Copyright (c) 2001 - 2002 Outpost #31. All Rights Reserved All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or part in any form or in any medium without the express permission of Outpost #31 is prohibited. This wholly independent product is the sole property of Outpost #31. It is neither authorized nor sponsored by, nor licensed or affiliated with Universal Interactive. The Thing and its characters are trademarks of Universal Interactive. All title, characters and products described or referred to in this guide are trademarks of their respective companies. Yes, you're right... this looks just like a GameSpot Game Guide. Why reinvent the wheel? Submit any errors, corrections, discoveries or suggestions to the author for inclusion in a later revision. Written by: Chris Morgan, camorgan@outpost31.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 5 Chapter One - Basics 6 Combat Strategy/Tactics 6 Navigating through levels 7 Chapter Two - Weapons/Items 8 Weapons 8 Taser 8 Pistol 8 MP5 8 Shotgun 9 Blowtorch 9 Flamethrower 9 Sniper Rifle 9 Grenade Launcher 9 Grenades 10 Items 10 C4 10 Flares 10 Flashlight 10 Fire Extinguisher 10 Medical Kits 11 Blood Test Hypos 11 Adrenaline hypos 11 Misc. 11 Chapter Three - Walkthrough 12 Level 1 Outpost #31 13 Level 2a Norwegian Outpost - North 18 Level 2b Norwegian Outpost - South 22 Level 3a Norwegian Research Center 25 Level 3b Norwegian Medical Center 28 Level 4a Weather Station 31 Level 4b Pyron Hangar 35 Boss 1 37 Level 5a Pyron Sub Alpha 39 Level 5b Pyron Sub Beta 41 Level 6 Strata Medi-Lab 44 Level 7a Strata Maintenance 48 Level 7b Strata Furnace 53 Boss 2 57 Level 8a Transit Hangar 1 59 Level 8b Flight Control 64 Level 9a Weapons Security 67 Level 9b Weapons Lab 70 Boss 3 74 Level 10a Field Testing 76 Whitely 80 Introduction T he Thing is a multi-level game with elements of both first person shooters and action adventure games. This guide is meant to give you tips and hints on how to complete the game. If there is a secret in the game that we've found, you'll know it. One can follow the guide to know everything about completing the game, however that will seriously rob you of the experience, so use this guide judiciously. You paid money for this, why rob yourself? Inside you'll find: * Guides for every level. * Walkthroughs for every objective * General combat and exploration strategies * Maps for nearly every level. Some levels are so simple a map wasn't worth making. And the maps may not be to scale, but they work. * Tips that you would only know after playing through before. Inside you won't find: * Who is infected and who isn't. Unless it's one of four scripted infections, it's pointless. Anyone can become infected at any time. * Who freaks out and who doesn't. Again, there are a few scripts but the rest depend on what you do or fail to do. * Everything. I may have missed some things. If I did, send them in. * The meaning of life. Chapter One - Basics The Thing manual has all the information you need to play the game, however, what it doesn't include is tips about how to survive the game. Combat Strategy/Tactics This is not a first person shooter. There isn't ample ammo or health lying around; in fact, there are long stretches where you may be concerned you'll find any at all. At one poin, I was actually down to pistol ammo only. Try to keep track of what weapons and ammo you have. It's pointless to waste precious ammo and time trying to take out a target with one weapon when another could do it in 3 shots. Keep your NPCs well armed. Even the medics are excellent shots and have decent enough AI to avoid getting killed (though due to basic personalities some NPCs are a bit more careless). Stock up on ammo as often as possible and be sure your NPCs are fully loaded as well. Almost all troopers will drop ammo so be sure to police it up after you kill them. The flamethrower is a very important tool. Not only is it the only means to finish off any Things bigger than a scuttler, it can also be used as a defensive weapon by setting the floor around you on fire to keep Things at bay. Trust/Fear/Infections on non-critical NPCs are not really covered here. There are several variables involved and it would make try them moot. Just watch everyone! Wooden crates can be shot/burned open to reveal health, ammo, or weapons but they may also hold a nasty surprise as well. Navigating through levels Though all travel in the game is done from a chase-cam perspective, during combat a player can switch to a 1st person perspective. This will remove the auto-aim ability but does give you the ability to peer around corners to know what to expect without being seen. Be aware that the environment outside can be just as deadly as anything else you can find in the game. While you can tolerate the temperatures enough to explore around, once your health reaches the point where it impacts health your health meter will drop very rapidly. Along this same line, your NPCs suffer from the weather at the same rate as you. If you are able to step out of the weather, even if you can't see your NPCs do the same on screen, their exposure meter will climb as well as yours. There is more than one way to solve many problems or navigate the levels in the game. I can't cover them all here but will cover the ones that worked for me. Chapter Two - Weapons/Items This section covers all weapons and items available to a player. Weapons Taser The Taser is capable of delivering a 5000-volt charge to whomever it is applied. The Taser will disable a target and cause them to drop a weapon. This is particularly nice when wanting to disarm a squad member when they have gone hostile... at a cost. Using it against a teammate will cause a medium trust loss. Pistol The pistol is the most accurate of all the weapons. Fires rapidly and is good against small enemies. Giving a pistol to a teammate will cause a small Trust gain. MP5 The MP5 is the standard weapon for you and your squad. The MP5 will make light work of small enemies and slow larger ones down. Giving an MP5 to a teammate will cause a small Courage boost and Trust increase. Shotgun These powerful weapons can push an enemy back. Shotguns are deadly at close range but very inaccurate at long range. Giving a shotgun to a squad member will cause a medium Courage and Trust boost. This is my weapon of choice. Blowtorch This is an EXTREMELY short-range weapon. It can be used to kill a larger enemy, but a hit-and-run approach should be used. A blowtorch can also be used to ignite fuel spills. Fuel canisters for the blowtorch have a yellow stripe on them. Flamethrower The flamethrower is the ONLY way to kill a large, self-repairing enemy. Use enough to ignite the enemy, but be aware that you can also toast your teammates as well. Fuel canisters for the blowtorch have a yellow stripe on them. Sniper Rifle You can guess how these are used. Aside from that, these generate a large Courage/Trust boost when given to a teammate. Grenade Launcher Can launch any of the grenade types (below). They make a big BOOM, however, they have low accuracy. These cannot be given to a squad member. Grenades There are 3 types of grenades: Standard, Flame and Stun. Standard is, well, the standard, exploding grenade. Flame grenades work more or less like a Molotov cocktail. The Stun grenade is like a Flash-Bang used by SWAT teams. Use them to stun and confuse the enemy. Items C4 C4 charges are mission specific and cannot be used as a weapon so they are listed under items. Plant these charges to make things go BOOM is a big way. Flares Use these to mark or light your way. Also use these to ignite fuel spills. Flashlight Well, uhhh, use them to shed a little light on the subject. Fire Extinguisher Put out fires blocking your progress. Medical Kits Use to heal yourself or a teammate when a medic isn't available. Blood Test Hypos Use these to prove your humanity to your teammates... or theirs to yourself. Adrenaline hypos Use these to give a temporary Courage boost, especially useful when an NPC is looking like the cheese has fallen off his cracker. Misc. Keys, PCs, Terminals, Tape Recorders and Documentation. Chapter Three - Walkthrough Think you're ready to face the horrors that befell the crew at Outpost #31? Well, perhaps you'll want to learn a little about how to play the game first. The first couple levels are primarily training levels so you can learn the in's and out's of squad control and how to combat the enemy. From there, the difficulty ramps up until you're neck deep into the story as well as the enemy. Good Luck! Level 1 Outpost #31 After the first cutscene, you'll be given your first two objectives, 'Retrieve evidence and rescue any survivors' and 'Keep team alive'. Throughout this level, unless you've turned them off, you'll get several tutorial popup messages informing you of what you are encountering and how to deal with it. Easy enough... here we go. Upon arrival be sure to turn around 180 degrees and about 20 feet ahead of you, you'll find an MP5, ammo and 4 flares. Pick up all these items (note: you can only carry 5 flares total and you start with 4) (Fan note: Nearby, you'll find the sign seen at the first part of the movie noting where you are.) Once you've gathered the items, head inside the outpost. After entering the only exterior door, head to the first door on the left. You really won't have a choice as the hall is blocked with debris anyway. Once you enter far enough into the radio room, a cutscene will run that introduces you to your NPCs and their jobs. You'll learn what two of them are good for during the remainder of this level. Across the room from the door you just entered, is a sparking junction box next to a door. When you approach it, you'll get a tutorial about what to do. Fix the box yourself OR if you look at your engineer, you'll see an icon over his head more or less asking, "Want me to fix that?" If you want your engineer to do it, approach him until a hand appears on that icon and press the activate key/button. He'll confirm the order and head to the box. Once fixed, the door next to it will open... walk inside. A PC, apparently loaded with a quarter stick of dynamite, will explode. This will give you the opportunity to use your medic. Approach the medic and he'll administer first aid and raise your health. If you have a medic handy, they will always return you to 100%, however, the phrase 'Physician heal thyself' doesn't apply here. You'll need to keep tabs on your medic's health to avoid loosing him. Pick up the pistol, pistol ammo, and MP5 ammo in the PC room. Take this time to distribute weapons and ammo to your NPCs. If you do, you'll see trust indicators go up via the icon system. Head back into the hallway. Once you step into the hall, an explosion will clear the debris that had blocked your path before. Feel free to explore the recreation room and living areas of the camp while you go to the far end of the hall. Cross the last room and head toward the lightpole you see outside. Just outside the destroyed room, there is a room with a locked door. When you approach it, a tutorial will notify you that you need to find the key to enter and you have you next objective, 'Gain Access To Infirmary'. Follow the lightpoles. Along the way you will see wreckage of a chopper and snowplow. Eventually, you will reach a collapsed area/hole/pit. Head down and you will find several areas to explore. Directly ahead of you is a shelf with some ammo and just past that is a small nook with a fire extinguisher. Turn around and head left until you reach another area with more flares. Again, you can only carry 5 at a time so you may not need them. Continue clockwise around the pit and you will find the remains of MacReady's shack. Go inside and activate the recorder for MacReady's recorded message from the movie. Exit the shack and go to the last area to explore down here (you'll cross back across the ramp that led you down here). Inside you will find Blair's ship and a brief cutscene as you and your NPCs discuss what they've found. The key to the infirmary is also down here on a table in that room. Head back to the infirmary door. Now you'll be able to gain access inside. Once inside the infirmary, turn immediately left and find the junction box. This box is more sophisticated and you will not be able to fix it on your own. Have your Engineer repair it. Notice a door to the right of the box. It is locked by access code. You will need to find the code to be able to get through the door. Scattered around the room are 4 documents you can read for little tidbits of info, an adrenaline syringe and a PC. Use the PC to get the access code for the coded door. If you approach the corpse in the corner of the room near the PC, your medic's fear level will rise. A brief cutscene will interlude but once back in game, if you access your NPC menu, you'll see the Wheldon is looking around nervously. You can counter his fear one of two ways. Administer the adrenaline shot to him and he will calm down but a just as effective way to accomplish this is the simply have everyone follow you away from the corpse. (Anyone else think it's odd that the medic is the one who has a problem with a corpse?) Now that you have a door access code, proceed to the locked door, activate the keypad and go through the door. Behind the door and to the left you'll find a Medical box on the wall with 3 health packs. Also in the room is another junction box; either have the engineer fix it or fix it yourself. Once you get the junction box repaired, you can open the other door in the room and access your first save recorder. This is the standard way of saving throughout the game with some differences. On the PS2, you are only allotted 3 saves positions; on the PC you have 10. (XBOX is unknown at this time.) Save your game if you wish. Exit the door immediately to the left of the junction box and head outside. Follow the lightpoles and proceed to a shack. Once there you will find the body of Childs. This will activate a cutscene in which you contact Whitely and inform him of finding both Childs and the "UFO". Whitely will give you your last objective to collect some C4 they have dropped in and blow up the remainder of the camp. As you are talking, a mysterious figure passes in the distance. Follow the 2nd set of lightpoles to the drop site. It is marked by smoke grenades but is probably easier recognized by the crashed helicopter. Open the crate and collect the C4. Once this is done, the objective list will update to include planting a charge in the Infirmary and one in the Radio Room. You can follow the lightpoles backtracking to the base, but if you face the lightpoles that led you to the C4, then turn 90 degrees left, it's a much shorter trip. Once back inside the infirmary, look for the red outline of a C4 pack. This is where you will place the first charge. At this point, I decided I didn't want to drag the whole team back through the camp on my way to the radio room so I went to the NPC menu and told them to all stay put. You don't have to do this if you don't trust leaving them behind. Return to the radio room and look for a similar red outline. This is where you will place the last charge. Once it is placed, head back to the infirmary, head back to the infirmary, pick up your men, and head out to the spot where you picked up the C4 for an evac. (TIP: Though you don't have to do this, you can collect weapons and ammo from your NPCs just before entering the evac point. They may loose trust but who cares, they will be leaving. This will give you as much advantage as possible when they may be in short supply later.) Once all your men have made it to the evac point, a cutscene will begin in which you are informed that radio contact with Alpha team has been lost. Blake informs the Colonel that he will send his team home but he will go locate the second team... we're on our way to the Norwegian outpost. Level 2a Norwegian Outpost - North After arriving at the Norwegian base, if you explore a little outside the base, you'll discover some downed electrical fence that is uncrossable, if you don't believe me, try it ;-) During the course of this level you'll have to figure out how to shut that power to that fence down to complete the level. Head to the right of the fence area and you'll find a door leading inside along with a fresh flare burning. Someone must have been here not long ago. Continue down the hall and you'll find a locked door on your right. You can't open it at this time, but you will be able to later. Keep winding down the hallway until you encounter a junction box that needs to be repaired to unlock the door just right of there. Of course, you'll get a peek at what's in store for you when the door opens. Head through the door and to the back left of the room, there you'll encounter Carter. There is some exchange of dialogue that ends with him not trusting you until you heal him. Search the room until the find the health pack. You'll also find a flashlight, fire extinguisher and MP5 ammo. You'll also find the infamous Norwegian who cut his own throat to avoid being taken over from the movie. A little more search will also reveal an access code locked door and an area with a save station, PC, and CCTV setup. You'll also notice that next to Carter is a room with two fuel barrels blocking the door. We'll cover this in a second. Return to Carter with the health pack and heal him. His trust will go up, but not enough to accept any orders from you. Give him a weapon and some ammo and he'll help you out (or hold him at gunpoint but at a serious cost of trust). To the right of that location, near the PC, Save Recorder and a CCTV set, there is a junction box. Until you get the junction box working, they won't. Have Carter repair the box for you. While this is going on, you can take the time to get into that room blocked by fuel barrels. Shoot the barrels to cause them to explode opening the door. Use the extinguisher to put out the remaining flames and enter the room. Inside you will find a blowtorch, 1 fuel canister and 3 MP5 ammo clips. Head back into the main room. Once the power is up, you can use any of those items on the desk in the corner. The PC will give you some info about the state of mind at the Norwegian camp. Feel free to save you game at this time as well. (Note: saving in the first two levels isn't as important in the first level, but beginning with this level, you'll want to take advantage of every save station you can find. There are long periods of time between them and no quick save feature) Access the CCTV camera station. This will switch you to a view of the room behind the door needing an access code. Fans of the movie will instantly recognize this room. Look around and you'll find the ice block the Thing was originally thawed from as well as an NPC (Cruz) standing in a small nook, a corpse and a bulletin board. Notice the bulletin board has some numbers written on it. Zoom in on the bulletin board until you trigger the "Ice Block Code Key" message. Head to the door and get in there. A cutscene will begin and you'll get some explanation about what has been going on with Alpha team from Cruz. Once the cutscene ends, I'm sure movie fans will want to nose around the room. The corpse has a key to the room you encountered in the hallway on the way in. The nook contains the power switch to turn off the fence outside. You engineer will have to repair it. Once done, you'll get a clip as the power to the fence goes down. Issue the "Follow Me" command to pick up the Cruz and distribute weapons... get ready. Head back out of the room and into the hallway leading here. Here you'll encounter The Thing for the first time. Several scuttlers will begin attacking down the hallway. There is a fuel barrel in the hall. Shoot it and the fire can help you kill off some scuttlers. Kill them off, but be careful, though one alone isn't a serious challenge, they are all fast and can get under your feet quickly and since you can't look down in 3rd person, you won't know it until they starting biting. Once the hall is cleared, enter the door to your left (it had been locked on your way in) and pick up the items inside including 3 health packs, 5 clips of pistol ammo and 4 regular grenades. Go outside and stay left until you find the lightpoles leading to an area down along the Norwegian base. You may be attacked along the way but once you reach the bottom, you find a corpse with pistol ammo, an MP5, two MP5 ammo clips, and a health pack. (Tip: There is a shortcut back up instead of walking the long way around but if you take your NPCs down with you, it won't work. If you go alone however, face away from the blocked door then head left and hug the wall. You can make it up the entire way and not have to go back the long way with the lightpoles.) Go outside and to the area with the downed fence. You'll now be able to cross through. Level 2b Norwegian Outpost - South Once on the other side, follow the lightpoles to a radio shed with a large antennae tower. Upon entering the room, a scuttler will burst from a crate and attack. Take care of the scuttler and inside you will find a save station and a fire extinguisher. Exit the room and head follow the lightpoles straight ahead to a small shed. When you approach the shed, a few scuttlers will attack you so take care of them quickly since it's getting cold out there. Repair the junction box and enter the shed. Inside you will find a flamethrower. Pick it up then use your extinguisher to put out the flames on the floor so that you can also pick up the 3 fuel canisters. Head back out of the shed and return to the radio shed. Again, scuttlers will attack you. Shoot them and move on. Once you reach the radio shed, go inside to warm up then when you exit, head to the building to the left. Approach the door and you will get a panning view that will give you a hint as to how to open the door. Around the corner from the door there is a stack of wooden crates. Shoot them to reveal a junction box. (Tip: Only shoot the crates on the bottom, this will destroy them, the crates on top as well as conserve ammo.) Repair the junction box and head inside. As you head inside, a cutscene begins. You've found Pierce but he doesn't know if he's too happy about it and obviously doesn't trust that you are still human. Pierce informs you that only a blood test will confirm if you are human or not and that there is a medical kit near the kennel. Go there, pick up the kit and come back so he can watch you take a blood test. Before you leave the room, pick up the key and fuel canisters and use the save station if you like. Go back outside and head behind the radio shed to the kennels. Scuttlers are scattered throughout the kennel so be ready for them. There are also lots of supplies scattered throughout the kennel area. At the first building on the right as you approach, go inside to find a health pack lying on a desk. Shoot the crates in the room for two more. In the kennel on the left as you first approach the kennel area; there is a health pack at the back of the cage. If you go to the back of the kennel area and find the shed with a door and a junction box needing repair, inside you will find 3 pistol clips, 3 MP5 clips and 2 flares. Finally, return to the building that would be second on the right as you entered the area. Go behind it, go up the ramp and open the door. A crate at the back contains 3 blood tests. Collect them and return to Pierce. Once you walk up close to Pierce, the blood testing begins. Blake will start with himself and, of course, come out ok (as a player, you cannot become infected, you can only die) but when testing the other NPCs (Cruz and Carter), well, just wait. Once you have the situation in hand, collect any weapons and ammo dropped and head outside. Level 3a Norwegian Research Center A quick cutscene reveals that somewhere in the 40 feet that Pierce and you had to go out the door, you became separated. As you continue your mission, another NPC, Pace begins pitching grenades. Blake goes into the tower gets the run down from Pace that he and Williams had been tracking someone and they all became separated. It's your job to find them. Inside the tower, collect the flashlight grenades and MP5 ammo. Be sure to stock Pace up and fill yourself. There is enough ammo that both will have a nearly full load. Head out and follow the lightpoles to the next building. There is another junction box here that you will need to repair to get inside, but be advised that you will be attacked be a handful of scuttlers when you start repairs. (Tip: The scuttlers will emerge from some ductwork on the outside. If you shoot it before you get there, it will destroy the duct and they cannot get out.) (Note: Around the outside of this building to the right is a corpse with a health pack. You can't have enough of these on hand so I'd suggest getting it.) Repair the box and head inside to a small entry area. You only option is to proceed through a door. When you entry, there is a brief cutscene showing an attached room that is your overall mission for this part of the level. Enter the room and be ready for a couple waves of scuttlers. Nothing major but watch that corpse in the floor, it likes to spit a couple out. Head out of the room and go around the corner to the left. Walk all the way to the end and gather MP5 ammo for yourself and Pace from the box on the floor. Make sure you look out the window; you'll get to see a 'walker' going by and they'll make up part of your next objective. Make your way back up the hall and go to the broken junction box on the wall and repair it to get into the next room. Also pick up the 2 flame grenades setting on top of the fuel drums. Once the box is repaired, open the door and head into the cafeteria. To the left of the entry door, there is a PC and two stacked crates. Use the PC for more storyline and then shoot the bottom crate to destroy both crates and obtain a TASER. Head to the back of the room and your next NPC, Williams, will warn you to keep away. Blake tells him he needs his help to get into the comm room but Williams isn't going anywhere until you kill the 3 walkers roaming the level. You won't have to look hard... they'll be coming for you. If you've been following this walkthrough, you'll have a flamethrower in your inventory but if not, head into the far corner of the room to the kitchen and kill the scuttlers there. Get the flamethrower from the chest and the fuel from the cabinet on the wall. There is also a blood test near the stove and a save station. Go back out the cafeteria door. The first walker will bust through the wall near the fuel drums in the hallway. The best way to fight the walkers is to wear them down with regular gunfire but you have to cook them to kill them. Also be advised that almost all walkers will let a couple scuttlers loose when they die. Once this first walker is dead, continue through the hole it made in the wall. A few more scuttlers will appear and around the next corner, a walker will burst through a door. Finish him the same way you fought the other but be aware you're in a tight area and you'll need to check your aim. Proceed into the next rooms. A few scuttlers will appear to pester you. There is an adrenaline syringe on the table that you can get. Walk around the loop into the room with the bed and eventually the final walker will burst from another room. Once it is dead, investigate the rooms it came from. The first room has a stack of crates. Shoot them to reveal a crate containing a shotgun and the far corner of the next room has a crate containing 3 boxes of shells for it. Return to Williams, watch the scene, and lead him to the comm room to get access. Enter the comm room and repair the junction box in the corner so you can use the save station. Once you attempt to use the radio, 2 walkers and several scuttlers will attack from the other room. If you don't like the cramped comm room to stage a fairly big fight from, you have just enough time to get into the recreation room, however, you can also use the door to corral your enemies to avoid being surrounded. Take care of the baddies and save again if you like. Also inside the room are shotgun shells and health packs. Williams will start leading you and Pace out the back door of the Research center. Follow him and get ready to expend some ammo. Level 3b Norwegian Medical Center The Norwegian Medical Center is a complex of 5 rooms. Three are offshoots of the rest. When the level starts, the three of you will be in the main room. In this room, you can find an MP5 lying on an examination table. Open the door the room 1 and proceed to room 1a. Upon opening the door several scuttlers will emerge and will keep on emerging until you destroy the two pods on the floor. Be advised however that 4 barnacle like tentacle Things are on the wall and inflict a decent amount of damage if you just venture in. You can stand in the doorway and torch one of the pods to decrease the number of scuttlers that emerge and then pitch in a flame or regular grenade to damage or kill the rest. Proceed slowly through the door and if required, finish them off. The first tentacle is on your right, right beside the door. Another lurks behind the door and one on the ceiling behind the door. The second pod and a tentacle are just behind the door as well. Repair the junction box in the room to gain access to the radio room (room 3). Head into the radio room and save your progress. This room is very dimly lit but inside are a save station and on a bed are a fuel canister and torch and two more fuel canisters scattered around the room. In the far corner of the room there is a box where the emergency radio should have been. Once you approach this area, get ready... you're going to have to survive multiple waves of scuttlers. Ammo will become quite precious. Be sure Pace and Williams are properly equipped. In my personal opinion, flamethrowers are a waste during this battle and only raise the possibility of splash damaging you and your other NPCs. Move from room to room eliminating the waves of scuttlers. During the battle be aware that room 2 contains a shotgun and stores of MP5 rounds and shotgun shells, you'll need them. Take every chance to resupply and save when you feel you've made good progress. (Tip: Close the doors behind to each room once you are done with a wave. This keeps the next wave from pouring into the room while you are fighting the previous one. You can also open the door, pitch in a grenade and kill several since they are so bunched up) Once you think the epic battle is over, two different walkers will burst through the outer door. Fight them the same way you fought the walkers in the previous level. Head outside. Once you reach the bottom of the stairs, a brief cutscene will show you the person you are pursuing running along a set of lightpoles. Before you take off however, turn to the right off the stairs and fight a burst-out style walker. Once dead, continue to the right and find a trailer that has been burst out of. Inside are two blowtorches and a ton of fuel canisters. Once you've collected everything, head back out and take off in just about any direction away from the buildings and keep going until the next level loads. Level 4a Weather Station Upon arrival at the Weather Station, you'll see Mr. X run into a warehouse. You can't follow him through that door, however. Proceed along the lightpoles until you are inside the fenced area. Turn right and walk along the fence toward a small shed with a corpse lying outside it. You can take a break from the weather inside the shed and then pick up the MP5 ammo, pistol and pistol ammo off the corpse. Turn and head for the main lighted area. Head up the stairs into Bldg1. Inside you'll have to fight a few scuttlers in the initial room and two more in an adjacent room. In the adjacent room are two flares if you need them. The NPCs don't seem to follow through the next steps so just leave them behind while you complete the next little bit. Go into the room with a staircase. Under them is a crate with MP5 ammo if you need it. Go up the stairs to the roof. Outside, turn right and jump across to the roof of building two. There is a grate on top you can shoot out to gain access to the building. A scuttler will jump out so just shoot him. Drop into the opening and shoot a couple more scuttlers. In this room are two more grates. Pick one and shoot it open. Down on the next level are two more walkers. They are fast and deadly so you won't really want to deal with them up close, especially with all those fuel drums sitting around; A little bad aim and BOOM. Oh wait, so shoot them when you're not down there. Shoot a drum until it explodes and send the entire floor up in flames. This will usually take care of the walkers but depending on where they were in the room, they may live through it. Once the flames die down, drop down and finish off anything left alive. Search the room until you find the key for the Weather Dome Bldg. (WDB). Once you find it, head outside and back into Bldg 1 and pick up your NPCs and then head for the WDB. As you approach, a small scene will show you the man you've been chasing go into the dome. On your way there, if you are in need of flamethrower or fuel, follow the small gap between the Warehouse and WDB and you'll find a corpse with a flamethrower and fuel canister. A few scuttlers will attack you when you near the corpse but they are easy to handle. Turn back and head to the WDB door. Once inside, kill a few scuttlers that pop out then check the lockers for MP5 ammo, a health kit and a blood test. In the next room you'll finally find a save station but in typical style, the instant you start to use it, several scuttlers will emerge to give you trouble. Kill them and head around the corner into the room with the staircase. Go to the end near a corpse and two more scuttlers emerge. Kill them and recover the pistol from the corpse. Enter the kitchen near the corpse. Inside you will find ammo for both MP5 and shotgun along the left but watch out. A fire will breakout near the door and soon nearly engulf the room. Quickly head back out the door and wait for the sprinkler system to come on and put out the flames. Once they are out, you can finish stocking up on ammo and retrieve a key in the far corner of the room. Along the way out, walk along the leftmost wall and pick up some sniper rifle ammo, fuel canisters and more shotgun ammo. Leave the kitchen and take the stairs up for a nice new experience. Upstairs you will find yet another new walker. This beauty will extend a tube from its abdomen and disgorge scuttlers for you to deal with. There are also several scuttlers upstairs so you'll need to pay attention to where the baddies are. Focus your fire on killing the walker but don't let the scuttlers swarm you either. A pack of them is just as deadly. The new walker will even introduce you to a new scuttler and considering it has emerged from an abdomen, it makes since. This new scuttler is a stomach on legs and it launches gobs of bile that will really slow you down. They can be fairly easily dodged but if hit, it will make combat fairly tough for a few seconds. Round the corner into the restroom. Check the lockers for a health pack. Proceed into the bathroom but watch for a walker to charge out after you. If you back into the doorway, you'll also find several stomach scuttlers on the table that begin hurling bile. This makes for very cramped quarters and a bit of a harrowing fight. Once you've eliminated the threat however, check the stalls (by the way, nice corpse wouldn't you say?) for a blood test. Considering where you find it, would you want to use that needle. I might consider just risking Thing infection. Leave the bathroom back into the main room but don't forget about any stomach scuttlers that might still be on the table. In the far corner of the room, you'll find a PC that has a tidbit to continue the story along. Once you get it, head up the stairs and outside to the dome. Once you exit the door a cutscene begins. Once the scene ends (notice I left out juicy details), search the room and pick up the sniper rifle and sniper ammo clips. Use the PC to find out what the next box on the table does. Use the viewer for the telescope. < Insert movie fan rejoicing here. > Exit the dome, down the stairs and look behind the door that led to the roof. Notice those fuel drums; shoot them so you can use the downed antennae to cross over to the warehouse. On the roof just under the antennae is a health pack. If you need it, drop down and grab it. A few scuttlers might protest but a little buckshot goes a long way. If you decide to get it, work your way back through the building to the downed antennae. Once across, head left and keep winding your way around, shooting scuttlers, and working your way up until you reach a grate. Shoot it out and head inside to the next level. Level 4b Pyron Hangar During the cutscene, you'll crawl through some ductwork and emerge inside a huge hangar. Once you drop down to the catwalk, NPC Collins will yell for and the view will pan around to show several scuttlers as well as a new four-legged walker I'm going to call a 'bulldog'. Kill them all then go into the little nook and repair the junction box to restore power to the level. If you'll notice, there is a locked door to an office where you drop down. Getting in here is the overall objective for the level, well, that and the first boss Thing you'll encounter. Go into the office and talk to Collins. Use the PC and you will get your next mission. Give Collins a weapon, stock up on the health packs on the wall, and get going on getting that crane running. (Note: This level can be very difficult as there isn't a save station for quite some time. Be ready to repeat this one.) Head downstairs and near a junction box that is located under the stairs. While you are down there, a lot of scuttlers and 3 bulldog walkers will come out of hiding. If you can get the shot off quickly, there is a set of fuel drums nearby you can shoot and explode to create a wall of fire that will cause a little damage as you get back to the stairs. Work your way slowly back up the stairs killing as many scuttlers as you can on the way and getting as many shots in on the walkers as possible. (Fighting them on the stairs corals them into a narrow column to make the fighting easier) Once they are in the red, burn them. Odds are you'll be backed all the way to the top before you have them worn down enough to torch them. (Tip: To keep Collins from being surrounded. I often parked him on the landing just above the bottom floor.) He did a pretty good job of avoiding Things from that point. Head back downstairs. There is a locked door straight ahead. There is a large trailer type room with 4 clips of MP5 ammo. In the far opposite corner you can find shotgun ammo and MP5 ammo. There are more scuttlers waiting for you when you approach the ammo crates. Head to the door opposite the stairs and you'll find a corpse with a note lying there on the floor. The note tells you you'll need a key to get through the door next to him. Have Collins repair the crane junction box and a gate will lift allowing you to walk up the large "axle" hanging from the ceiling to a series of crossbeams up high. Do just that. When you first make it to the look left and you'll see a shotgun ammo box. Make your way there if you need ammo, otherwise, work your way to the right along the beams until you reach the office roof with a hole that you can use to gain access. Drop in and walk to the PC on the desk. There is a keycard on the table. Take it and use the PC for more story. Head out of the office and to the locked door near the corpse. Go inside and use the save station. Head down the stairs. When you near the corpse, expect Collins to burst out. Finish him off and continue down the hall to the first boss Thing. Boss 1 This boss is actually not too difficult. Before the cutscene stops playing, have you fingers on the back and right movement keys as the boss will strike very quickly. If you don't get hung on the door, you may be able to duck this first blow. Stand near the boxes in that corner (the ones just to the left of the door as you enter) and use the weapon of your choice to hammer on the boss. Using Auto-aim is the best way to go as it lets you know where you need to hit. The boss will thrash the room a bit and if it breaks the wall next to you, it will reveal a scuttler pod. If you edge out, you can burn it from around the corner of the box (Use your first person view). Take care of it and you won't have scuttlers pestering you. However, if it doesn't destroy that wall early, expect some scuttlers to have spawned and will begin attacking. Most of the initial targets of the boss are at its base, but once you shoot most of them into the red, a target will appear near the top. Shoot it until a cutscene reveals a human torso (which is the Norwegian you've been chasing). At or near this point, some tentacles will spring from the grate at the other corner of the room from you. Stay where you are and they can't hit you. Shoot at each of them until you've killed it off. (I personally like the MP5). Once that threat is removed and you've eliminated all the targets from this vantage point, shoot all the crates in the floor to reveal some flame grenades then run over and stand next to the grate. Face the boss and there will likely be a few more targets at the base. Shoot each of them as well, OR, use a flame grenade at the base. If you've reduced all the targets to or very near red, two or three well placed flame grenades will kill the boss. Once dead, head to the corner near the door, fix the junction box and head for the next level. Level 5a Pyron Sub Alpha You start this level just ahead of a hole to the floor. Drop down and head to the left until you find a small area with three doors that branch from it. Make a note of the number above each door and what's behind each. Go back to whence you came and go through the other passageway. Scuttlers will start emerging from ductwork quickly so if you're fast enough, you can shoot the ducts and trap the scuttlers inside. You can also stand just outside this door and shoot out the ducts. There is also a corpse on the floor that will spawn a few scuttlers as well. Note the two doors connecting a room off this room. Only the left door will open. Notice the room is in bad shape. Walk over the ramp on the rightmost part and hang out there. (There is a crate with the lid partially off and part of a furnace that creates a little safe nook to stay in. Let the fire spread across the room until some fuel drums explode. Once the room fills with fire. Arm your fire extinguisher and walk along the round duct at your feet to the other side. Before dropping off, extinguish the little fire there and continue to clear a path to the door in the far corner. Inside you will find MP5 ammo, a health pack, a fire extinguisher and a fuel canister. Clear a path to the other door leading into the room, then turn left and continue into a short hallway and take the left door into the Operations Room. Inside are a lot of remote cameras, a PC, door controls and a save station. Go ahead and save. Go to the PC to get the access code across the hall. Notice the door switches are numbered? Well you want to be able to open #1 but you have to go through #4 to get to it. Activate door #4, head across the hall, open the door and continue down the hallway until you reach the end. Here is a small maze like area. On the far side of it is the hydraulic override switch. Work your way there. The shortest trip is to always stay/go right as best you can but you'll miss a few supplies (MP5 and shotgun ammo) if you don't explore. But, you'll expend some ammo as well. You choose which is more important. While navigating the maze, there are a lot of oversized scuttlers running around... what the hell have these GenInc guys been doing down here? Once you reach the room with the hydraulic switch, kill the walker and activate it. On your way back out, you will encounter another walker just before reaching the Operations Room. Go back to the Operations Room, save and get ready for the next bit. Open the doors to the Prep Lab and Rm2. When the door to Rm2 opens, the fire burning inside will spread into the hall. Also open Rm3, the one with a walker. The fire will check it in check until you get there. Head back toward the Prep Lab and pump some lead into the walker. Once the fires in the hall die out, finish off the walker in head into Rm3. Inside are a blood test and a grenade launcher. Go across the hall, put out the remaining fires in Rm2 and get the fuel canisters. Enter the Prep Lab. Turn left and go through the next door. Proceed down the hall for the next part of this level. Level 5b Pyron Sub Beta On this level your main quest is to locate Dr Faraday. Continue to the end of the hall and go through the door. In this room are two walkers and a few scuttlers you'll have to have a hit-and-run fight with. One of the walkers is the nice abdomen type you remember from earlier, the longer you have to deal with him, the more scuttlers you have to deal with. Once they are dead, there is a health pack dispenser on the wall that has enough to top off your supply. There is also a blood test on the table for you to grab. Go to the far left door from the entry door. Inside you will encounter Price who lets you know he's got men in trouble in the testing cambers. A scuttler will jump out around this time. Stock up on stun grenades the get Price to follow you and head back into the main room and to the room that is the far right corner from where you now stand. Have Price open the door. Inside are a shotgun, ammo for MP5 and shotgun, a blood test and flame grenades. Grab everything you need and head into the room with the stairs. A few scuttlers attack, kill them and continue down the stairs until you reach the observation area. In the initial area are a PC, save station, door controls and three CCTV set ups. If you use the CCTVs, you can check out the testing cambers from three views. Study the rooms closely and you'll notice the doors are numbered from 1 to 9. Hmmm, the same number of door controls in the observation area. You'll need to figure out which doors you'd like to open to make your way to Faraday then open them and head down the stairs to the testing chambers. Work your way through the test chambers until you reach Faraday. Once you do, escort him back out and to the observation area. Expect to encounter plenty of scuttlers on the way out. Once back to the Observation Area, save your progress while he's nice and healthy. (Tips: Make sure you look and see what is in each test chamber. There is a medic in the first room you'll encounter. He's infected but won't reveal himself immediately. If you and Price need health, go down to the first room before opening the rest of the doors. Let him heal you and he'll even help a little if you give him a weapon. May as well get the extra firepower, right? If you open the last door, #2, Faraday may get hurt. Open the rest of the doors and clear a path first, then go back upstairs, open the last door and go get Faraday. If you're lazy and don't want to figure the doors to open out for yourself, open 9, 8, 6, 3 and then 2. There be monsters behind the other doors... may as well make this easy, right?) Head up the stairs and once you get to the top, head out the door and into the main room where you fought the two walkers before. A few scuttlers will attack. Take care of them then restock ammo and health packs if any are left, then proceed out of the room into the hallway leading back to the Prep Lab. In the Prep Lab, kill the walker and the tentacles in the room, then head out the door into a crumpled hallway. A cutscene will take over and you're on your way to the next level. Level 6 Strata Medi-Lab You'll be starting this level with no weapons so you'll need to play smart and fast. When you get up from the diagnostic table, head into an adjacent room and repair the power supply. In the examination room, you'll find a PC and two CCTV cameras. Use the PC then use the cameras to see what you are up against. Take note there is a walker in the long hallway. Open the door leading to that hallway, then back away to near the diagnostic table and wait for the walker to charge into the room. When it does, evade it and run out the door and close it behind you, trapping it in the diagnostic room. Ahead of you you'll find a broken junction box to the Security area you can't repair. Nearby are a corpse and two clips of MP5 ammo. Pick them up. Go to the other nearby door and repair the Sterilization Power box to gain access to the room and the NPC Falcheck inside. Give him the ammo and tell him to follow you. Lead him down the hallway, past another PC loaded with dynamite. On some crates near the exploding PC, you'll find another clip of MP5 ammo. Continue around the hall and a scuttler will emerge from the corpse lying there. Kill it then tell Falcheck to wait for you there. The corpse has a document nearby that tell the poor bastard's story. Go back to the door to the room in which you've trapped the walker. To pull off the next steps, you need to act FAST. Open the door then run into the sterilization room to the shower area where you found Falcheck. When the walker charges in, let him come into that area then run past as fast as you can, go outside the door and shut it, trapping the walker inside. Now you won't need to deal with it the remainder of the level. Return to Falcheck and have him follow you. Repair the North Area power box in the hall and step through the nearby door. Go into the hall, kill the scuttlers and then go into the sleeping quarters. Inside are some CCTVs, a PC, a health station, and a save station. You can use the CCTVs practice using the remote guns if you like. Use the PC to find that you can access the armory... what's a soldier without guns? Take Falcheck with you back into the examination room. Go through the other door. Several scuttlers will emerge but Falcheck will take care of them. In a little closet off that area, you'll find a flashlight and another document. Repair the Cryo Area power box on the wall to gain access to the next room. Have Falcheck heal Dixon then have him follow you and Falcheck out. More scuttlers will appear from the corpses. If you get your NPCs out of the room into the examination room, close the door behind you and the scuttlers won't be as big a problem. Go to the Security area. Have Dixon fix the box and head into the armory. Go inside and outside the area you'll find an adrenaline syringe and a health pack. Go into the armory and there is everything a growing soldier could want. When you enter, a grate across the room will burst open and scuttlers will pour into the room. Quickly grab a weapon and give it to Dixon. They will cover you well while you grab the other weapons including a pistol, MP5, flamethrower, and ammo/fuel for each. Load up. Go down the hallway and to the door with another NPC, Carter, standing inside. Open the door and get Carter into your group. Watch him real close. Proceed into the attached hallway. Deactivate the security gate. The switches to throw are the first and last. Once down, go to the end of the hall into the Cell Room. Use the PCs and find the cell with Fisk. Also pick up the blood test. Head to Fisk's cell and open it. Check him with the blood test just to be sure. The other NPC is infected. Find the cell with the grate in the back and shoot it out. Make sure you have one weapon that uses ammo and the flamethrower. You can give them back later but you may need them now. Follow the duct into a room with two walkers stomping around downstairs. At the end of your platform, there are two flame grenades. Wear each of the walkers down with gunfire as best you can. They will hide from you if they can but be patient. Once you get them worn down, use the flame grenades to finish them off. If you miss or they avoid the flames, drop down and finish the job. There is a junction box in a cube you need Dixon to fix. Head out the downstairs door and go get your men. Bring Dixon back and have him fix the box so you can use the PC. Get the code to the elevator and head for it and the next level. Level 7a Strata Maintenance While riding the elevator down, pick up the ammo and the MP5 lying in the floor. Outfit your NPCs with ranged weapons. When the elevator stops, you'll see troopers getting set to frag your ass. Get ready for them and kill them quickly. Head down the hall to the left of the elevators then through the door on the left at the end of the hall. For about four times you try to cross this room, another wave of enemy troopers will attack from the hallway, go back and dispose of them. Once they are done, cross the room and go into the big room with 3 tubs containing scuttlers. Have Dixon fix the junction box for the door. While he's working, you can go up the stairs into the elevated room in the corner. There is a fire extinguisher and 4 health packs in a dispenser. There is also a sniper CCTV that you can use on the scuttlers in the tanks if you like, but it'd be shooting practice only. Exit the room and look under the platform it's on and you'll find three crates, shoot the end ones to reveal shotgun and MP5 ammo. Shoot the middle one and you'll get s scuttler. Once you get into the room Dixon just opened, you'll find stun grenades, a shotgun, and MP5 ammo. Head back to the room you started in; several scuttlers will emerges from pipes in the ceiling. Shoot them then proceed down the hallway the troopers came from. An alarm will sound, but don't worry about it as it will short out. Peek around the next corner and you'll find several troopers you'll have to deal with. Step back, arm your shotgun, and throw a stun grenade around the corner as far as you can by banking it off the wall across from you. As soon as it goes off, go in with guns blazing. Move quickly to the other end and keep any troopers from activating the switch on the wall. If they reach it, it will activate a sentry gun and they are a pain to deal with. If you don't manage to keep them away from the switch, Have all your NPCs stay behind and at a distance (or the medic will run up). In quick short jumps, step from around the corner of the sentry gun (on the ceiling at the end of the last hallway) fire a couple shots as you hear it spin up, then get back quickly. Repeat this until you destroy it. If all the threats are removed, get your NPCs and head into this hallway. At the end of the hall you will find a locked door with two walkers inside, a window and a grate. Shoot out the grate and head in. While working through the duct, you'll hit a couple scuttlers... easy at this point so kill them and keep going. Shoot out the grate at the other end and get ready to run. As soon as you hit the floor a fire will break out. Run up the stairs and down the hall. There is a walker in the hallway so just run past then spin and pump a few rounds into it. If it follows, switch you flamethrower and light the floor up to stop him. The spreading fire will finish it off. Keep going until you go through the door but get ready to fight several scuttlers. Just keep moving until you finish them all off. Once the fire has burned a for a bit, use your extinguisher to put out the remaining flames then go back to the room the fire broke out in. Here you'll find HE grenades and some regular grenades. Get them and return to the switch room. Inside the room are a series of switches, a data terminal power box, a save station, some MP5 ammo and a fire extinguisher. From where you enter the room, in the far left corner is a room containing some health packs; in the far right, a door leading to some adjacent hallways. Approach the switches in the center of the room and Blake, apparently talking to himself, will let you know you need to figure out how to get these working. Head to that door that leads into the hallways. A corpse at the far end of the first hall will spawn a few scuttlers. At the end of the next hall are two doors. Ready a grenade then open the door straight at the end of the hall. Inside are a lot of scuttlers and a lot of fuel drums. Pitch in the grenade then back WAY up. If any scuttlers make it out, finish them off then head inside when you see the fires stop burning (you can make out a little under the door). Fix the Fuel Supply box then leave the room and go into the room at your left. Go inside and shoot the fuel drums. Head up the stairs to your left and around the corner. Shoot all the scuttlers hanging out on the pipe work. Head to the end of this area towards a grate and scuttler will burst out. Kill him then collect the grenades, pistol ammo and health pack. There is also a grenade setting on some pipes just as you enter this area. Go back downstairs and fix the Pressure Tank Controls. This will fix the switches. Return to the switch room. Notice that several of the doors are numbered. They correspond to switches. You'll need to take care of the walkers to get back to your men. Throw Switch #1 and some flamethrowers in the walker room will activate and kill them for you. (Tip: whether or not this is intentional I don't know, but if you REALLY want to help the fight, If you stand near the window looking into the room with the walkers, then switch to 1st person, you can shoot through the window and get both into the red before you have to risk fighting them in the same room to finish them off with the flamethrower.) Once the walkers are taken care of, have Dixon fix the Data Terminal Power box to get the save station to work. Thank God... you can finally save! Throw the switch for Door #4 and head through. As soon as you enter, a trooper will charge out. If you notice, there are some explosive crates on the floor. Shoot them and you won't have to waste much ammo. Don't charge around the next corner... a sentry gun is waiting for you. Instead, step against the opposite wall just around the corner so the gun can't see you, the pitch a HE grenade as hard as you can down the hall. This will take care of the sentry gun. Have Dixon fix the Elevator Controls and be ready for two troopers when the door opens. Proceed inside and you're on your way to the next level. Level 7b Strata Furnace When you set off the elevator, you'll step into a furnace room that may or may not have a walker loose. By loose I mean, running around the room OR, in the "pen" of crates in the center of the room. You can either fight the walker head on or, use the furnaces to do your work for you. If you use the furnaces, first, leave your NPCs on the elevator or they'll likely get cooked. If the walker is running loose, try to lure him into the pen by running through a gap on the side opposite the elevator, then duck through an opening on the other side. A crate will fall pinning it in. Take two lefts and go past the furnace and on the right hand wall you'll find a Furnace Control Center. Repair it and open the furnace door next to it. The flames will spread into the pen area exploding two fuel drums and taking care of the walker. Close the door and once the fires die out, you and your men can proceed through the door near that Power Supply box. Personally, I'd just shoot it. Open the big door opposite the elevator. The attached room has a lower and upper level. Down below, there are several rows of crates and troopers that will soon realize you are there. Take care of all that show up. Head left along the top and have Dixon repair the Office Door Power box and head into the office. During a cutscene, you'll find out that Whitely is up to something... but what? Heal Temple and give him a weapon. Use the CCTV and wait a moment. A few troopers will trickle out that you can have a little fun with. If you loose track of them, catch them trying to come up the stairs, they are easy pickings there. Once done, use the PC to find out a little info about a weapon being designed to use against The Thing as pick up the sniper rifle and ammo. Head out of the room turn left and go to the end for a fuel canister then go down stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, turn left and have Dixon fix the Door Control. Shoot the middle crate in the first row to reveal a health pack. Go into the adjacent room and save your progress and restock on the shotgun and pistol ammo, HE grenades and fuel canisters. Go to the door at the foot of the steps to get a flamethrower and health packs. A few scuttlers will spawn so be ready. Go back upstairs; turn left and head to the door in the opposite corner from the office door. As you approach, an trooper will run out. Kill him then head inside. You'll find Lavelle inside and he's about ready to lose it. You don't have a lot of time. Grab the blood test in the room and give yourself the test in front of him. This will calm him down. Give Lavelle a weapon, get some MP5 ammo, then head out. Go downstairs and to the far corner of the room you saved your game in. There are two switches. Behind door number two, Monte, there are three troopers. Open door two and they'll come out a little. Open door number one and finish them off. Go through the door off the final room. You will enter a room with a downward staircase. At the bottom is a door that has an explosive laser tripwire. Face that way over the railing, and drop a grenade down. This will destroy the tripwire. Head down and in the corner opposite the door, there is a health pack. Grab it and head through the door. This is a long dark tunnel. It is crawling with troopers and a few Things. Proceed slowly and everything will go ok. Turn right as you go out of the door. Get your flashlight, as you won't be able to see anything. Go right for a bit and you'll find some truck wreckage. Look closely and there are some turned over fuel barrels on the right hand side of the truck. From a decent distance, shoot one until it explodes and you won't have any Things to worry about. Go to the right hand side and pick up a grenade. Go to the other side of the truck and get the HE grenades while you have one of the engineers repair the roadway power. This will restore lighting in the tunnel. Begin down toward the other end of the tunnel. There are four or so troopers and a walker waiting for you. You have a lot of options as to how to get rid of them so pick one and go with it. Personally, I used the sniper rifle and picked them off with headshots. When it came to the walker, I fought him the usual way, shoot-shoot-shoot-torch. Go into the little room off the tunnel and use the CCTV remote gun to kill what troopers you can see then detonate the fuel drums behind the debris blocking your path. Proceed killing a couple more troopers, restock at the MP5 and shotgun ammo crates. Have an engineer repair the bulkhead power, then go through the door. Inside you'll find an NPC that will quickly burst out. Take care of him. Scattered around the room is some ammo. To the left center of the room, there are some fuel canisters. When you approach them, some scuttlers will attack. To the right of the door, there is a crate blocking some flame grenades and a grenade launcher. To get to them, pitch a grenade behind the crate to ignite a hidden fuel drum. It will explode knocking the crate and out of the way. Head up the stairs and into the room and repair the power box. When you do, several scuttlers and walkers will appear downstairs. Kill them off, the pick up the extinguisher, sniper rifle ammo and use the save station. Head downstairs and prepare to face the second boss Thing. Boss 2 Open the right bulkhead door. A cutscene will introduce you to the next boss. Don't just go charging in there. One, he can do a lot of damage and it's a bit tough to get out of his area and Two, there's no need yet. Go ahead and fix the winch power supply. Then back up to the door and peer over the lowest crates. (Notice that the crates have a low spot in them, that's where I'm talking about). Arm the strongest hand grenade you are carrying and begin lobbing them over the crates at the boss. You'll have to do this in 1st person to aim them correctly. If you have HE grenades, I'd use those first. Make sure you throw them far enough because if they bounce back close, it'll hurt. Throw at least 5 of them and if need be, switch to the regular grenades. At this point, if they were well placed, it should be in the red. Now, get ready to run out into its area. Arm the flame grenades and the grenade launcher. Run around the crates. If you stutter step for just a moment, then take off again when you hear it roar just before it's attack, then run for the switch again, it'll hit where you were, not where are. The boss monster is slow but very powerful. At full health, you won't be able to take more than 3 hits from it. You can dodge most hits if you have room and time it right. Anyway, run for the switch, give the beast a good shot then head back for the center of the room. Switch to 1st person and when the boss is stunned and slumped over, hit it in the "neck" area, right between the two appendages. If you wore it down enough and you aim well, one shot should do it. If not, get the hell out of the area, and then perform the last steps again. Once dead, throw the switch on the wall behind it and that will open the next room. Leave the boss area and head into this last area. Inside, repair the power supply on the wall and watch the last cutscene. When the timer starts, run like hell. Well, you've actually got 35 seconds, enough to even pick up ammo on the way if you need it. Run for the exit back by the CCTV gun used earlier. Get on that elevator and watch the finale of the level. (Tip: This is another case of the NPCs won't make it out of the level. If you are in serious need of ammo or guns, take them from them before you step onto the elevator or earlier if you like.) Level 8a Transit Hangar 1 You'll start this mission out in the snow so you need to move quickly but carefully to avoid detection. This level is also fairly long, maze-like and chock full of troopers. Move up close to the hangar and take out the two troopers outside. You have a few options... just kill them any way you see fit. Move in through the door and take out the trooper inside as well. To the left, you'll find an open container with a health pack inside if needed. Go all the way right and around a corner you will find some sniper ammo. At the left hand side of the room, there is a door leading deeper into the building. The first is a short room with a door leading out. Go through the next door and shoot the trooper before he can activate the alarm (which will send in a LOT more troopers). There is a room in this room with a save station, a weapon and ammo, but the door is locked. You'll be coming back for it later. Go into the next room and there is a trooper around the corner. Take care of him then head into the next room. Go out the next door and across a short room into the next room. Inside are two troopers. Take care of them. There are crates to the right as you enter you can use for cover. Once they are dead, use the PC for some info about C4 stored elsewhere in the warehouse. You'll be getting it later. Around the corner from the PC is a Holding Area. The controls require an engineer to fix. Again, you'll be coming back through later. Go into the next hallway. You'll encounter two scuttlers initially and two more as you approach the far door. Through this next door, you'll need to move quickly. Go through the door and take care of the troopers outside the 'bulldog' walker's pen. Shoot them quickly and the walker won't get free. Two more troopers will emerge from an elevator in the hallway you entered from. Once they are dead, there is a health kit dispenser on the wall. Load up. (I don't recommend fighting the walker now as the save point is a good distance from here.) Head into the twisted hallway and you'll take on three more troopers. When you reach the end, go through the doorway, be prepared to meet another trooper, but if you line up just right through the windows, you can get a sniper shot off and take him out before he even knows you're there. Go to the room on the left at the bottom of the ramp. Move quickly and kill the troopers shooting at Powell. Once you do, enter the room and a cutscene begins. After it run, gain Powell's trust by giving him a weapon. Have him repair the Cold Storage access and Save terminal. Inside cold storage, besides the two scuttlers, you will find a shotgun and ammo for it as well as the pistol and MP5. Leave the room and head down the hall; a trooper will likely attack. Go through the door and turn left and continue down the hallway. Around the next corner a trooper will be waiting. Kill them then collect the fire extinguisher setting on some crates. Move to the other end of the room and go through the door. Head down the stairwell and shoot any scuttlers that attack from the grates. When you reach the bottom, check the body under the last flight of stairs for a health pack. Go through the doors at the foot of the stairs and have Powell fix the Security Door controls. Proceed through the door adjacent to the controls. Near the end of the hall are some fuel drums, shoot them and they may take care of a scuttlers waiting for you. Continue around the corner and take a look into the next room. You'll find a few troopers waiting to get a shot at you. (Tip: Again there is a clipping error that will allow you to switch to first person and shoot them through the window. Use it if you see fit.) In the room, there is an MP5 and ammo for it and the sniper rifle, shotgun, and HE grenades. Stock up. Notice there are door controls as well. Us the CCTV to take a look behind the door you can see through the window. A vision of Things to come I should say... aheh aheh ahem... Head back down the hall and into the next room. Watch for any troopers you may have missed. Have Powell fix the Save Terminal station and use it. Head to the room at the far end, you know the one... it has a 'bulldog' walker and two scuttlers in it. Open the door, then pitch in a flame grenade or two if you have time, then close the door. Let 'em roast. If you don't kill the walker, open the door and finish him off. Go into the room and retrieve the key to the room with the C4. Go to the next door and open it. Inside is the C4 you'll need to place in the next level. As soon as you grab it, troopers will begin swarming the level. You'll be shooting your way out. If you're at a decent point, you may want to save before starting this process. As your overall objective, you are trying to make it back to the main door into the hangar. On the way out, you will encounter scuttlers and troopers along the way. Move through the areas methodically and purposefully. When you reach the area with the 'bulldog' walker in the tank, it'll be loose as well as a few scuttlers. Leave this room and go into the small hallway. There are a few troopers and a 'bulldog' walker in there. Blast away. Into the next room (has the Holding Area) and you'll hit yet another 'bulldog' walker. Kill it and have Powell repair the holding area door. Now, here's where it gets tricky. Powell is terrified of this room. If you can get him in there fast enough and have him repair the terminal power and get him out, he'll make it. Otherwise, he's going to lose it. If you have an adrenaline syringe, you can probably get him out of the room; otherwise, you make have to take care of him yourself. If you get him to repair the terminal (regardless of what happens afterward, you'll get a key code to a door with the save terminal and a grenade launcher as well as some grenades. Get going there and take care of the 'bulldog' along the way. Once inside the room, an agent will appear from outside. Kill him then collect the grenades, launcher and save your progress. Head for the main hangar door, there are two troopers along the way, one hiding behind the canister where the health kit was found at the beginning. On your way out, another trooper will likely come through the door you just did, either keep running or kill him. Either way, once through the hangar doors, the next level will load. Level 8b Flight Control You begin this level out in the snow as well so time is a factor. If you kept Powel alive from the last level, you'll have a little help here. Move ahead until you get within eyesight of one of two hangars on this side of the compound. At the door of each is a trooper guarding the entrance. Use any means you have available to remove them one at a time. (Again, I used the trusty sniper rifle). Enter Hangar A and plant your C4 charge then proceed to Hangar B. There is another trooper lurking in Hangar B. Kill him then gather the abundance of ammo scattered around the hangar including shotgun and MP5 ammo near the trooper, a health pack and grenades near the corpse, (when you near it scuttlers will attack) then shotgun, pistol and sniper ammo in between some crates near the front of the hangar. (same again, expect scuttlers). Proceed to Hangar C. Plant your C4 then finally, head to the last Hangar, D. Plant your C4 inside and if you need it, there is a sniper rifle at the rear right of the hangar. A LOT of scuttlers will attack and the viewpoint is a top down shot which makes the fighting a little tough. If you don't like it, get yourself out of the corner and it will switch back. Now that you've got the C4 planted, head inside the central building. There are two troopers guarding the door. Take them out and head inside. Kill the walker roaming the halls, then repair the staff room access. Head inside. On the corpse you'll find a key and flashlight, however, a bulldog walker and several scuttlers will attack. This is VERY close quarters so be careful. Once they are dead, use the PC and save station. Exit the staff area; turn left and head to the door at the end of the hall. Go inside and repair the maintenance area box. The Data Room box requires an engineer to repair it. (Powell if you kept him alive from the last level) Proceed into the maintenance area. Kill all the scuttlers you meet. At the first form, head right and clear out the scuttlers. Backtrack then head left. There is a fuel drum ahead. From a safe distance, shoot it and it will cause a chain reaction of explosions, killing a thing in the nook ahead and hopefully wounding the walker around the corner. Continue ahead and kill the walker before it kills Reed. Once dead, pick up the health pack at Reed's feet (apparently he's hurt so bad he can lean over and pick it up to heal himself.) Several more scuttlers will attack. Once healed, give him a weapon and head back to the staff room. Go ahead and save again. This time, exit the room and head right. There is a bathroom with nothing important on the outer wall, but the inner wall heads up into the tower. On the way up, scuttlers will attack from some ductwork. Kill them and proceed to the top of the tower. There will be a scuttler outside the door. Kill it and proceed to a room. Depending on the room you choose, you will either get a room that activates a cutscene, or the other with a walker and save station. Regardless, go from one to the other WITHOUT taking a shot at the C4 yet. Save your game; shooting the C4 requires you to be FAST. Once you shoot, the hangar doors will start closing. Start in one room and once you shoot the C4, get to the other as quick as possible. The best tactic I used was to stand in the center of the window and only zoom in as much as I needed to hit the C4, then drop from 1st person and turn to the other hangar, then go back into 1st person and repeat, again only zooming in as much as you need to hit the shot. Run for the other room and repeat the process. Once all the C4 is shot, a cutscene will show some Things entering the tower. Once you leave the door, troopers will begin entering the building. Expect to meet the troopers at the top of the stairs. Go down and head to the maintenance area. When you open the door, you'll find a couple scuttlers and a walker. Kill them and proceed to the back door. Go out the back door and into the ductwork leading into the ground... time for the next level. (Tip: Again, you can collect weapons before you leave the level.) Level 9a Weapons Security Continue down the duct until you drop into an open cave area. Find the shack and the smaller shack nearby. Repair the box inside. A walker will start to burst free from the shed. Kill him then head inside and collect the grenade launcher, flamethrower, shotgun ammo, HE grenades fire extinguisher and health kits. Approach the elevator and two more scuttlers will attack. Kill them then attempt to use the elevator. Of course nothing comes easy so you'll be doing this on foot. Turn left from facing the elevator then had up the earth ramp until you reach some ductwork. After an explosion, a scuttler will attack. Kill it and go into the ductwork. Just after turning the second corner, a few scuttlers will drop down but be aware that a few will also attack from behind you. Kill them, pick up the ammo and proceed around the next corner. There you will find some MP5 ammo. Now comes the some of the toughest fighting you'll do in the entire game. When you drop out of the ductwork, Cohen will run by or just behind you. He'll run all the way to the top of the ramps. When you hit the ground, quickly give him a weapon and follow him. Once you reach the top, have him follow you and fight any troopers coming up the ramps. Start working your way down the ramps slowly. Be aware that nearly every corpse on this level will spawn scuttlers as you progress. (Believe it or not, the level has a limit of 5 at any time total.) Once you make the first few loops, nearly every other corner will have a sentry gun. Before you get there, look for fuel drums near the guns that you can shoot; the explosion will take out the guns. On the levels that don't have fuel drums nearby, you can ALWAYS find a position from which the shoot the guns before you get there. Even a couple clips worth of ammo from a pistol will take one out. Work your way down slowly and carefully, always scanning the areas in front of you and a level below for any opportunities. Once you reach the bottom, while enduring a torrent of scuttlers, you'll also have to take on a walker. Give Cohen plenty of ammo and leave him outside the next room until you can clear the two sentry guns. Run into the room stay close to the rear. The sentry guns don't have very accurate range at a distance. Shoot the small crate blocking the door and head inside. Throw the switch on the wall. It will deactivate the sentry guns. Not only is the room adorned with Thing memorabilia. There you'll find a pistol, shotgun, shotgun ammo and a switch on the wall. Save your progress. (Hint: You have another option to clear this room. When you enter the room, and head immediately to the right around a small corner from the guns. Switch to first person and lean out with any weapon you choose and take out the sentry gun in the opposite corner from you. Work as fast as you can, Cohen is outside fending off scuttlers, remember? Once done, take out the next then go back and get Cohen.) Leave Cohen behind in this room and prepare to dart into the next. Run straight across the room and into the side room with the switch. Deactivate it. This deactivates the sentry on the same wall. Again, you have a choice about the remaining sentry. You can run out and hit the switch just under the sentry you just deactivated OR, run back out towards the door leading into this room and stop behind the tall stack of crates for cover. Edge out to the left and you can pick off the sentry without activating it. Return to the room and gather the pistol ammo if needed. Go back and bring Cohen into this room. Under the second sentry, you'll find a health pack and sniper ammo. The third room can be the toughest. There are four sentries in this one; two at the far end of the room and two behind the door. (one in each corner) There are also two switches in the room but no matter what you do, you'll be fighting two sentry guns. The first switch in the room to the right will deactivate the two sentries at the far end of the room but activate the front two. The switch on the opposite side of the room under one of the sentries will deactivate the two at the front of the room, but activate the two at the rear. Here's how to fight to win. Run into the room and immediately head for the room to the right. Before throwing the switch, go back into the door way and pick off the two sentries at the front of the room. Then, once destroyed, activate the switch to deactivate the two sentries at the other end of the room. In this room you'll find an MP5 and ammo. Get Cohen to follow you through this room and proceed through the door at the far end. (Tip: Or take his weapon from him :). He won't be following.) Level 9b Weapons Lab The intro to this level looks like a scene from Tombstone... "Say when." Ryan and Stolls have each other at gunpoint and you must decide who is who. Enter the room and get the two health packs and the TASER from this side of the checkpoint, then run around to the other side and get the blood test. Use the blood test on Ryan and he'll burst out. Kill him. Have Stolls follow you through the arch and the next two doors into the robotics room. Inside, pick up the MP5 ammo directly ahead and have Stolls repair the Data Room 1 box. Go into Data Room 1 and stock up on shotgun ammo and use the save station. Around the corner from Data Room 1 is a table with a CCTV and a door remote. There is also a fire extinguisher on the floor. Head up the ramp to activate power for the room. The power supply is on the wall opposite the ramp. Have Stolls repair it. Begin reading the PC information. Once you pass the second row of desks, a walker will burst from the wall as well as a couple scuttlers. Kill them and continue reading the PCs. Also, the last desk on the left has two flame grenades on it. Head back down the ramp and a cutscene will begin. You'll get all the information you'll need to know about what is about to happen. Go to the CCTV and watch as Stolls as he comes through the first door. It will only take him a few seconds to reach it. Once he goes through the door, open the door then follow after Stolls. As you round the corner, an explosion will occur. Through the broken door, there is a room with three pods on the floor. Fight through the scuttlers and torch the pods. You'll need the fire extinguisher to put out some of the flames to get across the room. Open the door on the right and you'll find what's left of Stolls. Kill him then collect his weapon/ammo and restock on pistol ammo if needed. Head out and through the door at the end of the hall. Another cutscene will begin and end with you trapped in a room filling with gas. You've only got 30 seconds to get through this. There is a power supply nearby, repair it then at the far end of the room is a CCTV that controls a remote gun. Go to it and pan to the right. Shoot the tanks that are leaking gas. This will stop the timer and blow open the door. Also in the room are two PCs (one with a nice message from Whitely and another that will activate a short scene). There is also MP5 ammo, fuel canisters and health packs. Collect them all! Head out of the room and in the dark corner of the room near the door, you will find a save station. Go back to the security station and proceed into the red light district. Don't just barge around the corner though, a sentry gun awaits. Bank a HE grenade off the wall and take it out if you can. Otherwise, duck back and forth, firing shots at it until you take it out. Head into the next room and torch the pod in the floor. Once gone, throw the switch on the sentry gun and proceed to the next room. Turn right and fix the door controls on the near wall. Enter the room and use the CCTVs to get a look around the area. Exit the room and head toward the observation room overlooking the gun range. Kill the two troopers that will attack you. Head under the stairs and pick up any ammo the troopers may have dropped and repair the Observation Room power. (Hint: You can use the gun range if you like. Line up at each station and score critical hits and the target will come forward. As far as I know, it's just for fun.) Head up the stairs and meet Peltola. Give him a weapon and have him follow you. Before leaving the area, use the remote gun to blow up fuel drums to gain access to the weapons room. There is also a walker in the room. Eat his lunch for him and he'll be a lot weaker when you arrive. Go to the weapons research room, kill the walker and get the key from the table to the far end of the room. Exit and have Peltola fix the door controls to the data room. Enter and collect the pistol and ammo, MP5 and shotgun ammo and the flamethrower if you need them. Use the save station. Head into the remaining door near the gun range. Kill the two troopers but DON'T go in yet. Across from the room to the left as you exit there is a shelf with a LOT of ammo and grenades... stock up. You're getting ready to face the toughest boss. Once loaded up, head back into the room and go through the last door. Boss 3 I kid you not when I say this is the hardest boss in the entire game... well, unless you manage to find a trick. I could suggest you run around the room and whatnot, but it's pointless unless you just like repeating levels a lot. Here's the trick to beating this boss. When you enter the room, run along the center seam of the floor to the junction of either the fourth or fifth row of tiles (deep into the room). You'll be at a sweet spot from which the boss can't (or rather won't) hit you. Feel free to shot until you wear him into the red. Then turn to the tank holding the walker. Shoot it open the follow the same ol' method of shooting into the red, then flaming him. REMEMBER, you can't leave your spot however. Flame him if he's close, if not, try tossing a flame grenade that way. Once you finish the walker, prepare to finish the boss. Back away from your spot quickly and toss a flame grenade under the boss. Move as far away as you can and KEEP moving. Two grenades in this manner should finish him off. Once you get the ESCAPE notice, get ready for two or three troopers to attack. Kill them, go save your game, them get ready to leave the area. Head back the way you came to this point. At one point, the level will load and you'll have a towering inferno to escape. Work you way VERY slowly. Take no more than a few steps at a time as there are triggers to explosions and fires all along the way. I simply can't cover adequately where each explosion will occur, however, keep these things in mind: * Stop just before stepping onto each new turn while climbing the ramps out. * Stop before each pillar or grate. Not only are the exploding, but there is still steam. Once you reach the top, you will encounter two troopers and a couple walkers. The walkers may kill a trooper for you, but you never know so be ready to kill them all. Once you reach the very top, climb the boxes and escape through the vent. Drop down and head back to the cave, but watch. There are four bulldog walkers waiting for you. If you wait at the edge of the vent, they will come up and you'll have perfect protection from them. Kill them as you have the rest, just this time you don't have to worry about getting hit. Once they are dead, proceed to the floor of the cave. There will likely be a few scuttlers, but are they really much of a challenge any more? Once at the bottom, hop onto the elevator and get ready for the last stages. Level 10a Field Testing At the top, you'll see Whitely running away. Pursue him down the ice corridor. All along the way there will be troopers. Be ready for them at every turn. There is no particular tactic to making it through this save the few I mention. It's not tough, just don't let yourself get surrounded. After Whitely rounds the corner away from you, wait for a moment with your sniper rifle and you can pick off 3 troopers. Move ahead and be ready to kill more around the next corner. Generally, if you have grenades, pitch one around each corner ahead of you and you may get some easy kills. As you make the first turn, there are fuel drums ahead, if you can get a shot off, you'll kill several troopers at once. Move to the area the drums were. Ahead is a sniper trooper. Arm your sniper rifle and lean out and try to get the shot off. Clear out the other troopers in the area, and then head into the cave for warmth, ammo, grenades and health packs. Continue along your course and be prepared for a sniper on top of the corridor edge, just behind the "island". Forge ahead and kill the last sniper then head into the dome. Inside the dome, you'll finally confront Whitely. Obviously, he's not feeling himself these days. Once he takes off through the maze under the dome, save your game, and on the other side of this room are health packs, grenades and ammo. Again, this place is crawling with troopers so proceed slowly. Also, there are more laser trip mines, but, if once you see one you back up quickly, a trooper will be along shortly to help you "disarm" it. I'm not going to discuss every point along the way. It's mainly avoiding trip mines (so move slowly, don't just go blundering around corners) and shooting troopers. I'll touch on the highlights though. From the entry point, head left and around the corner, you'll encounter your first trooper here. Kill him and round the corner, but if you look ahead, there are about 5 more troopers waiting for you. But, to save the day, there is a fuel drum among them. Shoot it and take them all out. Continue ahead down a winding path, you'll meet another trooper in a second turn. After you get through the zig-zag portion, there will be a couple more troopers around the corner. Ahead you will find a choice of direction. One way has trip mines lining it. If you pitch a grenade into the hall, you can detonate them. There is also a fuel drum tucked across from the first of them. Shoot it and it'll detonate the one across from it leaving you to pick off the other. This path leads back to the main room where you can save your progress. Going the other direction, expect to encounter a few more troopers. Kill them and keep moving ahead. Nearing the next corner, you should see a few crates. Around the next corner are several troopers at various distances. There are also two fuel drums, one fairly near and the other far away. Shoot them to thin out the crowd. At the opposite corner from where you enter the room is the continued path. In the turn, there is a trip mine so watch out. Back up and a trooper will stumble through. Proceed and watch for more blind corners with trip mines. Around nearly every turn from here out is at least one trooper. When you round the last turn, there are three waiting for you. There is also a lot of ammo as well. Stock up and get ready for a sniper duel. Head out into the snow. There is a series of 5 canisters out here to hide behind. In the corner of the last two, there is more sniper ammo if you need it. Ahead, blocking you path is the sniper complex. There are 5 snipers out to take shots at you and they have great aim. Use your best tactics here and use the canisters as cover. (If you can make it to the complex on foot, you could also run down and mow through them if you're not a good sniper.) Once you clean out the nest, go to the shed on the backside of the complex. Stock up and raise your health. It's time to take on Whitely. Whitely Head out of the shed and down the corridor behind it in the distance. Half way down, a cutscene will show you what is going on with Whitely. Continue and as you reach the end of the corridor, another cutscene will begin and the fight with Whitely is on. From the helicopter, you really only have two things to shoot. At Whitely's base, you'll see four sets of fuel drums. Shoot them to start the fires burning. From that point on, aim for either Whitely's 'hand' or the bulge just down from there that sticks out a tube tentacle from time to time. Keep this up and it won't be long until you drop him. Enjoy the finale. THE THING walkthrough 2