242 on 24/5/2009 at 08:44

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A little bit late but:

5) In the Clubhouse's office

242 on 24/5/2009 at 09:34

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BTW, I have two questions remaining:

1) Is there a proper way to open the secret passage leading outside (to the windows of the Clubhouse's office) in the Cyrano's office? I managed to reach the switch behind the bookshelf by clicking around blindly.

2) What that 'last bit of gold' that was mentioned somewhere in the 1.0 version was supposed to be? I haven't found a mention of it now replaying 1.13 version. Also, in my old notes, there is a number - 3760, and a note at it - "code for the last bit of gold strongbox" (it's NOT the code for the money exchange office safe). Perhaps the scrolls/notes were leftovers of the pre-release version of the mission, where player could enter the vault and rob it?

EarthquakeDamage on 17/6/2009 at 03:33

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Just played Mission X last night for the first time. It's fantastic! This is definitely at the same level of win as the Rocksbourg series.

I finished it on Impossible, though as always I abuse quicksaves like a red-headed stepchild. Damned difficult, too.

Did anyone else realize who the four people in the front lobby were at the beginning? I'm proud to announce I figured it out before I even went to the next room. :)

Also, trolling the foreman's bell? Fucking awesome! Seriously, I was giggling like a little girl. Best part of the mission. Period.

At first I tried ghosting (as usual), but frustration slowly turned to rage. Seriously, those long patrol routes led to far too many nasty surprises (I'd think a room is safe only to have some nitwit waltz in the moment I stepped into the light). Since I was free to sap and kill, that inevitably meant backstabbing every single person I could, excepting Cloud & co (nailing the staff member patrolling Cloud's office appeared to fail the mission once for me, so I left him alone too). No sap, dagger only, Final Destination. Those paired guard patrols on the second floor were a challenge (since I had to take one of each pair on toe to toe -- and I hate using items, so some fancy fencing was involved), as was the basement vault (too tough for me; resorted to KO drops :( ). I was able to clear out pretty much everything but the Pearl Hall. I probably could've purged the Hall, too, as I didn't manage to trigger the alarm when I ran in there to get the drunken guard (I didn't realize at the time how to reach that vent -- that's how I first reached the suite btw). If alerting everyone in there doesn't bust the mission, then surely stabbing everyone won't either. :p The mission seems quite ghostable (barring required busts, like Pomok blowing a fuse), but it can also be Rambo'd.

EDIT: Oh, hell! How could I neglect that broken ladder in the vent shaft? I hate that thing so much. It's a challenge to plant a vine arrow in just the right spot, since the game engine is wonky with ladders. Sometimes you get some good momentum when you jump off. Other times you fall straight down (esp. if you're, say, carrying a body). That shaft = fail. At least it's not nearly so bad as the broken ladders in some other missions (I'm looking at you, Night Watch series).

I'd also like to note that I had a bit of trouble disabling the elevator. I kept the guards from turning it back on (or so I thought), sticking around for a minute or two, only to lose Stone when I went back upstairs to get the vent key. I later discovered the intended solution, though I still ambushed/dueled everyone who entered the power room.

Moving on...

Beautiful mission. Great atmosphere. I was frequently impressed by all the little details, like the garment racks and how every single painting in the building appears to be unique (I didn't take notes or anything, so I could be wrong about that). My only real complaints concern the Monarch Suite: the ambient noise is way too loud in there, that gas arrow on the ledge is pretty much impossible to jump out and grab without falling on the way back (the ledge is so narrow that Dante has a hard time getting a good foothold, and I didn't find any vine-able spots there either), and it's the one place my game became choppy (and how!).

I love the team aspect of the mission, especially when your response can change the course of the mission (somewhat -- still, I like). While I'd prefer to be able to solo the mission (as an option) Garrett-style, since that's what I'm used to, I can't really complain about the team mechanics. I didn't report in until I'd thoroughly explored the place so I wouldn't feel rushed, but it turns out the only thing I felt the need to do quickly was the first part. And then only because Steel came off as a smug ass. I was actually a bit disappointed later on when I didn't have to rescue Rubber myself. When I didn't, I hoped Sheam would get into trouble while waiting on me. She didn't. The endgame was unexpectedly smooth. I was also nagged by my team for being slow (probably around 3 hours in, I'm guessing) and bitched about the mask chafing (4 hours in?), and that's awesome. The only things that would make the mask/teamwork deal better would be to be able to bump into teammates (I tried at the utility room, but the stuff just magically appeared instead :( ) and to have more random chatter (possibly player-initiated -- ever waste time chattering with Otacon &c in MGS 2+?).

In the end, I beat Steel, found four documents, botched the mistress ID (stupid clock), nabbed 7500 +/- 300 loot, picked all but 1 pocket, dealt nearly 1600 damage, and landed some ungodly number of backstabs.


tl;dr Agent Rambo conquered a casino. It was glorious.

EarthquakeDamage on 17/6/2009 at 18:42

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My teammates, of course! The redhead was Sheam. The other lady was Stone. The guys are Steel and Rubber. After playing the mission, my guess is blondie's Steel (he looks more like a prick) and Captain Beard is Rubber.

SlyFoxx on 24/7/2009 at 02:56

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No time limit.;)