Part 52: Episode 51: Shit Gets Real
Last time on Parasite Eve 2, we fought our way into the bowels of the Shelter and discovered the source of Aya's strange visions: a psychic little clone named Eve. Poor kid's been through a lot, so we decide to get her, and ourselves, the hell out of Dodge.
By the way, did you know Eve can unhinge her jaw to swallow larger prey?
Anyway, let's just... oh, wait. I guess we can't. We need to trigger the next plot thingy.
Examining shit doesn't do it. Though presumably the developers assumed now is when you'd look around instead of ignoring the phone like a jerk.
Talking to Kyle doesn't trigger it, at least not directly. All you really have to do is walk back over to this side of the room after the phone call with Pierce, and then head back towards the door.
and that's when the cutscene kicks in!
Suddenly, the power cuts out, triggering the emergency lights.
OH SHIT SMOKE GRENADES
The poo gas cannot be escaped!
Kyle channels the spirit of Daniel Dollis and promptly shoots out the window!
this smoke makes screen capping kind of a bitch
The
oh snap, are those light-up sneakers? Luuuucky
A gasmask? Where was he hiding that?
Wait a minute, that mask look familiar...But from where?
Unfortunately, we don't have time to ponder that, as Aya scrambles to escape the gas.
It turns out that a broken window isn't super great at holding in toxic gas, so this room is on a bit of a timer. As the gas fills the air, Aya and Eve will begin to take damage. Eve's lower to the ground, so she starts being affected first. She also has less health, so she WILL die before Aya does if you screw this up. So, what's so difficult about this?
Well, Eve just refuses to budge. We can't leave the small child to suffocate to death, and we can't just heft her over our shoulder because then Aya might have to put down her beloved super shotgun.
So, let's take a quick look around to solve this problem.
: I don't have time to examine this.
Yup.
After a while, I guess you'd kinda get used to see dead clone babies in tubes. Wait, that's probably a bad thing, isn't it...
: ...Eve's sister?
: I don't need to see any more.
So, you can run around trying to figure out how to get Eve to move, but we actually just did everything you need to do. Just examine Eve's "sister", then talk to her again.
: ...Your friend wants to stay here.
Eve nods and will now follow you to the elevator.
Unless you move too fast or get too far away. Then she stops dead in her tracks. And every time her health ticks down, she stops and does a little coughing animation. So, you have to go back a few steps to get her moving again.
You may notice I only just barely managed to get her out before she suffocated. Is tear gas supposed to be fatal? I don't think these Golems are very good at their jobs.
We find ourselves out in the phony sunlight of the Neo Ark. Man, this has got to be confusing for Eve Jr.
So much so, she flips out and runs off! I could go after her right now, but...
You know what they say: "Fuck bitches, get bounties"
Along the way, we find that unplugging Eve Jr. had some very negative effects on the ANMCs. Every one we come across can't do much more than writhe on the ground and make pained noises now that their psychic connection is broken.
EDIT: Actually, as has been pointed out in the thread, it's very likely a result of the ANMCs getting fucked up by the Golems. The game never distinctly specifies, but given the pools of blood, this is much more likely.
'Course, they still give full EXP/BP, so let's fuck 'em up!
Like shooting fish in a barrel.
I decided to bump Lifedrain up another level, because I was feeling cocky.
I wonder what's waiting for us down here?
A cutscene! And one I don't particularly like!
Hey, there, buddy. I haven't seen you for almost a full Disc!
: Why bring her into this!?
Hahaha, okay, you're alright, Weird Face Guy.
Oh, hey, I guess the game does officially tell you the name of the primary villain. Yeah, 9 here is our central baddie. No, I'm not too jazzed about it either.
jesus christ, could someone get that kid some pants or something?
: Have a chopper on standby. I'll be out in 20. ... Listen!
"I saw a Dateline van outside the Abandoned Mine! We gotta get outta here!"
: Make it quick!
: I'd love to tarry with, missy, but I've got bigger fish to fry. I'm sure you understand...: "Tarry"? Really?: Oh, don't get me wrong.
gross
: He's a little on the big side, but--
: What will you do with her?
: Don't you worry! This little one's my golden egg. She won't die...
Well, bye, I guess.
: Eh? Ah, I forgot to express my sincere gratitude to you! Thanks to you taking down the barrier, I got my queen.
: Okay, bye now!
And now I want to talk about what bugs me about this cutscene. One is the confirmation that yes, No. 9 is our main antagonist. After the theatrical and sinister presence Eve 1 had in the previous game, Joker Voorhees seems really weak in comparison.
My other complaint is this bit right here. Now, Aya's had her weak moments before. One of the best scenes at the end of PE1 was Aya asking "Why me?". But I do not understand why she just slumps to her knees right here and now. I realize she doesn't just shoot the motherfucker for fear of hitting Eve Jr, but there are other things she can do. Crumbling into a fetal position after a defeat is not only completely out of character, it's also the dumbest thing she could do at that exact moment.
Then, I realized they just needed an excuse for 9 to have time to get away, and decided to do it in the laziest way possible. Oh well.
Anyway, despite my bitching, after the cutscene Aya is just fine and charges off to rescue Eve Jr. from the monkey man.
Emerging from the corridor, we find a new foe and some new music
Now that the ANMCs are basically vegetables, our new enemies are the Golems. As you might imagine, these genetically engineered super soldiers are actually pretty tough to deal with! These green guys are the most basic of the Golems, the Pawn. They're armed with light armor and a crazy laser arm. They're also pretty quick on their feet.
They'll generally just charge at you and try to stab or slash you with that completely logical weapon of theirs. If they hit, it hurts, and if you're not careful, the damage can add up fast. You need to keep on the move and try to hit them only after a missed attack.
Or, you can just say fuck it, and LifeDrain their asses.
I didn't manage to get a good shot of it here, but don't worry, I will. All you need to know for now is that everything is dead. Golems have a habit of dropping Spartan 9mm, the strongest 9mm round. If you have that SMG handy, this is a good time to bust it out.
Almost all of the new Hot Zones are Golem town. Tlolpioca's pyramid now has two Pawns chilling out in a relatively narrow space.
I took a lot of hits thanks to sloppy playing, so it was once again time for LifeDrain. The sparkles may not be very impressive, but dammit, it gets results. You'll notice that not only will I get back nearly three times my max HP, but the spell even managed to hit a comatose Stranger off screen.
That wasn't quite enough on its own to take out both Pawns, so I had to do it the old fashioned way.
One thing that's interesting about Golems is that because they aren't ANMCs (at least not exactly), they don't melt when they die. In fact, a Golem's corpse will stay in a room permanently unless overwritten by a new Hot Zone.
Most Golems are irritatingly immune to most status effects, making Necrosis and its like next to useless against them. A good fireball to the face always works, however.
Here we see the second type of Pawn Golem. They are equipped with an arm cannon instead of a laser sword, and fire slow moving bullets at you in sets of three*. If you're hit by a bullet or the cloud they leave on impact, you get slapped with blindness. Ultimately, Gunny Pawns deal less damage than Stabby Pawns, but are far more annoying/dangerous.
*EDIT: Actually, they fire six shots in a row. Thanks, Seiren, for the correction.
Oddly enough, regular old NMCs are still kicking around in a few rooms. Here we find a group of scorpions and beetles just goin' about their business. Only the creatures with metal implants were connected to Eve Jr. it seems.
Back upstairs, we discover two things: one, that some jerk turned the security turrets back on. And two...
Golems love to boogie! This is a Rook Golem. Like Pawns, Rooks can be armed with either a laser sword or a status inflicting gun. The gun-toting Rooks are far more common. They are also very heavily armored, making them slower but much more hardy. They even have little shields on their left arms they can use to block attacks and spells. Rooks are the real deal, basically.
Remember how the turrets would target ANMCs in addition to Aya if given the chance? Yeah, they don't consider Golems ANMCs, turrets have gone from "annoying but amusing" to just "really annoying".
Also, the joint is crawling with Hot Zones now. Hell, there's even a new batch of Bats up in the damn Mine!
I am actually extremely poorly equipped to deal with this portion of the game. The grenade launcher is nice, but Golems will not give you a chance to reload after each shot. Your best bet is generally go with the SMG and the surplus of Spartan rounds you've probably got laying around.
Alternately, burn everything with your MIND
I came back here to stock up on Buckshot, but while I'm here...
Oh, if only
To progress the actual plot, you'll want to head to the Underground Parking room, but it's a good idea to come back here first. You need to pick up something if you want the Good Ending, plus you can turn the turrets back off while you're here!
Pierce is certainly gone. Good thing he decided to stay behind all alone without a gun!
Check the phone, and you'll find this note.
: The rest of the memo is missing.
Welp! Looks like Baldwin actually was intentionally trying to screw us over. I'd better call someone about that!
After I, um, finish clearing out all these Hot Zones, of course. Gots ta get paid, y'know?
Here we meet the next type of Golem, the
But if it bleeds, we can kill it. The trick to Knights is to stand with your back to a wall so it can't teleport behind you and wait. Don't fire as soon as it appears; sometimes it spawns decoys. You can tell the difference because the decoys just stand still instead of trying to rip your face off. When the real deal comes charging at you, blast it with everything you have. Rinse and repeat.
I really fucking hate Knight Golems. I hate them so much.
Other things of note from Hot Zone clean up: ANMCs down in the sewers don't seem to give a fuck about Eve Jr. being gone. They just keep on trucking (until we murder them)
I also decided to just go ahead and buy Combustion. Golems give crazy EXP, and I think I might be able to get the Third Fire Spell before the final boss. Combustion takes a while to cast and costs a little too much MP for my blood, but it sure does look rad.
Anyway, we head back upstairs and head to the corridor leading to the Undergro--
FUCK
AS I WAS SAYING, this is the corridor that leads to the Underground Parking. We can also get into the Golem Storage room we saw before from here, but this update is already a bit long, so we'll do that next time.
Behold, the glories of the parking garage. And to think, if No. 9 had just parked his bike in here, we never would have found the Shelter...
It's kind of a weird garage, though. Remember that crazy sectional prison from FF8? It's kinda like that...but with cars.
: Hey... Someone left a key here.
Yoink.
Big place.
Oh, yeah, we should probably tip someone off about the whole army of mutant Golems stealing the super psychic child. We might also want to mention that thing about Baldwin being a traitor, too...
Man, how awkward would it be if Baldwin answered?
: Huh? Hal? He just got back, but he's on the phone. Okay.: ....
: Hey, no sweat! I told him you were my boyfriend callin'! So what's so juicy that Hal couldn't hear?: HAL'S A TRAITOR WHO WORKS FOR CRAZY DUDES WHO MAKE EVIL CLONE BABIES AND MONSTER SOLDER MEN AND I DON'T THINK HE'S A REAL BALDWIN BROTHER EITHER!
: If that's true, then... I'm in danger too, then!
: Jodie, take the gun out of your desk. I know there's one there, I put it there. I put guns in everyone's desks. And some of the potted plants. Take your gun, go into Hal's office, and shoot him right in his old stupid face. And make sure you say something about 'no back-up' while you do it.: Did you say call for back-up?: No, I said--
: ...Goddammit, Jodie.