dextermorgan
Arcane
Part 2: The Tolling of Some Great Bell
The path is now open, and with the truck out of the way we see a shack to our right.
Inside we find a typewriter, which is our save point. Fortunately, not only are these fairly common, the game also saves "states" at certain unmarked points. This makes some areas of the game far less of a headache to beat, rather than if we had to rely on fixed saves.
In the shack we also find some ammo lying on the table, and some loot hidden in boxes. One of them contains a Green Herb. These items are vital to our progress - not only does the herb heal on its own, it can also be mixed with other herbs to improve its effectiveness.
More crows are spotted further down the road. We show no mercy. Actually, I rather like crows due to their high intelligence.
One of them is carrying this.
Grenades in this game are a bit of a mixed bag for me. I tend to hoard them but use them only rarely because of how tricky it is to throw them. There is one exception but we'll discuss that later.
One of the crows was perching on what looks like a sign.
And indeed it is, as we'll soon to find out. A low whine can be heard.
Naturally, we help the poor animal. Don't ask me if can kill it, I don't know and don't care to find out. There will be no killing of dogs in this LP! That's a total lie.
Liberated from the steel jaws that held it in place, the animal runs away with all the grace of an ME3 character. Meaning it looks as though it just shat its pants. The consequences of this choice will be seen later.
This must be what that sign was all about. The area is littered with these, cunningly hidden in grass.
We could cause it to snap with a single bullet or a swing of our blade but instead we choose to step in one. Not only does it hurt, but it also roots us in place for a short while, which can be disastrous should an enemy appear nearby.
Close to where we freed the doggie we find a Red Herb. Red Herbs can't be used on their own, but combined with a green they produce a mixture that restores all health. Very useful.
Continuing our stroll through the lovely Spanish countryside, we spot some clotheslines strung between trees. Curious about the lack of drying clothes on said lines and some strange blinking lights at their ends, we call a local over to inquire further.
As he approaches we shift position so that he has to walk between trees to get to us.
Oops. I don't think those were clotheslines after all.
Another shack with some loot, nothing interesting here.
Or is there?
Better find her fast!
Yes, we don't want Ashley adopting any feminazi ideas.
A couple of villagers try to prevent us from reaching the bridge and get kicked in the kidneys for their troubles.
Funnily enough, on your fist run you can see three villagers on the ledge above the path on the other side. When they see you they run off but nothing seems to come of it. I wonder why they're missing now?
One more shack before we enter village proper.
A villager was cleverly hiding just inside the doorway, no doubt waiting to give us a friendly hug us as we entered. Not clever enough :metaknowledgekick:
Hm, what a strange symbol... Better go in.
*buzz*
Oh hey, it's Hunnigan again. Perhaps she has some useful intel for us, or even news of backup?
Bad question, Hunningan.
Sorry to hear that...I'm sending you a Playing Manual. Hope you find it useful.
I'll take a look at it. Thanks.
Useful intel eh? Not only is it not useful, it's insultingly bad. This is a PC port we're playing and in the unmodded version they didn't even show you corresponding keyboard buttons. All you got was key 1,2,3 etc making QTE's nigh-impossible. Master race is not pleased.
Moving towards the village we're prompted to "look".
A cut-scene plays with Leon ducking behind a tree...
... and whipping out some binoculars. This is the first and only time in the game you get to use those. Then again, an event will take place later on that sort of explains this.
At first we see villagers milling around, doing their daily chores while a bonfire burns in the square. Then we zoom in.
Oh boy. I hated that guy's guts but this is a bit much. Where's our goddamn backup Hunnigan?
Judging direct route to be a tad risky, we head down a side path leading northeast (we were facing directly east).
We come upon a lady moving some hay. We briefly consider surprise buttsecks but decide against it as there are way too many people within earshot.
Instead, we dive through a window directly behind her. Turns out the poor thing must be completely deaf, as she never reacts to the sound of shattering glass. It would be unethical to take advantage of a person with such severe disability.
We loot the place to find some ammo, money and this. It's an incendiary grenade, the most useless of the lot for me. It does some blast damage, it burns in place for a while setting whatever passes through it on fire. It sounds good on paper but in practice I hate it - blast radius is small and it burns for a short time only.
Let's check the place out.
But no one has bothered to throw it away.
It sure doesn't smell like a refreshing drink to me.
Being a typical Kwan abroad, Leon not only doesn't appreciate Spanish hospitality, he also complains incessantly. And you people wonder why everyone hates you.
Probably the head of the household you just burgled.
Nothing out of the ordinary here.
This house may seem like a good defensive position but it really isn't. You can't use the shelf to block the window and there's an unblockable door there as well. We don't want to get caught holed up in here. Instead, we head out to find a mini-secret at the end of the eastern passage.
And here it is. This nice fellow with a potato sack on his head and a chainsaw in his hands is a sort of a mini-boss. It takes a lot more shots to put him down, he doesn't stagger from a single shot to the head, and if he closes the distance...
... things turn ugly for Leon.
I tried to capture Leon's head rolling off his shoulders but this was the best I could manage.
After a reload, we come back and shoot his kneecaps out. This causes him to stumble and after some knifing and a few more shots...
... we get our reward. This gem is worth a whopping 10,000 pesetas. Well worth the risk. That is, if we weren't filthy rich already. This is a mini-secret because if you trigger the following event before you whack the potatoman he exits the area and you're left 10k short.
Deaf lady saw me passing and raised the alarm. We run past the advancing villagers and into the village square.
This is the house we're supposed to hope up in. But before we do...
... we decide to check out the tower nearby.
Pretty tall. Leon seems to be gifted with adamantium bones because he forsakes the ladder on his way down. Anyway, seems like a good place to defend from, no?
No. Villagers will soon start lobbing Molotov's at you and it's impossible to draw a bead at them from here.
With the tower on fire, we jump down and duck in the doorway of the house previously shown.
Another cut-scene plays. Villagers are gathering around the house.
Damn it!
Who are these people?
What are they planning?
I think that guy burning at the stake outside makes for a pretty good clue on that one Leon.
A chainsaw can be heard outside.
Great. A chainsaw.
That's what I just said.
Leon pushes a commode to block the doorway.
Back in control, we push a cupboard in front of the window, buying us time to loot downstairs.
We head up the stairs...
Oh yeah, now that's what I'm talking about! We grab the gun...
...cross the room in order to knock down a ladder the villagers were using to climb up ...
...and clip through some invading villagers to find ourselves on the first storey roof.
Around the corner is the perfect defensive position. They can come at you from one side only, too close to fling their weapons at you (yes, they do that), and if we get in over our heads we can always hop down from the roof.
INCOMING!
FUCK YEAH!
Gotta love them shotguns. They knock those near on their asses and do nice damage to boot.
We whacked enough villagers for the second round to trigger.
Here comes Mr Potatohead. Actually, he's called Dr. Salvador, or Doctor Savior. If there's a joke there I don't get it.
He soon goes down dropping 10,000 Pesetas in cash. We proceed with our mop-up operation.
EXPLODING HEAD KICK
An MIB moment there. Heh heh heh.
Suddenly, the tolling of some great bell is heard!
Heads turn.
The villagers are looking towards a church on a nearby hill. One murmurs "Lord Saddler".
They all pile into one of the buildings facing the square.
Where's everyone going? Bingo?
Killing machine that he is, Leon has no problem cracking jokes after killing twenty or so villagers.
He decides to call his LI.
Something's happened to the people here.
Leon, you need to get out of there. Look for a tower. Follow the trail neat it.
Got it.
And to wrap things up, we take a closer look at our friendly policeman.
If only he'd come with me...
Yeah, no.
Next up: Life on the farm
The path is now open, and with the truck out of the way we see a shack to our right.
Inside we find a typewriter, which is our save point. Fortunately, not only are these fairly common, the game also saves "states" at certain unmarked points. This makes some areas of the game far less of a headache to beat, rather than if we had to rely on fixed saves.
In the shack we also find some ammo lying on the table, and some loot hidden in boxes. One of them contains a Green Herb. These items are vital to our progress - not only does the herb heal on its own, it can also be mixed with other herbs to improve its effectiveness.
More crows are spotted further down the road. We show no mercy. Actually, I rather like crows due to their high intelligence.
One of them is carrying this.
Grenades in this game are a bit of a mixed bag for me. I tend to hoard them but use them only rarely because of how tricky it is to throw them. There is one exception but we'll discuss that later.
One of the crows was perching on what looks like a sign.
And indeed it is, as we'll soon to find out. A low whine can be heard.
Naturally, we help the poor animal. Don't ask me if can kill it, I don't know and don't care to find out. There will be no killing of dogs in this LP! That's a total lie.
Liberated from the steel jaws that held it in place, the animal runs away with all the grace of an ME3 character. Meaning it looks as though it just shat its pants. The consequences of this choice will be seen later.
This must be what that sign was all about. The area is littered with these, cunningly hidden in grass.
We could cause it to snap with a single bullet or a swing of our blade but instead we choose to step in one. Not only does it hurt, but it also roots us in place for a short while, which can be disastrous should an enemy appear nearby.
Close to where we freed the doggie we find a Red Herb. Red Herbs can't be used on their own, but combined with a green they produce a mixture that restores all health. Very useful.
Continuing our stroll through the lovely Spanish countryside, we spot some clotheslines strung between trees. Curious about the lack of drying clothes on said lines and some strange blinking lights at their ends, we call a local over to inquire further.
As he approaches we shift position so that he has to walk between trees to get to us.
Oops. I don't think those were clotheslines after all.
Another shack with some loot, nothing interesting here.
Or is there?
Yes, we don't want Ashley adopting any feminazi ideas.
A couple of villagers try to prevent us from reaching the bridge and get kicked in the kidneys for their troubles.
Funnily enough, on your fist run you can see three villagers on the ledge above the path on the other side. When they see you they run off but nothing seems to come of it. I wonder why they're missing now?
One more shack before we enter village proper.
A villager was cleverly hiding just inside the doorway, no doubt waiting to give us a friendly hug us as we entered. Not clever enough :metaknowledgekick:
Hm, what a strange symbol... Better go in.
*buzz*
Oh hey, it's Hunnigan again. Perhaps she has some useful intel for us, or even news of backup?
Useful intel eh? Not only is it not useful, it's insultingly bad. This is a PC port we're playing and in the unmodded version they didn't even show you corresponding keyboard buttons. All you got was key 1,2,3 etc making QTE's nigh-impossible. Master race is not pleased.
Moving towards the village we're prompted to "look".
A cut-scene plays with Leon ducking behind a tree...
... and whipping out some binoculars. This is the first and only time in the game you get to use those. Then again, an event will take place later on that sort of explains this.
At first we see villagers milling around, doing their daily chores while a bonfire burns in the square. Then we zoom in.
Oh boy. I hated that guy's guts but this is a bit much. Where's our goddamn backup Hunnigan?
Judging direct route to be a tad risky, we head down a side path leading northeast (we were facing directly east).
We come upon a lady moving some hay. We briefly consider surprise buttsecks but decide against it as there are way too many people within earshot.
Instead, we dive through a window directly behind her. Turns out the poor thing must be completely deaf, as she never reacts to the sound of shattering glass. It would be unethical to take advantage of a person with such severe disability.
We loot the place to find some ammo, money and this. It's an incendiary grenade, the most useless of the lot for me. It does some blast damage, it burns in place for a while setting whatever passes through it on fire. It sounds good on paper but in practice I hate it - blast radius is small and it burns for a short time only.
Let's check the place out.
Being a typical Kwan abroad, Leon not only doesn't appreciate Spanish hospitality, he also complains incessantly. And you people wonder why everyone hates you.
Probably the head of the household you just burgled.
This house may seem like a good defensive position but it really isn't. You can't use the shelf to block the window and there's an unblockable door there as well. We don't want to get caught holed up in here. Instead, we head out to find a mini-secret at the end of the eastern passage.
And here it is. This nice fellow with a potato sack on his head and a chainsaw in his hands is a sort of a mini-boss. It takes a lot more shots to put him down, he doesn't stagger from a single shot to the head, and if he closes the distance...
... things turn ugly for Leon.
I tried to capture Leon's head rolling off his shoulders but this was the best I could manage.
After a reload, we come back and shoot his kneecaps out. This causes him to stumble and after some knifing and a few more shots...
... we get our reward. This gem is worth a whopping 10,000 pesetas. Well worth the risk. That is, if we weren't filthy rich already. This is a mini-secret because if you trigger the following event before you whack the potatoman he exits the area and you're left 10k short.
Deaf lady saw me passing and raised the alarm. We run past the advancing villagers and into the village square.
This is the house we're supposed to hope up in. But before we do...
... we decide to check out the tower nearby.
Pretty tall. Leon seems to be gifted with adamantium bones because he forsakes the ladder on his way down. Anyway, seems like a good place to defend from, no?
No. Villagers will soon start lobbing Molotov's at you and it's impossible to draw a bead at them from here.
With the tower on fire, we jump down and duck in the doorway of the house previously shown.
Another cut-scene plays. Villagers are gathering around the house.
I think that guy burning at the stake outside makes for a pretty good clue on that one Leon.
A chainsaw can be heard outside.
That's what I just said.
Leon pushes a commode to block the doorway.
Back in control, we push a cupboard in front of the window, buying us time to loot downstairs.
We head up the stairs...
Oh yeah, now that's what I'm talking about! We grab the gun...
...cross the room in order to knock down a ladder the villagers were using to climb up ...
...and clip through some invading villagers to find ourselves on the first storey roof.
Around the corner is the perfect defensive position. They can come at you from one side only, too close to fling their weapons at you (yes, they do that), and if we get in over our heads we can always hop down from the roof.
INCOMING!
FUCK YEAH!
Gotta love them shotguns. They knock those near on their asses and do nice damage to boot.
We whacked enough villagers for the second round to trigger.
Here comes Mr Potatohead. Actually, he's called Dr. Salvador, or Doctor Savior. If there's a joke there I don't get it.
He soon goes down dropping 10,000 Pesetas in cash. We proceed with our mop-up operation.
EXPLODING HEAD KICK
An MIB moment there. Heh heh heh.
Suddenly, the tolling of some great bell is heard!
Heads turn.
The villagers are looking towards a church on a nearby hill. One murmurs "Lord Saddler".
They all pile into one of the buildings facing the square.
Killing machine that he is, Leon has no problem cracking jokes after killing twenty or so villagers.
He decides to call his LI.
And to wrap things up, we take a closer look at our friendly policeman.
Yeah, no.
Next up: Life on the farm
