Part 4: Episode IV: Downtime

Welcome back. When last we left our heroine, she'd fallen victim to more banter between herself and the ADD riddled sidekick of hers. With that said, let's carry on...

Claire is left by her lonesome after Steve's rather embarrassingly dorky departure. There's a few things of interest in this room.

Primarily the key to the main gate from last update. But, of course, we'll have to jump through some hoops to actually use it.

The opposite door in this room is inaccessible for some time.

The panel Steve was randomly tapping opens that previously locked shutter from earlier. Steve was just too dense to try throwing the gigantic switch on the panel.

Claire heads back to the previous room.

The Hawk Emblem can be tossed into the crazy 1950's Sci-Fi Prop ™ to free up some space. This will scan it into the computer with bad Star Trek special effects.

This is all nice and good. But a non-metal to carve this into is still needed. That one file mentioned a briefcase back with the first zombie, so guess where Claire is heading.

Claire will have to drop off all the goodies she picked up once more, because the game designers were dicks.

I'll mention the BOW Gas Rounds here, which are unique to this game. They're for the grenade launcher, which will be picked up later. They emit a gas which is very harmful to BOW's (Biological Organic Weapons). They basically kick badass mutants' ass. They're also extremely rare. There's only a handful in the entire game. They're quite useful for boss fights, especially the one which most people gave up in this game to mid-way through, as it's quite a pain in ass.

Anyhow, Claire can pick up her junk from beforehand. This game just loves making you dig through inventory screens.

Claire heads back outside

That pesky shutter from earlier can now be opened to reveal three key things. The first being, of course, zombies.

The second being the staple of any and every M rated game, explosive barrels.

Lastly, a fire extinguisher to retrieve that previously seen briefcase.

The zombies also decided to bust out of the nearby fenced area, so Claire takes a look in there as well.

Oh dear...

No, I can accept this corporation having multiple secret facilities, one being built underneath an entire city. I can even accept them controlling said city like some deranged cult. But the whole concentration camp mofit island on the side is a bit reaching.

Next to the guillotine is yet another door locked with an emblem. We won't be using this for quite some time, as I recall. Which I don't, so you'll just have to take my word on it.

Claire backtracks some more

A bit of walking and Claire gets reacquainted with the Cerberus enemies.

The Cerberus, like the name implies...kind of, are zombie dogs. They've been a mainstay of the series since the very first game. I know you jumped when those bastards mashed through the windows in Resident Evil 1. Admit it.

They have two attacks in this game. The standard leaping bite they've had since Resident Evil 1. As well as new attack, where they will latch onto their victim's arm and tug on it for moderate damage.

The Cerberuses are easily dealt with using firearms and the knife is especially deadly against them, as one swipe knocks them into a prone position allowing for follow-ups to one's heart's content.

That said, run away! RUN AWAY!

A couple of loading screens later and Claire finds herself back at the burning wreckage with the much needed briefcase.

Equipping the fire extinguisher will put aside the blaze, allowing easy access. No, she couldn't have just nudged it out of the fire with a stick. She'd need to blow on it too cool it off afterwards, and we don't have time for that.

This is useless by itself, so it must be examined. Looking at the top reveals a button opening its contents.

Its contents being a conveniently needed anti-metal detector sheet of metal. :rollseyes:
There's also a file to go along with it.

"TG-01" Product Description

Why is that question mark at the top? It angers and confuses me.

Good to know Umbrella wholeheartedly supports terrorism. Oh wait, it's 1998. Terrorism doesn't exist yet. My mistake.

Claire backtracks all the way back to the room past the metal detectors.

Just haphazardly clunking the sheet of metal in the device will send it to work.

Producing the Special Alloy Emblem. I know this is just as riveting for you all as it is for me.

The zombies may not be able to react to much anything beyond the site of living flesh, but I'll be damned if key items aren't like dog whistles to the jerks.

Claire runs all the way back to the main gate for about the 19th time.

Actually, it's the fourth. But who's counting?

In goes the emblem and out pops the lock. Now that wasn't so hard? Just hair pulling tedium. And I don't think that's killed anyone...quite yet.

The game leads to a big bridge with nothing particularly remarkable. The guys who attacked this place seemed to aim for minor inconvenience to the facility instead of outright destruction.

The other side of the bridge is blocked by a barely burning fire and some crates. Claire seems unwilling to to get her hands dirty just smothering the fire with some dirt. I'm pretty sure I see some bags over to the left there. Or for that matter, merely climbing diagonally. High maintenance girl...

No, she instead opts to do what all Resident Evil characters were born to do....

That's right ladies and gentlemen! We have our first crate push of the game!

God damn it feels good...

Following that first major triumph of the game, stairs follow. Just piling up the action.

No! They got Bob the Builder! Bastards!

There's actually one fun way to kill the zombies here. It involves getting hurt. But it's worth it just to make one tumble off the railing once. We're going to need to do that a lot more to catch up with Space Mutiny.

You may notice the door to the left. We're going to skip that for now and instead dive into the dark abyss north.

This leads to a relatively more pleasant little gardened area. Aside from the drooling hellhounds, of course.

The flashing green sparkle in the background is another key item we will not need for some time and I regret having picked up, as it means I'll have to take a trip to the item box on a tight time frame later on. Oh well, no use crying over spilt milk.

Claire takes a quick scouting mission on the other side of this area before proceeding to that main building she'd just passed.

Down here is a dock. I knew that Steve was a lying prick.

The console at the dock seems to demand a cliché boat steering wheel. Avast, me mateys! We've not one of those.

Claire jogs back upstairs an enters the large building to the north.

Welcome to "The Palace".

There's doors all over the place here. As well as a computer console for fiddling with.

The Umbrella OS is always crashing on me when I try to run Steam on it. Anyone know the ETA on the next patch?

Anyhow, we once more are lacking an entry to this particular impasse as well.

Well, then. The door to the upper right is locked by this computer station. There's two doors upstairs, but it's best to finish this level first. Let's try the left door.

FUCK! BATS!

Not to worry. Claire's trusty lighter will keep Wayne and his cronies at bay.

This room contains another briefcase. Unlike the easily opened first one. This one is locked and needs a lock pick to be opened. That's what you get for bringing the Resident Evil male gender item to the table, nitwit!

Claire heads upstairs. The door to the left is locked with some sort of silver key. So, Claire heads up to the right.

To a nice convenient save room. This update, I tell you people, we're not going to pass this action fest. Aside from saving, there's also a diary on the desk. Might as well, we could really use a breather.

Secretary's Note

Wanton self stimulation.

"That and she's sucked 37 dicks. "

"I suppose I could have been a bit more tactful than 'In a row?!'"

This guy sounds like a winner already.

Also featured in this room is the fabulous Item Box. Which is good, since I'd imagine three different guns, a knife, an empty fire extinguisher, an emblem, and a briefcase could be a bit of baggage in a tight pair of blue jeans.

For the uninitiated, the item box is a magical portal between all other like save room boxes of which inventory items can be stored and retrieved from other locations. How? It's just a game. Don't read too much into it.

Lastly, there's a few more goodies in this room. Firstly, yet another pushable piece of furniture revealing.

An Umbrella ID Card. We'll need this in a second.

Also in here is a locked door which requires a pair of pistols to be unlocked. So what are we up to? An indigo emblem, a silver key, a ship steering wheel, a passcode, and two guns?

The Umbrella ID has a code printed on the back. Nothing says security like your password being compromised the same time as your ID card is lost under a cabinet.

Popping that into the computer yields the necessary key to the previously locked door.

This leads to a long fancy pants hallway. All of the doors are locked. The near one with a silver key and the far one with a gold key. The toilet uses the bronze key, but you don't even want to know what it takes to get there in the first place.

Which leads to a small gun display and model museum. Cute.

On the far side of this room is a button. It could very well fill the room with nerve gas or start the inevitable self destruction sequence. But hey, screw it.

The lights dim...

And we're treated to a nice feature film. Hey, lady. Down in front!

Video

Enjoy our feature presentation: Twins of the Uncanny Valley

Will next update be more exciting? God, I hope so. But, find out next time in Episode V: Golden Palace.