Hey Jon, thanks for the kudos. Funny thing was that I really tend to start out poorly until I get warmed up. Really didn't think that this particular game would go too far at the beginning because I was really not doing well until somewhere are 1.5 million points. Like I mentioned above, at some point I get to a "zen" place and things just tend to fall into place.
When on Brain waves I try to follow a few guidelines, but remain open to options as things evolve. I have found that you can often get out of a seemingly hopeless situation by quickly changing direction at a 45 degree angle (on the diagonal) when the brainwave are tracking you down. Also, since the brainwaves travel in zig zag patterns, firing horizontally or vertically (not diagonally) typically will cut them off.
When playing marathon settings, my main goal is to go after as many humans as possible and thus I tend to take more risks. I try to quickly assess the board and determine where the most humans are located during that few seconds before all hell breaks loose. Then I work to get to that area as quickly as possible, but not always by direct route.
I also use the "Mikey strategy". On each Brain Wave board, all the Brains will track toward one human. This is typically (but not always) the red "Mikey" character in the first Brain Wave, which makes it easy to track early on. In subsequent Brain Waves the game chooses a random human, which makes figuring out which one the brains are after a bit tougher. After the first few seconds of no motion, ALL the Brains will move in the same direction. I go IN THE OPPOSITE direction and try to clear out the Brains as they amass around the target human. If you time it right and are successful, you can "farm" quite a few humans at the end of the level and bank several extra men.
It is important to remember two things about the Brain Wave levels 1) If you pick up the target human (or a Hulk kills him/her), the "spell" is broken and all humans become fair game - so try to keep that one human alive but on the playing field as long as possible. 2) If you kill all enemies, you lose the chance to "farm" humans. For this reason, I try to leave at least one enforcer (space ships that fire the X's) on the screen as I find those enemies the easiest to "herd" and manage.
In higher level Brain Wave levels, where Tanks spawn, I try to kill concentrate on killing these ASAP as I find them to toughest enemies to navigate.
The good thing about the Brain Wave Level is, just like the grunts, the Brains will bunch together, making it easier to take out a bunch of them with fewer shots. So "herding" works well.
Of course, this is a TON of things to keep in mind while simultaneously working to weave your way around Hulks, past barriers and pick up humans. This is where the "zen" moments come into play. If I think too much about everything going on in the game, I tend to die frequently. In the video, you can actually hear me talking to myself about this at several points. When I zone out and just react, and thus think much less, I tend to play much better. That was definitely the case on this game.
Hope this helps some. Also, check out The Robotron Guidebook at
http://www.robotron2084guidebook.com/gameplay/enforcers/ .It is a great resource for strategies and breakdowns on each board type and the enemies you face. Keep us posted on your progress and let me know if I can provide any additional help.
Dane