Retro Game Walkthroughs For
"Gears of War 2"
(Xbox 360)

Welcome to the walkthrough for one of the greatest games that you will play on the Xbox 360! It's packed full of action and enough gore to make the Saw films look tame. Use the guide as much or as little as you like it covers everything, good luck!

Act 1: Tip of the Spear

Chapters

Welcome to Delta | Desperation | Rolling Thunder | The Big Push | Roadblocks | Digging In


Welcome to Delta



Before starting, you can choose to train the rookie, which will take you down the "long way" through the area, and give you numerous prompts on how to use the controls. If you've played the first Gears of War, there's little new to learn right off the bat, so feel free to skip this part and go right to the next chapter, Desperation. (However, finishing training will give you the achievement "Green as Grass.")


Put the rookie through the test if you'd like. You won't miss much, other than an achievement.



Desperation



The Jacinto Hospital is close to being raided by Locust, and you'll have to suppress the onslaught. You'll meet with Tai, and then will have to follow him upstairs. Up there, you'll have a chance to ambush the Locust from above as you look down into the central courtyard. A box of explosive tanks is in the middle of the room, so focus your aim on them, and wait for the Locust to arrive. As Marcus himself will say, it's best to wait until there are more than a few grubs in the room before you open fire on the tanks.


You may not get all the grubs at once, but cleaning up shouldn't be a hassle.



Once the courtyard's clear, keep going around the corner and down the next hall. Keep an eye out for an open door to the left, which leads to a small room with a Journal ("Dr. Nicolette Shannon") for you to pick up.



Follow the team into the next hall, where you must, again, fire on grubs from above. You don't have the help of explosives this time, so you'll have to get rid of them the hard way. A few grubs will make it up to where you are, so take cover around a corner or behind a desk, and take them out. Marcus and Carmine will continue down the hall and into another small room to fight more Locust.





Stay outside the room to remain safe. Toss a Frag Grenade in there to kill two birds with one stone.



You'll be going through two small rooms, then back downstairs. Clear out a couple more grubs in the Intensive Care room, then make your way back outside (though don't forget to check a blocked hall for some extra ammo).



Once outside, stay up by the steps and fire at the grubs at the other side. When you can't see any others to shoot, run down the walkway a little, and you should find that Carmine or the others are firing at. During this fight, a giant Reaver will swoop in, but will quickly escape, so don't waste your ammo on it -- just keep away from the middle of the yard. Clear out the grubs, then head into the other side of the hospital.


Carefully work your way across the yard.



The rest of the squad runs down the hall, but you can slip into an operating room on the right-hand side and grab a couple of grenades. Go forward and you'll soon end up in another close-quarters firefight. It's business as usual there, and soon, you'll move forward into the mess hall. This is the largest room in the hospital, so you'll have to do a bit more moving around in order to stay close to the enemy and be able to kill them.



From there, you'll be going back upstairs. Again, take cover behind the tables, kill the few grubs, then go through the side door and back downstairs into the cathedral-like room. The power goes out again, and just before your robot pal Jack gets the locked door open, more Locust come in from the side doors (one door following the last). Take cover around the center pillar and shoot from there.



Check the doorways that the grubs came through for extra ammo pickups. Now, you can finally exit through the main door and regroup with Carmine. Back outside, you'll have to suppress fire from the top of the steps again, though the distance between you and the Locust is a little greater. Try another grenade or two, but otherwise, shoot everything that moves. If you'd rather get closer to the action, you can break away from the center stairs and head down the left-hand side to try and get closer and attempt a sneak attack.



Toss a grenade down the steps for good measure.



Once you get down to the street, you'll get some help from a Raven gunship, who will clear out the rest of the enemies in this part. Then, make your way forward and into the abandoned store. Take cover behind the checkout counter and fire at the grubs outside. Stay there until things quiet down and you should do fine.



Head back out and take a left down the street. Use the vehicles as cover, and before long, the chapter will end.



Rolling Thunder



Once the enemy fire starts arriving, take the opportunity to run up to the turret on the left-hand side of the derrick. And then, basically, just start firing at whatever the objective display tells you to. Up first are the Nemacyst mortars, which you'll have to shoot down in midair. The mortars won't hurt you if they strike, but their explosions can lower your visibility.



Reavers come in after that. Swing the turret to the left and start shooting at the Reavers as they chase they derrick. They won't be around long, though, and in a minute or two, the derrick has to stop and Delta hops out to fight on foot.



An emergence hole pops up in the ground in front of the squad. Quickly take cover and eliminate all the enemies that come out. A second hole appears, but after some more firefighting, one of the other derricks rolls in and gives you some assistance. More grubs are on the upper ridge. The derrick will take care of those, so keep your eyes on the ground and watch for more grubs appearing from the E-holes. Once it's all clear, you can head back to the derrick.


The Big Push



Get back to the turret and start firing at the swarm of grubs and the Brumak up ahead. Eventually the derrick will start moving again. Another derrick's been hijacked by grubs, though, and they keep climbing on top of it. Whatever you do, make sure you keep the grubs away from the other derrick's turret -- this is as simple as shooting them as you see them.



This goes on for a couple of minutes without much action. That is until a narrow bridge appears in the distance! Oh no! The derricks start ramming into each other, and after a few rams, the windshield on the front of the Locust's derrick busts open, giving you a clear shot of the driver. Pump the driver full of lead before you both reach the bridge and you should avoid a Game Over.




Once the windshield breaks, focus your aim on the cockpit.



The road trip continues. You'll be off the turret after crossing the bridge, so get back up to it. The Brumak catches up with the derricks, and you'll have to protect the entire squad from certain doom. Keep your eyes forward and open fire on the Brumak up in front of your derrick, and then open fire. After that one's down, you'll be spooked a couple of times by Corpsers, but the derrick will roll on by. After shooting down one more Brumak, things move on to the next chapter.



Roadblocks


You'll have to "escort" the derrick through the town by clearing the path for it. Start by going up to a shack and busting down the door. Head inside, jump over the counter, then go upstairs to find a second Journal (Jacinto Sentinel Newspaper) among some extra ammo.




Tickers can go down in one shot; use a pistol or shotgun.



Go back downstairs and you'll meet the Tickers; explosive Locust creatures that blow up when they get close to you. They'll skitter outside, but stay inside and fire at them from afar. You only need to kill them with one shot, so you can use a pistol to kill them without wasting too much ammo with the Lancer or otherwise.



When you're close to the monument, more Tickers will appear, and then you'll be going up past the monument towards a gas station. Nemacyst mortars are on the way, and if you're not in proper cover, you're really going to feel the hurt from them. Not to mention that there are two Troika turret gunners above the station and off to the left of it. Basically, don't get too close from the station -- in other words, don't go up to the sandbags just yet. Stay by the stone partitions and you should be safe from the mortars. Take out the grubs, and a gunner should take care of the Troikas.


Once the area's clear, head through the fence opening you're directed to. You'll enter a deep, dark tunnel, with Tickers coming in. The derrick's headlights will give you some visibility, but not quite enough. The Tickers may surprise you, but your squadmates can take care of things if you happen to miss.



At the end of this section of the tunnel, check the side path to find a COG tag, and then continue forward into the narrow hall, which winds back into the tunnel. You'll have less light, but you can pretty much dash right through without getting hurt too badly. Stay alert, though.


Once you reach the actual end of the tunnel, you're surprised by a Reaver that swoops in. Get behind the nearby car and take cover there as you continue to pelt the Reaver. It should die in no time, and then your work in the tunnel is done.


Up ahead, you'll have to choose your path: the hotel or the rooftops? Both ways lead to the same end, so there's not much to worry about. We'll start with the Rooftops path.



Rooftops path

Run up and take out the first couple of grubs on the first level of the roof, then go around the corner and up the ladder to the very top. At least one grub should be up there firing mortars, and will probably be oblivious to you, so go ahead and slice him with the Lancer to save ammo. Then, pick up the Mortar cannon. Go right up to the corner where the grub was sitting, and aim the cannon at the busted roof across the street where the other squad is.



Head back down the ladder and Jack will cut open the nearby door. Bust in, run through the house and out to the next roof, where more grubs are waiting.


Hotel path



Head through the house and up the stairs to the roof where you'll face some grubs. Stick to cover and get rid of them quickly, then wait for the mortar to come and destroy the upper roof so you can get inside the next part.



Inside the house, you'll be surprised by more grubs. Again, stick to one cover point and keep your eyes open for any enemies coming in from the side. Following that, bust open the door on the side so you can get back out to the roof and kill a couple more grubs.



When the grubs are all cleared out, the derrick will roll in... and so will a Brumak. Grab the nearby Mortar, get close to the edge of the roof, and start firing towards the Brumak. The Mortar is the only way you'll be able to kill it in time before it destroys the derrick, so speed and accuracy are important here. It shouldn't be long before it's down, and you can return to the derrick.


Use the Mortar early and often on the Brumak.



Digging In


Back on the derrick, you'll have to use the Mortar again to have some fun with the grubs down below. You won't have a lot of ammo for the cannon, so just use what you can. The Locust's Mortar crew will come in, but you can fight fire with fire.



When you're out of Mortar shots, take cover behind the lip of the derrick and attack as usual. Take out the Mortar crew, followed by the grubs jumping up onto the deck; a couple of Boomers (rocket-firing Locust); a couple of Reavers, and all the normal drones in between. That should tidy up story of Act 1 nicely.

Act 2: Denizens

Chapters

Scattered | Indigenous Creatures | Disturbing Revelations | Sinking Feeling | Captivity | Intestinal Fortitude


Scattered



Delta's been fired down into the ground, chasing after the Locust on their home turf -- and, unfortunately for you, Carmine's a ways away from the team. Time to split up and look for him. For the record, we first took the left-hand path from the start.

There aren't any hard-set paths to choose from like earlier in the game; you just have to explore the environment and find Carmine first of all. It can be a little confusing to make your way down the slimy paths underground, but as long as you're aware of your surroundings ("landmarks" like spent Grindlifts are good indicators) and basically head straight wherever you can and generally make your way further down, you should make it out all right -- as always, the paths always lead to the same end.




Don't look back as you run through the caves and you should make it through just fine.



The first event is the arrival of Alpha 7. Make your way down the slopes, past another single Grindlift, and up another "ramp" or two -- the point, of course, is to get down to where Alpha landed. Push forward until a lift drops into the ground right in front of you, then further ahead until you finally reach a checkpoint, and Carmine comes in with a distressing radio call. It shouldn't be much longer until you rejoin Dom and find Carmine firing away at the Locust. Tear down the vines with the Lancer saw and give the rookie a hand.


Clear the area, then run up to Carmine's damaged Grindlift. Collect the extra ammo around, and then Jack will attempt to repair the Grindlift. Unsurprisingly, more Locust come in for a fight during repairs. To take them, the strategy is the same as the last fight, but it's now from the other side, and you have a slight height advantage, too. You can stay perched up there, but in a couple of minutes, the Locust will start sending Tickers, so don't get too attached to your cover.

When the area's clear again, go up to the fixed Grindlift and give her a shove into the wall, which will make a nice little tunnel for you. On the other side, Omega Squad is fighting Locust down below. Run down there and give them a hand, as well. Use the sandbags and Grindlifts for cover (and pick up the nearby ammo boxes, too) and take care of business as usual.

When Omega's safe and Control chimes in with another message, continue forward into the darkness. Jack will provide some light along the way, but then Wretches will start shambling in from the shadows. Ready the Lancer saw and use it to cut through the Wretches quickly as they approach you.




Don't waste ammo on Wretches; just go nuts with the saw. It's not the fastest method, but it is the most fun!



Another batch of vines punctuates that fun little walk, and then it's back out to the tunnels.



Indigenous Creatures



The next new creature you meet is a giant Rockwom, but as you'll find out, it's harmless -- you can, in fact, use it as cover. Just make sure it has a red glowing fruit to eat, and you can basically lure it along the ground that way.




The Rockworms become an invaluable source of cover. Who'da thunk it?


After getting the gist of how to use the worms, keep going forward around a hairpin-shaped path. Keep your eyes to the left to find a batch of vines. Cut them down and you can reach an empty lift and a Gear's Journal (from Sgt. Jon Harper). Ahead of that is a checkpoint and a split path -- Marcus decides to head left, so you might as well.

The mission moves on to a Locust checkpoint; a spot underground where a few Locust have set up camp. They have a Troika in the center. Try tossing a grenade as far as you can -- the blast may not be right up against the gunner, but might still connect and get rid of it. If not that, you can swing to the left and take cover behind a partition there and try to hit the gunner from an angle. That should also be when another Rockworm crawls into view, giving you a closer cover point. If your squadmates are distracting the gunner(s), run up to the worm and pelt them from there, too.


Rush down to the worm once it's in place to get a closer shot at the Locust bunker.



Clear the area, jump over the big sandbags, collect the ammo, and head up the ladders. Once you reach the top, go to the right (or swing left first to find even more ammo). Another checkpoint leads to a couple of more firefights, including another Troika gunner down a slope. Get up to the small sandbag in front of the Troika and wait for the Rockworm to appear. Get up against the Rockworm and sidle up against it as it moves to the left. Use the positioning to hit the gunner from an angle. When the Rockworm stops, go up near its head and you'll be shown a box of explosives near the Locust. The worm will continue moving, so move with it until you get a clearer shot at the explosives, and then let the bullets fly. Once the area's nicely blown up, you can continue up the ridge to the left.


Move with the worm to get a nice, consistent line of fire.



Up the ridge is another, somewhat larger Locust camp. A Troika will be found just around the corner when you come upon it. Toss a grenade over there to get rid of the gunner, then run up and take over the Troika for yourself, then let the rest of 'em have it. Take out the second Troika, then run up and grab that one too.




Quickly jack the nearest Troika and use it to help you wipe out this area.



A Reaver will come in. Once you kill it, the area will be cleared, tripping another checkpoint. Stay on the Troika, though, because it won't be clear for long -- more drones and Boomers come in from a big door to the right. Cross through the door and head down a couple more levels. Alpha needs help from the Mortar squad, and you can run up to another Troika to help thin out the herd below. All you need to do is just sit there and fire away at the antlike Locust below.

And then the really bad stuff happens.



Disturbing Revelations


Walk through the shallow water and up to what looks like a Locust temple. Make haste in taking cover and firing at the enemies up above. More will come from the center door, but it shouldn't be much longer before your partners help wipe them up. Head through the door and immediately turn right to find an ammo box and a Locust Emblem.



The temple's pretty boring, but eventually you'll have to choose between a left- or right-hand path.

Left Path

You can pick up the Longshot sniper rifle as soon as you start down here. Luckily you don't need to be an ace marksman for this section: just shoot the red fruits that hang high above the rest of the team to help lure the Rockworm out and provide cover.


Shoot all the fruits (the last one is off to the right of the glowing gold lever) and a bunch of Wretches will drop down to give you hell. Again, ready the Lancer and continue to slice them up in the most efficient way. Once they're gone, you can pull the lever and open the door to the next section.

A Troika will greet you, but you can turn left and head down a hill to greet more Troikas! Take the first cover point and try to pick off the gunners and all the other Locust with the Longshot. Otherwise, do what you can with regular fire until a Rockworm appears up ahead, then use it as extra cover.




Shoot what you can from afar, then rush and take cover behind the upcoming worm for a better view.



Once that area's clear, a cut-scene leads into the next chapter.



Sinking Feeling

The city above has been leveled thanks to the gargantuan Locust worm. All you can do now is to keep going. Keep heading down the obvious path until the firefight starts -- and don't blindly fire at the civilians, either. Take cover around the cars and be watchful of surprise attacks from the sides, especially from the Bloodmounts.

Keep moving forward, checking any side paths for extra ammo. Before long, a Reaver will fly in and land right next to you. It can really hurt, so try to immediately run under it and then fire when you're far away enough.


Don't stand around too long when the Reaver lands. Rush under it before it has a chance to skewer you.

Keep following the squad up to a point where a Locust sniper is spotted. Get rid of that bugger quickly, then keep going. The rest is just a bunch of standard firefights, and then it sort of ends in a sunken area with a building blocking your way. You'll need to wait until it collapses, but if it isn't, run all the way down into the pit, then back out for a few yards, then come back and it should finally collapse.



Once it does collapse, go down and keep moving forawrd, winding around the street corners until you enter an especially dillapitated house. It's an ambush!: A multitude of drones attack from the upper level. Immediately run back into the doorway you came from and take cover, else you'll be ripped to shreds in seconds. Pick off whatever enemies you see, and hold out until eventually, a savior drops in: the one, the only, the Cole Train.


Stay out of sight once the ambush comes, or you'll be hamburger.

With Cole in tow, exit the house and continue through the back up the collapsed graveyard. A Reaver jumps in immediately, so again, try to run through it and take a distant cover point. Then, regular Locust come up from the bridge up ahead -- stay in cover and pelt them from there as they come into view (especially helpful in dispatching the Tickers). Clear the area, grab the ammo, and head into the tunnel.

Captivity


Head in and take a look around -- you can bust open the wooden boxes with the Lancer, but they won't contain anything. Up ahead are a few metal coffers. One of them, if you keep going, still has a live body in it: it's Baird from Alpha squad. Once he's free, follow the rest of the squad into the next section with a bunch more wooden boxes around. Near these -- off to the right -- is a Stranded's Journal, "Jennifer."

Keep going until you spot the Beast Barge, and a firefight ensues. In the far right-hand corner you can find a Gorgon Pistol, a very powerful, if limited handgun. Hang onto it, as it may well help you in tight spots later in the game. At any rate, continue fighting the grubs guarding the Barge, and then head up the stone bridge and onto the deck of the Barge.




The Gorgon Pistol isn't a necessity, but can be a very nice backup gun.


On the Barge, you'll first have to take out a couple grubs, then go over to the lift up to the next level. Inside, pull the lever on the center column and it will... open a few empty chambers. Continue up to the top level and kill the couple of grubs there. Go up to the Troika gun on the edge of the barge, make a 180 turn, hit the gold lever on the side of the cabin, and then go up and use the Troika.

The Barge starts moving, and a Reaver begins chasing you. It won't do much, though -- instead, turn to the left and fire at the other barge firing at you. Eventually, your barge will stop, and you can attempt to hijack the adjacent barge. A firefight breaks out, so use the cover you have to get rid of the few grubs around.

Head down into the second barge and flip that lever below that opens the prisoner chambers. A short scene will reveal the fate of Tai, and then it's back outside to the deck. Another firefight opens up, and cover is kind of limited. Take what you can and fire at the enemies above. Clear them out, head up the wooden ramp, and continue through the rocky underground.


Get rid of the gunners up above before exiting the barge.



As you go back down a slope, Bloodmounts will appear from below. Now is a good time to use that Gorgon Pistol, as only a couple of bursts from it can down the Bloodmounts. Thin the herd, then keep going until you reach another area filled with coffers. Your next objective will be to move to the extraction point, which is back out in the wreckage of the city.

It's best to exercise a little extra caution back out in the city, since the cover points are smaller, and another Reaver drops in. We love to belabor the point, but as always, keep a distance and use either the Gorgon Pistol or the Longshot for a quick kill.


Continue into a firefight near a gas station, and then you'll enter the building where the extraction point is. You'll be directed up to the roof, where another Locust ambush arrives. Once you're told the "smoke's up," get ready to take cover. Don't go too far out to where the Locust come from, or it's certain death -- remember what we said about extra caution? You'll then have about 30 seconds before the Raven arrives, so all you have to do is stay alive until it counts down.



Intestinal Fortitude



The squad ends up being eating by the giant Riftworm. This is a pretty straightforward chapter: most of the time you're running.

The first obstacles that come up are the worm's giant digestive teeth. Typical videogame situation: just run past as soon as they rise up, and avoid getting gnashed.




Some of the teeth will be stopped halfway, so you can safely dash under them.


After getting past all those teeth, you're soon greeted by a new type of creepy, crawly Locust. They'll be easy to clean up, though, and then you finally find Carmine... or what's left of him. There's no time to feel sad, though, because a huge rolling wall of debris is barreling towards you, and you'll have to outrun it.

Make a mad dash forward, and be careful not to run into the bushy spikes along the path -- stand in them too long and you'll die when you least expect it. There will be a couple of points where you'll have to slice down a membrane wall with the Lancer, so keep your thumb near the melee button, too. You'll also have to shoot your way through a "flesh opening" -- a nice name for what looks like a giant sphincter.

So keep on running, shooting sphincters and slicing membranes, and you'll outrun the debris and survive yet again.


Open fire on these... holes... quickly and rush through the opening.



Next up is a series of green acid-spitting nozzles. Whatever they are, you need to shoot their tips to make them briefly stop spitting, then run past. You may be able to hit some from afar, but don't overdo it; just take them one at a time.


Following that, you'll begin to enter the intestine, and the noxious fumes can be too much to deal with. In other words, if you stay in there too long, the screen keeps progressively fuzzier until you finally choke to death. Make it easy for yourself by head towards brighter light, and not into black spots. At the end is a membrane to slice through, and then you can continue.


Do not adjust your monitor -- this isn't even half as bad as your visibility can get if you take too long in the intestine.



After exiting the intestine, you'll eventually reach the heart. Disabling it is easy: walk up to one of the large arteries and saw it away. Do it to both to disable the heart, but your job won't be done. Keep going forward until you meet some more skittering Locust. You can pretty much run right past all of them though, and continue to slice through another membrane and reach... a second heart!

Now you need to slice three arteries. Once you slice the third and final one, stay put and wait for the blood pool to rise, and also reveal a path leading further up.

Keep going until you reach the third heart. Now to slice four arteries, and those pesky Locust are joining you, too! Again, let your squadmates deal with the monsters, and go ahead and cut the two arteries on either side of the heart. Work fast so you don't drown in the rising blood, and once you finish�well, so too will the act.


Like a surgeon...


Act 3: Gathering Storm

Chapters

Dirty Little Secret | Origins | Rude Awakening | Ascension | Displacement | Brackish Waters

Dirty Little Secret

This opening chapter is mostly uneventful -- just walk around the back of the building to reach the large entrance, then explore the interior of the mansion.


Bust into the mansion and check the place out -- Jack will have his lights on, and will move to where you should be, so basically just follow him. Jack leads you to a large steel door leading to "Jameson Depot." The ominous face in the computer monitors demands identification before you can enter. Marcus opts to blow the door open, but will need to head back out to get one of Baird's explosives.

And then the power goes out. Follow Jack through the halls and into a storage room, where you'll near the electrical panels, as well as pick up a Scorcher Flamethrower. It can be a little helpful in this act, so there's no harm with picking it up (we switched it out with the shotgun, FYI). Walk up to the glowing green power lever and switch the power back on. Now all you have to do is make it back to the Centaur!

Except you're finally ambushed by Wretches. Once again, don't be afraid to use the Lancer saw, and slice through every -- the sawing animation can leave you somewhat invulnerable as you attack, so simply sawing should keep you alive. Clear the room, then look for the glowing metal wheel and ammo box. Turning the wheel opens a garage door and gives you a nice shortcut back to the Centaur.




You and Dom grab the explosive, and then have to slowly walk it back to the steel door. To defend yourself, all you have is a pistol, so you'll have to shoot the rest of the Wretches that come by. But there's not as many, so for the most part, you can just keep walking and shoot Wretches when they enter your field of view.
Go back to the ledge you jumped off to reenter the warehouse, and simply follow Jack back to the security door.

Origins



Now to explore the facility. Run through the halls and enter the smaller command room on the right, where you can also find an Interoffice Memo collectible on the floor. Then exit and head into the larger control room. Following a comm chat, you can exit through the hallway in the rear corner (to the right of where you came in). Not much to see -- just keep going forward until the next checkpoint.

After the checkpoint and around the corner is a room full of Wretches. Instead, turn 180 degrees and go back down the other end of the hall and bust down a small door. Inside is a control panel to activate a laser turret that will fry the Wretches for you, letting you pass. So head back and open the door into the Wretch room, then take a left and down some more halls.

You may spot a turret on the other end of one hall, shining its light as it looks for targets. For now, turn 180 degrees from that and go straight down the other hall. Turn right into a small door and another tiny office that has a Memo from a Dr. Doug Sato. Exit the room and continue down the hall to another checkpoint. You'll find another turret around there, and this one has objects near it for cover.


Use the cover of those desks to protect yourself more from the turret.


If you're fast enough, you can run past the turret without getting hurt too badly, and if you're constantly in the "roadie run" duck, you can avoid the sensor beam completely. Get up against the farthest box and duck into the room to the right side where you can turn off the turret and continue onward. Ready the saw, because more Wretches are on the way.

Two turrets are in here, and they're flamethrower types. Once again, you can avoid them just by running past, then deactivate them and head into the next hall. Here, three turrets on the wall and on the ceiling are right next to the power switch, but you can easily run over to the switch and hit it without dying.


A run can keep you safe from the turret sensors.


The halls will lead you back outside in the rain, where some more Wretches will flood in, even as you cross the lot into the next wing of the building and enter the kitchen. Good thing the chainsaw doesn't wear out. It's also good to help yourself by hanging back near a turret and waiting for the Wretches to walk right through them on their way to gnaw you.

After the kitchen, the journey is mostly safe for a little bit. It's not until the following checkpoint where the Wretches come out again. There will be a couple more turrets in the room, so use them to your advantage like last time, and just saw, saw, saw.


Quickly jump over and hit the red switch to shut off these turrets.


It's more of the same for the next checkpoint and the next few halls. Eventually Marcus will decide to split up, deciding who gets to deactivate the turrets in a particularly long hall and who gets to walk past them. It doesn't really matter which way you go, though: if you take the turret controls, just turn them off one after the other and watch as Dom sidles past them. If you go through the hall, just act like Dom and run past the deactivated turrets.


Either watch Dom run through the gauntlet while you hit the switches, or vice versa.


That section leads into a room full of stasis tanks, with some sort of research going on. Walk through and activate the glowing gold lever to switch on the power and start the next chapter.



Rude Awakening



Run through the facility back towards the Centaur, and before long one of those stasis tanks will bust open, revealing a hulking new enemy, the Sire. Despite its looks, it's not very difficult to kill: a constant stream of Lancer fire should get rid of them quickly. And if you find yourself overwhelmed, Dom can actually help you out. Additionally, if you hung on to that flamethrower, this would be a good time to start using it. If you ever get lost, look around for Dom or Jack, who are usually positioned where you need to be.


Flamethrower + Sire = success.


The rest of your journey through the facility will consist of fighting more Sires. Eventually, though, you'll come upon a gate with two wheels on either side. You and Dom will have to grab and turn them together to raise the gate, but a Sire or two will constantly appear form the background and try to hurt you. Unless you're on a high difficulty, you don't have to worry too much about dying if a Sire starts slashing at you, and once you get the gate open, an automatic animation of the two of you running through will save you from getting hurt.

After a radio chat where Baird complains about the razorhail, you'll soon trip a checkpoint and enter a large room where a Locust ambush busts through the wall. Stay far and safe behind a counter, because these grubs have heavy firepower, or if you're feeling overwhelmed there is a tiny room with a security device directly across from where the locusts burst through the wall, that should help out a little and save some ammo. Keep from getting toasted by flamethrowers, and lob a grenade or two if you have them.


Stay behind this counter and take on the onslaught.


Once that wave is clear, pass through the busted wall and hide at the next nearest cover point. If it's getting overwhelming again, fall back into the last room and wait for the Locust to come to you. Get through that, fight through another hallway or three, and always keep your head down.


Pretty soon, you'll enter a cathedral with razorhail raining down from the center. Clear out the enemies inside while staying away from the hail, and then come out through the other side. It's still hailing, but there is a clear path leading to the train car up ahead. Well, not completely clear, but it won't kill you to dash through the hail for a second or two in order to shelter. At any rate, get into the train and release the brake to take a little ride.

The train moves slowly, but you can take cover below the windows as you pass by the Locust trying to attack you. In fact, you can pretty much stop shooting and just hide in safety, then get off the train when it stops and run over to the next train (wiping out the Locust across the way first).

Fire at the Locust across the lot, enter the train, then hop out the other end and continue across the lot. Again, follow the bare path, and keep an eye on Dom to know where you're going. Soon you'll spot a garage door that can be used as a bit of shelter. Run up to the wheel and start turning to reveal a cover point to hide behind. There's another wheel down the way to the right, which opens up to a wider, more dangerous area. Stay behind the doorway and fire out to the Locust across the lot. Be careful of a sneaky Locust pelting you from the rear, too.



Open up these garage doors for a slight bit of shelter above the cover points.


Clear the area, then go out and again turn to the right to find another door, but the wheel is on the outside. Open the door, and head up to the next train to continue. Release the brake, and again, you can mostly hide safe on the train, though when it stops, you'll have to clean up the area immediately around you if you want to avoid getting shredded by gunfire.

Exit the train, slip through the narrow passage to the left, take a ladder up the side and down a path to another busted lot with Locust running around. Here, several emergence holes will be popping up, but not until a whole wave is cleared out. Run up to the successive shelters to get closer to farther enemies, and before long, a series of Mauler Boomers will appear from the distance. Start firing as soon as you see one lumbering in, kill it, then focus your fire on the next one. The Y button look prompt will lock you onto the next Boomer easily.




Wth Dom's help, downing the Boomers shouldn't be too much of a problem. And when they're gone, you can grab their Boomshields! This new item allows you to plant it into the ground as a temporary cover point, but for the immediate future, it's a makeshift umbrella in the razorhail. Continue forward, and the hail turns to regular rain. A couple more Locust are up ahead, so feel free to plant the Boomshield for some needed cover.

After turning a corner or two and killing a couple of grubs, you'll make it back to the Centaur. It's having trouble getting started, though, and that's a perfect time for a couple of Reavers to show up. As usual, don't stay in one place too long around the Reavers, and don't let a moment go by where you're not shooting them. After killing the two Reavers, you can finally enter the Centaur and begin the next chapter.




Ascension


Driving the Centaur isn't too much of a challenge, though you shouldn't speed through every firefight, as it's not a very long-lasting vehicle in spite of its looks. Use the Centaur's cannon to fire at enemy turrets from a distance, and clear out packs of Locust on the ground. In addition, Reavers will take about two shots to kill. The key thing to remember is that hanging back is much more essential in this chapter than in any other on-foot mission. If you're getting killed too much, then back up and fire from afar.

At any rate, when you start the chapter, choose a path up ahead and push forward (neither path makes a difference, since they circle around to the same point, but the left path does have a few less enemy encounters to deal with).

After blowing away a couple of emplacements and busting down a few gates, you'll have to make a large boost-jump over a ridge and land down by the icy lake. Once you start rolling onto the ice, Nemacyst Mortars come down and crash into the ice, creating a large holes. Take this incredibly slowly -- the holes always appear in the same spots, and you can expect them to appear in the least convenient spots, so you definitely won't be getting across in a straight line.


The ice *is* breaking! Maybe you should go really slowly here!


After crossing the lake, the path leads to a Reaver attack, and a second lake. The mortar holes aren't quite as tricky, but by the time you get halfway across, a Reaver will show up on the ice. Slow down, kill it, and finally get across the second lake.

The path takes you up the mountain, and you'll be shooting a few more Reavers and packs of grubs. After a checkpoint, you'll be shown a couple of Seeders on a ridge firing mortars. It will be difficult to roll by without getting killed, so do your best to fire up at the ridge and try to take out the Seeders.

Pretty soon, you'll come upon a busted old logging bridge. To get across the chasm, look to the right for a stone ramp to boost-jump across.


The only way across is to jump.


After taking out a few more Reavers, you'll come upon the entrance to the large cave of Mount Kadar, which is where a lot of Locust are concentrated. There's a gate blocking your way, so to remedy that, you'll have to destroy the guard tower to the left of the gate. Stay far behind and aim the cannon at the tower. When you're made enough successful hits, the tower collapses and takes the gate with it. Now you can finish off the ground forces and finally roll into the cave.


Don't go down here until that guard tower is down.


Getting through the cave is mostly event-free when you start out. Just keep going forward through the path. If you think you're stuck, just boost-vault over a ridge to get down to the next level.

After a checkpoint, things go completely black. And then, three Corpsers appear from the darkness and are ready to attack. Fire at them as soon as they open their arms to kill them. The first will be the one in the center, followed by the one on the right and then the one on the left. Not quite as hard as it looks!


Shoot the Corpsers right as they open up.


Keep rolling through the cave until things get a little brighter again, and you'll suddenly have to kill a couple of Brumaks. One will slowly follow the other after you kill it, but as long as you keep your distance (of course!) and keep firing cannon shots, they should go down pretty easily. Once they're down, the chapter ends.

Displacement



Are the Gears approaching a Locust City? It seems that way. For the time being, Marcus and Dom will have to run along the side of an underground lake to get closer to the enemy forces. The encounters along the narrow path on the side of the water will be fairly easy.

It's not until you reach the more open area of the ruins that the fighting really kicks into gear. Not only are there the on-foot troops, but Locust Gunboats are sailing around, too. Worry about the enemies in front of you first: slice up some Wretches and take out the flamethrower grubs too. Towards the center of the area, you can gain some height by climbing a few stairs around the ruins. Close by, you can also run up the top and grab the Stranded's Journal: Stu, then stay there and use your perch to clear out any other enemies below.

It will soon be time to take out the gunboat. Thankfully, there are a few bright orange explosives you can fire at to send the boat crashing into shore and wipe out the grubs. Run across the wrecked boat over to the other side of the ruins. A small boat can be seen, but of course, you'll have to fight your way to it. The firefight is pretty straightforward -- the only real annoyance is a Kantus that might be dancing around the tiny boat and a few Tickers.

It's a long walk to the boat, thanks to one last firefight to get through, but that's business as usual. On the way to the edge of the pier, you can pick up the Mulcher gun, which can come in handy for the next part.

Once you're on the water, you'll have to defend it from the oncoming gunboats (of course!). Use the Mulcher to fire at the gunboat(s) on the side. The gun should make things pretty easy for you, and after a few minutes of running around, you can hijack another gunboat that rubs against yours and take it further down the waterway. That one will have a proper Troika turret, if you'd rather use that.


The Mulcher does exactly what its name says.


By the end of the chapter, your boat will slow down as it enters a cave, and the sea monster you saw next to the Locust boats earlier will continue to stalk you, all the way past the waterfall you fall from.

Brackish Waters


Time to defeat the sea monster! It will start by slamming its tentacles down onto the deck of your boat. Be ready with the Lancer saw, then simply stroll up and give the tentacle a nice manicure. First it will come from the left, then the right, but from different distances, so don't hang out on the middle of the deck too much or you'll be crushed.


This is one of the reasons to always hang on to the Lancer: big fat tentacles that need sawing.


After you cut three tentacles, the monster tries again, this time by attempting to swallow the boat whole. First it bites down onto the deck, opening its eyes for a few seconds. Use that opportunity to fire at the eyes and push it back.

When it bites down again, shoot an eye and its mouth will open. Immediately run to the front of the boat and you'll be inside of the mouth. Shoot the blue-tipped tendrils as they protrude from around the throat -- once you shoot about three, the opening to the throat will open. You now have only a few moments to toss a grenade inside there (if it's not working, try throwing at a higher arc). The monster will then let go and dive back down into the water. Extra grenades and bullets can be found around your feet if you need them.


Aim grenades high to ensure they fall into the throat.

Repeat this process about two more times (i.e., toss three grenades into the mouth). Pretty soon, the monster will have had enough, and you can safely sail onward... to the next act!


Act 4: Hive

Chapters

Priorities | Answers | Hornets' Nest | No Turning Back | The Best-Laid Plans | Royal Inquisition



Priorities



After the gunboat docks, run through the rocky path up to the first temple. A cut-scene follows, and then you can follow Dom as you try to find the Locust labor camp. Go up an elevator, down a path, and then down an elevator. Not much action so far.

Eventually you'll reach a series of water ducts, and a big wheel that you can turn to lower the water. This allows you to pass through. Once that happens, the enemies start coming from the other side. One Locust will immediately go for the wheel to raise the water again -- if that happens, you lose, so stay aiming at the left-hand corner to pick off the grub immediately.


Quickly take out the grub trying to raise the water.


When you clear that area, you'll soon take another elevator down, and end up in a larger area with a few cover points. Wretches start swarming in, but so do a few other Locust, including a Mauler. Take out the Wretches first, then the Mauler. Continue across a medium-sized walkway until a spotlight shines on you, and another wave of Locust attack. Stay at the nearest cover, but it's usually a good idea to shoot out the spotlight first before getting too gung-ho.


Knock out the searchlight to make things a little easier to deal with.


Once you clear the area, you still need to open the gate. Proceed up to one of the glowing Locust terminals around the area, and push it to open the gate (a look prompt will show you which terminal). From that, you get a lead on Maria, and Dom decides to look for the right coffer.



Answers



Follow Dom, and check out the new Locust terminals as you find them. After waiting for a Locust patrol group to pass, a firefight will occur up ahead. Take out the Mauler first -- as usual -- then keep going. After passing two more failed terminals, you'll finally come upon the one near Maria.



But a group of Locust start to close in, and this is a tough bunch -- a Grinder, a Mauler, Wretches, a Torque Bow-toting Theron, and even a Bloodmount or two. The best tactic is to get rid of the Wretches, then follow by gunning down the drones that were near the Grinder. Then kill the Grinder, grab its Mulcher (if it's safe to) and open fire on the stragglers (i.e., the second group that comes in from the left-hand path).

Once you finish off the enemies and activate the terminal, the cut-scene will close out the chapter.



Hornets' Nest



Go up to the lever, pull it to raise a few small partitions, and use these for cover. You'll be doing this several more times throughout the act, so keep an eye out for levers later on. Turn around and check a rear corner for the Torque Bow near an ammo box (there were times you could pick it up earlier, but the Bow is extra useful for the rest of the act).

Find some stairs in the opposite corner and take them down to the lower level. At the first corner, turn right, and you'll soon come upon an easy-to-find collectible: the Locust Jailer Document. Continue forward and kick down the door at the end of the hall.

After a short scene, you'll come upon a castle courtyard. Here is where a potentially very challenging firefight breaks out. Two Locust drones will be up on a high walkway, with a Theron a little bit up ahead, plus a couple more drones on ground level. It's very easy to get hit from all angles, even in cover -- the best thing to do is stay close to the wall on the left, under the walkway, and clear out the ground level drones. Now, run out to the arch-shaped cover point and fire at the upper-level enemies.


Threats come from above and to the side -- stay low and try to get rid of the upper enemies first.


When the fire stops becoming as frequent, use the opportunity to run up the spiral staircase towards the Theron in the guard tower. (You may meet a couple drones on the way up, so be ready to dive back down.) Get in there and use the saw on the Theron, and hit the switch inside the tower. The door below will open, but more Locusts will rush out. Stay upstairs and use the height to your advantage -- tossing a grenade by the foot of the stairs is one such technique that may thin out the herd. Just don't go too far down unless Dom needs reviving.


Finish off the second wave from above. A grenade can be your best friend here!

Once the coast is clear, head down, and then through the door that you opened up. The doorway leads to another open area and a minor firefight against some Bloodmounts. Clear them out, and look for another lever towards the middle of the area.

Pretty soon you'll end up in a wide-open area that resembles the place where you started the chapter. And of course, you're immediately attacked. Run to the left and find a lever that will raise some extra cover points � take cover and start shooting. Another grub that's too smart for its own good will try to pull a lever to lower the cover, so when you get the look prompt, aim up to the right, and pick him off.

Shortly after that, a Reaper will arrive. Use Torque Bow shots if you can -- it should only take a few to blow the sucker up. It's important to stay near the cover points, though, because when the Reaver falls, it takes a part of the wall with it, creating slabs of rock that can then be used as extra cover. When the rest of the Locust are finished, Grinders will appear from one of the side doors, but as usual, they'll fall easily to nonstop gunfire.

Run through the doors the Grinders opened, and head up a small set of steps along the center platform through the closing overhead door. If you make it in time, you can cross into a small room that not only has a collectible (the Human Finger Necklace), but also a Troika that can make the next firefight go much more quickly. Use it to dust the Locust that is gathered around the train tracks.


Run to the hidden Troika to make this chamber a cakewalk.


Eventually, the action will die down, and you'll have to get off the Troika, and move forward to get a better range of fire. It is possible to run up, bait the Locust into firing at you, run back to the Troika, and try to finish off the next wave. Either way, you have to head to the other end to get out of there.

The next section features another high walkway, but the Locust above are oblivious -- good chance for a sneak attack, huh? A Torque arrow is a good opener, and then from there you can take cover behind one of the columns along the path. Locust will come down after you, so staying aimed ahead is best.

Finish up there, head to the top, and back outside to another open area. Run up to the lever ahead and pull it to raise some more cover walls. More Locust will appear, but it's a simple fight. Use a grenade or two to make quick work of them.

Run ahead to the center circle. A small cut-scene will set things up: as Jack tries to set the beacon, you need to keep things safe. Once you get control back, pull the lever in the center, because you're about to enter one hell of a fight.

The first wave has everybody from drones, Snipers, and Tickers. If you stay within the cover walls, you can avoid most of the Tickers. Keep shooting and tossing grenades to clear out as many Locust as you can -- and keep an eye on Dom, too, in case you need reviving.

Pretty soon, a Reaver drops in. Sure, why not? That means you'll have to step away from the center cover for a little bit if you want to survive. Again, use the Torque Bow for the most effective kills, but don't stray too far from cover.


Get up close and personal with the Reavers. Well, not literally, but do hit them with Torque arrows often.

A second Reaver follows, and then more fiends come out from the side gate, and one of them has a mortar. Once you see the mortar shells explode, you'll have to move far away or else you'll be immediately downed. The best move would be to get away from the mortar, look for the gunman, then take him out ASAP, and take the cannon for yourself.

Run to where that side gate opened and head all the way to another lever to pull. Once you do, a couple of Grindlifts will fall from the distance. That will signify Jack's safety, and then it's back to work killing dudes. This time, you can use whatever shots are left in the Mortar cannon to rain death on the Locust up ahead. Just be careful of another Mortar gunner in the crowd. Slowly move forward past the cover walls and do your best to knock out the Mortar grub.


Enemy mortars can ruin your fun in seconds. Get way out of the way when you see one launch.


When everything is cleared out, Delta group reunites -- it's so nice to have two extra helpers again! Run up the steps to start heading towards the queen's palace. Eventually you'll find a gold lever that opens a big door, and leads into the next chapter.



No Turning Back


Things start with a gondola ride. Reavers will approach from the distance, and it's up to you to help shoot them down before they blow up your ride. You don't need to be pinpoint accurate, but it's important to make sure they're shot down before they get too close. Use Lancer fire rather than wasting Torque arrows.

After destroying four Reavers, a second gondola approaches from the other side, with a few grubs onboard. A well-thrown grenade can end things early before they even get close to you, but you may still have to finish off the stragglers, then hop on and take that gondola up for the rest of the way.

Two more Reavers appear, so again, be ready and shoot them down -- you don't want to repeat this section again so soon.


Shoot down the Reavers as they approach so the gondola doesn't take too much damage.


When the gondola docks at the palace, continue through the hallways until you reach a spiral staircase. You can find an ammo box under it, which will no doubt be helpful after the Reaver fight. Then, go up the stairs to the next level. Off to the right is a not-so-hard-to-miss collectible, the Locust Calendar. Then, go across and down another set of stairs to begin the next firefight.



Again, pull the lever to lift up the available cover walls, and start the fun. Actually, a lot of enemies are down to the right, so you have a slight height advantage if you want to use Torque arrows or grenades. Clear out the enemies, then go down to that spot off to the right and hit the lever. Now you have to choose between taking the stairwell or taking the lift with the Troika. The Troika path is easier, since you're on a Troika, of course, but if you want some extra tactical fun (as if you haven't been getting it already), then take the stairwell.


The Troika path may be "easier," but we'd argue it's more of a rest.


Either way, the end of both paths leads to a switch behind the Troika lift that opens both doors to the next section. Head down the steps until you're overlooking a large area with a few cover walls dotted along. You can then run across the lot towards another yellow switch (and ahead of that, another collectible: the Locust Defense Plans). The switch raises a small set of stairs that will let you run down to ground level.

And then, after a short cut-scene, you'll be ambushed by Grinders. They should be easy to get rid of with Torque arrows. Kill them and follow the rest of Delta through a side passage. Another mild firefight is ahead on the lower level, but it's nothing to worry about.

The following fight is one to worry about, though, when a couple of Maulers, a Kantus and a few Torque-wielding grubs appear. Wait for them to come around the corner, then fire when necessary. The Kantus will be its usual annoying self and dance around the area frequently, so concentrate on getting rid of the Mauler first, then the Torque grubs, and finally the Kantus. Once you kill the final enemy, a cut-scene shows Delta jumping onto a lift to (relative) safely.


It's a tight space, but you can get rid of the hulking enemies here with Torque arrows or grenades.



The Best-Laid Plans


Finally, you reach the palace. Once you reach the center area before the door, you're ambushed from above. You can, however, stay alive pretty easily -- keep moving around the cover wall in the center, and pelt enemies above when you can. The enemies will remotely lower the cover walls, but you can put them back up by stepping on the button in the center if you need to.

After clearing the area, taking the front door into the palace just isn't going to work. Follow Delta down the small path around the rear. You'll be running across automatic cover walls that lift up whenever you step on the panel, which can be helpful when Locust start appearing from around the corner. Tickers and Bloodmounts are the first ones out, followed by a Kantus. All the cover is nice, but it's small, and will make it hard to deal with the Tickers, so be prepared to dive back and forth to avoid them.



Once you rid the area of enemies, you can go all the way down the path to pick up a small bit of extra ammo, but Delta will be waiting for you halfway up, at a "Locust lift." The lift will take you down into the Bloodmount pens, and at the end of the hall is a lever that opens up two gated doors. You must now choose a path again: Upper or Lower. The Upper path is a little bit safer, as you'll be assisting the other half of the team from above. Either way you end up at the same place, and the only threats are a couple of Grinders (one up across the room up above) and a Mauler. The Grinder up above is a greater threat, so take him out quickly, ideally with a Torque arrow.


Help Delta from above by picking off the Grinder across the hall.


Either way, you'll either be opening up a gate with a step switch, or waiting for the other side of Delta to open it. After that, you'll be taking a path outside. But once you see skylight, turn in the opposite direction, and run down the long hall. There you'll pick up a collectible (the Locust Invasion Map) and some ammo. Now head outside, and down another large staircase. (You can get two more ammo boxes to the immediate left after exiting the doorway, too).

Don't rush down the steps; you'll soon be surprised by Palace Guards. Use the columns on the sides for cover before letting loose with gunfire. There are more than a few to fight, and they appear all the way down the stairs. Use the Lancer saw if any of them get too close, and soon you'll reach a wide-open chamber.


These Guards just keep coming. Shorten the annoyance with a few grenades.


Here's where the last fight of the chapter plays out. More Guards are around, so use smart cover to shoot them down. When they're all gone, you'll move on to the next chapter.



Royal Inquisition


The opening hall in this chapter is a long forked path. When you start, turn left and head down to the corner on that side to find a collectible (Locust Tablets) hidden in between the wall and a column. Then, follow Delta to the center of the room and hit the lever to then activate another split-path choice. This time, both the Left and Right paths are mostly identical, though our screenshots will show the Left path.

You'll take the lift down, then you and your partner will take the chosen path. You have a lot to deal with, starting with a Mauler and a couple of Palace Guards. Killing the Guards first can be the smartest move, since they're faster.

Following that, the next wave features Tickers and Guards. Of course, you should shoot the Tickers first -- not too hard, since they'll be far away enough when you first see them.

After that wave, you'll be close to the end, but will have to wind around a narrow corner. Don't rush, because a Mauler is coming up from the other side. Once you spot it, fall back and find some trusty cover, then kill the Mauler.



Finish up by killing whatever the other half of the squad is fighting, including a few final Maulers towards the center of the hall. Once everything's clear, you'll be led to the next Locust lift that leads down.

The firefights in the lower hall aren't exactly hard, but you need to clear out each wave in order to keep running across the floor (there are gaps that need panels to rise). There is, at least, plenty of cover to protect you from all sides.



A lift at the end will take you to the bottom level, right near the queen's chamber. Unfortunately, it's a trap, and you have one more fight with quite a few Guards. Use grenades in an attempt to clear out the waves faster while staying behind cover more often. The good news: ammo boxes at the center of the platform periodically re-spawn, so you can infinitely refill your bullets when needed.

Clear out enough of the Guards so that you're not getting hit, then walk to the wheel on the center column, and start turning it to raise the platform again. Once you reach the top, enter the big center door to meet the queen.




Mash the A button to turn the wheel and get back up to safety.


After a chat with the queen, you face off against Skorge, the Locust warrior. He'll open up by slamming together his staff with your Lancer -- use a melee push (mash the B button) to hold your own against him and throw him off.

Then, he'll leap off onto one of the sides of the arena and try to shoot you from there, along with tossing Ink Grenades that can be extra deadly if you step into their clouds. The best advice is to keep moving, taking cover from his bullets and diving/running away from the grenade blasts.

Skorge will also slice one of the columns near you and have it tumble down, ideally on your head. You can easily avoid them if you just dash away, and the good thing is that when Skorge does that, he then leaps at you for another weapon duel. Knock him away two more times and you'll end the battle, but again, keep in mind that you should always stay mobile, and shooting at Skorge isn't necessarily what will get you to the end.


Be ready to mash the B button ina weapon duel after Skorge knocks down a column.

After the battle, Skorge escapes, and you'll have to chase after him. Simply make a mad dash down the bridge -- not stopping for anything -- and Delta will eventually grab a ride on some Reavers.

Act 5: Aftermath

Chapters

Escape | Desperate Stand | Free Parking | Tenuous Footing | Closure


Escape

Do you like Reavers? No, of course not. But this time, you get to ride one and use its weapons. It mostly flies on autopilot, so you don't have to worry about navigation (though you can turn the Reaver slightly to the left or right to dodge some projectiles). When facing from the rear, you use the chaingun; from the front, you shoot individual rockets. For the time being, you can just use the rockets. And since you're on such a powerful enemy, all you have to do is shoot enemies a lot. Isn't simplicity nice?



After landing for a moment to help the rest of Delta clean up, you're back in the saddle and flying through a dark tunnel, with a large Hydra enemy on your tail. Turn around and start firing as it approaches. Fire at the Hydra's closed mouth until it falls back and then starts firing rockets. Try to fire at the rockets to blow them up before they connect, but also duck to the left or right to assist in avoiding them. The next attack will be from its turrets, so focus your fire up above its head to deal the specified damage.



After escaping the Hydra, you head outside to the forest, and enemy Reavers will begin to chase you. You'll mostly be pointed at the rear, using the chaingun turret. Focus your fire on them one at a time so that you don't overwhelm yourself (they always come in pairs, so it's not hard to stay alive).




The ride seems to go on forever, but it will eventually end... with the reappearance of the Hydra! Start by firing at its mouth, and it will soon be pushed away. When it flies in front of you, swing over there and start firing rockets -- if it gets too close, you're a goner, so aim right and don't let up. It will then be knocked back again, and return to the rear.

At that point, it will use one of its arms to grab onto your Reaper. Shoot the arm to blow it off, wait for the Hydra to return to the front, fire another rocket, and wait for the second arm to grab on. Blow that one off, and then you'll have to dodge some more rockets. After about one more rocket (of yours) to its face, the Hydra will finally fall, and soon your next mission will be presented.


Desperate Stand

Start by following the rest of the Gears to the landing platforms. Check the corners for extra ammo boxes, then go down to the right of where you entered. When you see a Raven chopper waiting on a distant platform, take a left down the nearest steps to find a collectible, the COG Recon Report. Then go join Dom and Hoffman at the ledge and assist them with attacking the Locust out on the empty platform. After picking off a few drones, a Reaver drops in, but doesn't do much more than stand there, so you can freely shoot at it.



After killing the Reaver, you can now run up to that stationary Raven at the next platform. It will take off, but then will be quickly shot down, and more grubs will appear. Once again, after the Reaver shows up, kill it to open the door to the next section.

You'll come through a parking garage that looks out over the street. Take cover at the edges and fire at the oncoming grubs. Keep your eyes open for large ones such as Boomers and Reavers, but a Raven will assist you as well. If you need ammo, there's a bunch directly behind you. Once the wave is clear, a bridge will lower letting you walk across the street-way, over to the next building, and up the steps to the top of the Comm-Sat Array. (If you want to, take the Mulcher from the ammo spot, but drop it at the Array, and use it on the section after it.)

Here, you must defend the Array from a swarm of Reavers. Use the turrets at the edges to fire at the Reavers, but be sure to keep firing at them, even when they're in the air -- failure to consistently hit the Reavers may well lead to failure after a couple of minutes. In other words, quickly kill any Reavers that touch down on the ground (a full charge from the turrets should take one out before you have to cool the gun down again).



Finish killing the Reavers, then continue on to the north gates, which is the next spot you need to protect. The area's wider, and the enemies are farther away, so stay focused on the immediate area around you, and move to the opposite side to continue fighting. Again, you'll see a Boomer or two, but if you keep your distance, you can survive just fine.

But then, a pair of Brumaks emerge from the distance. If you went down the steps to the lower level, go back up and look for a Mortar towards the middle of the precipice, then go back down and start firing shells at the Brumaks. They should be killed in seconds.



Free Parking

The chapter opens outside the archives building, which has been overrun by Locust. Of course, you'll have to fight your way in. For now, all the fighting will happen outside the front steps. There are plenty of cover points, so use them wisely and keep your eyes open to all sides as you pick off the grubs. A flamethrower grub will round out the wave, and then you can head inside. Don't forget to check around for leftover guns/ammo. An ammo box is by the sealed front door.

Now, you have to get into the building from the sides. Take the left entrance, as Dom will usually take the one to the right. Once you get through, you'll have to clear out a small room of grubs. A grenade should do most of the work for you.

Turn the corner to the right and you'll approach the lobby, but don't rush out -- there is more (and more dangerous) Locust out there. Dom will do his best from above, so take cover behind a corner and fire out at the distracted grubs. A Kantus will be out on the staircase to the right (usually), and since they revive dead grubs, you should definitely focus on killing that one first.


Once that wave of enemies is clear, run to the top of the steps and take cover behind the banister, because a Grinder is about to pop out from the back door. That will end your time in the archives, so head out that door to the rear courtyard.

The courtyard sets the stage for a not-so-challenging -- but lengthy -- battle. A nearby Mulcher can help you in the early moments once you open it up on the enemies up ahead. You'll be dealing with all sorts of Locust, from Tickers to Maulers. Not to mention there's a Troika gunner up in the center of the yard -- avoid him and toss a grenade or use the Longshot to pick him off. Stay in cover and don't move forward until you're sure it's safe, and you should be done here in no time, especially if you take over the Troika and use it to finish up the enemies coming up from the rear.

Follow Dom into the next building, and grab the two wheels to open up the next gate that leads out to Cooper Street. The fight here is much worse than the last one, thanks to the Grinder and the Grenadiers around -- stay out of cover too long and you're sure to be knocked out, but if you're smart, you'll be done quickly. Fight back with a couple of grenades for best results (if you find the enemy's Ink Grenades, those can be a big help). Once the wave is done, Marcus chats on the radio a little bit, and then it's time to keep moving. If you downed the Grinder first, go over to its corpse and check the area behind it to find a collectible, the Jacinto Sentinel.

Head straight from that point to head out to the street corner, where you'll have to choose your path; we took the Streets path.

Start by running up to the car to take cover. Shoot the flammable tank the game points out to you to get rid of the Locust hanging out in the building, blowing up the tank, Locusts, and the face off the building. Easy! Go up to the wreckage and grab some extra ammo, too.

Continue down the street, taking cover at the next spot. As you fire at the couple of grubs up ahead, a Reaver drops in. Fill it with bullets quickly, then focus on those two grubs ahead and finish them off, as well. Dom will be nice and drop some cars for you to use as cover. The rest of the fight is a cinch: fire at another flammable tank to the right, clear out the wave, and Dom will rejoin you for the next checkpoint.



A Grinder bursts through a gate right at the end of the street, so dive into cover if you're not in it already and open fire. Kill it, grab its Mulcher, then round the corner to the right for the next part of the fight. That, or you can grab the Hammer of Dawn, the powerful satellite-based weapon that fires a huge laser towards the ground. Regardless, both weapons can help you defeat the incoming Reaver, and the subsequent Mauler, making this final struggle a breeze. Clear the wave, and follow Dom down the street, out to the huge sinkhole in the city.


Tenuous Footing

Your next objective will be to use the nearby cranes to cross the chasm. Take Marcus into the crane right up ahead and use the analog stick to move the platform the crane is carrying. Move it all the way to the left towards Dom, and he'll hop on. Take him over to the right, down below the other crane. Once he's safe, Marcus will hop out and you can start to join him.


Start by taking out the Locust that are attacking him, then run down the arm of the other crane. You'll rejoin Dom, and then the two of you can continue down the rooftops to assault the rest of the Locust. Kill the Mauler that approaches, then grab its Boomshield. The shield can be very useful when a Reaver appears from a rooftop up ahead and starts firing. Luckily, it just stands there, so you can freely pelt it with gunfire.

Kill the Reaver and continue through the next checkpoint, which features an enemy wave with some Tickers. It's nothing to worry about, though. Pretty soon you'll reach a ledge with no clear way down, and a series of Locust that grapple up the side. Stay at the first cover point and fire at the grubs as they appear.



Once you kill all the grubs, the ledge collapses. After the checkpoint, move forward through the windows. Beware of two flamethrower grubs that appear in succession from around the corner. Clear that out, and continue moving down the wreckage, participating in a couple more standard firefights. When all is clear, you'll have to sneak around back of one of the shacks and use the Lancer saw to cut a support wire from a metal cage. The cage falls, creating a bridge for you to cross to the next roof.




Well, that's the plan, anyway -- the cage collapses, sending Dom and Marcus down below. The fighting continues as you get closer to the cavern. Once you slip into another building, a Brumak is spotted down below, and starts spraying the building with gunfire. There's nothing to do but wait as the building collapses, sending you down again.



Now you and Dom have to escape the burning wreckage. Jump over a couple of columns until you reach a sideways elevator. Open it up and step inside. On the next "floor," you'll see the Brumak is much closer than last time. Marcus says they should take out the Brumak pilot. To do that, you'll have to go around back. Run straight up and around a corner until you're facing the rear of the Brumak. The pilot -- a regular Locust drone -- should be running around outside the thing. Shoot it down and that takes care of that objective.


The next great idea: ride the Brumak! Naturally! Time for the home stretch.



Closure

Controlling the Brumak isn't tough: you have a chaingun that works like a Troika turret, and a rocket attack on the X button. Both weapons are high effective no matter where you're walking through, but the chaingun is usually best for picking off Locust on higher perches.

For now, just move forward and shoot everything that moves. When you reach the first large gate, you'll have to use a few melee attacks to knock it down.


In the next section, you should start by taking out the Troika gunner on the right and following up with destroying the searchlights ahead and to the left. If you want to make quicker work of the foot soldiers, shoot out the glowing Locust explosives nearby. At the end of the section, you'll have to use your melee attacks again, but this time on a Corpser rather than a gate. Mash the button to shove the Corpser away and continue. The section after that is a short walk to another gate that you must bash down.


Following that is a longer little gauntlet. Continue to blow up Troikas and Reavers and the like as you approach an Imulsion lake. A beast barge approaches, and you have to shoot it down. Do that by giving it nothing but rockets until it finally collapses, then move ahead and bash down another gate.

Now to get more creative: Fire rockets at the stone columns in an attempt to collapse the ceiling and make an opening for the COG choppers. You'll have to pause every few moments to shoot down a Nemacyst mortar, and the Seeders firing them.



After destroying three columns, you're almost home free, except that all the Imulsion the Brumak has been stomping in is turning it into something else entirely. There's no escaping until the infected Brumak is killed, but luckily, Marcus has the Hammer of Dawn once he and Dom get onto the chopper.

Once you have control of Marcus, immediately aim and fire the Hammer's laser at the Brumak. The chopper will get thrashed around a couple of times, disrupting your aim, but don't turn away from the bay door and continue to center your aim on the Brumak as the chopper circles it.



After absorbing enough heavy-duty laser fire, the Brumak will finally fall, and the Gears escape from the underground safely. More importantly, your work in Campaign mode is over! Congratulations! Now to try it on Insane...


Ok so that's that done, now time to get down to those collectables!


Collectibles

Tip of the Spear | Denizens | Gathering Storm | Hive | Aftermath

Tip of the Spear

Welcome to Delta

1. The Eagle Newspaper

When you start the game, be sure to take the Training option. Right after you begin, head down the alley and keep an eye out on the floor for The Eagle Newspaper, it's in the middle of the street.

2. Ambulance Driver's Log

Once you drop down the ladder at the end of the Training section, go right and enter the garage to find the Ambulance Driver's Log.

Desperation

1. Doctor's Journal: Dr. Nicolette Shannon

Past the courtyard in the hospital, look for a door to the side leading to a small room.



2. Jacinto Medical Center File Jonathan Harper

A few rooms ahead you'll find a large, enclosed reception desk in the center of the room. Check the floor inside to find the Jacinto Medical Center File.

3. COG Letterhead

Right beside the cafeteria is a small room with a desk and a computer. Inside this room is the COG Letterhead. You should unlock the "Collector" achievement at this point, if you're getting all of the collectibles in order.

4. COG Proclamation

The COG Proclamation is on the second floor of the hospital's lobby, near some ammo just as you enter the room.

5. COG Tag CSID:085177-MJ3V5-PB

Located outside the hospital just as you exit the door and to the right, you'll find the COG Tags of Private Dylan Murphy

Rolling Thunder

1. Grindlift Notice

When the attack begins once you're on the large derrick "Betty" turn around and face the ladder behind you. Grindlift Notice is a sheet of paper posted on the wall to the left of the ladder.

2. Munitions Requisition Form

When you get off the rig to defend Dizzy, check to the left of the rig. It's near some bushes and ammo.

Roadblocks

1. Jacinto Sentinel Newspaper

Enter the run-down shop, jump over the counter and go upstairs to find the newspaper.

2. Memorial Inscription

After getting rid of the Tickers, check the wall of the war memorial to find the Memorial Inscription. This is after you chainsaw through some debris, and before the Nemacysts.

3. Truck Driver's Note

Inside the gas station past the group of troika's to the left. It's in the back room.

4. COG Tag CSID:595506-GK8C6-9A

At the end of the first section of the dark tunnel (after the Ticker onslaught), look to the left for a small enclosure where the tags are.

Denizens

Indigenous Creatures

1. Gear's Journal

After meeting the rockworms, go around a hairpin-shaped path, cut down a batch of vines to find the journal in front of a Grindlift (shown off to the left in the screenshot below).



2. Kantus Scroll

After you reach the top of this area, where you'll find a couple of Troikas and a Reaver that appears, you can find the Kantus scroll behind the Troika at the back of the platform.

Disturbing Revelations

1. Locust Emblem

Find this just after entering the large entryway to the Locust temple.

Sinking Feeling

1. Ilima City Help-Wanted Ad

Up the path, right of the Bloodmounts. It's on the overlook that faces the snipers, near a Gorgon pistol. Basically after the Stranded runs towards you shouting that Locust are killing everybody, follow the right hand wall and you'll see a wrecked car. It's behind the car.

2. Cog Tag CSID:085177-MJ3V5-PB

Right after Cole saves you, the tags can be found just inside the building, to the left, before you leave.

Captivity

1. Stranded's Journal: Jennifer

In a larger area with a bunch of wooden boxes, find the journal off to the immediate right of where you came in.

Intestinal Fortitude

1. Car Gold Magazine

Head left as soon as you start the chapter and you'll find the magazine on the floor. If you're getting the collectibles in order, you'll get the second Collectible achievement, Pack Rat, here.

2. COG Tag CSID:838186-22A03-SF

These can be a little hard to see. After you find Carmine, but before you turn the corner, look around on the floor to the left. It's against the left wall, and because of the color and dark, it's a bit hard to see.

Gathering Storm

Origins

1. Interoffice Memo: Niles Samson

Find this in a tiny office off to the side of the small command room, just before entering the larger command room.



2. Memo: Dr. Doug Sato

When you find the first turret in a hallway, turn and go the opposite way down the hall, and look for a small room off to the right of the hall.



3. New Hope Medical File: Ruth

Later in the chapter, you'll come across a room with a few turrets
on the ceiling, with a switch at the back of the room to deactivate
them. In the small room behind the switch you can find the New
Hope Medical File.

Rude Awakening

1. Doctor's Journal: Dr. Stephanie Zimmer

After exiting the facility, DO NOT get on the train. Go right instead and go inside the small building. The New Hope Journal is on the floor at the back.

2. Captivity Marks

Before boarding the final train, turn around and go inside the building behind you. In here you'll find the Captivity Marks scratched on a wall.

Displacement

1. Stranded's Journal: Stu

Find it on the top of a small staircase in the assorted Locust ruins.



Hive

Priorities

1. Locust Terminal

The Locust Terminal is in the same room where you have to activate the first terminal to search for Maria. DO NOT activate the first terminal yet. Instead, check the second terminal and you'll get this collectible.

Answers

1. Prisoner's Journal: Jonathan Harper

When the patrol of Locusts have left or been dealt with, look to the left of the second terminal to find the Locust Prisoner's Journal.

Hornets' Nest

1. Locust Jailer Document

Just downstairs from where you enter, turn right and head down the small corridor. You'll find the Locust Jailer Document on the floor at the back of a narrow corridor.

2. Human Finger Necklace

This one can be easy to miss. After you defeat the pair of Grinders which come out of the large doors, you'll need to roadie run to enter the small room with the Troika before the door closes. As soon as you kill the Grinders, roadie run straight past them and follow the path until you see a door closing in front of you. Turn right, head up the stairs and if you're fast enough, you'll make it in just before the second door closes. The necklace is on the floor to the right inside the door, and as an added bonus, the Troika at the end of the room can help you lots in the next firefight.

No Turning Back

1. Locust Calendar

Go up the stairs after the gondola ride is over and keep looking to the left to find this not-so-hidden artifact.



2. Locust Defense Plans

Hidden behind the lever that raises the small staircase so you can travel down to ground level.



The Best-Laid Plans

1. Locust Invasion Map

Before heading out to the large staircase, turn 180 degrees and head down a long hall. Find the Map at the foot of the steps.



2. Trinity of Worms Artifact

where you team back up with your squad after defeating the Grinders. To the right, where the Grinder was shooting, is a staircase. Climb that right-hand staircase and walk down the hall, and you'll see a pattern on the floor that looks like a bisected half-moon (almost like a reel-to-reel film reel cut in half). If you investigate the pattern, you'll find the Trinity of Worms collectible.

Royal Inquisition

1. Locust Tablets

Hidden between the wall and a column on the far left corner in the hall that opens the chapter.



Aftermath

Desperate Stand

1. COG Recon Report

After the Raven clears the locust off the platform for you, head right and go down the stairs to the lower platform. The recon report is here, near some ammo.





2. COG Tag CSID:911706-DZUHO-JN

During the final encounter with Brumaks here, head to the far end of the platform and go down the steps. You'll find the tags near a Longshot.

Free Parking

1. Jacinto Sentinel Newspaper

Shortly after the fight in the courtyard (against Wretches and Maulers with a Troika in the center), proceed to the next area and you should find yourself facing a Grinder in the center, to the right. The newspaper is behind the wall to the right of the Grinder. This is just before Marcus and Dom split up.




Tenuous Footing

1. COG Tag CSID:444526-MI2K9-36

The tags are at the end of the level, inside a ruined building on the left hand side of the street, just after you defeat the Reaver. Yes, I know the War Journal says this is in the Tenuous Footing chapter, but it's not. However, if you want to get this tag quickly, you can reload the Tenuous Footing chapter, and turn around and run back for a while to find the building.

2. Stranded's Journal: Russell

After you fall down several floors, jump out into the next area and check in the far right corner behind a desk to find the Stranded's Journal. I used mycheats to help compile this walkthrough. Hope you enjoyed the game as much as I did!

Achievement Guide

Single Player
_____________


It's a Trap! - Story progression in Act 1, Chapter 2 - 10G

Escort Service - Story progression in Act 1, Chapter 4 - 10G

Girl About Town - Story progression in Act 1, Chapter 6 - 10G

That Sinking Feeling - Story progression in Act 2, Chapter 4 - 10G

Freebaird! - Story progression in Act 2, Chapter 5 - 10G

Heartbroken - Story progression in Act 2, Chapter 6 - 10G

Longitude and Attitude - Story progression in Act 3, Chapter 3 - 10G

Tanks for the Memories - Story progression in Act 3, Chapter 4 - 10G

Water Sports - Story progression in Act 3, Chapter 6 - 10G

There's a Time for Us - Story progression in Act 4, Chapter 2 - 10G

Better Wrapped in Beacon - Story progression in Act 4, Chapter 3 - 10G

Have Fun Storming the Castle - Story progression in Act 4, Chapter 6 - 10G

And the Horse You Rode in On - Story progression in Act 5, Chapter 1 - 10G

You Are the Support, Son - Story progression in Act 5, Chapter 2 - 10G

Brumak Rodeo - Story progression in Act 5, Chapter 4 - 10G

Does This Look Infected to You? - Story progression in Act 5, Chapter 5 - 10G

Tourist of Duty - Complete all campaign acts on Casual Difficulty - 25G

Guerilla Tactician - Complete all campaign acts on Normal Difficulty - 50G

Artist of War - Complete all campaign acts on Hardcore Difficulty - 75G

Suicide Missionary - Complete all campaign acts on Insane Difficulty - 150G

Collector - Recover 5 collectibles (any difficulty) - 5G

Pack Rat - Recover 20 collectibles (any difficulty) - 10G

Completionist - Recover all 41 collectibles (any difficulty) - 30G

Green as Grass - Train the rook (any difficulty) - 10G

Crossed Swords - Win 10 chainsaw duels (any mode) - 10G

Crowd Control - Melee 10 enemies down with the Boomshield equipped (any
mode) - 10G

Kick 'Em When They're Down - Perform all 11 unique executions on a downed
enemy - 10G

Once More, With Feeling - Perform 30 perfect active reloads (any mode) - 10G

Organ Grinder - Kill 30 enemies with a cover mounted Mulcher (any mode) - 10G

Pound of Flesh - Use a meatshield to save your life 10 times (any mode) - 10G

Said the Spider to the Fly - Kill 10 enemies with a planted grenade (any
mode) - 10G

Shock and Awe - Kill 30 enemies with the heavy Mortar (any mode) - 10G

Smells Like Victory - Kill 30 enemies with the Scorcher Flamethrower (any
mode) - 10G

A Parting Gift - Kill 10 enemies with a grenade while down but not out (any
mode) - 20G

Dirty, Dirty Horde - Survive the first 10 waves of Horde (any difficulty, any
map) - 20G

Hoard the Horde - Survive all 50 waves of Horde (any difficulty, any
map) - 30G

Takes a Licking - Melee 30 Tickers (any mode) - 30G

Variety is the Spice of Death - Kill an enemy with every weapon in the game
(any mode) - 30G

Seriously 2.0 - Kill 100,000 enemies (any mode) - 50G

One-Night Stand - Complete 1 chapter in co-op on any difficulty (Marcus or
Dom) - 10G (this can be done online or split screen on one
console)

Open Relationship - Complete 10 chapters in co-op on any difficulty (Marcus or
Dom) - 30G

Friends with Benefits - Complete all acts in co-op on any difficulty (Marcus
or Dom) - 50G



Online Achievements
___________________


Back to Basic - Successfully complete the 5 lessons of Multiplayer Training
Grounds - 10G

Photojournalist - Submit a spectator photo - 10G

Beat the Meatflag - Capture 10 meatflags in Submission (public) - 10G

It's Good to be the King - Win 10 rounds of Guardian as the leader
(public) - 10G

Standing Here, Beside Myself - Win 3 matches of Wingman (public) - 10G

You Go Ahead, I'll Be Fine - Win three matches of King of the Hill
(public) - 10G

Around the World, Again - Win a multiplayer match on each map (any mode) - 30G

Party Like It's 1999 - Play 1999 rounds of multiplayer (any mode) - 30G