Part 9: Episode 9: Crowe Lied, Aya Died

Last time, Aya discovered a crazy ape-man in a hockey mask, and then stumbled upon a traitorous SWAT officer setting a bomb in a garden. Instead of dealing with that, let's go grab Rupert and get the fuck outta here.



: C'mon, Rup. We gotta get movin'!



: Seriously, Rupert, these guys really hate gardens, and...



: Huh.


Okay, Rupert is missing, presumably chillin' in whatever inter-dimensional break room survival horror sidekicks disappear to. Bet he and Barry Burton are having a nice chat about needlessly huge handguns.


Well, time to go find...wait, hold on.


FUCK YOU, MOTHS!


Okay, let's go.


Like I said before, Hot Zones have cropped up, meaning lots new enemies to kill.


I'd also like to point out that the damage counter is cumulative for automatic weapons. So, that's not 182 damage from one shot, that's 182 damage from one MAGAZINE of shots. Still worth it.


This fight is notable because it drops a shiny new item for us!


New bullets! Most guns have three different levels of ammo types, each with different effects. The 9mm bullets just get stronger, but other ammo will have extra effects, which may or may not be helpful. These Hydra bullets are nice, but currently in short supply, so we'll save them for later.


By the way, here's our map and Aya's commentary on our current situation. We need to get back to the security office, and we'll be cutting through the Hot Zones along the way.


Hold on, again? Really?


Two of you this time? Haha, you wacky mutants and your silly shenanigans.





Okay, anyway, we need to get back here and use the Red Key on the remaining keyhole.


Like so.


This drains the fountain outside. You don't need to do this to progress, but if you don't you miss out on a very nice item.


Doing that spawns some new Hot Zones, so it's also a good idea if you want to get some sweet, sweet BPs.


Killing a couple of Brutes next to the fountain nets us these. Hmmm, I wonder where we'll find a weapon to use these? HMMMMMM


Oh, right here.






I'm sure being submerged in water won't effect this in any way. The Grenade Pistol is the first Grenade Launcher you'll find in the game, and although it's very destructive, it can only hold on shot at a time. Kind of annoying, but worth the extra few seconds of reloading to get back to blowing shit up. We'll just hold on to this for now, just in case.



: I swear on my life that I will blow the fuck outta shit.


Well, we may as well call in and let HQ know there won't be an Akropolis much longer.



: A police helicopter will be there shortly for you. Agent Brea, you must detain that suspect.

: Wait, which one? The SWAT impersonator or the crazy monkey man?

: Well, which one looked look more like a boss fight?

: Ugh, fine.


Okay, let's head back to the chapel.


BATS OUTTA FUCKING NOWHERE!


Luckily, these little bastards are nowhere near as annoying as they were in the first game. They can't blind you anymore, and can basically just swarm you and bite from tiny damage, like the birds from Resident Evil. I tried using the flashlight on them here, to no effect. Luckily, bullets work juuuuust fine.


You may not have noticed it, but there's a gate right here that we need to go through to progress.


Here we find a submerged walkway and a series of golden lion statues. I honestly don't even know anymore.


Well, let's just walk across. What's the worst that can happen?




OH GOD SWARMS OF POISONOUS PIRANHAS!


OH JESUS THIS WAS A BAD PLAN!




Okay, let's try this again. This time, we'll take a look at that console over there.



: There's some kind of panel here.


So, we need a three number combination, but how do we guess it? Well, do you remember that strange graffiti we found in the Security Office?



: Maybe it's the song title.

Here, amidst the Polaroids and Engrish, is our answer. Each note position corresponds to a number, getting larger as it goes higher. Pretty simple stuff, really. Just remember that the space between lines counts, and it's just a matter of counting up from one.


So, we just input "561", and the light turns green!


Which raises the bridge that leads to a door that only goes to the roof. Maybe Aya hated that statue guy because he used Umbrella's architects to design this joint.


Oh, it's vengeance time, you little shits.


You actually kill them by just running over them and crushing them underfoot. Not so poisonous now are ya, ya fuckers?


Okay, let's head through that door...

BAM


Uhh, okay. We still have to go in there anyway.


Apparently, someone smashed that poor little Stranger into the door so bad it broke the metal door and also the Stranger.


Well, better put the poor fella down. For his own good, of course.



: No need for this now.




Apparently this gate was an alternate route to the roof for people who don't think a fucking moat is really necessary on the top floor of a building.


Hey, what's that?


Oh, goddammit.

: It must be remotely triggered. Who could have set this...? Maybe that man who attacked Rupert...?


Whatever, let's just get away from the bomb now.


Upstairs we find the last save point in Akropolis Tower. We'd better let Hal know we conquered the impassable death fish.


Thanks for the pep talk, boss!


Time to head outside!


Outside, we find a catwalk designed specifically to give acrophobes heart attacks.


Honestly, I kinda like this area. The music drops out, so all you hear are Aya's footsteps and the faint sound of wind. It's dark and isolated and spooky without being a haunted house or desolate basement.


The catwalk circles around the entire building, which seems inefficient, but it's pretty cool.


We find this along the way. Neat.


Next side of the building, we find another cable. Hmmm...


Finally, we reach the end.





: That man must be up there... Great... I should warn Rupert. He might try to escape by helicopter.


Well, farts. Time to run all the way back, I guess...


WHA?!


HUH?!



: Sup.















: Hey, kids. Wait, why does it say "kids"? Wasn't this game rated M? Is this still Rattigan's script? Jesus, you guys thought Rattigan was acceptable for children? That's fucked up, guys.


: So, bats. Yeah, bats are back. It's a horror game, of course there's bats! I remember the director arguing with the producers about the bats, too. Basically, they figured "Hey, we got bats, why not throw some vampires in there?" The writer refused because that was dumb and didn't make any sense, and the director said no because "Nobody likes vampires!" He figured the young folks didn't think vampires were "cool" or "sexy". 'Course, this was back in 2000, before... before the dark times...


: The fish were a last minute thing. Originally, the script just said the water was electrified and that's why I needed to use the bridge. But when I saw the set, I pointed out that the metal bridge was still touching the water even after it was raised. So, wouldn't it still be electrified? Honestly, I don't think it would've really been a strong enough charge to travel through the bridge, but it looks bad on screen, y'know? So, one of the prop guys ran out and got a whole fuckin' bowl of big-ass fish and dumped 'em in the water. Just pretend those fuckers are venomous and BAM! Problem solved.