once...in perhaps 1 years worth of playing.
Definitely way too hard....

I'm also stuck on the Secret Shrine of Zuma...I've only limped all the way to 12-7 one or two times and can't survive past it (I usually only make it to 12-5). It's maddening as I'm SO-O-O-O close!!! I've been starting at level 12, trying to finish this shrine for about a month.

Same with the sharp-shooter achievement. I'll take a couple of runs at it whenever I play and the closest I've been able to get is 7 seconds.

Seems like the stars need to be perfectly aligned to complete these achievements! I haven't thrown in the towel yet, though. :D

Too bad there isn't a 100-hour achievement because I'd probably have it by now!

 mkharsh33 wrote:

i just picked this game up...yeah, pretty difficult.  but it's fun and addictive!

I agree with you 100% it keeps drawing me back in. I finally got up to the fifth level but keep dying on 5-5. I gained another achievement as well.

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AND I WANTED 2 BECOME A HARDCORE GIRL GAMER.... HMMPH!

 PlanetDianne wrote:

I'm also stuck on the Secret Shrine of Zuma...I've only limped all the way to 12-7 one or two times and can't survive past it (I usually only make it to 12-5). It's maddening as I'm SO-O-O-O close!!! I've been starting at level 12, trying to finish this shrine for about a month.

For the last boards, 12/4 -- 12-7, it is crucial that you get combos in open gaps. This is specially true for 12-7; the one that gives me lots of trouble. Before I tried any of the harder boards, I always practice for about 5 minutes on Gauntlet. Eventhough I get trigger-happy, I tend to only go for combos and make chains. Also, as soon as you see the accuracy ball, go for it no matter what. To me, its the most important power ball.

@los carnales: Thanks for the tips!

My husband and I started playing Zuma at the same time but he plays more regularly than I do. Just last week he reached level 13 then he tried another game and was able to finish Adventure mode right away. Now he's working on getting the 2,000,000 point achievement.

It seems like he's made some kind of breakthrough that I haven't been able to do yet. But having witnessed it I feel like there's hope. I have hope mixed with a strong desire to slap him.

Speed, power-ups, and gap shots seem to be his strategy. That and a LOT of practice. Good luck, everyone!

Another important role in his strategy is coins. At first, its not easy to determine the time or location where the coins might appear but in time, it will be like nature to the player. Just remember to anticipate the combo and immediately go for the coin.

Never leave a single-color ball at the front. Always pair them so you won't have to worry as much until you must to survive.

I tried Luxor 2 tonight and saw many similarities in concept but the mechanics of each game really set them apart. I kinda like both of them but there is one part that Luxor 2 lacks and that is dificulty. Not as much gameplay as where the arrow points and the color of it. It makes it sort of dull as soon as you get use to it. It's still a beautiful game and might eventually give it a try but I'm still having tons of fun with Zuma Deluxe.

Now get to unlocking! Best wishes to all.

You know, I've been playing Luxor 2 recently myself (came in the XBL Arcade collection) and it's kind of a grind. It seems like the levels take a very long time to work through and it's not challenging enough. I think I'm somewhere in level 8 and only in these last few boards have I been even close to losing a life...and even then I'm probably just being overly paranoid. I think the game designers need to recalibrate level length and how they ramp up difficulty in this game. I read that there are 88 levels in Luxor 2 and thought HOW AM I GOING TO STAND PLAYING FOR THIS MANY LEVELS? Then I realized that Zuma has 85 levels! Somehow playing Zuma never seems like a chore.

I've been on level 8 for the longest time...and I've recently picked up trying to pass it again...to no avail. It's so hard!! I can pass 8-1, 8-2, and 8-3, but I don't think I've ever passed 8-4. How do you go about resetting a game...so you can start over? I've heard that if I start over, I can build tons of lives so that by the time I get to the harder levels, I'll have some backup lives. You guys have had some good advice though!

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That's one of the best ways to attempt getter further in the game. To start from the beginning, just start a new game and highlight the first level. Try to beat the ace times. You earn an extra life after 50k points.

I did it!!! I finally got past level 8-4. I did it with one life left, and I thought 8-5 would be it...but it wasn't!! Seriously guys, it's probably taken me a month of trying every day to get past 8-4. When I finally did, I was SOOO trying to be done with level 8, and I did it. I think it went all the way to 8-7...but I did it! On to level 9!

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Flakwolf.com
trade video games locally

There are 7 levels to every stage except for the last stage (where there is only a single level). That's (12 x 7) + 1 =  85 levels to clear. And just so you know, when you finish stage 12 if you do not complete stage 13 you will have to start over at 12-1. You cannot start at stage 13 once you've unlocked it like the other stages.  :'(

Another important skill to master is being aware of the next color in the queue and knowing when to swap balls to optimize chains. I don't do this nearly as often or as quickly as my hubby...and this may well be the difference between my being stalled on Level 12-7 while he's completed Adventure mode. I'm getting better, though. He's currently distracted by Peggle, so maybe I can get through this game and earn the Sharpshooter or 2M Point achievements before him. :)

I don't mean to be rude or anything likewise at all but I think there are 76 levels in total. From what I remember, the first temple has three levels and each levels contains 5 boards. If we add them up we get 15 boards in total. The next temple also holds three levels; however, it now adds one board. The next temple adds one more board to each level.

In simple terms:

1st temple
    3 levels / 5 boards

2nd temple
    3 levels / 6 boards

3rd temple  
    3 levels / 7 boards

4th temple
    3 levels / 7 boards
   
Last temple (which resides ontop of the last level)
    1 board

The competition between you and your hubby is getting interesting. I like that you are using that as a motivation. I had some similar situation going on before I completed all the achievements.

     

Haha! I stand corrected on the count. It's been too long since I did the early shrines! I blame my husband on that, though, because I asked him if there were 7 in all the early levels (since he's replaying the entire thing repeatedly) and he said YES. Obviously, he was more interested in shutting me up while he played his game than thinking about his answer. :D

I'm with you every time I get close to beating 5 - 5, the kids start talking to me and then it's over I get tired because I have been playing for hours but I am not ready to give up.  It is a great distraction from every day life.

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Trouble Nothing Butt

I've gotten as far as 12-7 and gave up. Now ZUMA is my wind down game for the day. Much more relaxing knowing I'm not gonna get it.

don't give up  once you pass 8, then 9 and 10 maybe even 11 breeze by (it's 12 that will torment you).

I agree, the 12th temple is by far the hardest of all. To master this part, you really need to know the game. Ace times are rare to pass. Once you get the hang of it you will over come them with dificulty but you will get over them. Just keep practicing and don't panic.

I made it to 12-6 with three lives and lost every single one of them. It was maddening. I'm working on a strategy right now of shooting whatever color ball is in the launcher at the first color of that ball in the line, or whatever you call it. Accuracy balls are pretty much a must, getting trigger happy will be your demise. I never thought I'd get past nine so it's only a matter of time before I defeat this monster.

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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.

Sharpshooter is predominantly about luck, if you attempt it enough times, you'll eventually get it.

As for Shrine of Zuma: imo, if you can get past level 9, you can beat level 12, the only difference between the 2 is that the balls move slightly quicker and it takes a bit longer to fill the gauge but you don't have any more different coloured balls to worry about.

The biggest tip I can give: (I might be wrong on the terminology as Luxor and Zuma use opposing terms) go for the chains (where you make one match, 2 match, 3 match etc, not the one where you make 1 match and the game makes more matches for you), this fills the gauge up WAY faster and will help towards both level completion and ace times.

That was the breakthrough I needed to master this game. I haven't gotten Son of Sun yet because I hate Gauntlet and haven't gotten Score Champion on the 360 version yet (have on the PC) but hopefully, this will help you. Practice makes perfect!

Good luck!

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I also gave up a while back.  It is funny how the PC version seems so much easier than this one does like Arcade Meister eluded to.  Heck even the cell phone version seems easier than this does.  100/200 club for life!

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I taught Eyedea to punch kids in the face.
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i just went back to try this game on an alt account for the first time in like a year and got up to 15 lives and beat it first try with 5 or 6 left. My advice is chain a lot and use gaps and always go for coins

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'top notch gamer'
lumines live, gripshift, tetris , N+, marble blast, Hexic, COD4, Halo
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I restarted this yesterday after getting the sharpshooter achievement, thought i would see if i could even still get the sharp shoopter as it happens i got it in 10 mins lol! Im currently on 10-1 with 17 lives left with 710k going to be quite tight for the 2 million but will see if i can get it on my first run through!

Love this game

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 SN3AKY SAXO wrote:

I restarted this yesterday after getting the sharpshooter achievement, thought i would see if i could even still get the sharp shoopter as it happens i got it in 10 mins lol! Im currently on 10-1 with 17 lives left with 710k going to be quite tight for the 2 million but will see if i can get it on my first run through!

Love this game

yesterday i started this up to play a quick game and very first game got sharpshooter. I was like what?!? but i already have it :(

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'top notch gamer'
lumines live, gripshift, tetris , N+, marble blast, Hexic, COD4, Halo
list goes on and on

Nice work!! i saw you playing it, i got the 2 million on that first game had to play over around 2-3 days because of work but was still fun!

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nice, i usually just play til my first death, which is uually lvl 8 or 9 then i play something else

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'top notch gamer'
lumines live, gripshift, tetris , N+, marble blast, Hexic, COD4, Halo
list goes on and on