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Silent Hill 3 – FAQ/Walkthrough
FAQ/Walkthrough by adarkervision
Version: 2.0 | Updated: 10/02/08
Silent Hill 3: FAQs and Walkthrough with Synopsis U.S. Version Written by Collin Lee (adarkervision(at)yahoo(dot)com) Copyright September of 2003 by Collin Lee Version 2.0 UPDATE NOTE: The guide was updated again in September of 2008, five years after I originally wrote it. In the meantime I've become a father, and as such haven't written any new guides or had the time to even update this one, so this update was a large one, the culmination of several years more experience in the game, growth of my knowledge through reading and education, and tons of e-mails from the very, very helpful folk who love the series as much as I do. Where appropriate, I've added a notation as to who it was who helped me where it was needed. If your name isn't on here and you feel it should be, please send me a note and I'll fix it; it may just be that I've gotten multiple e-mails on the same tip, and lost track of just who told me what. That having been said, here's the things that were added in Version 2.0: Expanded the Valtiel Section significantly, added the solution to the royal flush t-shirt (and that was a beast), added a number of new references to horror movies, books, and so on, added notes on secrets and easter eggs that I hadn't seen or understood five years ago, and added new tricks, camera hacks and cheats from the PC version of the game, which didn't exist when this guide was originally written. -GUIDE OUTLINE- I. Introduction I-a. The Players (Characters) I-a-1. Heather I-a-2. Douglas I-a-3. Claudia I-a-4. Vincent I-b. Critters (Monsters) I-b-1. Closers I-b-2. Double Heads I-b-3. Insane Cancers I-b-4. Numb Bodies I-b-5. Nurses I-b-6. Pendulums I-b-7. Scrapers I-b-8. Slurpers I-c. The Arsenal (Weapons) I-c-1. Knife I-c-2. Steel Pipe I-c-3. Maul I-c-4. Katana I-c-5. Stun Gun I-c-6. Handgun I-c-7. Shotgun I-c-8. Submachine Gun I-d. The Good Stuff (Secret Weapons) I-d-1. Beam Saber I-d-2. Flamethrower I-d-3. Unlimited Submachine Gun I-d-4. Heather Beam I-d-5. Sexy Beam I-e. Your Stuff (Support Items) I-e-1. Health Drink I-e-2. First Aid Kit I-e-3. Ampoule I-e-4. Beef Jerky I-e-5. Handgun Bullets I-e-6. Shotgun Shells I-e-7. Submachine Gun Clip I-e-8. Stun Gun Battery I-f. Tricks of the Trade I-f-1. Before you Begin I-f-2. Exploring I-f-3. Combat Tips II. The Walkthrough II-a. Part One: "Worse than Christmas Season" II-a-1. Prelude: "The Unhappiest Place on Earth...": Lakeside Amusement Park II-a-2. "Does this gaping chest wound match my pants?": Central Square Shopping Center II-a-3. "Clean-up in aisle five..." Central Square Dark Side II-a-4. BOSS BATTLE: SPLITWORM II-b. Part Two: "There's a World Going On Underground..." II-b-1. "Eat Subway, Eat Flesh...": The Subway Tunnels II-b-2. "Sewers; The New Smell of Fear..." The Underground Passage II-c. Part Three: "How to Succeed In Business Without Really Dying..." II-c-1. "Some Spackle, a new coat of paint... and it will still suck.": Unfinished Building II-c-2. "Forget Fortune's 500, this is Fortune's 666..." Hilltop Center Office Building II-c-3. "Business so evil, it must be owned by Bill Gates...": Hilltop Center Dark Side II-c-4. BOSS FIGHT: MISSIONARY II-d. Part Four: "Shotgun Surgery at Brookhaven Hospital..." II-d-1. "Silent Hill: Come for the scenery, stay for the mind-numbing horror..." The Town II-d-2. "Helllloooo Nurse!": Brookhaven Hospital II-d-3. "I don't think my HMO is going to cover this...": Brookhaven Dark Side II-d-4. BOSS BATTLE: LEONARD II-e. Part Five: "Daddy, what is Robbie the Rabbit doing to that man's face?" II-e-1. "Are we there yet?": The streets of Silent Hill II-e-2. "Mommy, can we go on the 'Meat-Spewing Baby Eater' ride?": Lakeside Amusement Park II-e-3. BOSS BATTLE: MEMORY OF ALESSA II-f. Part Six: "Taking Communion at Our Lady of the Bloodbath." II-f-1. "My advice? Don't drink the Kool-Aid...": The Church II-f-2. FINAL BOSS BATTLE: THE GOD II-g. Part Seven: Epilogue III. Endings III-a. "Normal" Ending III-b. "Possessed" Ending III-c. "Revenge" Ending IV. Puzzles IV-a. Bookstore Puzzle IV-a-1. Easy IV-a-2. Normal IV-a-3. Hard IV-b. Hospital Second Floor Key Code Puzzle IV-b-1. Easy IV-b-2. Normal IV-b-3. Hard IV-c. Hospital Briefcase Puzzle IV-c-1. Easy IV-c-2. Normal IV-c-3. Hard IV-d. Hospital Mortuary Puzzle IV-d-1. Easy IV-d-2. Normal IV-d-3. Hard IV-e. Tarot Card Puzzle IV-e-1. Easy IV-e-2. Normal IV-e-3. Hard V. Secrets And Mysteries V-a. ADDITIONAL ACTION LEVELS V-b. BULLET ADJUST V-c. GOLD AND SILVER PIPES V-d. BONUS WEAPONS V-e. UNLIMITED SUB-MACHINEGUN V-f. HEATHER BEAM/SEXY BEAM V-g. COSTUMES V-g-1. Transform Costume V-g-2. Heather Shirt V-g-3. Don't Touch Shirt V-g-4. Block Head Shirt V-g-5. God of Thunder Shirt V-g-6. Transience Shirt V-g-7. Golden Rooster Shirt V-g-8. Royal Flush Shirt V-g-9. Killer Rabbit Shirt V-g-10. Onsen Shirt V-g-11. Zipper Shirt V-g-12. The Light Shirt V-g-13. EGM Shirt V-g-14. GamePro Shirt V-g-15. Game Informer Shirt V-g-16. Official PS Magazine Shirt V-g-17. OPS2 Shirt V-g-18. PS2RO Shirt V-g-19. Play Shirt V-g-20. GameSpy.com Shirt V-g-21. IGN.COM Shirt V-g-22. 13eme Rue Shirt V-g-23. Game Reactor Shirt V-g-24. GMR Shirt V-g-25. GN Shirt V-h. DOUGLAS- KING OF NO PANTS V-i. EASTEREGGS V-i-1. SPECIAL DEATH SCENES V-i-2. VALTIEL V-i-3. EXTRA NEW GAME WEIRDNESS V-i-4. LIFE DISPLAY V-i-5. SILENT HILL 2 REFERENCES V-i-6. METAL GEAR SOLID REFERENCE V-i-7. JACOB'S LADDER REFERENCE v-i-8. STEPHEN KING REFERENCES v-i-9. HOUSE OF LEAVES REFERENCE v-10-9. CAFE TURN MILL v-11-9. BORLEY HAUNTED MANSION v-12-9. SESSION 9 REFERENCE v-13-9. EXORCIST 3 REFERENCE V-j. HOW TO GET A PERFECT RANKING VI. Final Review VII. Conclusion and Farewell I. Introduction Good evening ladies and germs. You are about to take a journey into one of the darkest and most frightening games of all time, Silent Hill 3. Silent Hill has always been my favorite vacationing spots: there is something about its dark and nightmare haunted streets and the sound of the howls of the damned echoing off of Taluca Lake that has made me want to return to this town again and again. If this is your first foray into the town that sanity forgot, I envy you: you are in for an unforgettable horror treat like no other. However, if you haven't played the previous games in the series, I suggest you do so before playing venturing further into Silent Hill 3. Unlike Silent Hill 2, which was more of a spiritual successor, taking place in the same town as the original Silent Hill game, and thus could be played by itself without having played the first game, Silent Hill 3 is a direct sequel to the original Silent Hill. It follows up on characters, locations, and events that took place in the original game, and while it does a very good job of summarizing the important bits of the first game, there is no substitute for first-hand knowledge. And since the original Silent Hill is still one of the best and most frightening games ever, you should play the first game simply because it is a real treat. That having been said, here is a little history on the series. Silent Hill was originally published for the Sony Playstation in 1999 by Konami, and was an instant classic. Often compared to Resident Evil due to its survival horror roots, Silent Hill took a different approach to the genre than Capcom's B-movie zombie shooter. While Resident Evil put its emphasis on combat against the undead and "boo" scary frights, Silent Hill focused on ambience and psychological horror. Where Resident Evil had highly trained soldiers and police officers as the main protagonists, Silent Hill had a simple writer lost and out of his element. This meant that he was not nearly as adept with his weapons as he could have been, got more and more tired as he ran throughout the large town, and seemed constantly to be almost overwhelmed by the horrors around him. At the same time the combat seemed grittier than in Resident Evil, with the inclusion of melee weapons such as Steel Pipes and Emergency Hammers and the necessity to stomp on or kick your enemies once they fell, to make sure they didn't get up again. Where Resident Evil rejoiced in showing you your rotting foes in all their lurid glory, Silent Hill frightened you with what you couldn't see. The environments were all clouded in darkness and fog, and your enemies were little more than forms in the shadows around you, heightening the sense of dread that built throughout the game. While the ambiguity of the story put off some players (Sony wouldn't allow direct references to Satanism on any games made for their system, so Konami had to be more cryptic than was probably good for them), the exceptionally dark ambience, tight gameplay, and deeply frightening moments turned Silent Hill into a sleeper hit for both Sony and Konami, and left fans screaming for more. Or maybe they were just screaming. It was scary. Enter Silent Hill 2, released by Konami in September of 2001 for the Playstation 2. Silent Hill did not offer a direct sequel to the original Silent Hill, instead deciding to take things in a different direction. Since the events of the original Silent Hill, the town itself has become a sort of beacon for the lost and the damned, offering salvation or damnation to those who heed its dark call. Combat and basic gameplay remained more or less unchanged from the original, but the beautifully updated graphics, excellent story telling, superb sound and voice acting, and twisted imagery set a precedent for the fledgling game system that was rarely matched and never outdone until Silent Hill 3 was released two years later. A slightly updated version of Silent Hill 2, called Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams was released 2 months after the PS2 version for the Microsoft X-Box, offering more detailed graphics, another ending, and expanded gameplay in the form of a second scenario featuring a supporting character from the storyline. In 2002, the enhanced version of Silent Hill 2 was released for the PS2 in the form of the PS2's Greatest Hits line. Which brings us to August of 2003 and the U.S. Release of Silent Hill 3 (followed by the PC version of the game in December of the same year). This game features a return to and continuation of the original story, but with new characters, new enemies, and new locations, as well as a re-visitation of familiar material. Other than the addition of an automatic weapon, some new support items, and a few minor gameplay tweaks, Silent Hill 3 remains true to the Silent Hill series in respect to gameplay, puzzles, ambience, and out and out horror. It is also arguably the best-looking game available for any system, featuring graphics that are simply mind-bendingly beautiful while at the same time inducing nightmares. So step inside and find out what it is that makes Silent Hill 3 one of the best horror experiences of all time... I-a. The Players I-a-1. Heather Heather is a seemingly ordinary seventeen-year-old girl, with a smart mouth and a bit of an attitude, though she is loving and respectful to her father. One day, on a typical Sunday trip to the mall, Heather finds herself trapped in a twisted nightmare world, populated by hideously monstrous creatures. Lost and alone she arms herself and sets out, not to save the world, but rather her own hide. But sometimes things happen that we never plan for... I-a-2. Douglas In his late fifties, Douglas is a private detective who has been sent by mysterious forces to find Heather. He needs to talk to her about her past, something having to do with the day she was born. The strange events that happen in the game begin only minutes after he tracks Heather down at the Central Square Mall. Could he have something to do with the Unholy events that unfold? I-a-3. Claudia This beautiful and mysterious woman is the first living human being that Heather encounters after the world goes crazy. She seems to know something of what is going on, but speaks in cryptically spiritual terms. She seems to be some kind of religious fanatic, but what God does she serve? I-a-4. Vincent Vincent is a strange and unsettling young man who seems to know more about events than he is willing to say. He shows up occasionally to give Heather clues and guidance, but what he is playing at is unclear, other than that he has a chip on his shoulder towards Claudia. His unflinching arrogance seems to mask something more, but is he Heather's friend, or enemy? I-b. Critters (In alphabetical order) I-b-1. Closers These are large, almost simian monsters with long, bulbous arms. They attack by attempting to impale Heather on a needle-like blade that comes from the end of their arms. From Brookhaven Hospital on, any Closers you encounter will also attack by swinging their arms around themselves in a circular pattern, effectively keeping you at bay. This is an enemy that also gets tougher the later in the game that you encounter them, inflicting more damage and taking more damage to kill, so your combat tactics will have to change along with them. The special Closers in the last stage, who's skin crawls with blackish, blood-like smoke, are devastatingly powerful, fast, and tough, and should probably be avoided. The most effective way to combat a Closer is to fire the Handgun at it while backing away, and strafing to the sides if it is backing you into a corner. If you are using a melee weapon, the best tactic is to come in at an angle from behind and strike fast, or to block their initial strikes and retaliate. Once they start swinging their arms around them, the best thing to do is step back and wait for them to finish, circling around them using strafe while they are standing in place, then move in and strike when their arms stop. Just be sure to get out of the way when they start swinging again. Most of their attacks can be interrupted by a strong hit from a melee weapon, if it is properly timed: a overhead attack (press and hold down attack button once) or a thrusting attack (forward and press the attack button) used right before one of their attacks lands may stun them and disrupt their own attack. If one doesn't work, alternate with the other. Since Closers are fairly slow moving (and tough), the best bet on your first time through the game is to run right past them and save yourself the hassle, since they won't be able to keep up. If you face more than one at a time and running isn't an option, kill one with the Handgun, strafing constantly until one falls, dash in and kick it to finish it, then switch to the Steel Pipe or Katana to take out the other one. Special note: The Closers are the only creatures other than the ever-present Nurses returning from an earlier Silent Hill game. In Silent Hill 2, they would hang from the underside of the grating in the Dark Side version of the town, swinging from their long arms as they pursued James. I-b-2. Double Heads Every horror game worth it's salt has a good undead dog, and the Double Head is an especially disturbing little pooch. It trails filthy bandages from its sides as it runs swiftly at you, and they aren't just there for show; they seem to be holding the creature together. Double Heads faces split in two vertically, rather than horizontally when it attacks, as if it was sliced in two and then bandaged back together haphazardly. They are swift and often hunt in packs. Most likely you will hear them before you see them, as they let out a bone-chilling howl when they spot living prey. Their first attack will often be to run straight at you and leap, smashing into you and chomping on you as they sail by. Their secondary attack, once they are right on top of you, is to grab your leg and savage you with their teeth. If this happens, press the action button and wiggle the left analog stick to pull free. The best way to deal with them is with the Handgun as you strafe around them, as five or six shots will put them on the ground, and another will put them down for good (although it is better to stomp them to save ammo once they are down). To conserve ammo, a fast melee weapon will work in a pinch, but it requires precise timing that can only be gotten through practice. When facing a Double Head solo, face it and wait for it to run at you. Just as it springs to hit you with it's leaping attack, use an overhead strike (press and hold down attack button) to smack it out of the air. If you miss, or your timing is off, the Double Head will most likely dash away before you can strike, unless you are near a wall. Facing out of a corner is actually the best way to face a Double Head, since if you miss it or it runs by you, it will run into the corner, where you can quickly bash it before it runs away. A block and attack combo doesn't work as well against them, since by the time you have lowered your guard, they have most likely bounded away again (once again, unless you are standing in a corner; then the block/attack works great). Once you have hit it once, don't let up; the overhead attack will also stun it momentarily, allowing you to hit it with a series of overhead strikes, one after another, until it falls. This is best achieved by simply holding down the attack button after you connect once, and Heather will keep chopping away at whatever is in front of her. Once it is down you can just keep hacking, or kick it a couple of times. If there is more than one Double Head in the area, and running isn't an option, kill all but the last one with the handgun, then switch to the Steel Pipe or Katana to finish off the straggler. I-b-3. Insane Cancers The name says it all. These maggot-white, putrescent masses of flesh are usually slumbering idly when Heather encounters them, but are quick to rise if you get too close, and can both run and strike with surprising speed. It takes a lot of damage to put them down permanently, so technically the best weapon for the job is the Shotgun at a close range. However, you don't want to waste ammo on these monstrosities, first of all because it takes so much ammo to put them down, and secondly because melee weapons can be much more effective. First of all, it isn't generally a good idea to attack them when they are lying on the ground. They are resistant to such damage (although it does hurt them somewhat) and can rise and attack in the same motion. If given an opportunity to attack them from behind, bash away with your heaviest melee weapon (even the Maul, but only if their backs are to you) as they are turning around. They have two basic attacks; the one- armed swing attack and the two-handed overhead bash. Both are surprisingly quick and fairly damaging. A well-timed overhead attack (hold down attack button) or thrusting attack (forward and the attack button) can disrupt either attack. If one doesn't work, try the other, alternating between the two. When they fall down, don't be fooled: they are most likely just recuperating. This could be a good opportunity to re-group and heal if necessary, but don't leave them lying there for long, as they heal as they lie on the ground. Instead, keep bashing away until they rise again, and start the whole thing over. Unless you gave them time to heal, the second time they fall should be their last. Kick them or keep bashing them with the overhead strike. When they are finally dead, they will make a distinctive death rattle, and then begin to actually deflate. A little key; if they ain't flat, they ain't flat lined. Facing off against more than one Insane Cancer at a time is a recipe for a good ass whupping. Since they don't react until you approach make sure to face one, then the other, instead of angering them both at once. I-b-4. Numb Bodies These things are going to be your whipping boys... or your whipping fish-things, rather. They look a bit like faceless fish with spindly legs made out of purplish raw and diseased flesh. They move rather slowly and can attack only by lunging at Heather and bumping her with their mouth-less heads. Never bother to waste ammunition on them, as they are pathetically weak and can be defeated with a few good whacks from the Steel Pipe or the Katana. Since pretty much any attack that connects with them can disrupt their own attacks they are easily beaten down. It is when you face them in numbers that they can become dangerous. One will draw your attacks while their companions work their way in from the sides to pummel you from multiple directions. If this happens, you should back up if possible and try to get them to separate, so that you can kill them one at a time. If you get backed into a corner, try to spread them out with the Shotgun or leave through a door and then come right back in to get them off your tail. Beef Jerky works pretty well with them, as they tend to move in patrol patterns; simply place the Jerky in a location you know they will be walking through, wait for them to start munching, then smack them from behind. They come in three varieties, small, medium, and large, but they should all be dealt with the same way; just beat them like a redheaded stepchild. No offence meant to any redheaded stepchildren out there. I-b-5. Nurses Affectionately known as "Bobble Heads", the Nurses are the only creatures who have been in all Silent Hill games, in one form or another. They are constantly evolving throughout the series; in the original Silent Hill they looked like ordinary, dead nurses with some sort of pulpy, parasitic growth on their backs. In Silent Hill two they became more loathsomely feminine, lost the leeches, and began wandering the town outside of the Hospitals. In Silent Hill 3 they retain much of their look from Silent Hill 2, but now some of them are pistol-packing mamas. In all three games they wield Steel Pipes, but in Silent Hill 3, if you play on Normal or higher difficulty levels, some of them also carry revolvers. Pipe wielding Nurses attack by either swinging them overhead, or by jabbing at you with them, depending on how close you are to them. Either attack can be disrupted by a strong attack of your own, but not always. Sometimes the best way to deal with a Pipe swinging Nurse is to block her attack with your defensive stance, then retaliate with an attack of your own. Revolver wielding Nurses will either shoot at you, if you are still further away from them, or attempt to pistol-whip you if you get too close. The gunshot cannot be blocked, so the best thing to do is try to keep something between you and them while they are firing (preferably another Nurse) and then charge in close to engage them hand to hand. Once you are in close, deal with them just as you would a Pipe wielding Nurse. Normally, if you are careful, they can be taken on one at a time, which is obviously the best way to deal with them. There are a few places, however, where they come rushing at you in groups of two or more, up to four at once. Then the Shotgun is the tool of the trade, at least until you get them thinned out or knocked to the ground where they are more easily dealt with using melee weapons. Although a boot to the face is always particularly satisfying as well. I-b-6. Pendulums Lord how I hate the damn Pendulums. You will always know when a Pendulum is nearby, because they make a horrible noise not unlike a cat being beaten to death with a bagpipe. Well, maybe not quite that bad, but it is a high-pitched rusty squealing noise that grates on your nerves and won't stop until you have left the area where they reside, or until they are dead. Obviously, dead is better, but that is more easily said than done. These creatures are like flying, wingless food processors, spinning end over end through the sky with blades sticking out all over the place. Combine that with a dead body wrapped in a dirty shroud, and you are starting to get the idea. Handguns are not effective against these creatures while they are in the air, as all shots seem to miss, and send the Pendulum spinning towards you at a greater speed, rushing the direction that the shot came from. The Submachine Gun works pretty well to take them down, but don't waste the ammo from this precious weapon. One of the most effective tools you can use is just a single blast from your Shotgun from close range while they are in the air. This will knock them out of the air, where you can finish them a lot more easily with the Handgun or a melee weapon. Once you are toe to toe with them, they will try to "head"-butt you to do damage, but a solid hit can disrupt this attack. If you don't want to knock them out of the air with the Shotgun, you can use a fast melee weapon like the Katana or the Steel Pipe to do the trick: when they charge you, don't panic, but rather strafe left or right and quickly strike them as they pass. This too will knock them out of the air so that you can deal with them more easily, but takes a steady hand and precise timing. Yet another, far easier way of dealing with them is the block and strike method (simply block their swipes and then immediately counter attack before they can get their defenses up). However, the best way to deal with this enemy, especially if they aren't alone, is the "run away like a scared little girl" method. It may sound complicated, but with a little practice you should get the hang of it. Fighting a Pendulum is simply more frustrating than it is rewarding. I-b-7. Scrapers These enemies are fast, but they are really pushovers, especially considering how late in the game they appear. They closely resemble the Boss Monster called Missionary, but they are smaller and a lot less resilient. They are of human size and shape, but their head is an unidentifiable mass, and they carry rusty but razor sharp blades in each hand. They have two main attacks, a running slash, and a standing slash. When charging you for the running slash, they are capable of moving surprisingly fast, so stay on your toes. For either form of their attack, they best way to deal with them is by blocking their initial swipes, then counter-attacking before they can recover for another action. The Katana is the best weapon for the job, because once you get a strong strike in, it is all over for them. A strong strike disrupts any attacks they were going to make, and gives you plenty of time to hit them just as hard the next time. It only takes two or three strikes to knock them to the floor, then you can finish them off with overhead strikes while standing above them, or with an old fashioned boot to the head. If you are attacked by more than one at a time, the Shotgun should make short work of them, but usually it is in your best interest to avoid fights with more than one of them. I-b-8. Slurpers These are the second noisiest and most irritating creatures in the game. They make a rising and falling chirruping noise as they move around, crawling along the floors like a lizard, and just as capable of moving suddenly and devastatingly fast without any warning. They are mostly humanoid, with a leathery, proboscis-like snout, beady eyes, and club-like front limbs. As they move in for the attack, they will often dart suddenly forward and yank Heather's feet out from under her, they crawl over her to inflict additional damage after she is on the ground. Handguns and shotguns can work great against them, but the proper use of a good melee weapon is really the way to go. Since they crawl so low to the ground, only melee weapons with a good overhead attack are effective against them. Well-timed attacks can disrupt any attacks they were attempting to make, and allow you to keep beating on them. Attacking from the side or from the back is always your best bet, but can be difficult to maneuver with any regularity. This foe is one of the best to use Beef Jerky against, as it is somewhat near-sighted and will snack on the treat even if Heather is fairly close. This will allow you to circle around it to the side or from the back and hit it hard. This is also one enemy that the Maul works pretty well against, due to its reach and its ability to hit foes even low to the ground. After a few hits from any weapon the Slurper will fall still and play possum. Don't be fooled by this, as it will burst back to life and sweep Heather's legs out from under her if she gets too close. Only when the Slurper emits its loud and distinctive death cry, and then falls entirely silent, is it truly dead. If attacked by a group of more than one Slurper wait for them to bunch up and rain your anger down upon them with the Shotgun until their numbers are thinned. Note: since these enemies are close to the ground, Heather can actually kick them or stomp on them for an attack. It doesn't do a lot of damage, but it is fast and can be an effective weapon... but only if she attacks from the back or sides. Otherwise, the Slurper will just swipe her feet out from underneath her and attack her while she is prone. I-c. The Arsenal I-c-1. Knife You start the game with the knife. What this weapon lacks in attack power and reach, it makes up for in uselessness. It is pretty fast, I guess, but unless you have no other choice it is best to leave this weapon in your inventory and forget about it. It can be fun to use against Numb Bodies, just to prove how pathetic they are, but it is usually a waste of time. The knife can be used to perform Sweep attacks (pressing the attack button) or Thrust attacks (holding the attack button). The Thrust attack does more damage but is not quite as fast, while you can string together up to three Sweep attacks in a row, after which Heather will pause for a moment, and then can do another round of three attacks. You can overcome this limit by tapping the attack button twice, waiting a split second, and then pressing it twice again. This will result in an unbroken chain of two swipe attacks. Furthermore, the Sweep attack can hit more than one enemy in a single swipe, and you can even move forward and back or side-to-side while performing a Sweep attack. It doesn't make it much less useless, however. I-c-2. Steel Pipe The Steel Pipe can be found in the Central Square Shopping Center (Dark Side) in the second floor Café Turnmill kitchen, hanging from the wall. This weapon will be your best buddy through the first parts of the game, until you replace it with the Katana and never look back. It is a blunt length of metal about three feet long that can be used for three basic kinds of attack: a side-to-side Sweep attack (press the attack button), and overhead Bashing attack (press and hold the attack button), or a Thrusting attack (pressing forward and holding the attack button). You can string together up to three Sweep attacks in a row, after which Heather will pause for a moment, and then can do another round of three attacks. You can overcome this limit by tapping the attack button twice, waiting a split second, and then pressing it twice again. This will result in an unbroken chain of two swipe attacks. Furthermore, the Sweep attack can hit more than one enemy in a single swipe, and you can even move forward and back or side-to-side while performing a Sweep attack. The Thrust attack is a quick jab to the enemy's midsection, and this attack can disrupt an attack that the enemy is beginning. And finally there is the all-useful Bash attack, in which you raise the weapon over your head and swing it straight downward, causing a good chunk of damage and also capable of disrupting enemies' attacks. The Bash attack can also be used to beat enemies while they are on the ground, which means that you can continue to hit them even after they have fallen. So feel free to go all caveman on them. Special Notes: the Gold and Silver Pipes that you can get in an Extra Save Game function identically to the Steel Pipe. For information on how to obtain them, read subsection V-c in section V, "Secrets and Mysteries". I-c-3. Maul This weapon is found in the Employee Locker Room in the Underground Passage, on the upper floor. The Maul is a great weapon, but is really rather useless for practical purposes, kind of like the Great Knife you could steal from Pyramid Head in Silent Hill 2. Slow, heavy, and very difficult to wield, the Maul is a three-foot long length of handle with a heavy, spiked ball on the end. It has two kinds of attacks, a Sweep attack, and a Bashing attack, but can do four kinds of damage. That is because the damage it afflicts is different, depending on whether you strike with the handle (less damage) or the head (a lot more damage). This huge weapon is a little much for poor, petite little Heather to use effectively, as you cannot move while swinging it or even hit more than one enemy at a time with it. If you can master the timing necessary to use this unique weapon, its effects can be devastating. The Sweep attack is a single, side-to-side attack, and does respectable damage. It is also a bit faster than the Bash attack. The Bash attack is slow and awkward, but if you can get the Maul's head to hit what you are swinging at, the results are devastating. The Bashing attack is the second most damaging attack you can make with a regular weapon, next to the Katana's Thrusting attack. This weapon works wonders against Slurpers, if you can get the timing of the Bash right to intercept them before they get to you. If you don't take time to practice the timing of attacks with this weapon, it is best not to try to use it in combat situations. If you do master the timing, it can be one of the most effective tools in the game. I-c-4. Katana The Katana can be found in the second floor art storage closet in Hilltop Center (Dark Side), behind the Gallery of Fine Arts. This weapon will be your best and closest companion through the second half of the game. An elegant, precise weapon of war, the Katana may be the most famous sword-type in the world. Technically, I believe this particular weapon to be a Wakizashi, a shorter companion to the Katana, which was wielded in the Samurai's less adept hand when using Musashi's two-handed fighting style. Heather finds a Daisho (matched set), and chooses the smaller of the two blades, due to her relatively small size. It is still quite effective, and has the potential to be the most damaging normal weapon in the game (if you use the Thrusting attack with proper timing). The Katana can perform three different types of attack: the Sweeping (side-to-side) attack (press the attack button), the Hacking (overhead) attack (press and hold the attack button), and the Thrusting (forward stabbing) attack (press forward and hold the attack button). You can string together up to three Sweep attacks in a row, after which Heather will pause for a moment, and then can do another round of three attacks. You can overcome this limit by tapping the attack button twice, waiting a split second, and then pressing it twice again. This will result in an unbroken chain of two swipe attacks. Furthermore, the Sweep attack can hit more than one enemy in a single swipe, but due to the precision and concentration needed to properly use the Katana, Heather can't move while attacking. The hacking attack is the most useful and effective, does a moderate amount of damage, and can disrupt an enemy's attack. The Thrust attack is a quick forward stab, does a good deal of damage, and can disrupt an enemy's attack. Furthermore, the Thrust attack is exceptionally powerful if you can hit the enemy from behind with it, catch them unawares, or use it as a finishing strike (the last blow that kills an enemy). All forms of the Katana's attack are fairly fast, and fairly powerful. The Katana is a good, effective all-around weapon. I-c-5. Stun Gun You find the Stun Gun in Daisy Villa Apartments, in Heather's dresser drawer. Heather's dad gave her the Stun Gun to defend herself, but she usually leaves it at home. Ironically enough, it is just about as effective buried in her sock drawer as it is in her hand. It has even less range than Heather's pig sticker (her pathetic excuse for a knife) and sends out a moderate amount of damage with a successful strike. The Stun Gun uses Stun Gun batteries, each of which has enough charge for four attacks before it is out of juice and you have to use another one. Furthermore, Stun Gun batteries are rare in the game, so you can't just use the thing to zap anything you want to. If you run out of battery power, Heather will continue to use the weapon, doing ridiculously low damage with each successful hit; dragging your feet across the carpet while wearing wool socks and then tapping enemies on the nose would probably be more effective. What is worse, Heather won't even reload the thing on her own, so each time you run out of juice you will have to manually go to the menu screen and reload it. It is THE weapon to use if you are ever attacked by a blind, retarded quadriplegic. I-c-6. Handgun The Handgun is found in Central Square Shoppping Center (Normal Side), in Boutique Marguerite (the women's clothing store) on the first floor. Ah, the Handgun. This is the screwdriver in the Survival Horror player's toolbox: not the most impressive tool, but one of the most useful. The Handgun's magazine holds 10 rounds, and is the first useful weapon found in the game. It has a fairly fast rate of fire, and although the shots are not very powerful, the Handgun has great range. Furthermore, you can move in any direction while firing the Handgun, and even strafe from side to side. Heather is by no means an expert markswoman, and sometimes her shots go wide, even when you are aiming directly at an enemy, but that is just part of the deal. When you are in the combat stance, Heather will remained locked onto one enemy even when strafing. To change targets, use the left analog stick. When Heather is not locked on to an enemy, she holds the gun close to her chest, so this can be used as in indicator to tell if Heather has a monster in her sights. Simply go into the combat stance and move forward, and when she gets closer she will point her gun at the enemy to show she is locked on. The Handgun can be equipped with a Silencer, which muffles the sound of your gunfire so that nearby enemies won't come to investigate. However, the Silencer slightly reduces the Handgun's attack power, so use judgment when deciding whether to use the Silencer or not. I-c-7. Shotgun The Shotgun is found in Hazel Street Station, Platform 2 on floor B3, inside the derelict Subway car. All right you primitive Screwheads, listen up. This... is your Boomstick! Sorry, I know that was obvious and cliché, but it was also absolutely necessary. I'm done now, really. Anyway, the Shotgun is an almost indispensable part of the Survival Horror experience. The cone-shaped blast of the Shotgun is capable of causing moderate damage to all enemies in its blast radius a medium range, or massive amounts of damage to a single enemy at short range. That is why it is THE weapon to use during Boss Battles: accept no substitutes. The weapon can hold 6 shots at a time, and can be slow to reload, not to mention that you can't move or strafe while firing it, which means that it shouldn't be used when you are being attacked from more than one side. However, any time you need to do massive damage to a single enemy, or whenever multiple enemies bunch into the same general area, this is your weapon of choice. The massive blast let off when the Shotgun is fired can cause enemies from further away to become aware of your presence and come attack you. If you go into the combat stance when there are enemies near, Heather will automatically lock on to the nearest enemy. If you walk into a room already holding down the combat stance button, Heather will simply aim it forward, regardless of where the enemies are in the room. For this reason, it is best to not raise the weapon until you are ready to use it. Remember, shop smart... shop S-Mart. I-c-8. Submachine Gun The Submachine Gun can be found in Brookhaven Hospital (Normal Side), in the Basement corridor, in front of the elevators. Automatic firearms make their appearance for the first time in the series with the discovery of the SMG. To use it, simply equip it, go into the combat stance, and press the attack button. The SMG fires half of its clip in a single burst (15 rounds with a single tap of the button), and since there are only 32 rounds in a clip, you will go through ammo for this weapon rapidly. So it is best to only break out this weapon for special occasions or when you really want to lay waste to something. You can't move while firing the SMG, but you can use the left analog stick to sweep the barrel of the gun up, down, or from side-to-side, effectively covering a whole room. The Silencer can be used with this weapon, which makes the shots quieter but less powerful, so use the Silencer only if you need to avoid the attention of nearby enemies. I-d. The Good Stuff I-d-1. Beam Saber The Beam Saber is a special weapon that can only be obtained during an Extra New Game. For details on how to get your hands on this fine weapon, see subsection V-d in section V, "Secrets and Mysteries". Repeat after me: "This is not a Light Saber (registered trademark of Lucasfilms Limited, all rights reserved)". Now that little bit of legal hiney covering is out of the way, let's talk about what it can do. When the Light... BEAM Saber is equipped but not in use, Heather just holds the metal handle. Going into the combat stance ignites the blade. Not only can move forward or backward while swinging the blade; the weapon actually causes the most damage of any weapon in the game if you hit an enemy with it while you are moving. The downside is that if you are hit by an enemy while using the Beam Saber, the blade actually turns itself off, forcing you to release the combat stance button and then re-press it to activate the weapon once more. The Beam Saber has two main attacks in addition to the attack you make while moving: a basic Sweep attack and an overhead Hacking attack, which can be used in a manner identical to the Katana. If you somehow manage to get a 10 Big Star rating at the end of an Extra New Game, the Beam Saber will become longer and more powerful in your next game. Good luck on that. For details on how to get this perfect rating, see subsection V-j in section V, "Secrets and Mysteries". I-d-2. Flamethrower The Flamethrower is a special weapon that can only be obtained during an Extra New Game. For details on how to procure this devastating weapon, see subsection V-d in section V, "Secrets and Mysteries". This weapon is capable of completely devastating a whole room full of enemies, since you can attack foes in a wide range and the flames spread as they travel away from the nozzle. Like the SMG, you cannot move while using the Flamethrower, but using the left analog stick allows you to sweep the nozzle up, down, or side to side. Since the gas cylinder never runs out of fuel, you can really do a great deal of damage to quite a few enemies with this weapon. The more flames touch an enemy, the more damage they do; thus this weapon works wonderfully against larger foes. If you somehow manage to get a 10 Big Star Rating at the end of an Extra New Game, the flames emitted by this weapon become more damaging on your next playthrough. For details on how to get this perfect rating, see subsection V-j in section V, "Secrets and Mysteries". I-d-3. Unlimited Submachine Gun The Unlimited Submachine Gun is a special weapon that can only be obtained during an Extra New Game. For details on how to get your greasy mitts on this short-nosed bad boy, see subsection V-e in section V, "Secrets and Mysteries". Other than the place where it is found, and the fact you can use it throughout the entire game, on every enemy you ever come across, without ever having to worry about running out of ammo, this weapon functions exactly like the normal SMG. See the description for that weapon for more details. I-d-4. Heather Beam This is a special attack ability that can only obtained by meeting certain conditions in an Extra New Game. For more details on how to unleash Heather's magic powers, given to her by UFOs, see subsection V- f in section V, "Secrets and Mysteries". Once the Heather Beam has been unlocked, you can unleash its power by un-equipping all weapons, going into a combat stance, and holding down the attack button. When you go into the combat stance, Heather's eyes will begin to glow. When you hold down the attack, she releases two energy beams from her noggin that home in on enemies, and will strike them, even around corners. If you press forward and tap the attack button, Heather will release hexagonal balls of energy that are more damaging. When the "Transform" costume is equipped, the Heather Beam becomes the Sexy Beam. See the "Sexy Beam" section below for more details. Note: use of this weapon is necessary to get the "Revenge" secret ending. See the entry for that ending in section III-c. I-d-5. Sexy Beam The Heather Beam becomes the Sexy Beam when the "Transform" costume is equipped. For details on how to obtain the "Transform" Costume, see subsection V-g in section V, "Secrets and Mysteries". In Heather's super hero form, the basic Homing attack (press and hold the attack button while in the combat stance with no weapons equipped) becomes much more powerful, firing a combination of the homing shots and the energy balls, for a total of eight at once. When you use the secondary attack (press forward and hold down the attack button), Heather will fire beams of energy from her eyes, Superman style! These beams can then be directed towards your enemies by using the left analog stick to sweep them around the room. These attacks are very powerful, and darned neat to boot! I-e. Your Stuff (Support Items) I-e-1. Health Drink This is a high-nutrient protein drink that restores a small amount of Heather's health when used. They are the most common healing item, but still should be used somewhat sparingly, if you can help it. If Heather is almost dead, it will take three of these to heal her almost up to full health. I-e-2. First Aid Kit This is an emergency medical kit that can be used to restore a moderate amount of Heather's health. They are not as common as Health Drinks, and should be saved for emergencies or Boss Battles. If Heather is almost dead, it will take two of these to heal her almost up to full health. I-e-3. Ampoule I'm not really sure what is in this concoction, but I am guessing adrenaline and/or morphine. They will restore all of Heather's health, even if she is almost dead. In addition, it keeps Heather from becoming fatigued by any exertion for about three minutes after it is used. Ampoules are few and far between, and should be saved for the end of your game if at all possible. I-e-4. Beef Jerky This is a new item introduced to Silent Hill. Heather can place Beef Jerky in the path of a patrolling enemy and when it comes across the treat, it will crouch and begin to eat it. This allows Heather to slip by without difficulty, or to position herself to the side or behind the enemy when it is distracted and set up a devastating attack. Most enemies, if already aware of Heather's presence, will ignore Jerky in favor of her warm, living flesh, so don't bother dropping it if you are being chased. However, if you place Beef Jerky in a room where enemies are located, leave through a door, and then come back in, the enemies will be munching on the Jerky when you return. This is a good way to shake pursuit and turn the tide of a battle. However, the enemy will consume Jerky after a short time, and then they will resume looking for Heather, so be careful of time. I-e-5. Handgun Bullets Handgun Bullets are the most common form of ammunition in the game. On the default setting, each box of Handgun Ammo holds 10 shots for the handgun. However, the "Bullet Adjust" setting in your options screen allows you to change the amount of bullets you receive after your first game: a bullet adjust of x2 means that each box will contain 20 bullets, while a bullet adjust of x6 means each box contains 60 bullets. This guide is written with a regular bullet adjust in mind, calibrated for the least amount of ammunition. I-e-6. Shotgun Shells Shotgun Shells are not very common, and each box contains only 6 shells, so don't waste them. Shotgun rounds should be reserved for groups of enemies all together, Boss Battles, and any annoying Pendulums you just can't stand to listen to anymore. Use them wisely. I-e-7. Submachine Gun Clip Submachine Gun Clips are very rare indeed, and each clip holds 32 bullets. Since each burst of the SMG uses 15 bullets, this is not very much ammo at all, so only use the SMG when company comes over, or at the end of the game. Once you get the unlimited SMG in your Extra New Game, you don't need to worry about conserving this ammo, but until then, treasure it. I-e-8. Stun Gun Battery Stun Gun Batteries are as rare as they are useless. Each battery holds enough juice for only 4 attacks, and there are only a handful of batteries in the game. But you will still probably have plenty left at the end of the game, due to the absolute uselessness of the Stun Gun. It can be of limited use against the Lakeside Amusement Park's Boss, but that is about it. I-f. Tricks of the Trade I-f-1. Before you Begin Silent Hill 3 has a number of variables that you can adjust in the "Options" Menu, from picture and sound to the color and quantity of blood and how your game controls. Since everyone's systems and preferences are different (until I am in charge and you all think like I do), what you do with the most of these options is really up to you. I do have a couple of suggestions. First of all, this guide is written with the default control scheme in mind, and there are a few places where I refer to a button by its name rather than its function (for example, referring to the "X" button instead of the "action" button. Keep this in mind as you use this guide. Besides these normal settings, there are other, "Secret" settings that can be accessed by pressing R1 or L1 while in the normal options setting. This gives you the option to set blood color or volume, your walk/run speed, the zoom on your map, to turn the grainy graphics filter on and off, or the blur effect on your camera. The only one that really matters is the "Walk/Run Control". It can be set to "Normal", which is the default, or "Reverse". The normal setting means that Heather will be moving at her normal walking speed when you move her with the analog stick, unless you press down the "run" button (the "square" button is the default). If you change this setting to "Reverse" it means that Heather will move at a run when you move her with the analog stick, unless you press and hoold the "square" button, which causes her to slow to a walk. Since at most times in the game you will want to be moving rather quickly, and since it can be a pain in the thumb to hold down the "run" button constantly, switch this setting to "reverse" from the get-go, and you will find Heather moves around rather zippily. Another feature to be aware of is the fact that you can "Equip" many supplies for speedy use. What this means is that a single item can be effectively mapped to the R3 button (press in on the right analog stick so that it clicks). You can "Equip" ammo for quick reloads, health items for a quick pick-me-up, or even Beef Jerky to quickly drop a tasty treat for the pups. This allows you to quickly use common items in real time so that you don't have to interrupt the flow of the game and go to your inventory all the time. If you use it for ammo, when you hit the button Heather will go through the reload animation, so this may not be the best choice if there are monsters around. Beef Jerky may be a good option because then you don't have to go out to the menu; Heather just crouches and places Jerky on the ground right in front of her. So you might make R3 your "Beef Jerky Button". But the best option is probably to map healing items to this button for a quick combat heal. The only stipulation is that you can't use the healing item while firing a weapon, so make sure you have plenty of room to stop and heal before you try to use it. Regardless of how you choose to use it, you can engage this function by going into your inventory and selecting the item you want to map. As well as the "Use" and "Combine" commands, there should be one that says "Equip". Select this and that item is automatically mapped to your R3 button. I-f-2. Exploring Some of the environments in Silent Hill 3 are large and hard to find your way around. They key to avoiding wasting valuable time trying the same doors over and over is to use the ingame map. I have tried to write the guide in a manner that gets the map for each area into your grubby little hands as quickly as possible. Once you have the map for each area, you want to make sure that everything you do and find is marked on the map, so that you don't get confused as to where you have been and where you need to go back to later. Luckily Heather has a great memory, because once she finds a map, she is able to mark every door and clue that she has checked or been through on to the map immediately, even if she didn't have the map when she made her discoveries. This means that if Heather has no map, tries a bunch of doors and finds 5 are jammed, two are unlocked, and there is a locked door in the east hallway, once she has found the map she will immediately mark each and every door and clue on the map so that you don't have to check them again later. So your job is to TRY EVERY DOOR AND HALLWAY, even if I already told you in this guide that the door is jammed. This will ensure that your map is accurate and there should be no confusion when you are trying to figure out where to go and where you have been on the map. Jammed or missing doors or hallways will be marked with a squiggly line over them. Locked doors or shutters are marked with a thick line over them. Doors that are open will be marked with an arrow that passes through them. Save points are marked with a little red save symbol. Clues are circled and often marked with a "?", sometimes with a note to remind you what it is ("Clock?" or "Key?" for example). So try every door you come across if at all possible. The only exception is if it is in an area I specifically say NOT to explore. For example, there is an area in the Underground section that is mobbed with monsters and has several jammed doors and only one that opens. I tried every one of those doors and got chewed on, so that YOU won't have to. If I say there are several monsters in a room and absolutely no rewards for getting stomped by them, trust me on this. Don't let all my work be in vain. Heather died many times at my hands so that she didn't have to die at your hands. So to summarize, unless I say it is a bad idea, try every door and search everything, so that your map is up to date. It is the single most important tool in Heather's arsenal. That having been said, don't be afraid to check the map frequently to keep track of where you are and where you are going. It may clue you in to the presence of a door that may have blended into the background or that you thought that you checked but didn't. There are a couple of places in the game where there are doors that you can't see on the actual game screen due to smoke or blood or something, and the map is the only thing that tells you they are there. So to sum up, try every door, and use your map religiously. Another important thing is to watch Heather carefully. Just as in previous Silent Hill games, Heather will turn her head and look at things that she can interact with, such as doors that will open and items that you may not have noticed. When you see her head swiveling around, it is best to stop and check it out. Of course it may be monsters that she is noticing as well, so don't try to pick up a Double Head just because Heather turns to look at it. Doing so voids your warranty. Thank you to Killiana Niyasai for pointing out that I forgot to mention this handy little feature. I-f-3. Combat Tips First of all, don't fight everything, unless you want to. There are a lot more enemies in Silent Hill 3 than there were in Silent Hill 2, and they are often faster, tougher, and less unwilling to gang up on Heather's skanky ass. Fight when you are going to crossing an area repeatedly, when the enemies have to come at you one at a time, or in close quarters when you can't slip by. Fight them when they are weaker than you, for practice (in fact, I think this is why they put the Numb Bodies in the game). Fight when it is a boss battle. Do not fight when you are low on health, low on supplies, or surrounded and outnumbered. However, fighting often WILL make you a better Silent Hill player. Not because Heather gets stronger or anything like that, but because you will learn the tricks and maneuvers necessary to defeat every foe and combination of foes. What is the best way to deal with a single Numb Body? How do you deal with two Double Heads and a Pendulum in an open space? The answer will be different depending on what kind of player you are. If you are uncomfortable with the combat, the best answer is that if you are outnumbered and surrounded, run. But here are some other ways of dealing with threats. RELOADING: If you are a survival horror veteran, you know this rule by heart: don't wait for your gun to click empty before your reload, or you will get smacked like a little bitch. Each gun has a certain amount of bullets it can hold at one time, regardless of how much extra ammo you have in your inventory; the Handgun holds 10, the Shotgun holds 6, the SMG holds 32, and, oh yeah, the Stun Gun holds 4. If you fire all of the shots in the clip, the gun will click on the empty chamber and Heather will begin a lengthy animation in which she retrieves the clip, loads it, and cocks the gun. In this time your enemies will not stand around politely, giving you all the time you need to get back to killing them. No, instead they will most likely have taken this opportunity to take large bites out of your jugular vein. What is worse, if you are hit or otherwise interrupted while reloading, Heather starts the whole process over. To avoid this, count your shots and always reload your weapon in the inventory screen, by selecting the weapon you are using and choosing "Reload" from the options for that weapon. When you return from the inventory screen, the weapon will be already loaded, and there will not be lengthy and exceedingly painful breaks in your firing and/or skin. LEARN TO USE THE QUICK TURN AROUND: This one is key. By pressing the L1 and R1 buttons simultaneously, Heather will turn and face in the opposite direction rather quickly. This can really help to get you out of tight corners or when you are surrounded, so learn it early. LOCK ON AND STRAFING: When Heather moves into an area where there are monsters that are clearly lit or within range of the flashlight, she will automatically "Lock On" to the nearest foe. If there is more than one near, you can change which enemy Heather is locked onto by pressing the left analog stick left or right. You can tell which enemy she is locked on to, because she will look directly at it and continue to look at it even as she passes by. The enemy that Heather is locked on to is the one that she will point her weapon at first if you go into the combat stance, as she will immediately turn and point her weapon at that foe. You can use this to your advantage by running past a foe that Heather is locked on to, and then pressing R2 to go into a combat stance: Heather will automatically spin towards the enemy that she is locked on to, even if it is behind her. This allows you to get the drop on an enemy every time if you learn how to use it effectively. Furthermore, Heather can strafe left and right at any time by pressing L1 or R1. If she is locked onto an enemy, instead of strafing straight left or straight right, she will strafe in a circle around the foe that she is locked on, always facing toward it. This allows her to avoid many attacks and strike when her enemy's guard is down. With all weapons except for the Handgun and a couple of melee weapons, Heather has to stop moving in order to attack. If she IS using the Handgun or one of those melee weapons, however, she will attack and continue to move, effectively allowing her to dance circles around her enemies while whittling away at them. This will help her avoid counter-attack from her chosen foe, but also GREATLY helps her avoid strikes from other enemies in the area, since she won't be a sitting target. LEARN TO BLOCK, DAMMIT: While in the combat stance, press the "square" button as an enemy makes an attack to block it. Heather will bring her guard up and the attack will be almost ineffectual. With the Bullet Proof Vest equipped, it works even better. You will be amazed how many healing items you save when you learn the proper timing and use for the block button. ONE ENEMY = MELEE WEAPONS: No matter what the critter is, if you can face it one on one (or at least one at a time), use your melee weapons to avoid wasting ammo for your firearms. It is possible to defeat every enemy type in the game with the melee weapons without getting hurt, if you know how to do it. With less powerful enemies, a strong jab or overhead attack can interrupt their attacks and keep them from hurting you. This works particularly well with Double Heads and Numb Bodies, but will often work with Insane Cancers, Nurses and Closers as well. If one kind of attack doesn't stop them, try the other. Another excellent option is to use a block/attack pattern. When an enemy attacks, block its attack with the "square" button while in the combat stance: with most kinds of enemies this will make their attack all but ineffectual. Immediately after their attack, retaliate with a quick and powerful counter attack of your own. This particular method works well with Steel-Pipe wielding Nurses and Pendulums. Even if multiple enemies attack you and you have to use firearms, when only one of them is left you should switch to a melee weapon to save as much ammo as possible. CONSERVATION IS KEY: Help Heather save the planet by wasting as little as possible, especially when it comes to bullets and health items. If you have to use a firearm, count your shots and figure out how many are needed to drop each kind of foe, then try to use only that number of shots to kill that type of enemy the next time you encounter them. It can be pretty easy to "Beat a Dead Nurse" by continuing to shoot a fallen foe after they are technically defeated. Some enemies have a death animation, where they slowly tumble to the ground. Don't mistake this for actual motion and keep shooting. Once an enemy is on the ground, don't waste bullets by shooting them to finish them off. Always run up and boot them to ensure their deadness. Not only is it less wasteful, it is more satisfying! If you can defeat an enemy safely by using a melee weapon, do so. As for health items, learn when to use them. As a rule, don't use a Health Drink until your health is orange and you feel a slight throb in the controller from the vibration function. It may not bring you all the way to full, but it is close enough, and if you use them for anything less, you could be wasting them. Don't use a First Aid Kit unless your health is in the red, and there is a strong throb in your controller from the vibration function. If you use it before this, it is a waste. Don't use the Ampoule unless you are sure you are damn near dead, and try to save them for boss battles. Feel free to toss Beef Jerky around. It is worthless and it makes the monsters happy. And happy monsters means less dead Heathers. USE AS LITTLE FORCE AS POSSIBLE: This may seem silly, but all I am saying is not to swat a fly with an elephant gun. If you are fighting a Double Head and can kill it with a Handgun or Steel Pipe, don't use the Shotgun or the SMG. Ammo for these weapons is scarce, and should be saved for boss battles, or when multiple enemies group up. Since melee weapons don't use ammo, use the strongest weapon you can get away with as often as possible. But when it comes to firearms, here is a rule of thumb: Don't use a sledgehammer to open a jar of pickles. LEARN YOUR WEAPONS' STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES: Each weapon has something that makes it desirable to use and a drawback. The Knife is weak, but it is fast and you can move and strafe while using it. The Maul is incredibly powerful and has a great reach, but is slower than a turtle on downers. The Shotgun is powerful, but you can't move while firing and ammo for it is rare. Learn each weapon's limitations so that you can use the right tool for the job. The Maul will drop a Closer quickly if you can swing it fast enough, but you will most likely sustain a lot of damage from counter attacks. The Handgun on the other hand will take several shots to kill a Closer, but you will be able to strafe around it with impunity and sustain no damage while you do so, due to its mobility. The Maul can be used to great effect on Numb Bodies if you get them at range and keep swinging, while using a Handgun on them works but is a waste of ammo. LEARN WHEN TO USE THE BULLET PROOF VEST: The Bullet Proof vest is a handy item you will find early in the game that reduces the amount of damage that your receive from enemies by 15% and reduces your chances to be stunned by an attack by 50%. The downside is that while it is equipped, your run speed is reduced to a walk, and your walk speed is reduced to a mosey. In addition, Heather gets exhausted more quickly while it is equipped. Obviously this item is a boon while fighting, but if you are trying to run through an area to avoid confrontation, it isn't so good. My suggestion is to use it only in indoor areas where there is little chance of you having to make an extended dash, and un- equip it when you are outdoors or in open environments where you are trying to avoid confrontation. An even better idea is to keep it un- equipped unless you are actively beginning combat or are ambushed. This takes a little more effort to go to the inventory and equip it whenever you get in a fight, but since you will often be going to the inventory to switch to an appropriate weapon anyway, just make equipping the Bullet Proof Vest part of your routine. When you are in Boss Battles, I would suggest always equipping your Vest at the beginning, since some boss attacks can't be effectively blocked and can pack a wallop. II. Silent Hill 3 Walkthrough For the purposes of this guide, when I say, for example, turn left, I mean Heather's left, as she is oriented on the screen. Thus, what is left when coming from one direction will become right when she is coming from the opposite direction. When I say "head towards the left- hand side of the room", I mean your left, the player's, meaning towards the left-hand side of the television screen. If I say towards the front or back of the room, I mean closer or further away from the "camera", or the screen (even though it is two dimensional, you know what I mean). If I say a direction, such as north, west, or northeast, I am referring to directions on the incredibly useful map that you can access for each area (once you find one). This will be my preferred method of referring to direction in this walkthrough, as there is an icon on the map that shows you what direction Heather is facing. Though the maps are not actual calibrated to the cardinal directions, when I say head north, I mean towards the top of the map, south is towards the bottom, and east and west refer to the right and left of the map, respectively. I will try to only use directions such as "left" or "right" (which can be confusing since they are dependant on which way Heather is facing) when you do not have a map for an area, such as in the very beginning of the game and at the beginning of each new location when Heather first arrives. I will try to make getting a map for each area first priority, in order to keep confusion to a minimum. Check the map screen often, as it will be your best friend in terms of getting around the game quickly and easily. Secondly, a warning: THIS GUIDE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS OR SPOILER PARTICLES. IFYOU ARE ALLERGIC TO SPOILERS, PLEASE DO NOT PARTAKE OF THIS GUIDE. PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD CONSULT A PHYSICIAN PRIOR TO PLAYING SILENT HILL 3, AS IT MAY SERIOUSLY SCREW UP YOUR KID AND GIVE YOU SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT WHAT, EXACTLY, IS GROWING IN YOUR WOMB. Seriously though, this guide is not designed to be entirely spoiler free. It is a thorough and complete guide to the entire game, including story and plot elements. If you want to be surprised, don't use a walkthrough, or if you do, look for the carefully crafted spoiler free ones, found elsewhere. That having been said, for the most part I try not to just shout out what just happened or is going to happen; I allude to the event and then highlight the important bits. However, you have been warned. And now, on to the show. II-a. Part One: "Worse than Christmas Season..." II-a-1. Prelude: "The Unhappiest Place on Earth...": Lakeside Amusement Park Right off the bat we are treated to a montage of twisted images, centered around an amusement park that should be familiar to people who have played the original Silent Hill. For those who haven't, shame on you. Go play it, then come back, or you may be lost later. Regardless, the game begins with Heather, the main character, walking in the front gates of Lakeside Amusement Park. She has no idea what she is doing here, or how she got here. The happy pink blood-soaked bunny is Robbie the Rabbit, Lakeside's mascot, though one can assume that the advertisements usually leave out the blood smeared around his "mouth". Luckily, he isn't an enemy; so feel free to examine him, and the other things in this first area, at your leisure. Heather is armed with a Knife, which should make you feel a little better; at least she is armed. Now open your inventory and forget about the measly little Knife, as Heather is armed to the teeth. At the moment, Heather has the Knife, a Steel Pipe, a Handgun, and a Submachine Gun to start out with. Arm yourself however you deem fit, as you are going to be using ALL of your ammo in this section of the game. There is no sense in saving it, because Heather can't take it with her when she leaves. You will see why soon enough. I suggest the Steel Pipe to start with, as it is a handy weapon and one you should get used to quickly, as saving ammunition will become important soon enough. You also have in "Supplies" inventory some extra ammo for the Handgun, a Health Drink, and a First Aid Kit. Take this time to get used to controlling Heather smoothly, and learn some of the tricks of the trade. First of all, go to the Options screen at the top of the inventory screens and then press the "L1" or "R1" buttons. Here you can increase or decrease the amount of blood in the game, change its color, turn the graphic filter off, and so on. The only important option here is the "Walk/Run Control". It is set to "Normal", which means to run, you need press and hold the "square" button. As you will be needing to run fast through many sections of the game, the best thing is to set this option to "Reverse" which means running will be your default speed and you will need to press and hold the "square" button in order to walk. I suggest doing this now, but it is up to you. Another important function to get used to are the "caution" stance, activated by pressing and holding the "R2" button, which puts Heather into a combat stance, from which she can guard against enemy attacks by pressing the "square" button, sidestep left or right (or strafe around an enemy that she is "locked" onto) by pressing and holding "R1" or "L1", or, of course, attack an enemy by pressing the "X" button. For more on attacking and defending, see section I-f-3 "Combat Tips" in this guide; some of these advanced combat techniques will be necessary to getting through the game in one piece. Another important function is the Quick Turn-Around, which you can accomplish by pressing "L1" and "R1" at the same time. Pressing the "circle" button turns the Flashlight in Heather's jacket pocket on and off. Turning off the Flashlight can help Heather slip around enemies that she doesn't want to (or can't) fight, without being noticed. You can also center the camera behind Heather by pressing "L2", and while holding it down you can sweep the camera left and right with the right analog stick. Not all areas allow you to change the camera angles in this manner. While exploring this first area, you might also notice gaping holes in the floor: use extreme caution around these, as Heather can fall in and die. When she first runs into the edge, she will begin to wobble on the edge of the precipice. On an "Easy" difficultly level, Heather can't fall in. On "Normal", simply stop pressing forward and Heather will regain her balance on her own, and if continue to press forward she will fall in and die. On "Hard" difficulty level and beyond, it is necessary to press the analog stick in the direction away from the hole, and if you don't do so fast enough, Heather will fall in and die; in addition, if hit by an enemy near the hole on the "Hard" setting and beyond, Heather can get knocked into the hole. In any case, once Heather has regained her balance, use the Quick Turn-Around to turn face and get away from the potentially deadly fall. Once you are comfortable with the controls, it is time for you to begin the game in earnest. The first area that you start off in has little by way of clues as to what is going on. There is a large map on the left side of the entrance to the amusement park, but it is too big to bring with you, so I guess we will have to do without a map for this area. The area also has rusty cages scattered throughout, with beings not quite human lying dormant within. Upon examining one of the Rabbit Suits lying around, Heather comments that she thinks that there might be someone inside, but that she doesn't want to find out. And, of course, there are the gaping holes in the ground with the endless black void that keeps Heather from checking out the area to far right of the area. Going back through the gates reveals that the gates behind you are locked, so I guess forward it is. Exit through the double wooden doors opposite the entrance to the park, and be ready for a brawl. As soon as you step through the door, a creature called a Double-Head attacks you. These nasty little pooches' heads are split right down the middle, and they are wrapped in filthy bandages. They are also quick vicious, and usually hunt in packs. This particular one is alone, so it is a good opportunity to learn tactics to take them down. See the section I-b-2 on them under "Critters" for specific battle tactics, and as I said don't worry too much about ammunition (but don't go too crazy with it, either). Once it falls, make sure to kick it a few times for good measure, to make sure it doesn't get back up. To kick a prone enemy, simply stand over them without using the caution stance and press "X" until Heather won't kick it anymore. You can also finish off enemies by shooting them or hitting them with downward attacks from melee weapons (it is especially satisfying to beat them to death with the Steel Pipe), but usually is not worth the waste of ammunition to use firearms for this task. Dispatch the Double-Head as fast as you can, and don't move far from the area where you came in, as there is another nasty critter patrolling this area, called a Closer (see Section I-b-1 for more details). Take him down as well, using the Handgun, or, if you feel brave, the Steel Pipe. Remember to kick him while he is down. If you end up having to face both these enemies at once, switch to the Submachine Gun, and let them have it in short bursts until one or both of them fall, then switch to another weapon to conserve SMG ammo and finish them off. Once both have fallen, it is time to check out this new area. It is a circular path with a dark pit in the middle, so be careful near the inside edge. With your back to the door you entered this area through, you will find that there is but one door with the lock broken to Heather's left, and a bit beyond that there is a pile of boxes and rubble that keeps you from continuing in that direction. I guess right it is. From the entrance door, follow the path to the right and count four doorways; the first three cannot be opened. You will reach a set of white double doors with a lantern hanging over them, with a sandwich board to the right of the door and barred picture windows on either side proclaiming this to be the Lakeside Amusement Park Souvenir Shop. No thanks; I will have my traumatic memories to remember Lakeside by. Check out the shop if you want. There are a number of tourist-y souvenirs and candies inside (examining these reveals that Heather has a sweet tooth), and a single door in the back-right corner that cannot be opened. Keep this place in mind for your return visit later in the game, and then exit. From the Souvenir Shop, continue to the right, past a door with a broken lock at the top of a short flight of stairs and then past a gate with double green doors that also won't open. Just past this gate is a small wooden door that can be hard to see, but the camera-angle shifts to make it easier. This is the door you want; there are no other doors in this area, and if you continue past you find the other side of the pile of boxes and rubble you would have found had you gone left at the entrance to this area. Switch to the Handgun and go through the small wooden door now. This next area is small and fairly narrow, and occupied by two Closers. You can easily out-maneuver then and run out the gate on the other side, directly opposite the door you came in through. But if you are feeling up to a little more combat practice, use the Handgun to drop one Closer, using the "L1" and "R1" buttons to strafe around away from their attacks, then moving in quickly for a boot to its head to make sure it stays down. Then switch to the Steel Pipe to take out the other. Remember that you have a Health Drink and a First Aid Kit if you get in trouble. After they are dead, check out this small area. There isn't a lot to see; a couple fences, a gaping void on either side, a bench and a garbage can on one side, and the short metal gate that leads to the next area. Switch to the SMG and go through the gate. That horrible grating noise you hear is created by a new enemy, called Pendulums. They are hovering, insect like enemies who are hard to hit and attack by spinning through the air towards you and stabbing you with their spines as they go by (see section I-b-6 for more details). Now, it is entirely up to you if you want to try and kill these enemies and explore this area, as there are two Pendulums and a Double head in this small area, and they aren't shy about ganging up to you. If you choose not to fight, simply ignore the details on the fighting and exploring and follow the following instructions to climb the stairs to the top of the mountain coaster and go through the gate at the top, while dodging the enemies to the best of your abilities (careful; the Pendulums can fly, so they can beat you to the landings on the staircase and ambush you). There isn't much to see here anyway, but I strongly suggest using this opportunity to continue to brush up your fighting skills. The best way to take them out is to turn left as soon as you enter this area and start running. Continue to run to the left, past a ticket booth on your right and on either side of a short railing, until you hit the chain-link fence, then press the "L1" and "R1" buttons at the same time to perform a quick turn around. The Double Head and possibly one of the Pendulums should have followed you. You only need enough ammo to finish off these last three enemies, as you won't meet any more in this stage. If you can separate the enemies, take out the Double Head with the Steel Pipe to save ammunition, then switch to the Handgun and fire and strafe around the Pendulum until it falls. As always, don't forget to finish your enemies off when they are down. Then go back towards the entrance to the area to find the other Pendulum and kill it with either the Handgun or the SMG. If you have no ammo left, use the Steel Pipe. Now you can explore this small area without having to worry about enemies. To the right of the gate where you first came into this area is another cage with a not-quite-person inside. Straight ahead is...well, not a lot; you run between two fences until you reach a dead-end, as the path falls into the abyss. The only way to really go is to the left, past the empty ticket booth until you hit the fence, which has a blue sign reading "Mountain Coaster Platform" with an arrow pointing to the right. Follow the arrow. Run a very short distance until you hit another wall and see a set of stairs on your right. Follow the stairs' twists and turns all the way to the top of the platform where you will find a deadly drop-off to your left, a control booth to your right, and a short gate leading to the track for the roller coaster straight ahead. If you check the door to the control room, you will find it is locked, and you don't have a key. So I guess the only option is to go through the gate. Here you will want to turn right and walk, not run, down the track, being careful not to fall off the sides of the dilapidated ride. If you are very careful you can make it a good ways down the track... and die anyway. Kind of anti-climactic, isn't it? II-a-2. "Does this Gaping Chest Wound match my pants?": Central Square Shopping Center. Whether you die horribly on the Mountain Coaster track, or die horribly along the way at the hands of the various monsters or by falling into the abyss or something, Heather awakes at a booth in the Happy Burger at Central Square Shopping Center. The normal bustle of the mall and the traffic outside reassure her that the whole thing was just a nightmare. She leaves the Happy Burger and calls her father, to tell him that she is on the way home. After hanging up, she is approached by an older man who identifies himself as Douglas Carter, a detective. He says that there is someone who wants to meet Heather, and talk to her about her childhood. Heather gives the stranger the cold shoulder and ducks into the Ladies Room in order to give him the slip. In the bathroom there is a strange symbol drawn in lipstick on the first mirror over the sink. This is your first save point. You are now back in control of Heather, so go ahead and hit the "X" button near it in order to save your game, if you want. If this is your first time playing, I suggest saving every time you see one of these symbols, to avoid un-necessary backtracking if you die. However, the number of saves you make in your entire game are added up at the end, and are factored into your overall score; the more saves you have, the worse your score will be. You get the best possible score for having only 0 to 2 saves in your entire game. So if you are going for a great score, hold off saving: I will make special note in the two best areas of the game in which to save. When you first look at this save spot, Heather mentions that the symbol looks familiar, something from her childhood, but when she tries to think about it, it makes her head hurt. Whether you save or not, check out the objects in your inventory. At the moment Heather isn't carrying a lot (She must not have gotten any shopping done here at the mall, due to her nap in the Happy Burger). Using the "Examine" command, you should find out a little about each of Heather's personal items. There is the Knife you were carrying in your dream, which Heather admits to herself she enjoys carrying around because it makes her feel tough. The only other items are a Key to Heather's apartment (examining it tells you where you live; Daisy Hill Villas #102) and a Pendant Heather's father gave her for her birthday. Examining the Pendant reveals that it opens, and there is a small red jewel that reminds Heather of a tablet or pill. Her dad told her it was just a good luck charm, but to take good care of it and never take it off. Keep these objects in mind as you continue through the game. Now check out the rest of the bathroom. If you examine the mirrors, you will find out that Heather doesn't like them; they make her feel like there is an impostor staring back out at her from another world on the other side of the glass. Um, yeah, I know just how she feels. All of the toilet stalls are empty except for the last one; when you knock on it, someone knocks back. If you try to leave through the door you came in through, Heather will mention that she doesn't want to go out there while the creepy detective is still out there. I guess that leaves only one option; leave through the window on the wall opposite the door. There are only two ways to go in this narrow alleyway, right or left. If you head all the way to the left, you will find the way blocked by a pile of boxes. So go right, past another set of windows and keep running until you reach a door on your right. The far end of the alleyway is blocked by a van, and you can't get in through any of the other windows, so use the door. Now you are back in the mall, in a back hallway. Go forward until you reach a "T" intersection, with a message board with no useful information hanging on the wall right at the intersection. There is only one door at the end of the left-hand branch, and it is jammed, so head right. You will pass some lockers and boxes on your right, and a door that won't open followed by more worthless lockers and boxes on your left. Where the hallway turns sharply to the right is a locked door with some boxes next to it on your left, so remember this for later. Then follow the zigzagging hallway past another jammed door on your right, followed by another on your left. At the end of the hall there is a set of double doors that actually open. Go through them. You are now back in the mall proper, but it looks like A) everything is closing, and B) based on the amount of filth on the walls and floors, the cleaning crew should get fired. There are a number of closed and locked stores in this area, and a couple of big metal security shutters blocking you off from the rest of the mall. The only place you can go is into the store on the left-hand side of the hall with its shutter half open; the sign above the door says Boutique Marguerite. Go inside. It looks like not everything from Heather's nightmare was just a dream. Heather finds a Handgun just in time to encounter and dispatch one of the nasties from her dream; a Closer is enjoying a snack on a human corpse. Maybe it was their Handgun; in which case, let's hope it serves you better than it did them. Luckily, Heather takes care of the Closer in the cinematic, so that you don't have to. Unfortunately, she also completely empties the gun. Not to worry, however, as there are two boxes of Handgun Ammunition on the end of the bench to Heather's left (as she is positioned at the end of the cinematic), across from the counter and register. Reload the gun by going into the inventory so that Heather doesn't have to when you reach your next confrontation, then check this room out. By examining the Closer and its victim, you can hear Heather's thoughts on "monsters". If you examine the clothes in the room, Heather shows little interest in them, unsurprising given the situation. There is nothing else of interest in here, so go behind the counter and exit through the door in the back of the room. You are back in the back hallways, in a different section from where you came in. The door directly across from you is jammed, and can't be opened. The door to your left is the other side of the locked door that I told you to remember earlier. Unlock it from this side, but don't go through it. Instead, head right, then take your first left into an alcove near an elevator that doesn't work. There is a door here that says exit, but don't go through it yet. Instead, examine the board across from the elevator doors to find the map to the mall. That will make things much easier. Examining it shows you that the door marked "Exit" leads to the stairwell, but that there are a few nearby doors that you haven't checked out yet. Do so if you want to (I suggest checking every single door, so that Heather will mark on her map whether they will open, or whether they are locked or jammed, so that you will know which doors are useful when you come back later), but I will tell you now that they are all jammed and there is nothing of use in the lockers and boxes in this hall. When you are done exploring, head through the "Exit" door and into the stairwell. The door at the bottom of the stairs leading down are locked, so head up to the second floor and go through the door at the top. A new, though weak enemy called Numb Body patrols this hallway. They look a bit like vein-y eyeless purple fish with stubby legs, and they attack by lunging at Heather and hitting her with their blunt heads (see section I-b-4 for more details). Dispatch it if you want with the Handgun, then kick it to death. To the left as you come into this hallway is an elevator that doesn't work, and just past it is a door on the right that is jammed. So straight through the intersection, testing doors as you go, ignoring the path branching to the left for the moment. You will find one door on the right, followed by three on the left, none of which will open. The next door on your right will, however. In this tiny room is a Double Head munching on a slab of meat, with a box to its left. On this box is an item, a package of Beef Jerky. Ignore the temptation to waste ammunition on the snacking hound, and run up to the box and grab the Jerky. Before the creature can react, use the Quick Turn-Around and run back out through the door. There are no other items or doors in this room, and you won't have to go back to this room again, so don't worry about leaving it alive. Back in the hallway, turn right and go past two more jammed doors, one on the right, and one on the left. The next door on your right, the one right where the hall bends to the left, can be opened. There are two doors beyond this one, neither of which will open. Try them if you want to mark them as useless on your map, then go through the door at the bend. Jackpot! This small storeroom contains a Save Point, two Health Drinks and a box of Handgun rounds on the left hand side of the room. If you use the Save Point, Heather remembers seeing the red symbol in a book on black magic that she saw when she was younger, but then unconsciously corrects herself and says she saw it "on the altar". Unfortunately, not even Heather knows what she meant by that; she doesn't recall anything about any altar. Weird. In the back corner of the room, on the right, is a palette with some very heavy boxes of books sitting on top. Under the palette Heather can see a key, but her arms are too short to reach it and the boxes are two heavy to move. So we are going to have to find something to extend Heather's reach if she wants to get the key. Save if you want, then head back out the door. Turn to the left and run back the way you came. When you reach the intersecting hallway on the right, take it. There is a door on your left, but the lock is jammed, so keep running all the way to the door at the end of the hallway and go through. Two Closers, who you are not going to want to waste ammo on, patrol this new area. Since you don't have a melee weapon at this point (other than Heather's crappy and next to useless Knife), and they are pretty easy to dodge in this area, ignore them as best you can. On the map this area looks like it has some intersecting hallways, but in actuality shutters block them all off. If you want to update your map, go straight from the door that you entered the area through and run a complete circuit around this area, dodging the two Closers as you do so. The shops that you will pass in order are; Helen's Bakery, Key of Beauty, Boutique Marguerite, Café Turn Mill, MMy Bestsellers, Natalie Shoes Blue Bell, and Sunshine Princess. The only stores that can be entered here are Helen's Bakery, which is unlocked, and My Bestsellers, whose door is currently locked. Go into Helen's Bakery. This is a tiny little store, and there are only a couple of areas of interest here. At the end of a counter to the left of the door is a pair of Tongs, which you can pick up, and should increase your reach just enough to scoop the key out from underneath the pallet in the nearby save room. Other than that, there is just a bunch of bread everywhere and an advertising flyer on the counter that Heather can peruse. There is nothing else of interest here, so leave the room. Turn right and run to the door straight ahead to go back the way you came, if you already mapped out the area, or if you don't feel like it. Run back to the room with the Save Point, which should be clearly marked on your map if you don't remember where it is. Walk up the pallet with the key under it, go to your inventory, and "Use" the Tongs. Heather should now have no problem hooking the key out from underneath. Examining the new key in your inventory should reveal that it is the key to open My Bestsellers, which is near Helen's Bakery. Use the Save Point if you feel like it, as there are new enemies between here and there in addition to the two Closers patrolling the area around Helen's Bakery and My Bestsellers. Leave the room, but be on your toes. There are now three Numb Bodies stumping around the hallway outside of the Save Room. They are slow and easy to dodge, and you won't need to come back to this area again, so weave around them and take the door at the end of the right- branching hallway to go back to the area with the two Closers and your goal, the My Bestseller's store (remember, it is the fourth store after Helen's Bakery). Unlock the door and dart inside to avoid the Closers. The bookstore is small and cluttered, and contains the game's first puzzle. Along the wall to Heather's right as she enters the store (the north wall on the map), Heather will find a five-volume collection of Shakespeare's works. You can place them on the shelf right above where you pick them up, and if you do so you will notice numbers scrawled along the spines. But to what purpose, and in what order do you place them? Proper order doesn't seem to cut it, so for the moment check out the rest of the store. There is a box of Handgun Ammo on the far side of the checkout counter in the rear of the store. Also behind the counter is a door, locked with a numerical keypad, with a sign next to it. The sign reads, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair. Put these books out of order". "Fair is foul and foul is fair" is a quote from Shakespeare, so obviously these are the books the note refers to. The four digit numerical code to unlock the back door to the store is on the spines of those books, so it is time to figure out this riddle. Unfortunately, the number is randomly generated for each game, as is the order the books go in, so I can't help you there. Go to the empty space on the bookshelf right next to where you found the books, go to your inventory, and "Use" one of the Shakespeare volumes. It now gives you a chance to place the volumes one at a time, in any order, just by clicking on a volume with the white arrow and then clicking on a space on the shelf. The key is to shuffle the volumes so that there is a four-digit code revealed, without any large spaces between that would indicate the books are out of order. Since each number is written so that it is half on one volume and half on the next, this shouldn't be too hard. For example, the right-hand side of volume V might contain half of a "3", while the other half is scrawled on the left- hand side of volume I along with half a "9" on the right-hand side. When placed next to one another on the shelf, Volumes V and I clearly display a "3", and half a "9", the other half of which might be on the left-hand edge of Volume III, along with part of a "2" on the right- hand side... and so on. The four numbers should look like they were scrawled easily and continuously across the spines as the sat side by side, with no gaps. (Note: This is the solution for the "Normal" Riddle Level; for the answers to the "Easy" or "Hard" Riddle Levels, see section IV-a, under "Puzzles" at the end of this guide, after the walkthrough.) Once you have the four-digit number, go ahead and punch it into the keypad on the door (just try to open the locked door, and it will bring you to the keypad and allow you to enter the code). Since there is nothing else of interest in this room, leave through the door you just unlocked. In the hallway behind the bookstore, Heather runs into a strange, black-clad woman named Claudia, who says that it is time to return to Paradise, and that Heather's powers are needed for this to happen. She says that Heather is the one who will lead us to Paradise, that she is a savior with bloodstained hands, and that Heather should "Remember me, and your true self as well". Heather, for her part, doesn't understand any of this. She asks Claudia where everyone has gone, and whether the strange, pale woman has anything to do with the weirdness that is going on. Claudia ignores both questions, saying that it was the "Hand of God" that created all of the strangeness around them, and as she turns to leave, Heather is doubled over with horrible pain and the world seems to sway. When she returns to herself, Claudia is gone, and she is once again alone in the hallway, still with no idea of what the hell is going on. Oh well, back to work. Heather moved a short distance from the back door of My Bestsellers while talking to Claudia in the cutscene, so orient yourself with that on the map. There is a set of double glass doors that are jammed just to the right of the door to bestsellers, on the north end of the hallway. In fact, all of the doors in this hallway are jammed, with the exception of the door you came in through and the elevator doors. Check them all anyway real quick to make sure your map is accurate, then go into the elevator (indicated on the map by a little picture of a man with up and down arrows on either side of him) in the south end of the hallway. Okay, now things start to get really disturbing. As the elevator begins to go down, Heather hears a strange static coming from above. Moments later, a small pocket Radio falls from the ceiling, emitting sharp static. Heather wonders if it is broken, but pick it up anyway, and exit the elevator to continue the cutscene. Heather steps out of one elevator... and into another, this one seemingly going to hell. It is rusted and bloody, and as it descends, Heather sees a number of disturbing images and creatures through the chain-mesh walls. It finally stops, depositing Heather directly into danger. II-a-3. "Clean up in aisle five...": Central Square Dark Side The second Heather exits the elevator she is attacked by Double Heads, so be on guard. There are two nearby, and they are fast, so you might want to kill them now to keep them out of your hair as you explore. There are a total of four of them, but in this area, but two of them are busy eating a separate hunks of meat; one in the hallway to the east of the elevators, and one in the north end of the long hallway to the west of the elevators (Note that it is entirely possible to get through this whole area without having to fight any of the four Double Heads; simply start moving the second that you step out of the elevators, jag around the two active Double Heads, and follow the instructions below to get to the Save room and collect the health items. Then just turn left as you leave the Save Room, and run through the door at the north end of the hallway, dodging to the right of the Double Head who is munching on the meat here. No fighting, and no ammo lost.) The elevator no longer works, and all of the doors in this hallway are broken, save two. Neither are in the "T" shaped area to the east of the elevators, where one of the dogs is busy, so you don't have to go down there and tangle with that one unless you want to try all the doors yourself to make sure your map is accurate later. So head south from the elevators, then follow the hallway, as it turns west, trying doors as you go. The corridor then branches left and right, forming a "T" intersection. There is a door straight ahead, at the top of the "T" (on the west wall) that is one of the ones that opens. The other is the door facing north at the end of the corridor. There are three doors south of the "T", one on the west wall, and two on the east, but they are all locked. To the north is the last of the Double Heads, munching on a hunk of meat to at the base of the second door on the west wall north of the "T", between you and the north door. Go through the door on the west wall at the "T". This small room contains three Health Drinks on a shelf to Heather's right as she enters the room, and an Ampoule on the desk, also on the right-hand side of the room. On the bed on the left-hand side of the room is a Save Point drawn on a piece of cloth. When you examine it, Heather says that she still can't remember where she has seen the symbol before today, but that it looks very familiar. She also gets the feeling that she might be better off not remembering, but doesn't know why. Save here if you want, the leave the room. Run north past the Double Head (or kill him, if you want to and haven't already), and run through the door on the north end of the hall without stopping. There are three Closers in this new area, but they are pretty easy to avoid if your reflexes are sharp; just keep moving. According to the map, this area is fairly wide-open, giving you access to most of the mall. As you will find is normal with the Dark Side areas (the nastier, filthier versions of the levels you have already searched; you will soon be able to tell the difference quite easily) the map is wildly inaccurate. There is nothing to find in the hallways leading west (what the map says is towards the subways) and east (which the map says leads to the more wide-open shopping area); both are dead ends. If you do head towards the west, there is a single, difficult to see door on the North Wall, where Happy Burger used to be. Inside, there is a broken green door in the back, and a table with a ladder that you can't quite reach above it towards the middle of the room. You need to find something to help you reach the ladder before you can do anything here, so keep this place in mind, but leave it for the moment. Follow instead the northward path, ignoring the alcove on Heather's right where the map indicates there are phones; they are SEVERELY out of order. There is a door where the path turns sharply east, but it is jammed. Enter the next door on Heather's left, on the north wall. This room is small, but contains some useful items. Click off the light switch on the wall to the right of the door, and you will find the Flashlight shining from it's spot on some boxes by the north wall. This will make your life much easier, and harder. It is now easier to see where you are going and what you are doing, but it is also easier for enemies to see you. Use the "Circle" button to toggle the light on and off on the fly, when you need to avoid enemies in the dark. On a shelf two shelves to the left of where you found the Flashlight you will find two boxes of Handgun Ammo and a First-Aid Kit. Once you have collected these items, leave the room again, then go through the door directly next to the one you just exited, only a step to the east. This is the Women's Bathroom, and it will haunt your nightmares. This is the Dark Side version of the bathroom that you escaped from Douglas by ducking out of. There is a bottle of Bleach, and like any fake blonde, Heather shouldn't pass it up (Note: the Bleach doesn't appear in "Easy" mode. It isn't needed to bypass the hazard coming up). Remember how in the normal world, you knocked on the last stall, and it was occupied? Check the same stall in this bathroom if you want to spend some quality time with your therapist later. Then, for a good chuckle to make up for it, check the open stall two stalls away from that one for an oblique reference to an event in Silent Hill 2 (Note: there are rumors that this scene is only available if you have a Silent Hill 2 save on your memory card, but since I DO have a save there, I don't know if this is true). There is nothing else here, so leave the bathroom and continue east, and don't forget about the Closers. The rest of the doors in this hallway are locked, except for a bent shutter that you can duck under at the very end of this hallway, facing east. Duck through here. There is a Double Head and a Closer in this area, but with the Flashlight off, they are easier to avoid. The map shows that this area is open to the rest of the mall, but repeat after me; it is wrong. There is only one way to go in this room, and it is to duck under the half-open shutter partially covering one of the store entrances on the east wall, so dodge your enemies and do so, as all other doors hallways are blocked other than the way you came in. You are now in the Dark Side version of the clothing store where you picked up the Handgun, which is now bloody and filthy (the store, not the gun). Well, more bloody and filthy at any rate. Turn left from the door and look at the rack just past the mannequin in the bloody green dress. The only thing left on this rack is a single wire Hanger, which, unbent, should be just what Heather needs to reach the ladder in the once-Happy Burger: take it with you, then run to the clothing rack on the north wall. Examine it to receive the Bullet Proof Vest. This handy item reduces damage by 15 percent, but it also heavy, so Heather can't run while it is equipped. It is up to you whether using it fits your style of gameplay. It is a pain in the butt, but I suggest leaving it unequipped so that you can move quickly, then going to it and equipping it if you have to fight. This way you have more maneuverability when you want it, and protection when you need it, and since you usually have to go to the inventory screen to equip the weapon you prefer anyway, it is just one more thing to do. There is nothing else here, so go out through the door behind the counter on the east wall, preparing yourself for a heart attack as you do so. Unfortunately, this door won't open like it did in the "real" world. I guess it is time to try to pull down the ladder in the Happy Burger, so duck under the Shutter and go back the way you came, remembering to dodge the Closer and the Double Head in the area outside the Boutique, and the three Closers in the hallways outside the Happy Burger. If you can't remember where it is, it is the room just barely to the northwest of the door leading back to the Save Room, which should be marked on your map. Go inside. Walk up to the table and "Use" the Hanger to start a short cutscene showing Heather using it to pull down the ladder. Climb it by pressing the action button to mount it, then pressing up on the analog stick to climb. Examine your map. You can't go north, and the escalators leading downward unfortunately terminate in a fatal fall if you aren't careful. Ignore the escalators going up for the time being as well. There are two doors just north of the "Up" escalators on the same (west) wall. Just south of the "Up" escalator, on the east wall is a door that will open, but ignore this for the moment, as the static-y TV is of more interest at the moment. Examine the TV for a brief image that should be familiar to players of the original Silent Hill; in fact, this whole area should look pretty darn familiar (which is strange, since the mall Harry explores in the SH1 is in the town of Silent Hill, and this one is not). Just around the corner from the TV is another, this one with a Save Point painted on it. Use it if you like. There is another door that can open on the east wall just south of the Save Point, and then the hallway terminates in a sharp drop with a strange object to find in a shopping mall next to it; a hospital gurney. Go through the door just to the north of this. Inside are the remains of a Jewelry Store. It is mostly empty, but on the left-hand side of the room, on the north wall, is a small, broken display case. Inside is but a single Walnut, but Heather doesn't have any way to open it (I suppose she doesn't want to stomp on it, since what is inside could be fragile) at the moment, so continue to the back counter, which you can examine to get Heather's thoughts. The door in the back of the room (east wall) is unlocked, but it leads to an area in which every door is jammed except for two; one is locked with a key, and the other is locked from the other side. I will give you more information about this area when it is time to go here. For the time being, turn around and exit the Jewelry Store the way you came in. There is still one unlocked door on this level that we haven't explored, on the east wall just north of the static-y TV, but continue to ignore it for the moment, and go up the escalators to the third floor. There is a Closer fast approaching the escalator, so quickly turn to Heather's right and go through the door on the south wall, right next to the escalators. This pleasant little dining experience should stay with you for a long time. In the middle of the room is a table with a special treat on it: barbequed dog. Inside the dog, strangely enough, is the "Cooked Key". Great. On a set of shelves in the southeast corner of the restaurant you will find a Health Drink and a First Aid Kit. The door in the middle of the south wall is jammed. That is all you will find here, so go back the way you came. If you turn right and head for the east wall, you will find a locked door with a crescent moon symbol on it, and a hollow spot to put some item. We don't have that item at the moment so don't worry about it. There is a hallway to the north, where a Double Head is munching a hunk of meat, but ignore that as well, as the only door up that way that opens is the Women's Bathroom, and there is absolutely nothing inside. So for the time being, as you leave the restaurant, turn left and run back down the escalator to the second floor. Remember the door that I told you was unlocked, just to the north of the TV on the east wall? This is our next goal. Enter this room, but be careful, as there are three Numb Bodies in here. Your first instinct will be to blast them to stop those obnoxious noises they are making, but consider saving your ammunition. Bait them towards the front of the store and then dodge around them and head for the back. In the back-right (i.e. southeast) corner of this room is a counter, and on this counter is a Health Drink and a box of Handgun ammo. Grab these, then briefly turn left and go to the door on the east wall in the northeast corner of the room. Examine it briefly from this side to unlock it, as it is the other side of the door I mentioned earlier, the one "locked from the other side" in the hallway behind the Jewelry Store that we haven't explored yet. Then quickly hit the action button again to open it, and duck through before the Numb Bodies catch up. This is the hallway that I mentioned earlier, the same one that runs behind the Jewelry Store. In fact the door to the Jewelry Store is the second door on the west wall south of the door you just came throuugh. All the other doors her are jammed, save one, and that one is locked. Luckily, the key that you got from the inside of the dog opens this door. Just south of the door you just came through is a very short hallway leading east. At the very end of this hallway, on the east wall, is the door you are looking for. There is but a single Closer patrolling this whole area, so he should be easy enough to dodge. Run to the locked door on the east wall, and use the cooked key to run through, just by hitting the action button. On the shelf just to Heather's left as she enters, there are two Health Drinks. As you continue to the left, towards the north wall, the camera angle will shift to highlight an important weapon hanging on the wall: the Steel Pipe. Grab it and equip it, then turn right and head out through the doors on the east wall, after checking out your surroundings. Just outside of the ruined café is a great opportunity to re- familiarize yourself with your new weapon if you used it in the dream sequence at the beginning of the game, or to learn how to use it anew if you didn't. There are two Numb Bodies patrolling this circuitous area, but they are moving around separately, so you should have no problem beating them down with the Steel Pipe. Feels good after all that running, huh? You might realize that this is the Dark Side version of the area where Helen's Bakery and My Bestsellers once stood; the café where you found the Steel Pipe was once the Café Turn Mill. Anyway, on the east wall you will find a locked door, slightly towards the northern end of the wall. There is another door set in the southeast wall, where Helen's Bakery once stood. Go in here now. There isn't much more here then there was in the normal world. Go around the corner into the back area that you couldn't reach before because there was a counter in the way. On a cart back here you will find a bottle of Detergent, which you should take (Note: the Detergent doesn't appear in "Easy" mode. It isn't needed to bypass the hazard coming up). Go through the back door in the south wall. This is another hallway. There is but one door to Heather's left, which is jammed, so head right, towards the west. As you move down the hallway, the sound of a fan should grow louder, with good reason. The path eventually veers to the south, and you will soon see a huge fan on the south wall with a switch next to it. On Heather's right side, which is the west wall, there is a shutter and a door; neither will open. On Heather's left, on the east wall right next to the fan, is a door that will open, but before you do so, quickly hit action near the fan's switch to shut it off. Now go through the door to Heather's left. Right inside this door, on Heather's left, there is a garbage can. Straight ahead, blocking the hallway is a swarm of moths that cannot be killed by conventional methods, cannot be walked through, and will hurt Heather if she tries. Luckily, Heather pays attention in science class. If you examine the Bleach and/or the Detergent, you will learn that you should never mix the two, because it makes Chlorine gas. But since Chlorine isn't good for evil moths from hell, either, go ahead and mix them in the garbage can next to the door. Go to your inventory and "Combine" the Detergent and the Bleach, then go over to the garbage can and "Use" the mixture. If you did not turn off the fan earlier, Heather will refuse, realizing that it would be pointless and dangerous if the fan was on. When the fan is off, "Use" the mixture and Heather will quickly mix the chemicals and then run back the way she came, into the room with the giant fan. Heather is smart enough not to go back into the moth room until it is properly ventilated, so turn the fan back on and then go back in. Note that on "Easy" mode, this whole thing is unnecessary. You never find the Bleach or the Detergent, and don't need them to proceed. The moths are dead now, so run freely through the hallway. Follow the path, as it turns right in the spot where the moths were, then left when the path turns again. Run all the way down the hallway until you hit the east wall; all doors in this hallway are blocked until you reach the second door up from the bottom on the farthest east wall of the moth corridor. Go inside. This room contains three boxes of Handgun ammo on the shelves on the north wall, and package of Beef Jerky on the boxes against the south wall. Exit back into the hallway and continue north. All of the doors along the remainder of the east wall are jammed, as are all of the ones on the north wall of the hallway as it turns west, save one; the tan- colored, eastern-most door on the north wall is the only other door in this hallway that opens. Check out the rest of the doors if you want to keep your map updated, then go through this door. This is a tiny room with a single Closer within, and another exit on the north wall. Kill the Closer if you want to, or if you need the practice. Otherwise dodge around it and go through the door on the north wall. You are not going to want to stop to fight anything in this area. As you can tell from the horrible noises, there are two Pendulums wandering this circular area, as well as a Double Head. The dog you could take, but the Pendulums are too much of a risk, and too much of a waste of ammo. To top it all off, there are large pits in the middle of this area to fall off of. Head straight for the north wall, then follow the path west, dodging those damn Pendulums and the Double Head. The only place this is really difficult is in the middle of the room, where the path narrows. Just after the narrow part, head straight for the north wall and go through the first door (there is nothing at all of interest on the south walls of this chamber other than the door you came in through). Hey, a torture shop! What do you get for the pervert who has everything? Mind numbing pain, of course! There is a save point on the north wall, and if you use it, Heather once again mentions that the symbol makes her brain hurt. There is a bloody gurney to the left of the symbol. There is another gurney towards the right side of the room, but in the middle of this one is some sort of Vice; where else but in a torture shop (someone's toes or... more sensitive parts probably once went in the Vice, but it is best not to think about that). The Vice will make a lovely Walnut cracker, so "Use" the Walnut from the Jewelry Shop at the Vice. If you were hoping for a tasty and nutritious treat, you are out of luck, because inside is a jewel called a Moonstone, which would fit nicely in the hollow spot on the door marked with a crescent moon, on the third floor to the east of the restaurant where you found the Cooked Key. On the far side of the gurney with the Vice on it there is a bin full of what are probably bodies wrapped in plastic (leftovers are always better the next day), and door that won't open. Save your game if you want, then head back out of the torture shop and bring up your map (and don't forget to beware of the Pendulums and the Double Head). Directly west of the door you are standing outside of is the back side of the locked door you saw in the area where Helen's Bakery and My Bestsellers once stood. This is a great shortcut, so make a beeline for it and unlock it from this side, then slip through. Unfortunately, there are now Pendulums in this area too, so check your map and run back the way you came in, through the once-Café Turn Mill. This area too is no longer safe, as it is inhabited two mewling Numb Bodies, one in the main room and one hiding behind the counter. Dispatch them one at a time with the Steel Pipe, then slip through the door at the back. There is still a Closer patrolling this area, and there are still Numb Bodies in the store you came through before, so jag around the Closer, heading south, and go through the back door of the Jewelry Store, where there are no enemies. Exit through the front door and turn right, and head north. Stop at the Save Point painted on the TV if you want, as your first Boss Battle is right ahead of you. Then head up the escalator to the third floor. There are a number of doors on the third floor, but only three that open: the restaurant where you found the Cooked Key, the Women's Bathroom in the north-east corner of the map, and the locked Moon door, on the north wall directly across from the escalators. There is a Closer and a Double Head, and the Double Head is no longer content with chewing on the meat in the north hallway like he was when you were on the third floor the first time. If you want to explore completely, you can take down the Closer and the Double Head with a little difficulty (strafe with the Handgun until one of them falls, then rush in and kick them once to make sure they stay down, then switch to the Steel Pipe and finish the other one). However, 1) you no longer need anything out of the restaurant, and 2) there is absolutely nothing of interest in the bathroom. So rather than risk a battle against the quick canine and the bandaged monstrosity, simply head straight across to the locked door, dodging the enemies, and use the Moonstone to unlock the door and avoid a potentially damaging and wasteful battle. Do not waste time by hitting the action button when you reach the door; there is a message written on the door, and the enemies do not pause when you stop to read it, and since the Moonstone is not an actual key, it doesn't use it automatically at the door when you hit action. So run right up to the door and press "Select" to bring up your inventory, select the Moonstone and "Use" it on the door. THEN exit the inventory and hammer on the action button until the door opens and you escape your enemies. This area is another circular one, and there is the sound of a Numb Body moving around in here. You can drive yourself crazy looking for him, as he isn't on this level, but the one below. You can't do anything about it. There are no doors that will open exiting off of this central hub, other than the one you came in through. Instead there is a walkway sticking out into the center of the pit from the east side, with a ladder at the end. Equip yourself with the Handgun to prepare yourself for your first boss battle, then make the long climb down the ladder. II-a-4. BOSS BATTLE: SPLITWORM Heather descends into a pit riddled with tunnels, and before she knows what to make of this, she is trapped; the ladder she climbed down destroys itself. Moments later a giant purple worm bursts through one of the tunnels, his head splitting open to reveal some pulpy insides and some very big teeth. Then it is time to fight for you life. The battle has begun. Run back and forth in front of the tunnels, never stopping, because you never know which one the worm will come out of. When it does come out, it will strike you, hard, if you are directly in front of it, so keep running. Its head will then split open and it will move back and forth for a few seconds. This is your chance to position yourself so that you are to the side and slightly ahead of it, but well out of its reach. Then, fire diagonally at its exposed inner head 4 to 6 times, until it covers its head again and pulls back inside the tunnels, or slithers across to one across the way. Lather, rinse, repeat. That is it. There are only a few things to remember. One; don't be in front of the tunnel it is in when it emerges, or you are going to get hurt. Two; don't get too close to it, or you are going to get hurt. Three; manually reload your Handgun in the item screen, to make sure Heather doesn't have to take the time to do it for you at a crucial moment. And lastly, four; the Splitworm occasionally rises up and hits the ground, hard, with its body, causing a shockwave, and if you are to close it could stun you, and you can get hurt. Stay back until it has emerged and is revealing its inner head, then position to one side or the other and slightly ahead, and shoot it until it is dead. After the battle, the Shopping Mall suddenly and dramatically has returned to normal, though it is still abandoned. You can't get into any of the shops in this area (including the Sunshine Princess shop, whose security shutters are partially open), but the shutter on the west wall is raised enough for you to slip through. Do so. There are only two doors in this next huge area that will still open. The first is the Happy Burger. Run straight west from the area you just came from, ignoring the hallway leading north; none of the doors up there open, nor do any on the south wall of this long hallway. As you are heading west, the last door on the north wall before you reach the door leading out of the mall, is the Happy Burger, with its security shutter half up. Duck inside. The back door of the establishment is locked, but there is a package of Beef Jerky on the stool next to it. East of this is the front counter, and on the south end of this you will find three boxes of Handgun Ammo. On the short counter adjacent to that, also on the east wall, is a First Aid Kit. Finally, on the same wall as that, further south and right next to the entrance, is a Save Point. Use it if you would like, then leave the Happy Burger. Turn immediately to Heather's right and go out the glass front doors to finally get the hell out of the mall. All that just to ditch Douglas, and he is waiting for her when she leaves the mall. Bloody Hell. She accuses Douglas of being "One of Them", and working with Claudia. He says that Claudia did hire him to find Heather, but that he isn't on any sides. Heather indicates that shee thinks Claudia caused all o the horrible craziness, and Douglas indicates that he had experienced something similar, and asks about "That Monster". One can only assume he is referring to the Splitworm; he must have seen it and then hightailed it out of the mall. Heather admits that he may have been an innocent bystander, but somehow feels that if he hadn't found her for Claudia, none of this would have happened. She is unable to explain this logic, but remembers, vaguely, that once she was running from something, which she can no longer remember... and now it seems to have found her. She still doesn't trust Douglas, and blows him off, insisting on taking the subways home. Dark tunnels, the dank, foreboding underground, several tons of screaming metal with engines attached to the front of them... oh yeah, this should end well. II-b. Part Two: "There's a world going on Underground..." II-b-1. "Eat Subway, Eat Flesh...": The Subway Tunnels Ah, the Subway system. So far everything looks normal, but appearances can be deceiving. Well, you can't go back up the stairs behind you (Heather refuses to, and why wouldn't she?), so head forward and follow the path as it turns right, admiring the advertisements on the walls as you go; you will notice that this is the "Hazel Street Station". This isn't important at all, but at least it gives you some sense of being in an actual place; the Central Square Shopping Mall is at the Hazel Street Station stop on the subway. Completely useless trivia, but until we find a map of this area, you are going to have to count on my instructions to find your way around. After a short distance, you reach a "T" intersection. If you head left, you will find that there is nothing in that direction except for a jammed door, and then, if you follow the hallway around a corner, a gate than cannot be opened blocking a set of stairs that go up. So take a right at the first "T" intersection, until you reach a wall with a door set into it at the end. Go through the door. As you enter this next area, there is another gate blocking a set of stairs leading upward in an alcove directly to Heather's right. It can't be opened, so ignore it and run straight forward down the hallway. The hallway soon leads into an open area with many pillars. Stop as soon as your reach the open area and orient yourself. The wall on your right has two doors leading to the bathrooms on it; both are jammed. If you turn to Heather's left and step forward a few steps, you will notice a map of the subway system on the wall to Heather's left-hand side. You can't take this with you, but Heather will tell you that even without looking at the map, she knows her way home; she just has to get on the "Bergen Street Train at Platform 3". Useful information to have. There are a lot of doors in this area, and two more gates blocking two more staircases, but none of these will open. Continue to walk past the map, and you should notice a set of turnstiles to Heather's left. Ignore them for the moment, and head straight past them until you reach the wall, which has a row of ticket dispensers against it. Someone left a newspaper on top, which you should examine. It tells you that a man fell onto the subway tracks in the Hazel Street station (which we now know is this one; not such useless information after all) and was decapitated by the arriving St. Renata College-bound train. The paper goes on to tell us that the victim died instantly, which is actually a good thing, sincce we have already established that he was decapitated. The police were unable to determine whether it was accidental, murder or suicide (though eye- witnesses claim he did not seem drunk, and seemed to have leapt off of the platform intentionally), and the victim's identity was never established, beyond the fact that he was about 40 years old, 5'10 tall (with his head still attached, one assumes) and wearing a black jacket. Heather notices that the newspaper is 4 months old, and wonders why it is sitting on top of a ticket machine now. With everything going on, she finds THIS odd? Whatever. Head back to the turnstiles and go through the last one, closest to the empty ticket-booth. This brings you into another area. If you examine the empty ticket booth, Heather wonders where everyone could have gone. She doesn't catch on quick, does she? This entire subway station has been empty, and now it is official; not even the workers are here, though this can't be too long after the mall closed. Walk straight ahead until you clear the booth, and then turn right around the corner of the booth. Stuck to the board on the back side of the booth is the subway map. Thank god. Take it. Just past that the door leading into the booth, but it won't open. Check out the map, and any doors that you have already tried are automatically marked on it. There is nothing to check out back the way you came, as all the doors and gates were jammed. In this area, there are four doors, including the one on the back of the ticket booth, but none of them will open. There are also three staircases: one right behind the ticket booth on the south wall, one opposite that on the north wall, and one on the east wall. As you get search this area, a horrible, deep growling begins, but it doesn't belong to any particular threat, so try to ignore it. This area is safe. If you left the mall with little ammunition, there may be a box or two of handgun bullets on top of the trashcan between the restrooms near the eastern staircase. All the stairways lead to generally the same area, but going exploring the areas closest to the staircases on the north or south walls first will allow you to access some cutscenes and items that you wouldn't be able to if you explored the area closest to the staircase on the eastern wall first. For the purposes of ease for this walkthrough, go down the staircase on the south wall first, behind the ticket booth, near where you just picked up the map. Bring up the map. This looks like a wide-open area, with a number of staircases in the corners of the map; the stairs in the north-western corner goes to Platform 3, the south-western stairs go to Platform 4, the western-most stairs in both the north-eastern and south-eastern corner go to Platform 1, and the eastern-most stairs in both the north- eastern and south-eastern corners go to Platform 2. The unmarked stairs just north of you is the bottom of the staircase you would have gone down had you gone down the stairs on the north wall in the room above. The unmarked staircase east of you is the bottom of the stairs you would have ended up on if you had gone down the staircase on the east wall in the room above. In actuality, this area is not one big area, as it is divided into two smaller areas, with the stairs leading to Platform 1 and 2 on one side, and the stairs leading to Platforms 3 and 4 on the other. From the bottom of the south stairs, turn right and take a few steps towards the north, until you clear the staircase. Then head east. All the doors on your left are locked so ignore them. You should soon pass a Save Point on your right, so save if you want to. If you continue east you should hit the wall separating the eastern and western sections of this area, and there is a door in it. This door does open, but ignore it for the moment. Just north of area, on the other side of the "island" that forms the wall to the north, is another hallway with another door that opens an the east end of it. Ignore this too. Platform 3 is the platform where the Bergen Street train is supposed to take Heather home, so let's check this area out. Go down the stairs in the northwest corner of the area to descend towards Platform 3. This next area is a landing between floors. Turn right at the bottom of the stairs, and you are left with an option; take the stairs downward to the east or the stairs downward to the west? Start with the stairs to the west, as this area is smaller, and less dangerous. When you get to the bottom of the stairs, you will notice that Heather's train hasn't yet arrived. Head west a bit and you will find a Health Drink on the first bench against the north wall. Though the map shows that this subway tunnel is fairly long, and that the other (western) stairway can be reached from here, there are metal fences blocking the way east and west, cutting this area off from the western part of the tunnel. Note that you can jump down on the train tracks, but DO NOT DO IT! If you hang out on the train tracks for two long, or try to run down the tracks in either direction, a train will appear and instantaneously smear Heather. Except for one area later, where you have to explore the tracks, anywhere in the entire subway level where there are train tracks, stay away from them. There are never any items, and they are deadly. Go back up the stairs to the landing. Now about those stairs leading down to the western part of Platform 3: you do not have to do this area now if you don't want to. There are three Double Heads patrolling this area, though one of them is on the train tracks, and can be ignored as it can't reach you unless you jump down onto the tracks (as I said before, BAD IDEA) or get too close to the edge next to the train tracks. If you go all the way east you will reach a metal fence with a door set into it, and the door is locked from the other side. There are no items in this area. Now here is the thing: you will be coming into this area later, from the other side of that door, and if you kill the Double Heads now, you won't have to worry about them later. On the other hand, when you come through here later you can either dodge them and run up the stairs without a battle, or you can kill them later, when you are coming through here anyway. It is entirely up to you, though going out of your way now makes smoother sailing later. Either way, after you are done with this area, go back to the landing above Platform 3, then back to the floor with the Save Point. Well, Heather's train didn't show; what should we do now? The newspaper article you read earlier, near the ticket dispensing machines, mentioned that someone was decapitated four months ago at Platform 4. Well, since we are here, we might as well check it out. Head towards the stairs leading to Platform 4, in the southwest corner of the map of the floor where the Save Point is located. Go down the stairs. There is a landing between Platform 4 and the floor above, and on that landing Heather will find a magazine on the floor. Examine this and you will find out that sometimes ghosts haunt areas where there have been suicides, murders, and tragedies, and they can be known to appear to or attack the living near the spot where they died, especially if it is the anniversary of the angry spirit's death. In light of this, based on what we know of Platform 4's history, perhaps it isn't such a good idea to go down to Platform 4, but we are going to anyway. After all, it isn't like it is the anniversary of the poor man's death. It has only been four months. Take the stairs leading down to the west (Heather's left if she is facing the map on the wall in the landing). Walk straight forward until a cutscene takes over. That rotten, dead little bastard pushed Heather into the tracks, and from the sound of it, a train is on its way. Without hesitation, press "L1" and "R1" simultaneously to perform a quick turnaround, then run forward and press the "X" button to get Heather to hoist herself back up onto the Platform as soon as possible. If you get out of the way in time, the train never even comes, but if you don't it shows up promptly to smear you all over the tracks; Murphy' s Law at work. (Note: if you didn't read the newspaper on top of the ticket dispensers or the magazine on the landing above this area, nothing happens here). On the bench directly across from the spot where Heather drags herself back onto the Platform is a Health Drink, if you came into the subways with adequate supplies: if you were low on health items when you entered you will find a First Aid Kit instead. There is nothing else of interest in this area. The area dead terminates in a brick wall to the east and a metal partition to the west. As always, STAY THE HELL OFF THE TRACKS. Run up either of the two staircases to return to the landing, then go up the staircase to return to the floor with the Save Point. Save if you want to, then go through either the door to the east right next to the Save Symbol or the door to the north of it on the other side of the "island" separating the two narrow hallways; it doesn't matter which, as they both lead to the same area. On the other side of the wall, there is nothing between the two doors leading back into the western part of this level except for a row of phone booths. If you walk to close to them, they let out a short, startling ring, then go silent. Continue east, around the eastern staircase. There are a few regular doors set into the walls of this area, but none of them open, so ignore them. The large staircase in the middle of this area is the bottom of the eastern-most staircase on the floor where you found the map. From the bottom of this staircase, bring up the map. You will notice that there are staircases leading to platforms 1 and 2 in northeast corner of the map, and more staircases leading to platforms 1 and 2 in the southeast corner of your map. A jammed gate blocks the staircase leading to Platform 2 in the northeast, while the staircase leading to Platform 2 in the southeast is also blocked by a gate... but this one is LOCKED. If you examine it, you will learn that there is a chain holding this gate shut, and the chain is secured by a bolt and nut, which Heather can't open with her bare hands. She will need some kind of tool. The staircase leading to Platform 1 in the south-east corner, right across from the locked gate leading to Platform 2 is jammed shut, and the staircase leading to Platform 1 in the north-east corner of the map... is wide open. Head down these stairs. There are three Double Heads hunting in this small area, which seems to share elements with the "Dark Side" version of the shopping mall; there are metal grates covering the floors, and blocking off sections of the area. Bring up the map as soon as you come down the stairs. This looks like a narrow, but fairly long area, but the map lies. There are rusty metal fences blocking off the area to the north and south, effectively cutting the area in half; though the map says there are eight staircases here, four sets of two staircases back to back (the northern-most of each set leading upwards, the southern-most of each set leading downward), there are actually only two sets of stairs, as everything just south of the stairs you came down is blocked by a metal fence. There are also no items in this area, which means the only thing of concern to us here are the staircases. There are two on the west wall, including the one you came down, and two on the east wall, though the northern-most staircase on the east wall; the one directly opposite the staircase you came down (which would have also lead upward), is blocked by trash and rubble. That means there are two staircases leading down that you need to explore; one on the east wall, and one just south of you, on the back side of the stairs you came down, on the west wall. Whew. Fighting the three Double Heads is a bad idea, since it will use up a lot of ammo and/or healing items, and the dogs will be replaced after finding a certain item at the bottom of the eastern staircase. So here is the best way to do handle this area: as soon as you reach the bottom of the steps upon first entering Platform 1, make a sharp right and head east a few steps, until you clear the stairs. Then turn right again, and run south along the wall between you and the westernmost staircase. As soon as you can, turn right again, towards the outside west wall, then right AGAIN, so that now you are facing north once more. Directly in front of you should be a staircase going down. Hurry down it before the Double Heads take a bite out of you. This small area looks a lot more "normal" than Platform 1, but it is still not nice. The map shows this as being a long, narrow hallway, with staircases leading off from it to the other Platforms, but it is severely blocked off from this staircase. Right around the corner from the stairs is a pile of trash, and under the trash... a dead body. This rubble keeps you from exploring the vast majority of this hallway. On the table to Heather's right as she faces the rubble is two Health Drinks and a box of Handgun Ammo. Go back the way you came, and up the stairs to Platform 1. Without stopping, turn left and run STRAIGHT across, towards the east wall. When you hit the wall, make a sharp left and run straight north, down the stairs that should be right next to you. You are now on the other side of the long, narrow corridor, on the other side of the rubble from the area with the dead body under the rubble (strangely enough, on the map, the staircase you just came down is labeled "to Platform 2", though we know it just leads back up to the other side of Platform 1. Whoopsie!) On the table to Heather's right is an important item, the "Nutcracker". Too bad we didn't have this earlier, when we had the Walnut, huh? However, this item is not actually going to be used for cracking nuts, it is going to be used to un-due the Bolt and Nut that secures the chain on the gate leading to Platform 2. So head back up the stairs leading to Platform 1. If you killed the three Double Heads in Platform 1 earlier, two new ones have appeared to try to keep Heather from getting away clean with the Nutcracker. Luckily, you are now done with Platform 1. Run diagonally northwest across the area, aiming to hit the west wall just north of the stairs leading up (use the map to help guide you), then turn left and run up the stairs to safety. The Double Heads will not follow you up or down stairs. Run all the way back to the chain-bound gate leading to Platform 2 (if you don't remember where it is, check the map; it is in the southeast corner). Place yourself directly in front of the chains, and then "Use" the Nutcracker on them to open the path. Go through the now-open gates and follow the path down the stairs to Platform 2. Walk straight forward from the stairs, and don't worry about enemies. There aren't any in here... at the moment. You should notice that there is a subway car on Heather's right, but it looks pretty beat up, and this is Platform 2; it isn't Heather's train anyway. At the southern end of the train is an open door. Go inside. A Shotgun is sticking out of a partially unwrapped birthday present resting on a bench near the southern door of the subway, so grab it. As soon as you do, the Radio should start squawking. Ignore it for the moment, as the critter won't bother you while you are in the subway car. Head towards the north end of the car, and you will find two boxes of Shotgun Ammo on the bench, on the same side of the car as the Shotgun was. Leave the subway car and head back towards the stairs. There is a disgusting mound of flesh blocking the staircase that you came down originally. This is a new enemy, called an Insane Cancer (see section I-b-3 for more details). You can tangle with it if you want to practice battling this new enemy under controlled conditions (resist the temptation to use your new Shotgun on the Cancer, as it is a waste of ammunition, and it is more scarce than Handgun Ammo; use the Steel Pipe, if anything), but since you don't need to go back up these stairs, you can avoid it entirely if you want to. After it is dead, or if you choose to bypass it altogether, run north between the subway car and the stairs, until you hit a metal fence that is this area's north wall. There is a door on this fence, but it is jammed and cannot open. Move right until you hit the east wall, then turn around and head south again along the east wall, and go down the stairs, which run beneath the stairs you used to come into this area from above. You are now in the southern section of the long, narrow hallway where you found the nutcracker. Follow the hallway as it turns right at the bottom of the stairs. Straight ahead there is a pile of garbage and rubble blocking the set of stairs that the map says leads to Platform 1. Turn right and head north up the hallway. Soon you will pass a set of stairs leading down on your right; the map says this leads to the other side of Platform 4, where you got shoved onto the tracks by the angry spirit earlier. However, this area is inhabited by three Double Heads, and has no items or exits, so it is pointless to go down here, unless you are stupid and/or itching for a fight. If you do go, note that there is only one Double Head to begin with, usually to the west. After you examine the fence blocking the way west (with a door with a broken lock set into it), the other two Double Heads will have appeared in the eastern part of this area. As previously mentioned, there are no items or exits, so after checking this area out return to the floor above. Continue down the hallway, and soon you will reach another stairway to your right, this one leading down to another area of Platform 3, the platform that goes to Bergen Street, Heather's stop. There is nothing else in this hallway, as the path north dead-ends, and none of the doors in this hallway open. Go down the stairs towards Platform 3. If you didn't kill the Double Heads, you will be able to hear and see them in this area, on the other side of the tracks from you, but don't worry about them, as they can't reach you over here. Run straight ahead from the bottom of the stairs until you hit the east wall. The camera angle should suddenly shift, showing you a door set into the wall a short distance down the subway tunnel, on the north wall down by the tracks. This is the one place where you should step onto the train tracks to investigate. Jump down now and head towards the door, but DON'T OPEN IT YET! When you try to open the door, it won't open, but a train starts coming from the east and two Double Heads attack from the west. Obviously, you don't want to stop to fight the Double Heads, nor do you want to run away from them, right into the oncoming train! In addition, the train comes quickly, so if you are not exact with your movements, you are going to get squished. So here is what you need to do; walk past the door slightly to the east, and then turn back towards them, so you are facing towards them but angled so that you are facing west, away from the direction the train is coming in. When you are ready, try the door, and then immediately start running west, back the way you came. The Double Heads stay closer to the north wall of the tracks, so jag briefly to the left, south-westward until you are past them, and when you are past them and the short fence that keeps you from climbing back up, run to the side and hammer on the "X" button until Heather pulls herself back up. If you timed it correctly, you will see a cutscene of Heather pulling herself to safety in the nick of time. If you timed it incorrectly, you will see a cutscene of Heather getting smeared by the train. Either way, Heather's train has arrived. None of the doors on this end of the train are open, however, so run west until you reach the fence that acts as this area's west wall. There is a door set into this fence that you can unlock from this side. This is the other side of the door that I said was "locked from the other side" when visited the other section of Platform 3 earlier. Go through the door now. If you killed the two Double Heads here earlier, then you should have no problem here. If you didn't, they are still around and you will have to dodge them as you run west. There are no open doors on THIS section of the train either, and there is no door leading west, so run west up the stairs near the north wall, to the landing between these two areas of Platform 3. Run straight across, and down the western stairs on the other side, to another section of Platform 3, where you found nothing but a health drink earlier. Finally, the last door on the train as you run west is open, as if in invitation. Since there is no sense in sticking around here, go ahead and enter the train now. Small surprise, the doors slam shut behind you, and the train takes off. When the cutscene ends, Heather is facing into the moving train. If you want, do an about face and go through the door at the very back of the train, but be very careful; there is nothing back there but fast moving track, and a messy death if you do anything other than a quick turn around and re-enter the train. I guess that means there is only one way to go. Run towards the front of the train, and you will come across a Save Point painted on the floor. Save if you like, because there are a few enemies on this train, and it is too narrow for Heather to avoid them entirely. When you save, Heather wonders whether she can be "contaminated" just by standing on the symbol, but it is really too late to worry about that. After you save (or not) continue forward and through the door at the end, further into the train. There are two Numb Bodies in this car, so try to engage them one at a time with the Steel Pipe if at all possible. If it doesn't look likely (i.e. they are both almost right on top of you), kill one with the Handgun, then switch to the Steel Pipe to kill the other, since you don't want to waste ammo on Numb Bodies if you can help it. After they are dead, you can try to go back the way you came, towards the save point, but be careful... there is no longer a car behind you! As you progress through the train, the car you just left disappears, forcing you to go forward. Do a careful about face and re-enter the car, then continue forward until you reach the end of the car. Go through the door at the end. The next car is empty, and as before, the car behind has disappeared. Enjoy the calm as you run through this car and out the door on the other side. No, you aren't hallucinating (this time); the Numb Bodies are getting bigger! There is a bigger one and smaller one in this car. Whack them to death with the Steel Pipe (you should have enough time to kill them one at a time, because big Numb Bodies move quicker than little Numb Bodies; they take bigger steps), then run through the door at the other end. This car is empty except for some useful items on a bench to Heather's left, towards the far end of the car. Watch Heather's head swivel for the exact location; there is a First Aid Kit and a box of Shotgun Shells. Continue through the door at the end of the car. The next car is empty as well. Run through it and out the door on the other side. If you didn't kill the first Insane Cancer you saw, right after getting the Shotgun, then this will be your first tangle with one, and in close quarters, too. Don't lose your nerve; they are fairly slow moving, and a barrage of attacks from the Steel Pipe can easily interrupt their attacks. Use constant overhead strikes, complemented by quick jabs when it looks like it is going to use its double-fisted overhand attack. When it falls once, keep using the overhead attack to beat it while it is on the ground, as this does massive damage. Once it "deflates" it is really and truly dead, and you can leave through the door it was guarding. This next car is empty. Run through it and out the door on the other side. This triggers a cutscene; the train is now stopped, and the side door at the end of the car is open. If you examine the last door at the end of the train, where the next car would have been if you had kept going, you find that there IS no next car, no engine, and no reason that the train should have been moving! Leave the train through the nearest door on Heather's left. There is a Save Point Scrawled on the wall directly across from the door to the train, so use it if you would like. Turn left and run all the way to the end of the tunnel. There is a door at the end, on the same wall as the save point. Go on through to enter a new underground area. II-b-2. "Sewers; The New Smell of Fear...": The Underground Passage One should be able to tell immediately that this is not Heather's normal subway stop, but there is nothing we can do about it. Turn right and run down a long flight of stone stairs. At the bottom, the path goes left and right, but you will find that the path to the left is blocked by a metal fence with a broken door, so turn right and run all the way to the end of the long, concrete hallway. There is a large metal door at the end, but prepare yourself before you go through, as there are baddies on the other side. In this area are two Pendulums and a medium sized Numb Body. It is never a great idea to tangle with more than one Pendulum if you can help it, and there is only one other exit from this room (there are fences with doors in them on the both far ends of the room, but the doors are jammed), and no items, so it is best just to run for the exit on the other side. If you want to tangle with the enemies here, wait for the Numb Body to come to you and kill it with the Steel Pipe, then take out the Pendulums one by one by using the Shotgun at close range to knock them out of the air and then switching to the Steel Pipe to finish them. This is a lot more difficult then it sounds, as it can be difficult to engage them one at a time. If you used the Save Point back where the train let you off, you can practice the best method for taking them out, and simply reload the game if you did poorly. But I suggest just avoiding this particular group of enemies. Since it is really hard to find you way around this room without a map, here is the best way to find the other door and get out: run straight across the room to the wall on the other side, and then follow the wall LEFT until you reach a blue door. This is the one you are looking for, so go through it. You will be able to hear the honking of hunting Numb Bodies in this area. If you want to fight them, feel free, as they are easy to separate and take out one by one with the Steel Pipe: there are only two of them in this hallway. Move forward down the hall until you reach an intersection: the path continues left and straight ahead, and there is a door to your right. The two Numb Bodies are usually near this intersection, so deal with them as you see fit. The paths straight ahead and to the left lead to the same area: there is a door at the end of each, leading into opposite ends of a circuitous tunnel, patrolled by two Numb Bodies. There are no items or doors leading out of this area, just the door at the end of the path straight ahead on one end, and the door at the end of the leftward path at the other (there are actually two doors at the end of this path, but the one straight ahead is jammed; it is the door to Heather's right that you would be looking for); it is pointless for you to go explore this area, but if you are itching to do some killing, the two Numb Bodies patrolling it are easy to dispatch. When you are done (or if you choose not to waste your time), return to the intersection and go through the blue door. There are three Numb Bodies in this area, and it is narrow, so you might want to kill them. Walk forward, down the brick hallway until you reach the intersection they are patrolling; the path continues straight or branches left. The Numb Bodies tend to come at you all at once if you rush them, but if you approach slowly, the light from your flashlight might catch the attention of one of them and separate it from the group so that you can easily take it out. Repeat as necessary, until they are all dead. The path leading straight ahead at the intersection has a door at the end that is jammed, so take the path to your left and go through the door at the end. There are two objects in this room, and one of very obvious: there is a big goddamned Maul sitting in a pool of blood sitting on top of a locker that has been knocked on its side to Heather's left as you enter this room. Pick it up, and examine the blackboard just to the left of this to find the Underpass Map. There is a toolbox to the left of this, but there is nothing you can do with it, even though it seems important. To the right of where you found the Maul is a locker that is seeping blood, and there is a strange and disturbing noise as you approach it. Fortunately, nothing happens even when you examine it, and Heather refuses to open the locker. On the opposite side of the room from where you found the Maul and the map (west wall, according to your spiffy new map), there are a couple of shelves, but unless you exited the subway train low on supplies, there isn't anything you can take on them. If you WERE low on ammo, then you will find some Handgun Ammo here, and if you were low on health items, you will find a First Aid Kit. Go through the door on the south wall, opposite the door you came in through. There are enemies in this area, but the ambient background noise makes it sound worse than it actually is. There is a large Numb Body and two smaller Numb Bodies in this area. Your first instinct may be to pull out your brand new Maul and go to town, but the Maul is cumbersome and extremely slow to swing, so stick to the Steel Pipe. Move forward (south) down the hall until you reach a path branching east, or engage one of the Numb Bodies. Defeat them using the same tactic as before: bait one out with the flashlight by moving slowly forward until you get its attention, then lead it back down the hallway a short distance before taking it down with the Steel Pipe. Do this until all three are dead. Run straight south, past a blue door on Heather's right, until you hit the far wall, then turn right at the end and run all the way to the dead end on the west wall, where you will find a box of Shotgun Shells on top of a rusty oil drum. Head back the way you came, towards the intersection where the path branches east. As you head back, you see the blue door again, and if you check the map you will find it leads into a short and narrow area to the west. Detour briefly through this door. Head west until you reach a pile of junk and rubble at the end of this short passage. On top of a box to Heather's right, near the north wall, you will find a package of Beef Jerky. Just to the left of that is a wine rack. Examine this to take an empty Wine Bottle, then go back the way you came and carefully leave this area. I say "carefully" because there are two new Numb Bodies here if you killed the original three, and they are nearby; one slightly to the north of the door you just came out, and one slightly to the south (if you didn't kill all the Numb Bodies earlier, there is now one more small one). They are still very easy to kill if you want, but also not necessary. Deal with them as you see fit, then run north until you reach the intersection. Turn right to take the path leading to the east, and run through the big metal door at the far end. You should be able to hear that there are Pendulums in this area. Bringing up the map, you should see that this a tunnel leading east, with door on the north wall near the end. Do not, repeat, DO NOT try to run all the way east to see what is at the end, as there is a sudden fall at the end, and the two Pendulums in this area are near it. As always, don't bother messing with the Pendulums (but if you REALLY want to, use the usual tactic of Shotgun to bring them down, then switch to the Steel Pipe to finish them). What you should do is run to the north wall and follow it east, dodging any Pendulums that you see, until you find the door leading north, and then go through it. This is a long, narrow tunnel leading north. There are no enemies, items, or diverging paths, so simply run all the way to the north end and go through the door there. This appears to be a large area, with paths leading north, east, and west. However, there is absolutely nothing of interest to the north or west, just fences with broken doors set in them with junk nearby. Head east until the path branches. The tunnel heading north is blocked by another fence that you can't bypass so head through the large shutter door to the south. When you first enter this area, it is patrolled by two large Numb Bodies. Though normally Numb Bodies are pushovers, you do not want to mess with two large ones at the same time, so if you want to kill them, do so one at a time. Run forward until you see a narrow hallway on Heather's right. Duck into it and then turn around and try to lure the first Numb Body into the narrow hallway so that you can kill him without his buddy interfering. The two are spaced well enough that you should have time to kill the one before the other shows up, so you can then deal with that one as you see fit. Or you can just ignore them and slip in and out of this area without messing with either of them. If you bring up the map, you will see that there are two paths leading west with rooms at the end of them, and a door at the south end. DON'T GO THROUGH THE DOOR AT THE SOUTH END! There is nothing in here except for Pendulums and Numb Bodies, and it is too small an area for fighting them to be effective. Instead, slip into the second of the two small tunnels to Heather's right (the south-most one) and go through the door at the end. This small machine room is dominated by a large desk in the center. On the northwest corner of the desk you will find two Health Drinks, and on the east side of the desk you will find a box of Handgun Ammo and a box of Shotgun Shells. Oh yes, and on the north wall you will find a Save Point, with a Kerosene Heater to the right of it. If you examine the Heater, Heather will comment that there is still Kerosene inside, but that she will need something to put the Kerosene in. Luckily, you should have an Empty Wine Bottle, so "Use" the Wine Bottle on the Kerosene Heater to fill it up. Heather should now have an Oil-Filled Bottle. There are some lockers, some machines, and a blackboard in this room as well, but they are not important. Use the Save Point if you like, then go leave the room once more. If you killed the two large Numb Bodies earlier, there are now three small Numb Bodies. If you did not kill the two Numb Bodies earlier, there are now two large Numb Bodies and two small Numb Bodies. You still do not want to go through the shutter doors on the south side of this area, but rather head towards the second narrow tunnel branching west, which is just north of you. You should either kill the Numb Bodies or avoid them and head straight for the tunnel just north of you; you aren't coming back to this area, so you don't need to kill the Numb Bodies if you don't want to. Just turn left at the end of the narrow tunnel, run until there is another narrow tunnel on Heather's left, then run west and through the door at the end. If you do want to fight the Numb Bodies, use the same tactic as before; lure them one by one into the narrow tunnel and kill them separately, until there is one left, then seek it out and kill it. THEN head through the north- most of the two narrow tunnels leading west. Go through the door at the end. There is a ladder in the north end of this room, leading down into filthy sewage. In the south of this room is the Drainage Pump needed to clear the filth so that Heather can descend. Examining the machine, Heather finds that the pump requires fuel to run, and it is all out. Luckily, you are carrying some Kerosene in a Wine Bottle. "Use" the Oil-Filled Bottle at the open hatch on the southeast side the machine to refill it. Then activate the machine with the on/off switch on the opposite end of the machine. The machine drains the hole, and Heather is now able to descend the ladder. Do so now. On the south end of this filthy hole is the gate that opened to drain the sewage out of this area. On the southern corner of the west wall is a nasty, bloody stain. As you approach it, there is an ominous noise nearby, but it means nothing. On the east wall is a set of stairs leading upward. Since there is nothing else of interest in this area, climb the stairs to the east. Heather will soon reach a landing, and there will be another set of stairs leading upward on Heather's right. Continue up this set of stairs and go through the blue door at the top. Run east across a metal bridge, then down a long staircase until you reach another blue door. Go on through. This long sewer tunnel leads north and south, but the north end is blocked. Head south. If you want to avoid a large Numb Body, you can jump down into the raw sewage and run safely past it on your right on the way south. Otherwise, just run south and kill the Numb Body with the Steel Pipe. Either way, the far southern end of the tunnel is blocked, but there is a door on the east wall and a door on the west wall. Go through the door on the west wall first. There is something you need to pick up before you continue east. Run up the long set of stairs. At the top, run down the passage until you find a metal bridge, identical to the one you crossed going eastward out of the Drainage tunnel a few minutes ago. There is one difference, however; a creature or dead body can be seen submerged in the murky water under the bridge. It can't hurt you, and it doesn't move, so continue across the bridge and through the blue door on the other side. This small room is filled with junk. As you move forward, the camera angle will shift to highlight a Hairdryer on a chair to Heather's left, which can be (and should be) retrieved. There is also an Ampoule on a self against the west wall. Other than that, there is just a bunch of strange and useless junk, including a wheelchair in the blue bin in the southern corner of the room. There is nothing else to pick up in here, so leave this room and head back east. As you cross the bridge, you might notice that the object that was submerged earlier seems to have moved on... ominous, but otherwise un- important. Run down corridor and down the stairs on the other side of the bridge and out the door at the bottom. Back in the sewer tunnel, there is a large shutter door on the opposite side of the sewer, on the east wall directly opposite the door you just came through. Work your way over to it (by heading slightly south, crossing the tunnel at the southern end, and then heading back north, or by just jumping into the sewage, crossing the tunnel and climbing back up on the other side) and go through. Three Numb Bodies, one large and two small, patrol this area. Deal with them as you see fit, and then turn left and head north at the "T" intersection (there is nothing but a jammed door to the south). Go through the door on the east wall, on Heather's right. This small Save Room warrants careful perusal; it could just save your life. There is small desk in the middle of this room. There is a Health Drink on the east side of the desk, on the green mat. On the north side of the desk is a very important document. It is a notebook in which is written the last words of a brave man. He says there is monster in the water, which killed two of his best friends, Jose and Jaime. He speaks of alligators in the sewer, but that is not the case, and he says that even the word "monster" is not quite right. The important bit is that there is something deadly in the water, and that guns, knives, and other weapons are useless against it. He mentions that a hand grenade would do the trick... but don't get your hopes up, because there isn't one. Look around the room some more. There are some shelves, some filing cabinets and bank of security monitors against the north wall, but none of them are of interest, as the documents are boring and the security monitors don't work. There are other useless documents strewn across the floor (though one is an accident report for Jaime and Jose, and Heather notes "today's date" on another), including a hand-written "Danger! Keep Out!" sign on the floor next to the door on the east wall, suggesting that the next area is probably the one with the sewer monster. The Save Point is drawn on the floor in the northwest corner of the room. Use it if you want, then leave through the door on the east wall. The first thing that you will probably notice is the blood smeared on the floor and on the door you just came through. There is a catwalk crossing the water to the east, but don't try to cross yet unless you fancy dying horribly. Instead, head left from the door and you should find a Power Outlet on the west wall, to Heather's left. Say, if you plugged something in here, and then threw it in the water, then anything living in the water would become a crispy critter! "Use" the Hair Dryer on the Power Outlet to par-boil the tenticular monstrosity in the water. Now you can safely cross the catwalk to the other side. On the other side there are some machines to Heather's right, but they don't do anything. Go through the door on the east wall. Notice there is an "Exit" sign above this door. This bodes well. The end of the sewers draws near. Turn right and run south all the way to the door at the end. There will be a path to Heather's left, but ignore it, as it is blocked by junk. Go through the blue door in the south end of the tunnel. In here you will here the horrible sound of Pendulums. This is another sewer tunnel, and with Pendulums around you will want to stick to the stone walkways. Bring up the map to see where you want to go. The goal is the small, narrow tunnel leading west to the south of the door you just came through. If you could follow the stone path to Heather's right, it would be easy, since she would then be on the same side of the sewage as the exit, but the way to the right is blocked, so it will have to be the long way. Just turn left at the door and follow the path. It will turn a number of times, but keep following it. There is only one Pendulum that can reach you in this area, as the others are on the other side of some fences. You should be able to avoid the one on your side, but if it gets in your path, drop it with a short-range shotgun blast to teach it a lesson and keep moving. Eventually you will reach the narrow passage leading west. Follow this path to the end and go through the door on the north wall. You are now officially off the map, but you are also at the end of the sewers. Run down the long flight of stairs, down the long corridor, and up the stairs at the other end, then go through the door at the top. There is a bunch of junk in this room, but the only thing of concern to Heather should be the rusty metal staircase almost right across from her. Follow its twists and turns to the top, then turn left and run forward to the base of a ladder. There is nothing else here, so climb the ladder to finally get the hell out of the sewers. Finally, fresh air! This area is above ground, but it is also surrounded by tall, dirty white cloth walls that should be unnerving to Silent Hill veterans. Head left and follow the path around the building; there is only one way to go. Eventually, you should see the red glow ahead of a Save Point drawn on top of an oil drum. Save if you want, then as you are facing the Save Point, follow the rubble right until you hit the wall of a dilapidated building, then turn right again and follow the building's wall until you reach as set of double doors. Go inside to enter the next portion of the game. II-c. Part Three: "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Dying..." II-c-1. "Some Spackle, a new coat of paint... and it will still suck...": Unfinished Building This first area shouldn't take too long, because there are not any enemies here (Yay!) and the building is fairly small. Run forward and follow the hallway as it turns left, past a jammed doorway, two doorways blocked by paint cans, and an elevator that won't work, all on the left-hand side. If you left the sewers with few health items to your name, then there will be two Health Drinks sitting on top of some of the boxes that are blocking one of these doors. Go through the door at the end, just past the elevator. The next area is a stairwell, and there are no items that you can use, so just climb the stairs. You will find that the doors to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors are all jammed, and that the doors of the 3rd and 4th floors bear signs that state the floors have collapsed, and the floor cannot be accessed. Climb the stairs all the way to the top and go through the door to what should be the 5th floor, though it is unmarked. Right next to the door, on the right, is the elevator, which still won't work. Just past that is a bathroom, and if you examine it, Heather comments that it looks like it has been used recently. At the far end of the hall is a door with an electrical cord reel and a bag of cement next to it, neither of which you can use. Go through the door on your right. Walk forward into this next room and you will find more signs of recent habitation. There is a little makeshift camp here, with empty bottles and cans and mattress suggestion that someone was living here. There is a box of Handgun Ammo sitting on top of a box near the mattress. The mattress itself is right next to a gaping hole in the floor. You will need to push the mattress into the hole, but first use it as a marker to find a well-hidden item. Stand next to the mattress and turn so that your back is to the bottles and can and junk, so that you are facing in the direction of the door you entered this area from. The wall right straight ahead, right next to the alcove where the door leading back towards the elevators is, is a lot more white then the rest of the surrounding walls, as if it has been recently re-plastered. Have Heather examine it (as you get close, the camera angle shifts to highlight the area) and she says as much, and mentions that the wall might break if she hits it hard enough. So what are you waiting for? Use the Steel Pipe to smash the wall in. You will see a pair of legs through the area that you smash down, and if you search the rubble of the wall you smashed, you will find the Silencer. When it is equipped, the Silencer suppresses the noise of the Handgun or Submachine Gun, but reduces the effective attacking power. Use it when you don't want more enemies to come running. After you have found the Silencer, go back and examine the mattress to shove it into the hole in the floor. You will be following it down the hole in a moment, but not quite yet. On the opposite side of the hole, just past some boards bridging a small gap, there will be a box with a Health Drink on top. Now jump down the hole, landing safely on top of the mattress. (Note: you can jump down the hole BEFORE dropping the mattress down to cushion you fall, but it results in painful death. The choice is yours.) Check out this new area and you will find a whole lot of nothing, other than rubble and the mattress that you threw down here. There is one door in this area, but it is jammed. The only way out is through a gaping hole in the wall, just past a red emergency light on a column near the mattress. Cautiously duck through the hole in the wall. You are on some scaffolding on the outside of the building, and so are two Pendulums. The scaffolding stretches left and right, but there is nothing to Heather's right except for one of the two Pendulums. You don't want to fight them, and you don't need to, so turn to Heather's left and run. You should be able to avoid both Pendulums if you don't linger, but don't be reckless either, as you can lose your balance and fall of the scaffolding. Follow the path as it turns left around a corner, and keep going until the camera angle shifts to show you an open window on Heather's right. This is your stop. Duck inside to enter the Office Building. II-c-2. "Forget Fortune's 500, this is Fortune's 666...": Hilltop Center Office Building Hey, swank digs! Documents on the bookshelf in this office tell you that this is the reception area for a mannequin company. There isn't anything to pick up here, so go through the door next to the coffee cart. Directly ahead of Heather as she enters this hallway are boxes full of mannequin catalogues, which we don't need. Turn left and head down the hallway. There is a door where the hallway turns right but it is jammed, so ignore it as you follow the hallway right. The next door, on your right, is also jammed, but the next door on your left, with the words "Store Front Poseables" written in small purple writing can be opened, but do not do so yet. Continue past it and past another jammed door on your right, then turn the corner. There are two doors here, one on Heather's left, and one straight ahead. The one to the right is jammed, so go through the door straight ahead. This creepy little room is full of mannequin body parts that freak Heather out a little. Check out the mannequins right in front of the door, then turn left and look at the one mannequin that has a head, which makes Heather a little less uncomfortable than the decapitated ones. Head back towards the door, then turn right to go around the central shelf to the other side opposite the mannequin with the head. As you turn into this area there is a scream and thud, which should startle the hell out of you. On the opposite side of the central shelf from the mannequin, against the back wall, you will find a box of Handgun Ammo and a box of Shotgun Shells. Now it is time to go see what that noise was. Go back and examine the unique mannequin for a nasty shock... so much for its head. And could that really be blood? You will have plenty of time to ponder this in the nightmares you will have about this room for the rest of your life, but for now leave the storeroom and go back down the hall to the door with "Store Front Poseables" stenciled on it in purple. It should now be on your right. Go through the door. There are two Double Heads in this area. You are going to be using this area quite a bit, so do yourself a favor and kill them now. If they come at you one at a time, kill them with the Steel Pipe. If they do not, move into the open and use the Handgun to strafe around them, killing them one at a time. From the front door, move forward until you reach the intersection. On Heather's right, in a little alcove, are two doors, which are both jammed. The hallway branches straight ahead and to the left. Check out the left branch first. As you move forward into this area there will be alcoves with elevators off to either side. The one on Heather's right is not working. Neither is the one to the left, but the door to this one is open slightly, though not enough to slip through. Maybe we can find something to open it wider. Just past the elevators the leftward hallway ends, and there is a doorway to Heather's right. It opens into a stairwell, but we don't need to go to another floor yet. Head back to the first intersection and try the hallway that was straight ahead when you first entered this area. Where the hallway turns to the right, there is a door that is clearly marked "Monica's Dance Studio" with Purple Stenciling on the door and posters to the right of the door. To the right of this the hallway ends with a door with a sign to the left of it that says "Prindle & Enos Law Firm", but the door is jammed. Go through the door marked Monica's Dance Studio. This is a cramped and narrow corridor, but we will make things easy. Go through the door almost directly across from the door you just entered through. There is a cluttered desk to Heather's right and some kind of glass and metal filing case to Heather's left. Head forward until there is a glass coffee table with comfy-looking chairs by it on Heather's left. Folded up on the glass table is the map to the Hilltop Center. Just past this, directly ahead, is a Save Point. From the Save Point, do a 180 and check out this end of the desk. If you were low on ammo when you entered the construction site, there will be two boxes of Handgun Ammo on the desk. If you weren't, there is nothing. Almost right in front of the Save Point is a drawer on the desk that is slightly open, and that investigation shows us is rusted shut. Heather thinks she can open it, but she is going to need some sort of strong and narrow tool. Use the Save Point if you like, and then leave the room. Use the map to orient you. The room just to the north of you with the purple mat on the floor outside is the actual dance studio. Don't bother going in there, however, unless you feel like doing a tango with two Double Heads and an Insane Cancer. There are no objects or new exits from the room, so there is no reason to go there. If you do want to, you will find that you can fight the enemies one at a time rather easily. Those who jjust want to move on, skip the next paragraph. Only one of the two Double Heads is actually moving around the room, so deal with this one before moving around the room too much. The second Double Head is by the north wall of the room, gnawing on somee kind of bloody carcass. You will be able to beat him to death without breaking a sweat, as he pretty much won't react until you are right up to him, and by then you will be beating him with the Steel Pipe. The last enemy, the Insane Cancer, lies dormant near the east wall. He also shouldn't be a problem to kill with just the Steel Pipe. So there are three enemies for your K.I.A. list, without you having to break much of a sweat, and it is good practice to boot. Then go back out the door into the narrow hallway and bring up your map. Are we all together again? Good. There are two doors south of the Save Room, both on the east wall. The first one is jammed, but the second one is a locker room. Go inside. There is only one open locker in this area, and which items you find inside is determined by how many healing items you had when you entered the construction zone. If you had plenty of health items, there will be two Health Drinks inside. If were low on health items when you entered the construction site, there will be a First Aid Kit and an Ampoule. That's it for this area, so leave this room, head back north, and go through the only door on the west wall, right across from the save room, back into the main area with the elevators. If you killed the Double Heads earlier, they are still gone. If you didn't heed my advice, you will have to either kill them now or dodge them as to head towards the staircase in the north section of this area. Run straight ahead until you reach the intersecting hallways, then take a right and run past the alcoves with the elevators in them on either side of you. The door is just past them on the right, with a glowing red exit sign over it. Go through the door into the staircase beyond. You are on the third floor now. You will find that the stairs go both up and down, but the only other door that will open is the one on the fifth floor. Head up two floors and go through the door on the landing marked "5". Turn left and run south, past both sets of elevators, which are still not working. You will reach an intersection, where you will find the bathrooms straight ahead, but their locks are broken. To Heather's right, on the west wall, you will find a door marked KMN Auto Parts, but it is locked, and we don't have the key. Head east instead. At the end of this hallway you will find three doors. The door straight ahead has a broken lock, so forget about it. The door on Heather's right, on the south wall, is marked KMN Auto Parts, just like the locked door to the east, but we are not going in here just yet. First, go through the door on Heather's left, on the north wall. This is the fine arts gallery. To Heather's right as she enters is a reception desk, but it has nothing to interest Heather. Just past it, on the same (west) wall is a painting entitled "Repressor of Memories", a title that Heather mentions she doesn't like. There are also two doors on the west wall, just past the painting, but ignore them for the moment as you explore the rest of the room. On the north wall is an area where it is obvious a large painting once hung. Now there is just its name placardd, telling us the painting was called "Flame Purifies All". Heather mentions she doesn't know what the title means, but that she hates fire, and finds it frightening for some reason. On the east wall are a few more pieces of artwork; some ceramic pots that Heather doesn't care for because they are too big to use as vases, a painting that Heather actually likes, called "Mountain" which she finds soothing, and a painting that she doesn't tell us anything about other than it costs 5000, which she obviously thinks is crazy. Now for the doors on the west wall. The southern-most one, next to the "Repressor of Memories" painting is jammed. Go through the northern one, nearest the area where "Flame Purifies All" once hung. It opens into another narrow hallway. Turn left and run past a jammed door to where a Screwdriver sits on top of some boxes on a hand trolley. The Screwdriver should be just what we need to open the stuck drawer in the Monica's Dance Studio offices downstairs by the Save Point, but there are some other items we need on this floor first. Run back south past the door leading to the art gallery and take a left. There will be a jammed door on your left, and then the hallway turns south, so take a right. Run all the way to the end of the hallway until you reach two doors, one on the west wall and one straight ahead on the south wall. Go through the door on Heather's right. Go straight ahead to find a monster slayer's best friend sitting on a Daisho, or sword rack. Heather grabs the shorter of the two Katanas (which I think technically would be a Wakizashi, but who am I to quibble), and won't take the other one no matter how loud you yell at your television. She says that too much stuff would slow her down, as if the giant goddamned Maul that she is hauling around isn't too heavy to bother with. I guess the shorter one is better for little petite Heather, but I would have preferred the longer reach. Oh well. There is nothing more of interest in this storeroom, so turn around and leave, Katana in hand. That last door on the south wall is jammed, so head back north and go through the next door on the west wall, back into the art studio, then cross the studio and leave through the door on the south wall, the one you came in through originally. The door to the KMN Auto Parts offices is directly across from you; so go south through this door into another narrow hallway. In here you will hear the sound of Numb Bodies. There are three of these little bastards around, so introduce them to the business end of your new Japanese toy one at a time. You should find that this weapon is much more effective than the Steel Pipe, so it is time to retire that faithful length of blunt metal, and use the Katana as your main hand-to-hand weapon from now on. Once they are all dead, run back to the door you first entered this hallway from and put your back to it as though you just came in, to orient yourself. The door directly to Heather's right, on the east wall, is jammed, so ignore it and head forward. The hallway turns sharply right, and the next door on Heather's right is jammed, so keep going until you reach an intersection. There should be a door on Heather's right, on the south wall, a short stretch of hallway straight ahead, where you can see a door straight ahead on the west wall and another next to it on the south wall, and a hallway stretching north. The first door on the south wall, right at the intersection, opens, but it is nothing but a tiny room with an Insane Cancer in it and no items. This Insane Cancer is alert as you come in and the room is small, so it might be a tough fight if you want to do it, but the Katana makes it easier. I suggest ignoring the room entirely. The two doors straight ahead to the west are both jammed, so head north up the intersecting hallway. Go through the next door on the west wall, to Heather's right. This is an office, complete with cubicle-like desks. On the west-most of the two closest to the door, you will find a Health Drink. There are a lot of desks and shelves and papers and junk in this room, but the only other item of interest is on the shelf in the northwest corner of the room, the Jack. The camera angle will shift to highlight its locationn as you draw near. Head back across this room and go out the door you came in. There is a door almost right across from you on the east wall, and two down the hallway to the north. The two to the north are jammed, so go through the door on the east wall. You will have to unlock it from this side, as it is the other side of the locked KMN auto door that you saw earlier. You are back in the main area of the fifth floor, near the elevators. Head forward a bit then take a left to head north past the elevators, then go through the door with the red light above it on Heather's right, back into the staircase and go back downstairs and out the door back onto the third floor. Turn left and run past the elevators, then turn left again and run until you reach the door leading to Monica's Dance Studios. Go through the door, and then in the next hallway, go through the door straight across the hall, into the Save Room. Remember the stuck drawer right next to the Save Point? "Use" the Screw Driver on it to pry it open and receive the Rope. Then use the Save Point if you want, and leave the room. Go back across the hall and enter the main elevator room, and go to the west elevator. "Use" the Jack on the partially open elevator doors, and then, once they are open enough for Heather to slip through, "Use" the Rope on the open doorway to secure the rope so that you can climb down it into the elevator shaft. When prompted, select "yes", and Heather will lower herself down to the second floor, where the elevator doors are also open. Move forward a bit until you are standing in the intersection of two hallways. There is a jammed door and a Save Point to the north, if you want to use it (might be a good idea for those who aren't too concerned with their number of saves). To the east is the other elevator, but it still isn't working. Head south until you reach the next intersecting hallways. Straight ahead are some bathrooms, but their doors are jammed. At the end of the hallway to Heather's left (east), there is a jammed door with the words "ECHO Interiors & Floor Fashions" written on it. Head west. Where the hall turns to the right, there will be a jammed door to your left, a door straight ahead, and a short hallway to your right, with a jammed door at the end and a locked door on the west wall; all the doors are stenciled with the ECHO logo. Go through the first door on the west wall, the only one that will open. This is another reception area, though this one is rather... dingy looking. There is only one item in this room, a package of Beef Jerky at the feet of a stone dog in the southwest corner of the room. There are two doors on the south wall, but neither of them will open. Go through the door on the north wall, on the far side of the desk. This room is full of bathroom fixtures, though there is nothing you can do with them. There is a door to the east that is the far side of the ECHO door that was locked when you examined it in the hallway. Unlock it if you like, though it doesn't really matter. Go through the door on the north wall. There is nothing of interest in this small storeroom except for a single bathtub. When you get near it, the camera angle shifts, revealing that it may be important. Examine the tub to begin a disturbing cutscene, and change your entire situation. II-c-3. "Business so evil, it must be owned by Bill Gates..": Hilltop Center Dark Side That time we got to see reality shift to the Dark Side. Neato! Luckily, the map still works for this area... somewhat. Head south through the altered area, as it is the only way you can go. Exit through the door at the end. Hmm. More bloody linoleum. To Heather's right, there is a rusty wheelchair with a doll and a box of Handgun Ammo sitting in the seat; both are great gifts for young girls, but you can only take the ammo. Straight ahead is something that looks like a piece of demented performance art; there is a cage with fluorescent lights bound to it, and in the middle is some sort of inert creature dangling from one arm, with what I hope is just a baby doll dangling from the other. This is blocking a door, which you will not be able to get through. Turn left and go around a strange, rusty/bloody cage thing to go carefully out through the door on the east wall. There is a new beastie here, a crawling monstrosity known as the Slurper (see section I-b-8 for more details), as well as two Double Heads. The Slurpers are almost as noisy as the Pendulums. There is one nearby, so kill it with the Katana if it comes at you. If you are able to finish it quickly, then you will be able to kill the Double Heads easier later. I suggest killing the Slurper first, then dealing with the Double Heads later, one by one, when you come back to this hallway a little later. That way, they don't all come at you all at once. If they DO come at you all at once, blast them with the shotgun to hurt them all in a group, and once you have thinned their numbers, switch to the Katana to finish off the stragglers. However you choose to deal with them, turn left at the door you entered the area through and go straight north, through the door at the end. This was once some kind of waiting room (checking the map tells you that this was the Green Ridge Mental Health Clinic; wonderful). Turn right and head past the check in into the main part of the room. On a bench against the west wall you will find a photograph with the words "Find the Holy One. Kill her?" written on the back. Turns out that is a picture of Heather. This can't be good. Just beyond the bench, also on the west wall, is a Save Point. Don't use it quite yet, as there are is a long cutscene coming up, a few items to find, and then you can save on the way out, so that if you die or have to quit, you won't have to go through the cutscene again. There is a locked door on the east wall, opposite the Save Point. Go through the door on the north wall. This triggers a cutscene in which we meet a new character, the first since we met Claudia back in the Mall, and the first human we have seen since you left Douglas and entered the Subway. This is Vincent, and he knows more than he is telling. When you mention Claudia, Vincent gets upset, and says that she was brainwashed by "that crazy old hag". He then retracts the statement, saying that "crazy old hag" is a bit harsh, considering the woman he is referring to is Heather's mother. When Heather presses him about this, he is amazed that she doesn't know anything about it, suggesting "Harry" didn't tell her about her true past because he didn't want Heather to turn against him. Heather gets upset, and tells Vincent not to talk about her father like that. So this "Harry" is Heather's father. Bells should be going off for Silent Hill veterans right about now. Anyway, Heather says to Vincent that if he knows so much, why doesn't he stop whatever is happening? He demurs, saying that Heather should continue to enjoy herself a little longer. When Heather is appalled by this statement, he admits that he himself finds events "fascinating". Heather, disgusted by him and now convinced that he is in cahoots with Claudia, leaves the room through a different door than she entered, and you enter the clinic's office. Heather refuses to go back through the door leading to the room where she met Vincent, so examine the shelf to Heather's left for a bevy of items, one of which is important to proceeding; there is a bottle of Oxydol, and a few health items. Just how many items, and what kind, is determined by how many health items you had when you entered the construction site. I usually get two Health Drinks and a First Aid Kit. You will get an idea of what the Oxydol will be used for in just a moment. To the right of the shelf with all the items, on the south wall, there is an open junior high school chemistry book. It reads, "When you pour diluted hydrogen peroxide onto manganese dioxide, oxygen is produced. Although oxygen will not burn on its own, it will help other things to burn." Though it is not explicitly stated, the Oxydol is diluted hydrogen peroxide, the stuff that foams when you put it on cuts to disinfect them. This foaming is caused by the release of oxygen as the hydrogen peroxide interacts with bacteria in the wound. And this is basically all the book is saying; the oxygen released when the Oxydol reacts with bacteria on a wound could be enough to stimulate flames, if it was releasing enough oxygen. Regardless, there is nothing you can do with it now. You will see the clever way in which it is used a little later. Now leave this room through the door on the west wall. You will need to unlock it first, as this is the other side of the door that was locked across from the Save Point in the reception area. Use the Save Point if you want, and then leave through the door on the east wall, back into the hallway with the Slurper. If you didn't kill the two Double Heads and the Slurper here earlier, this is the time to do so. Use Katana to take them out one at a time if possible, or the Shotgun/Katana combo discussed earlier if they come at you all at once. Once they are dead, go back to the door leading to the doctor's office that you just came out of to orient yourself, and put your back to it as if you just came out. To your right is a jammed door. The next door on the right is the one leading back into the area where you first appeared in the Dark Side. The door at the south end of the hallway is jammed. Turn left here and then run until you reach an intersection. There are bathrooms to your right, but the doors are jammed, as is the only door down the hallway straight ahead, on the east wall. Turn left and run until the elevators are on either side of you. The door in the alcove straight ahead, which would have led into the stairway, is jammed, and the west elevator, on Heather's left, doesn't work. The east elevator, on Heather's right, does. Get into the elevator, against your better judgment. A gate slams shut behind Heather, but don't freak out; it is just for effect. Examine the panel to the right of the door to select a floor. Choose the first floor, "1". The elevator will go down one floor, and you will automatically step out into the first floor's lobby area. Your Radio should be going crazy as soon as you step out of the elevator, but you are actually safe for the moment. There is a big, nasty monster nearby, but it will not hurt you; it is just there to make sure you can't get out of the building. To find him, take a left as you leave the elevator, then take a right and head north, following a swath of blood until you find the monster. Go ahead and walk right up to it and examine it. It won't bite. It is called a Glutton, and your weapons won't hurt it, so don't even try. And it is indeed blocking your way out. On the ground in front of it is an open, but incomplete storybook telling of a monster that lived at the gates of a town, so that no one could get out (sound familiar?). Knights rode against the monster with swords and spears, but none were effective, and the monster ate them one by one. One day a priestess came to town to face the monster, and she... well, the rest of the story is missing. Heather remembers reading the story when she was younger, but is frustrated to find that she can't remember how it ended. Maybe our intrepid hero should be taking Ginkgo Biloba for her memory. There is nothing you can do about it at the moment, so head back south, past the elevators (well, the elevator, anyway; notice the western elevator is blocked off by a fence), until you reach an intersection. Straight ahead there is rubble blocking where the bathrooms would be. The door at the end of the hallway to Heather's right (west) is locked, and you don't have a key. Turn left and run to the east. There are three doors here, but only the one on the north wall will open. Go through the north door. This is the Last Drop Café (as you can find out a little later). Now listen carefully. There is an Insane Cancer in this room, but he can be avoided. He will not rise unless you come too close to him, such as to grab the Shotgun Shells from the table next to him. So you can avoid battling him entirely by staying as far away from him as possible as you move through the room, and saving the Shotguns Shells for LAST so that you can zoom in, grab them, and then run out the door as he rises. Or you can just kill him. I don't care. Anyway, as you enter this room there is a cash register on a counter to Heather's right, spilling money, but that is of no concern to us. Just beyond the counter to the north is the dormant Insane Cancer, and the Shotgun Shells are on the table to the right of him. Turn right and head toward the west wall. At the end of the wrap around counter, to Heather's right, against the west wall, is a bloody fridge. This contains the only other item you want in this room, the Pork Liver. Hmm, what would happen if you poured Oxydol onto the liver? Isn't it essentially a big open wound of a sort, so wouldn't the hydrogen peroxide provide a lot of oxygen if we poured it on? You don't need to use them yet, but it is something to keep in mind. Head back towards the exit and grab the Shotgun Shells off the table and run out the door to the south as the Insane Cancer rises, if you didn't kill it earlier. Make sure you have the Shotgun Shells and the Pork Liver either way, and then leave through the south door. We have done all we can on this floor for the moment, since the door to the west is locked. Head back to the elevator by turning right, running to the end of the hall, turning right again and running north towards the Glutton monster, and then taking your next right to take you to the elevator. Get in, and then choose the fifth floor, marked "5" (in addition to the second floor, where you started, and the first and fifth floors, you can also get off at the fourth. But since we will be exploring this floor a little later, from a different direction, skip it for the moment). When the elevator lets you off on the fifth floor, turn left and step out of the elevator alcove. The floor is missing north of you, so don't try to go that way, and the other elevator directly across from you doesn't work, so turn left and head south until you reach another intersection. As has been the norm, you cannot enter the bathrooms straight ahead, on the south wall, as their doors are jammed. The path to Heather's left, leading east, has no floor. So west it is, to Heather's right. Go through the door at the end, with the blue light above it. There are two Slurpers in this hallway, so kill them one by one or dodge them as you see fit. The door straight ahead of the door you came through (west wall) and the two doors at the end of the passage north of you all have broken locks, so head south down the hallway until you reach a "T" intersection. The door straight ahead is jammed, so turn right. The next door on the south wall opens, but there is nothing in the small room except for a Slurper on the other side of fence, where neither one of you can do damage to the other. Keep heading west and go through the door at the end of the hall. Metal fences hem in this small area, and there is nothing in the room except for a table with a few items on it. At the end of the table closest to the door are two boxes of Handgun Ammo. On the east side of the table is a book of Matches that Heather can pick up, and a still smoldering cigarette in an ashtray. Examining this reveals that Heather was once a smoker, but quit for good. There is nothing else to find, so leave the room now. Run east down the hallway, past the intersection you originally came from the north. After the intersection, on the right (south) wall is another jammed door. Just beyond that, where the hallway turns, is a chilling sight. The eastern wall of the corridor appears to be made of glass, at through it Heather can see a wheelchair illuminated by the yellow light spilling out of an open doorway. She can't break the "glass", and she doesn't know what the scene signifies, but she says the scene on the other side of the glass "calls" to her. This should look familiar to players of the original Silent Hill. Turn left at the glass wall and run past the next door on the east wall, which is jammed, and out through the door at the end of the hallway, on the north wall. There should be a yawning chasm to Heather's left, another door with a broken lock to Heather's right (west), and a door on the north wall. Go through it. This is the area that was the Gallery of Fine Arts in the "real" world. All the other doors leading out of this room are now jammed, but there is a Save Point on the wall where the "Repressor of Memories" painting once hung. In fact, all of the paintings that were hung in this room originally are missing, and the painting that was missing in the real world is hanging on the wall in the Dark Side gallery. I guess we know what happened to it. Examine the "Flame Purifies All" painting for the first time. The caption underneath the painting says, "By these remains may a person find the road to Paradise." Hmm... sounds a lot like what Claudia said about Paradise earlier. Heather says she remembers this painting... though she has never seen it before. Notice the bucket underneath the painting. Flame purifies all, huh? Well, let's purify this bad boy. Use the "Combine" command on the Matches, the Oxydol, and the Pork Liver, and then "Use" them on the bucket to set the painting on fire and stoke the flames with the oxygen released from the hydrogen peroxide/manganese dioxide mixture. This reveals that there is a hatch-like door behind where the painting once hung, which Heather can fit through. Save at the Save Point on the west wall if you would like, then go through the "door" where the "Flame Purifies All" painting once hung. There are strange noises and things moving in here, but none of them are a threat. Straight ahead as you enter this room are weird photographs hung on a rusty framework. Beyond them, strange, meaty things are moving. Turn right and head down a short flight of stairs. At the bottom, on a table to Heather's left, is a table with the second part of the fairy tale you found at the feet of the Glutton on top of it. This installment tells how the priestess attempted to talk the monster out of its evil ways, without violence. Predictably, the monster killed her. Thus endeth the lesson. This is not the end of the fairy tale, however, as there is one more part to find before you figure out how the Glutton can be defeated. Head out through the door on the south wall, to the right of the stairs. For the record, you are now on the fourth floor. There are four Slurpers in the long, dark hallway, so kill them all, as there are too many to make easy navigation of the hallway possible. If you can face them one at a time, use the Katana, or at most the Handgun to take them out. If you can get two or more Slurpers to bunch together, use the Shotgun. It is possible, though difficult, to run past most of them and get them all to follow you, then turn around quickly and blast them all at once with the Shotgun to save ammo. Once the are all dead, return to the north end of the hallway to orient yourself. The first door on Heather's right (on the north wall) is jammed. The blue-lit door on the west wall can be unlocked from this side, but do not go through it right now. The next door, on Heather's left, is jammed. The next door on Heather's left, right where the corridor turns right again, opens. Might as well check it out. There is only one thing in this room of interest; the bed on Heather's right, on the other side of the chain link fence has a box of Handgun Ammo and a First Aid Kit sitting on top of it. It also has a Slurper underneath it, who does not register on the Radio until it attacks, as Heather grabs the goodies (so make sure you have the bullet-proof vest equipped before you try for the item). Kill the bastard, then leave the room the way you came in. Go straight ahead (westward) past a jammed door on the north wall, and out the door facing west. When you first enter this corridor, there is but a single Slurper, so kill him while he is alone. As you move further down the corridor, two Double Heads appear back the way you came. Kill them as well if you want to, though it may just be easier to dodge them through the next portion. Heading forward from the door you entered the corridor through, the next door, the one Heather's left, on the east wall, is jammed. The next door is on your right, and it is another blue-lit door leading into the lobby area of the fourth floor. Unlock it if you want to, but don't go through it yet. Follow the path as it turns east, past the next jammed door on the north wall. The path will then turn north again, terminating in a door at the end of the hall. Go through it. This room seems almost calming after the hallways full of Slurpers and Double Heads. Against the south wall is a table with a desk lamp shining on a pile of silver coins. Take one. Heather won't take more than just the one, as she says she isn't a thief, even though she may act like one sometimes. Interesting. Maneuver through the discarded desks and tables until you are standing next to the soda machine in the northeast corner of the room. There is graffiti on the east wall next to the soda machine, which reads "Thus one's life turns to riches: What was a bag of silver coins is now the number in a book. Yet faith hath no price... Ah, but do people know this?" Wow. Deep. Now examine the soda machine, and Heather will mention that she IS a little thirsty, though she would feel strange drinking something she got in a place like this. Get her a drink anyway. "Use" the Silver Coin on the soda machine to get a can, but there isn't a drink in it. Heather realizes it clanks when she shakes it, and dumps the contents out on the counter next to her. It is the Life Insurance Key. How the hell did that get in there? Oh well. The Life Insurance offices are on the first floor, on the other side of the locked western door in the area where the Glutton lurks. There is nothing else to do here, so leave the room now. Even if you killed them all before, there are a couple of new Slurpers in this area, as well as the two Double Heads if you didn't kill them earlier. But it is easiest to just run for the exit, which iss the door with the blue light above it that I mentioned unlocking earlier. Run south, and then follow the hallway as it turns east, dodging the enemies as you go. The door is straight east as you turn the first corner, so run straight through it, hammering the "X" button to unlock it if you didn't earlier. This is another lobby area. A fence blocks off the bathrooms that should be on the south wall according to your map. There is another blue-lit door directly across from the door that you just came through, but it just leads back into the other hallway. Turn left by where the bathrooms should be, and head towards the elevators. You will find that towards the eastern elevator is the only way you can go, as there is no floor to the north or west. Step into the elevator and go down to the first floor. Go to the door to the Life Insurance firm by heading south from the elevator, then going west at the next hallway. The door is at the end. You can now open this door using the Life Insurance Key. Do so, and then step through the door. You should be able to hear the sound of two Slurpers at the south end of the hallway. There are two doors down the hallway north, to Heather's right, but the locks to both are jammed, so don't bother. Turn left and head south. If you are quick enough, you might be able to catch the two Slurpers while they are tearing at a hunk of meat, which will make killing them or slipping by them easier. You won't need to worry about them later, so do whatever you want. There is only one door in this hallway that will open, other than the one you first came through. After the hallway turns east, it will be the second door on the north wall; right next to the pile of rubble that blocks the rest of the entrance (where the lump of meat the two Slurpers were eating off of is located, if you caught them at their meal). Go through this door. This room looks like an abattoir, and there is only one thing you need from it. In the middle of the northernmost table is the last part of the fairy tale from earlier. Read it. It tells you that God took pity on the stupid priestess, and returned her to life. She went back to face the beast once more, but neither attacked it, nor talked to it. Instead she chanted a single spell, "TU FUI, EGO ERIS" (my Latin is rusty, but that means either "You were me, now I am you" or "As you were, now I am") and the monster let out a cry and died. The people could use their gate again. The end. As Heather reads the incantation aloud, trying to figure out what it is saying, there is the sound of a beast bellowing from somewhere outside the room. We had better check it out. Leave the gore-soaked room. Turn right, and run until the corridor turns north, then run north until you reach the first door on Heather's right, in the middle of the east wall. Go through, ready for battle. Or not. The radio is no longer registering the Glutton in this room. Run forward until you clear the hallway, then run straight north, towards where the Glutton was. The monster is gone, though the storybook still remains. There is door in the north wall, which the Glutton was once guarding. Go through it to escape the Hilltop Center. You are almost home, as Heather will tell you if you examine the ominous awning surrounding this area. There is really only one way to go. Though there are lots of cones and cars and awnings and whatnot between here and there, there are no items to find, no monsters, and no clues to the greater mystery, so head straight home. Turn right at the doors to the Hilltop Center, and run until an alleyway opens on your left, then duck down the alleyway. Follow the narrow alleyway for quite a while, and it will turn to your right. Follow it and soon you will see a lighted doorway at the top of a short flight of steps, with a sign next to the door. The sign says "Daisy Villa Apartments", which is what the key in Heather's inventory tells you is her home. Go through the door. Run forward, past a door on your right, and follow the hallway as it turns left, then right. There will be many doors in here, but the one we are seeking will be on Heather's left, and the camera will shift to highlight it. Continue forward until the area widens up into a four-way intersection. First, turn right. There is a Save Symbol scrawled on the wall to Heather's right, directly across from some mailboxes. It makes Heather angry to see it there, but use it anyway, as you are at a critical juncture. Now continue. At the intersection, take a right. The door to Heather's apartment is the next one, on the left. Go in now for some very unhappy news. There is no doubt about it now. Heather's father is Harry Mason from the original Silent Hill, and Heather finds him dead in his armchair in the living room. She sobs and grieves as she should for a while, then notices a trail of blood leading out the patio doors and out onto the fire escape. Revenge on her mind, she follows the trail of blood to the roof. Here she confronts Claudia, who says that she killed Harry because he screwed up her order's plans seventeen years ago, and this is her revenge. She also says that she killed him because he took Heather away from them, and because she wants to fill Heather's heart with hatred for some reason. She says that Heather needs to remember her, and her true self as well, and that she will birth a god. Heather raises her gun to kill her, but Claudia points to a large hulking figure that is stepping out of the shadows, and says that this creature is the one who killed Harry, and that she merely gave the order. She then leaves Heather to the monster's dubious mercy, and says that she will be waiting for Heather where it all began, in the town of Silent Hill. II-c-4. BOSS FIGHT: MISSIONARY This is your first real boss fight since the Splitworm in the Central Square Shopping Mall. The big enemy in the Underground you electrocuted with a Hair Dryer, and the Glutton you got rid of with an incantation. The first thing you must do upon facing the Missionary is equip the Shotgun. The next thing you must do is get ready to sidestep his attacks. The monster runs around the area quickly, and will run right at Heather when he thinks there is an opening. He also blocks attacks from the front, even bullets, using his arm blades. So what you need to do is play matador. Keep him in your sights, and keep on the move. When he tries to charge you, use the "L1" or "R1" buttons to strafe quickly out of his way, then blast him from the side or back as he runs past you. This will knock him to the ground. Blast him again when he is on the ground, but don't get too close, as he attacks as he rises, and this attack can't be blocked if you are inside its range. Remember to use your defense button occasionally to block his regular attacks if necessary, but for the most part keep moving. After eight or nine blast from the shotgun, the beast should collapse. Do the L.A. Shuffle on the back of its head until it is truly dead. When Heather returns to her apartment, she finds that Douglas is waiting for her. She is outraged, and blames him for everything that happened, and he is repentant. He helps Heather get her father into his bed and cover him with a sheet, in lieu of a proper burial, which she doesn't have time for right now. She is going to Silent Hill, to get revenge on Claudia. Douglas tries to talk her out of it, and when he can't he convinces her to allow him to give her a ride to Silent Hill, because he feels bad about what happened. Once Douglas goes outside to wait in the car, so that Heather can say her final goodbyes in private, examine Harry's body to make a final promise to him, and then leave the room. Walk straight across the apartment, and stop to examine the chair where you found Harry's body for some final saddening thoughts about her father. Then go through the door on the wall the chair is facing. This is Heather's room. In the dresser across from the door is desk containing a Stun Gun that her father gave her for self-defense, and two Stun Gun batteries. Examine the room for some more of Heather's personal thoughts, then leave the room. That's all there is to do here. You can examine things around the apartment to find some insights into Harry's life, but that is about it. He had a love of detective novels, and was even a writer himself. And now he is dead. Turn left at the chair and go out the front door, next to a table with a phone and a lamp on it. Go back to the Save Point, but don't bother using it. There will be another one soon. Go through the door next to the save point to go out to the car where Douglas is waiting. Douglas says that Vincent stopped by when Heather was inside, said to look for a man named Leonard when they reached Silent Hill, and then gave them a map. Heather knows that she can't trust Vincent, but also knows that she has no choice. Douglas also gives Heather another item: her father's journal. Heather reads the journal on the way to Silent Hill, and then falls silent. Douglas asks her what happened to Silent Hill; he was there once on a missing person's case, and since then it has gotten really crazy. Heather says that she was born and raised there, though Douglas' information says that she grew up in Portland. She then proceeds to tell him the story of the original Silent Hill. Basically, a woman named Dahlia Gillespie was a member of a cult worshipping an ancient god. She summoned up the soul of that god into the body of her very own daughter, so that she could control it. As she grew up, the girl's classmates called her a witch, because she had strange powers. Eventually, the cult managed to summon the god out of the girl, but before the god did any real damage, it was destroyed by Harry Mason, Heather's father. The girl who had bourn the god inside her died as well, but after the god was dead, she returned with an infant girl in her arms, and gave her to Harry to protect. That girl was Heather. This is the very, very simplified version of the story of Silent Hill that Heather tells Douglas, for the full, more accurate version, you will have to play the original Silent Hill. When they get to Silent Hill, Heather and Douglas take a room in a local establishment called Jack's Inn. Douglas is going to check out the house of this Leonard guy, and Heather is to check out Brookhaven Hospital, where Leonard was a mental patient. After they finish their respective tasks, they are to meet back at the Inn. Douglas admits before he leaves that he is pretty freaked out by everything that is going on, but goes anyway because he is a decent person. After he is gone, examine the table next to the only door leading out of the room to find a Save Point next to the TV. Then leave through the door to the right of the Save Point to take your first steps into the town of Silent Hill. II-d. Part Four: "Shotgun surgery at Brookhaven Hospital" II-d-1. "Silent Hill: Come For The Scenery, Stay For The Mind Numbing Horror": The Town of Silent Hill The good news is you are finally in the town of Silent Hill. The bad news is there isn't any real exploring to do. Those familiar with Silent Hill 2 will recognize this area of town well, and there are no new items or locations to be found. Brookhaven Hospital, the hospital we are now heading towards, is the same one that James Sunderland visited while looking for his dead wife Mary in Silent Hill 2. Don't bother diverting from the following directions unless you really want to kill every possible monster in the game. There is not a single item or doorway to be found that I won't be leading you too. If you follow Nathan Avenue too far east or west, Heather will turn around and say that she doesn't need to go that way. Locations such as Pete's Bowl-o-rama and Rosewater Park are closed to you. There are quite a few Double Heads and Pendulums roaming the street, so avoid them where you can and just keep moving. That having been said, let's get going. Navigating the streets of Silent Hill can be a bit tricky with all of that thick mist everywhere, so try to keep the sidewalk in view while running, to stay oriented and make sure you don't miss any turns. Bring up you map (you have a map already because Vincent gave one to Douglas outside of Heather's apartment) and you will notice only two things Heather has marked on the map; she has written down her room number at Jack's Inn (106) and she has circled Brookhaven Hospital's location on the map. You must follow Nathan Avenue west until it intersects with Carroll Street, the first street you will reach, which heads south. Simple enough. Run forward several steps from the front door to Heather and Douglas' room, then turn to your left so that you are facing north, and run out the exit to Jack's Inn's parking lot. Once you reach the street, turn left again, so that Heather is facing west, and run, keeping the sidewalk close to Heather's left side. This should ensure that you don't miss the turn onto Carroll Street when you reach it. The first thing you should pass is the Jack's Inn sign on your left. Soon after you will hear the howl of a pair of Double Heads. Don't bother with them unless you really want to; just jag around any that get directly in your path, then readjust to keep the sidewalk on your left and keep running west. Eventually the Double Heads will get bored and leave you alone, so long as you don't stop to wait for them. The next major landmark you should pass is a gas station, also on Heather's left. This is Texxon Gas. There is nothing to find here, so keep going. Just past the gas station is the intersection with Carroll Street. Here you will hear the distinctive sound of a Pendulum, and soon after, the howl of a Double Head. Ignore these as well, if you want to conserve health and ammo. At Carroll Street, turn left again and head south, this time keeping the sidewalk on Heather's RIGHT closest to her, as this is where the next landmarks will be. (For you kill junkies out there, there are three Double Heads in the alleyway beside and behind Pete's Bowl-o-rama, and another Pendulum in the vicinity of Texxon Gas' parking lot). As before, the enemies will seem to be right on Heather's heels, but eventually fall behind. When you are clear of them, check your map. About half way down Carroll Street, on Heather's right, is an establishment named Heaven's Night. This is our next goal, but it is more of a pit stop than a real location. Hug the right side of the street, and when you reach more open area in front of Heaven's Night, run up on the sidewalk as you head south. The camera angle will shift, revealing an alleyway off to Heather's right. This alley leads to Heaven's Night, so detour west into this short alley and climb the stairs leading to the front door of the establishment. Go inside, under the red and purple neon sign. This is a dingy strip club where Silent Hill 2's Maria used to work. On the table on Heather's left as she comes in the door is a package of Beef Jerky and a First Aid Kit, as well as some assorted junk that you can't pick up. To the right of the door is a bar, and at the far end, under a neon sign portraying a reclining woman with the word "Paradise" written above it, is a box of Shotgun Shells. Examine the neon sign for some interesting comments from Heather about "Paradise". As you are facing the sign, turn left and run along the wall. Straight ahead is a door with a neon sign above it that says "KISS". I am assuming they aren't promoting the rock band. Regardless, this door won't open, but on the corner of the stage next to it is a flyer promoting the return of a black haired dancer named Lady Maria at 8:00 p.m. on the 27th. This is not important to Heather's adventure, but is a barely veiled reference to Maria from Silent Hill 2, who once worked here. All by itself on a table almost right in the middle of the room is a tourist's brochure for the town of Silent Hill, first seen in Silent Hill 2. This lovely little piece of Hell's propaganda is written by a man named Roger Widmark and talks about how peaceful you will find Silent Hill's glorious mountain environment and gorgeous natural lake. There are a lot of words I can think of to describe Silent Hill, but "peaceful" is not among them. There is nothing else to find here, so go back out the door you came in, next to the neon sign reading "Heaven's Night". Run down the stairs and out of the alleyway, and turn right when you reach Carroll Street to continue south, remembering to keep the sidewalk visible on Heather's right. Brookhaven Hospital is our next goal, and will be on this side of the road. You will run past three more Pendulums and one more Double Head before you reach the gates leading to Brookhaven, but keep on trucking (these are the last of the enemies in the streets. For those of you keeping track, or on a killing spree, this brings the total enemies in the streets to seven Double Heads and five Pendulums; more than enough enemies for the short stretch of street we just explored). When you reach Brookhaven the camera angle will shift, showing you an opening on your right leading to the front doors (don't bother continuing south, as it dead ends in a chain link fence not far past the hospital). Turn right here and run straight up to and through the front doors, leaving the dangerous streets of Silent Hill behind... for the dangerous interior of Brookhaven Hospital. II-d-2. "Helllooooooo Nurse!" Brookhaven Hospital Ah, it feels like coming home again... assuming your home is a demon- ridden mental hospital full of blood and death. Right of the bat you are in danger. There is a demonic Nurse down the hallway to your right, and another one down the hallway to your left. Do yourself a favor and kill them with the Katana now, one at a time, before they can gang up on you (see section I-b-5 for more details). After they are dead, return to the front door and put your back to it to orient yourself. Almost directly across from the front doors to the hospital is a gray door next to a closed service window. Go through it. On the table directly to Heather's left as she enters the room is the Hospital Map, so take it. Directly across from the door is a glowing Save Point. To Heather's right as she enters the room is an open cabinet with a Health Drink inside. If you were low on healing items when you entered the hospital, there will be two Health Drinks here instead of one. The other doors in this room are jammed, and there are no more items, so save if you want, then leave the room the way you came in. Bring up the map. All of the rooms are clearly labeled on the map for once, which should make this a hell of a lot easier than most areas. We want to go to the room marked "Visiting Room", in the hallway to Heather's left as she leaves the Save room (the doors to the Pharmacy, Store Room, and Observation Room are all jammed). Go inside. This tiny room holds only a bookshelf, a small stool, a table and some chairs, a painting, and a potted plant. On the table is book with a Barbie-like fashion doll sitting next to it (Barbie, all of her whorish friends, and her emasculated boyfriend are all registered trademarks of the Mattel Corporation, all rights reserved). Examine the doll first, and Heather mentions that she had a doll like this one when she was young, and it makes her a bit nostalgic. Now examine the book. This is the journal of someone named Stanley Coleman, who is writing to a woman who he loves and has been waiting for seemingly for a long time, who is coming to "rescue" him. He has never met her before, and soon refers to the object of his affections by name; "How I love you, Heather". He wants to give Heather his doll, as a gift commemorating their everlasting love. Heather, however, has changed her tune towards the doll in question, and when you examine it again she says she wouldn't touch the disgusting thing with a ten-foot pole. Well, there is nothing more to see here, so leave the room. Want to see something interesting and more than a little bit creepy? Immediately turn around and go back into the Visiting Room. The book and the doll are both gone. Now there really is nothing more to see here. Leave again. Our next stop is the Doctor's Lounge, clearly marked on the map. It is in the hallway to the east. Go inside. To Heather's left as she enters you will see a little refrigerator, with a sign that says "Food Only! Do not store Drugs!" on it. Either Health Drinks count as a food product or someone was breaking the rules, because there is one inside. If you came into the hospital with little ammo, there will also be a box of Handgun Ammo here. If you have been conserving ammo, you are out of luck. The only other thing in this room is a memo on one end of the coffee table in the middle of the room. It is a medical report for the Leonard fellow you are looking for; it lists him as being in room S12, with symptoms including mild audiovisual hallucinations, emotional instability, obsessive ideas, and possible mild schizophrenia. It says that he is usually calm, with a "strong sense of justice", but can become extremely violent when "overexcited". Sounds like a fun guy to have at parties. There is a second report, this one for our new friend, Stanley Coleman. It lists his room as S07, and says that he is passive and cowardly, as well as egotistical, and says that he shows signs of extreme obsession with a "particular woman", which has lead to violent incidents. Lovely. There are two doors in the back of this room, but both are jammed, so leave the way you came in. The doors to the Pharmacy, Store Room, Examining Room 1, Document Room, Director's Room, Meeting Room, the Restrooms, the Cafeteria and Examining Room 2 are all jammed, the doors to the Kitchen and the Day Room are blocked by trash and medical equipment, and the door leading to the staircase is locked. The elevator works, but we don't want to use it yet. This leaves only one door, the door leading to the western hallway, almost opposite the door leading to the staircase, to the west of the Director's Lounge, which we just left. Head south until the hallway intersects with the one heading west, then turn to Heather's right and run west, past the elevators, until you reach the end of the hallway. The door to the staircase should be north of you, the door to Examining Room 2 should be to the west, and the door you want is south. Go through this door. There are two nurses in this hallway, heading towards you from down the hallway to the west. One is almost right on top of you when you enter, but there should be enough space to kill the first with the Katana before the second Nurse arrives so you can slash her to death in turn. If they team up, use the Shotgun to teach them how you feel about threesomes. Straight ahead from where Heather enters this area, the doors to the Restroom are blocked by rubble, and the door leading to the Day Room on Heather's right is jammed, so head left. The first two doors that you come across, the Examining Room on the north wall and room C1 on the south wall, are both jammed, as is the next door on the north wall, leading to Bath 1, so ignore these. The door opposite Bath 1, room C2 on the south wall, will open, but there are three Nurses in this small room. If you came into the hospital with few healing items, there will be an Ampoule here, but if not, there is squat. So it is up to you whether or not you want to risk this dangerous little room. If so, use the Shotgun. Either way, continue west, past C3, which is locked. The next door is room C4, also on the south wall. Go inside. This dingy room has a bunch of filthy beds in it. In the south end, sitting on the last bed, is a familiar looking journal with a familiar looking doll sitting next to it. Heather still won't touch the doll, and never will. Examine the journal. Stanley claims something called The Organization has him shut up in the hospital, hoping to break his will and make him "forget about all that", but that he is determined to "stay sane" even if they throw him in with lunatics. He says he is going to stick something to the wall, but that it would be worthless because you can peel it off with "that junk those nasty wenches won't stop using". He suggests that Heather won't take the doll that he left for her because she is embarrassed, but he thinks it is cute. Giggle! That Stanley sure knows how to sweep a girl off her feet! To Heather's right as she faces the journal is a wall with a Christmas card, a beetle, a cookie, a coin, a spoon, a toothbrush, a pencil, a teddy bear, and a key stuck to it. The key is the only thing we want, but it is stuck tight for the moment, so make note of its location and leave the room (and yes, if you turn around and come right back in, the book and the doll are gone again. Stanley is a sneaky man!) You are going to need some kind of solvent to get that key. If you check your map, Heather has circled the location of the key so you can remember where it is later. The door to the west, leading to the area with the Garden, Shower Room, and Pool is jammed, and the doors north of here, leading to the stairs and the elevator, are jammed and don't respond, respectively. Go back down the hallway to the east, and go through the door on the north wall that you entered this hallway from in the first place, back into the hospital lobby. If you killed both of the Nurses who were here previously, then they are both still gone. If you killed one of the two Nurses here earlier, there is a new one here now, so teach her a lesson about punctuality with your Katana, then go to the elevator in this area, just south of the Doctor's Lounge. These ones work, so go inside and choose the only floor available, the second floor. There are no enemies in the first hallway on the 2nd floor where the elevator drops you off. The two doors in the hallway south of the elevator leading to the 2nd floor Day Room are jammed, so head down the intersecting hallway that leads west. The next door on the north wall is jammed, so continue until the hallway intersects with another hallway heading north, which your map tells you is towards the locker rooms. Further down the western hallway you should see a couple of doors and Stanley's journal and doll sitting on a gurney. Ignore the doors for the moment, but stop and read the journal. It babbles about a doctor who locked the door just west of the gurney, on the south wall, and that he used a four-digit number. He says a bunch of other things, but that is the important part, the four-digit number. The door across from the gurney, leading to the stairway, is locked, as is the door west of here is the one locked with the keypad, but should be ignored for the moment. Instead, head up the north hallway. The next three doors, one on the left and two on the right (the Nurses' Station, the Linen Room, and the Men's Locker Room) are all jammed, so go through the last door, on the left, into the Women's Locker Room. There is only one open locker in this dingy locker room, so examine it twice to find the Nail Polish Remover (and excellent solvent that can free the key glued to the wall in room C4 downstairs) and the Perfume. The Perfume is evil, and should never be equipped, as it attracts enemies. On the other hand, if you are a player who wants to kill everything in the game, this should make things a lot easier, since it will bring all the enemies right to you. There is nothing else here, so leave the room, head south to the end of this hallway, and turn right. The doll and the journal are gone, so it is good thing that you got the important part from it earlier; the door next to the gurney is locked with a four-digit code. The key to opening the door is posted on the west wall, right next to the door. This is a rather tricky mathematical riddle, but along with Stanley's clue that the code is four digits, you can figure it out. The first important clue states that the Second Number is two times the Third. Based on the nine numbers on the keypad, this limits the possibilities of what these two numbers can be, since it doesn't deal in partial numbers, such as 2.357. This means there are only four possibilities for the second and third numbers: 2 and 1, 4 and 2, 6 and 3, or 8 and 4. The next clue states that the fourth number is half the first, resulting in the same four sets of numbers for the possible choices; once again, 2 and 1, 4 and 2, 6 and 3, or 8 and 4. The puzzle clearly states that the first number is larger than the second and the third number is smaller than the fourth. Combining this with the number sets we got earlier, this gives us only six possible four digit codes to deal with; 4212, 6213, 6423, 8214, 8424, and 8634 (work it out yourself if you have to, but these are the only possible combinations of the eight number sets that allow for the first to be larger than the second and the third smaller than the fourth). The riddle states that no numbers are repeated, so you can eliminate 4212 and 8424, leaving only four choices. To figure out the rest the riddle, you need to look at the keypad itself; the numbers 1,2,and 3 are in the top row, 4, 5, and 6 are in the middle row (horizontally), 7, 8, and 9 are in the bottom row, 1, 4, and 7 are in the left row (vertically), 2, 5, and 8 are in the middle row (vertically), and 3, 6, and 9 are in the right row (vertically). The riddle states that only one of the numbers is in the top row, which means we can eliminate 6213, 6423, and 6423 (since digits 1,2, and 3 are all in top row, and thus can't be used in the same sequence). The riddle goes on to say that two of the digits are not in the right row, and that one of the numbers is the final key, but these two clues are redundant, as we already have our answer; THE ANSWER CAN ONLY BE 8634. (Note: This is the answer to the riddle on the Normal Riddle Difficulty level; for the answers to the Easy and Hard levels, see section IV-b, under "Puzzles", after the walkthrough). Punch that number into the keypad, and the door leading south will unlock. Go through the door. There are two nurses in this hall, and one of them has entered the new century and is carrying a revolver instead of a Steel Pipe, so beware. Kill them both, then orient yourself by going back to the door you entered through and putting your back to it, as though you had just come through it. The door to the Restroom straight ahead is blocked off by chairs, and the door leading to the Day Room on Heather's right is jammed, so turn left. Go through the next door on Heather's right (north wall), into Examining Room 3. There is a mostly covered-up corpse on a gurney in this room, but don't worry about him bothering you. If this was Resident Evil, I would be worried, but in Silent Hill corpses are just about the only thing you don't have to worry will give you some trouble. If you examine the corpse, you will find he has two tattoos; the one on his foot ("Margaret, let's swear our love until death do us part". I guess he's gotten out of that bargain now) is inconsequential. It is the one on his dangling arm that you need worry about. It says "The Start Time Is My Key". This doesn't mean anything to you right now, but examine the document on the table in the back of the room to find out more about him. He is a patient who was found in "poor mental state" wandering the hospital grounds. He never revealed his name, but was put in room M4, and lived their until his death; his carotid artery was severed by his own kitchen knife, which he was holding (who gave a confused mental patient with no name a kitchen knife to play with?). It was an apparent suicide, but the angle of the cut was strange, and the patient sharing the room with him couldn't corroborate anything. Well, we don't know anything about who his roommate was, but M4 is just down the hall, so let's go check it out. There is nothing else to find in here, so leave the room. All the doors between here and M4 are jammed; so don't worry about them unless you want to jiggle the handles to update your map. Just before you reach M4 you will reach an intersecting hallway, heading north, but it only leads to a jammed door to the staircase and an elevator that doesn't work, so go past it and enter M4. Start to cross a room and the sound of an alarm clock going off should cause you to nearly wet yourself. Examine the alarm clock on the table next to the bed in the south end of the room. The time on this clock is randomly generated, so I can't tell you what time the clock will say. It will ask you if you want to shut off the alarm, and it doesn't affect the game whether you say "yes" or "no", so say "yes" to turn off that horrible noise. On the bed closest to the door you will find Stanley's doll and journal. He verifies that the clock and attaché case belong to the dead tattoo guy, but that he didn't kill him, even though he was a liar. He also offers to carve "I Love Heather" into the guy's dead chest, although this doesn't come close to portraying the true range of his emotions; but since he can't cut open his own chest and show her his heart, "I Love Heather" will have to do. How sweet. Anyway, back to the riddle. The time on the alarm is what you must enter into the numerical dials on the briefcase; this is the meaning of the tattoo on the corpse's arm in Examining Room 3 ("The Start Time Is My Key"). Thus, if the time on the clock read 12:40, the four digits on the dials will be 1, 2, 4, and 0. If the hour is a single digit number, such as 8:15, enter the first digit as a "0" (in the example, the numbers would be 0, 8, 1, and 5). Enter the time to open the briefcase and receive the Instant Camera (Note: this refers to the Normal Riddle Mode solution. To find the answers to the Easy and Hard Riddle Modes, refer to section IV-c, under "Puzzles" after this walkthrough). There is nothing else of interest in here, so leave the room. There is only one more unlocked door on this level, the room to M5. If you had plenty of healing items when you entered the hospital, there will be a First Aid Kit in here. If you were low on health items when you reached the hospital, there will be TWO First Aid Kits. However, they are guarded by three Nurses, so consider your ammo, health, and current supplies before deciding whether you want to take them on. Then head all the way back down the hallway to the east, and go through the last door on the north wall, back into the area where the elevator first deposited you on this floor. Though this area used to be devoid of enemies, there are now two Nurses in this hallway, one with a Steel Pipe, and one with a revolver. Though the camera angle sucks, and is hard to get into a position that is actually useful, kill them one at a time with the Katana or both together with the Shotgun if they bunch up, then run back to the elevator and go back to the first floor. There are no new enemies in the first floor lobby, so go back through the door leading to the hallway with rooms C1 to C4, then run all the way to the west and go back into C4, the last door on the south wall. "Use" the Nail Polish Remover on the objects glued to the wall to receive the Stairwell Key. Go all the way back down the hallway to the east, back through the last door on the north wall. Even if you killed all of the Nurses in this hallway before, there will be a new one here to plague you, patrolling the hallway between the Visiting Room and the Examination room. You can avoid combat by going straight across the hall and through the doors into the stairwell using the key you just acquired, or you can get an easy one-against-one kill against the roving Steel Pipe-wielding Nurse; its up to you. Regardless, you need to use the key to unlock the door to the stairwell and go through. More floors have now opened up to you (Note: after you use the Stairwell Key to unlock the stairwell, the elevator will now also take you to the third floor, though it wouldn't before. I still suggest using the stairs, however, so you don't miss anything). The stairs go up and down, but we will go upstairs first to get some handy items. Heather starts off on the first floor landing (obviously) and as you ascend you will pass the doors to the second (which you have already explored) and third floors. We haven't been to the third floor yet, and the door opens, but we need to do some more exploring before the third floor is worth our while. Continue up the stairs past the second and third floor landings until you reach the door at the top marked "RF": the roof. If you have read two or more of Stanley's journal entries, then the journal and the doll will be on the landing in front of the door leading to the roof. It says simply "I also like the roof. It makes me want to fly. You too?" and is signed by Stanley. This may or may not be referring to a journal that James Sunderland found on this very roof in Silent Hill 2, written by a jumper. Whatever. Go through the door leading to the roof, but be careful. There are two Closers on this enclosed rooftop, and they can be dangerous if you let them gang up on you. There is only one thing of interest up here; in the southwest corner of the roof, almost directly across from the door Heather enters the area from, is a couple of barrels. On top of those barrels are two clips for the Submachine Gun (which we don't have yet, but soon will). The easiest thing to do is run straight to the barrels, dodging the beasties, grab the two clips, and run back across the roof and back into the stairwell, no muss, no fuss. If you don't like to do things the easy way, strafe around the Closers using the Handgun, focusing on one of the enemies until it falls, then darting in to kick it when it is down. Once it is dealt with, switch to the Katana to finish off the one who is still standing, grab the two clips from the barrel, and leave. There is nothing else of interest on the rooftop. Stanley's journal and doll are both gone when you return to the stairwell. He's a sneaky little bugger, I'll give him that. Our next goal is the basement, so run down the stairs, past the third, second, and first floor landings and a new area will load, bringing you into the basement. A squeaking noise can be heard in this area, but the source of it is not readily apparent. There is a door directly opposite the bottom of the staircase (on the east wall, the Store Room), but it is jammed. Turn right and go forward a few steps until the hallway turns to Heather's left (east). There is a clip for the Submachine Gun lying on the floor right where the hall bends; Heather's head will turn towards it to indicate its location. The door to Heather's right (west, the Electrical Room) is also jammed, so head east down the hall. Now you can find the source of the squeaking noise; a wheelchair is tipped over on its side, covered in blood, and one of its wheels is still spinning. A trail of blood leads away from it down the hall to the east. The wheel stops spinning as you approach, suggesting the chair just recently stopped moving. If you examine it, Heather wonders what happened to the chair's occupant. Follow the trail of blood, passing two doors where the hall turns again, this time to the north; we'll come back to these doors. The trail of blood terminates at the doors to the elevator, but Heather isn't interested in finding out what is in there. Right across from the elevator, at the foot of the jammed door leading into the Boiler Room on the east wall, is the Submachine Gun, Silent Hill's first and only automatic weapon so far. This will be handy in the future, but ammo is limited, so save it for when it really matters. Heading back the way you came, the other door on the east wall, where the hallway bends, is jammed. The map tells you that this is the Pump Room. Right next to this is another door, on the south wall. This is another basement Store Room, but this door opens. Go inside. At first glance it seems as though there is nothing of interest in this room. However, in the back corner there is a stripe of blood on the wall, pointing into an alcoved area behind a shelf. Heather can't fit behind it, and she can't move it. If only there was a way we could see what is back there, even though we can't fit... actually, there is a way. "Use" the Instant Camera that you got from the briefcase in room M4 upstairs at the gap between the shelf and the wall. Heather will take a picture of the area behind the shelf, and find that a four-digit number was scrawled on the back. This number is randomly generated, so I can't give you the answer, so jot down the number and leave the Store Room (Note: The Photograph will be filed with the rest of your documents, so if you don't feel like writing it down and can't remember it, it will be there when you need it). We are done with the basement. Since we have already been to the first floor, second floor, and roof, it is time to see what there is to see on the third floor. Take a left from the Store Room, then a right as the hallway turns, and then another left to mount the stairs once more. Run up the stairs, past the first and second floors, and go through the door onto the third floor. There are no monsters in this hall at the moment, so you are safe to explore for the time being. Use the map to orient yourself. Just to Heather's right is a door leading south, which is locked with a four- digit pass code. We got the number from downstairs, but leave the door alone for the time being and explore this area. Turn left, take a couple of steps, then head north up this short hallway, and enter the door that leads to what is indicated on the map as being the Special Treatment Room. There is a note posted on the wall to Heather's right as she enters this room. It suggests that nurses were subjected to twelve hours in the Special Treatment Room whenever they treated the patients brutally, and that dismissal is no longer an option. A handwritten note adds that "The Trick is to not leave any marks!" and a second handwritten note says, "The Chief is a pervert! Christie would have been better off if she had been fired..." It sounds like Silent Hill has some disciplinary practices towards employees that the American Association of Nurses might disapprove of most heartily. There are four cells on the north wall. Moving east to west, check the doors as you go. The first door is jammed. The second is locked from your side, and you can unlock it. Inside the cramped cell on the other side of the door is a single Nurse wielding a Steel Pipe. Christie, I presume? Only go through the door if you want to put poor Christie out of her misery, as there are no items within. The third door is jammed. The last can open, so go inside. You old buddy Stanley has left you some lovely poetry written by somebody named Eric, conveying the depth of his emotion towards you. But he wonders why you don't accept the proof of his love (the doll?), since you are in essence one soul, and what he gives to you he gives to himself. Heather still wants nothing to do with the doll, so leave the chamber, and then leave the Special Treatment Room. Walk the short distance down the hallway south, then turn right, towards the east, at the end. There is a door to Heather's left, which opens, and leads into a Save Room. Go on in. On a shelf in the very back of the room you will find two Health Drinks and a Stun Gun Battery. There is a shelf to the right of this as you are facing it that may or may not be empty; if you haven't gotten the pass code from the back of the shelf in the basement, there will be a journal here from Stanley hinting at the code's location, talking about how the crazy doctor hid it there. If you already have the code, there will be no journal from Stanley here. Use the Save Point if you want to (it is scrawled on a piece of paper on the floor), then leave the room. There is nothing but the elevator, a pile of rubble, and a jammed door if you continue to the east, so it is time to head back west and go through the door on the south wall, slightly west of the door leading to the stairwell. Try to open it and it will tell you it is locked, then it will give you the opportunity to punch in the four-digit code that will unlock it. It is the number that you got from the Polaroid of the back of the shelf in the basement, which is a random number, so I can't just tell you what it is. If you have the number, but can't remember what it is, open your inventory and go to "Memos" at the top of the screen and hit "X" to get the list of files. The file with the four-digit number is marked "Photo- Backside of Shelf". Punch the number in and the door will unlock. Go through the door. The door to the Restrooms right ahead and the Day Room to Heather's left are both jammed, so ignore them and move to Heather's right, west down the hallway. The first door on the north wall, to Heather's right, leads to the Examining Room 4, but is jammed. There is a door right across from it on the south wall, marked as S1. Go inside. The first thing you will notice in this room is the magazine on the bed. In it is an article written by a man named Joseph Schrieber, about a home for troubled teens and runaways, called "Hope House", funded by the "Silent Hill Smile Support Society", 4S for short. Hope House is run by a strange cult of religious fanatics known simply as "The Order". The Order gives the runaways a place to stay and food to eat, while at the same time brainwashing them and indoctrinating them into the beliefs of their cult. Locals have complained of the intermingled sounds of chanting and children crying at all hours, and there is a strange concrete cylinder on the premises that certainly has nothing to do with the care and feeding of runaways, but might be a prison or secret place of worship. The reporter was not allowed access to the facilities for his article, and mentions that The Order's religion is deeply intermingled with the history of Silent Hill, and that those in The Order consider themselves to be an elite "chosen people". When done with the article, Heather mentions that Hope House sounds familiar, but can't remember exactly why. Oh well. Directly opposite the door, on a nightstand next to the bed, you will find two Health Drinks. There is nothing else here, so leave the room. If you examine this hallway too far ahead, Nurses will ambush you. We will deal with them eventually, but on our terms. Follow my instructions to avoid getting overwhelmed by enemies. The doors to rooms S2 through S6 are all jammed, as are the doors to Bath 3 and the shower room on the north wall. There is a package of Beef Jerky on the bench against the north wall, opposite room S5. According to the document that you read earlier, Stanley's room was S7. I guess it is finally time for a confrontation with the creepy little weasel. Go into room S7. Stanley's journal and doll are on the bed to Heather's right, but not all is as it should be; the doll is broken into pieces. Inside the journal you will find Stanley's final goodbye to Heather; it seems Leonard decided to take issue with Stanley, and killed him as a result. Stanley warns Heather to watch out for Leonard, as he isn't an "ordinary guy". He goes on to say that he regrets that he will now never get to meet Heather, or take her to his world, a world for just the two of them. This final entry ends abruptly, as though Leonard finally caught up with him in mid sentence. Too bad. I was hoping that those two crazy kids would make it work. Oh well. If you look at the foot of the bed, there appears to be a dark stain on the floor, and what looks like part of a body, but Heather doesn't comment on it, or even seem to notice. Odd. He didn't leave you any helpful items to remember him by, so it is time to say goodbye to good ol' Stan, and leave the room, back into the Nurse infested hallway. That's right, I said Nurse infested. As you move west away from Stanley's room, three of them appear out of nowhere, as if in punishment for treating poor Stanley so shabbily. Send them to meet him by moving off west down the hallway, trying to get one of the Nurses to separate from the herd so that you can pick them off one by one with the Katana. Two of the Nurses appear in the eastern part of the hallway behind you, and one to the west, so put the one to the west between you and the others and kill it, then run east past the other two and try do the same thing again, getting one to follow you or at least put itself between you and the remaining Nurse. Kill all three with the Katana, if you can, to save ammo. Once they are dead and stomped on, continue west down the hall. Rooms S8 through S-11 are jammed, and room S-12 is supposedly Leonard's room. Go inside room S- 12. As you move into this room, the phone in the corner starts ringing. Heather decides it is best to pick it up, but the man on the other end of the phone is convinced that Heather is Claudia, and mocks her dream of the redemption of mankind, wondering where he has gone wrong. Eventually, Heather manages to convince the man that she is Heather, and the man identifies himself as Leonard Wolf, and says that Claudia is his daughter. When he realizes that you know her, he first suggests that you are working with her, then says that he knows that you are planning to kill her. He says he hates Claudia, but that she is still his daughter, and that he doesn't know where she went wrong. He says he has a Seal that can help Heather in her quest, but that he doesn't know exactly where he is. The door to the place where he is, he says, is at the end of the hall on the second floor. We have checked every door on the second floor, but I guess we have no choice but to check again. When the conversation is over, leave Leonard's room. The last two doors on this floor are jammed, so don't bother with continuing to the west. The elevator and the door to the stairs in the north part of this hallway are also unusable. Backtrack all the way to the east end of this hallway, then go back through the last door on the north wall. Go through the door leading to the staircases on the wall directly opposite Heather, then go down one floor to the second floor and go through the door. Turn right, and go through the door on the south wall. You are now in the long corridor leading to rooms M1 through M6. Run all the way to the west, past room M6. There is a new door here, one that wasn't here before and isn't on the map. Ignore that uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach and go through the new door on the west wall (it is marked with an "M" like the other doors in this hallway, but if it ever had a number, it has long since rubbed away). This is a long, rusty-looking maze-like corridor that isn't on the map. As you run down the hall, metal gates will slam shut around you and others will open up before you, leading you on an inexorable path through this underground chamber. There is no way to get lost, and no items to be found, so just let the maze lead you through itself until you reach a little door in a wall at the end of the first part of the maze. Go on through, and you will be in another, identical corridor. This path will mess with you more than the first one, forcing you down one hallway just to make you turn around and opening a new one that you tried earlier. In the end it is the same, leading you to only one possible exit, so go through the little door at the end when you get there. Say, what do you know! More corridor. Follow this last stretch until the path entirely closes you off as gates slam shut behind you, one after another. Eventually you will be left in a little cell-like space, with a strange red symbol scribed on one wall. Since there is nowhere else to go, examine the symbol. You will see a video of a figure that should be very familiar to Silent Hill veterans. The woman in the video is freaked out, talking about someone who shouldn't be alive, but somehow still is. When the video, or image, or vision, or whatever is done, the wall that the symbol was painted on has disappeared, and there is a new tunnel where it once was. Heather says that she remembers the woman from the vision; her name was Lisa, and she was a nurse who took care of Heather when she wasn't Heather, and she was very nice, though she got a little strange towards the end. Okay... it seems Heather is experiencing the memories of the girl who she never was in this life; Alessa, the girl Dahlia Gillespie created to hold the dark soul of the Demon-God Sammael. Heather doesn't even seem to realize that this memory didn't come from her life as Heather, or doesn't care. Creepy. Continue down the new hallway and go through the door at the end. You are now entering another phase of Heather's journey. II-d-3. "I don't think my HMO is going to cover this...." Brookhaven Hospital Dark Side There is a ladder straight ahead of you. Since there is nothing else of interest here, climb the ladder now. You will climb past a number of disturbing things, but none of them can hurt you. First is a large, blood-spattered image of a woman's smiling mouth. Above this is a strange humanoid creature, turning a couple of valves with single- minded determination. This is our first glimpse of a creature literature about the game refers to as Valtiel, the gatekeeper. The game never refers to this creature, it can't be killed, and it can't hurt Heather; it is purely symbolic in nature. The last thing, below the top of the ladder, looks like it might be a dead nurse. Lovely. Climb off the ladder and go through the door at the top, lit by a single, red light bulb. This next area looks burned, bloody, kind of meaty, really noisy, and totally unrecognizable, but it is, in fact, the hospital. Bring up your map if you don't believe me. This is the third floor hallway, and rooms S14 through S9 are unreachable, due to a new abyss. The door to room S8 is blocked by a gurney, complete with body. Doors S7 through S4 are almost impossible to find on the strange walls, and are all blocked anyway, as it the door to the shower room. Go into room S3, using the map to locate it if you are having problems. There are two boxes of Handgun Ammo on the windowsill, and a bloody hand is hanging from the grate outside the window, but it can't hurt you. There is a Save Point scrawled on the bed, should you want to use it. Actually, its there even if you don't want to use it. In any case, leave the room. Go slightly further east, then go through the next door on the north wall (Examination Room 4 on the map). Inside is a body hanging from the ceiling and slowly bleeding out into a bucket, which is already full. There is nothing you can do here for the moment, but I brought you here for a reference point, so that it is easier to find later. Leave the room, then continue east. The door to the south is jammed, and the door to the north is locked, so go through the door on the east wall, into the Day Room. As soon as you enter this room, turn to Heather's right and move south until you hit the wall, then turn and run east until you reach the door in the southern corner of the east wall. Though this room is large, this is the only route that leads you to the door, as there is a huge pit in the middle of the room, which Heather will fall into if you are not careful. Equip the Shotgun and go through the door. There are three blood covered and highly disturbing Slurpers in this hallway. Your goal is to run north to the first intersection and catch them while they are all grouped together, so that you can kill them all in a group with the Shotgun, so you don't waste ammo. If this doesn't work out for you, take them out one by one with the Handgun, or the Katana, if you are feeling brave. If they bunch up, quickly switch to the Shotgun to teach them why this isn't wise. Once they are all dead, ignore the elevator for the moment and down the corridor running west, then into the first door on the north wall, the Store Room. There is nothing of importance in here except for a good old-fashioned scare. Run around the corner until you see a big, floor to ceiling mirror in front of a washbasin. In the mirror, blood will start to seep out of the walls and floor and start running towards the sink, pouring into the drain. None of this will be happing on your side of the mirror, but once all of the blood on the other side has poured into the sink in the mirror, it will start coming out of the drain and tendril its way across the floor on your side of the mirror, and mirror-Heather will start to become covered in the stuff! If you want to leave before the spectacle is over, you are out of luck, because the door to the room locked behind you. The tendrils of blood do tiny bits of damage to Heather, and begin to coat the floors and ceiling of this room. Eventually, the mirror Heather will become entirely covered in blood, and stop mirroring your image, instead standing perfectly still. Once this happens, it means the show is over, and to get the hell out of Dodge before you get hurt. Once mirror-Heather is immobile, the door to the Store Room unlocks itself and you can leave, but only if you go and look at the other Heather in the mirror! If you don't watch the Heather in the mirror, you will not be able to leave the room, and the tendrils will kill you. So acknowledge the end of your mirror self, then leave the room again. Of course, this room can be entirely avoided, and has no useful items, but what is the fun in skipping it? We're here to be scared, and that was a damn good scare, you've got to admit. Luckily, this event only happens once per game, so if you feel the need to gaze at Heather's lovely image in the mirror later, there will be no danger. There is nothing to do to the west of the Store Room; the door to the stairwell is jammed, the hallway leading to the Special Treatment Room has fallen away, and the door leading back to the "S" rooms and Examination Room 4 can be unlocked from this side, but why bother at the moment? Instead, head east, then turn left at the end of the hallway to find the elevator on the west wall. Get into the elevator. In addition to the first, second and third floor buttons that were here in the other version of the hospital, there are also three new buttons, for B1, B2, and B3. You sunk my battleship. Heh. Anyway, chose "B3" (the only one of the three new buttons that actually works) and descend to the mortuary. This is a mortuary and crematorium. There are bodies on gurneys throughout this room, with numbers written on the ends, ranging from 0 to 9. The map doesn't show this level, but for the purposes of this riddle, we will call the wall opposite the elevator, the one with the incinerator on it, north, and the wall where the door to the elevator is located is south. In this scheme, the numbered bodies are lined up so that 1 and 2 are against the north wall, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are across the middle of the room, and 7, 8, 9, and 0 are lined up along the south wall. As Heather walks past the gurney marked "7", a ghostly voice will whisper her name, sending chills up and down your spine. There is an incinerator set into the middle of the east walls, for disposing of bodies, but the door is locked with a dial padlock. Scratched into the door of the incinerator is a pattern marked with roman numerals, from I to IV. The numbers are marked on a grid, placed in random squares, so the code is also randomized. The answer is rather simple; the grid represents the placement of the bodies in the mortuary, with the top squares on the door representing the bodies against the wall I dubbed "north", and the bottom squares representing the bodies against the wall that I called "south". Each body has a number attached to it. The roman numerals represent which number of the four-digit code it is. For example, if the roman numeral III was marked in the top left corner of diagram, you would look in the top left corner of the room to see which body is located there (in the above example, this number would be "1"), and the number attached to this body would be the third number in the four digit code. Do this for all four numbers, put them in the proper order, and then enter them into the numerical lock next to the incinerator to unlock it. (Note: this refers to the Normal Puzzle setting for the game. For the answers to the Hard level, refer to section IV-d, under "Puzzles" after this guide. In the Easy level, the door isn't locked, so just grab the key and leave). Inside is the Cremated Key. Take it and then return to the elevator. Select the second floor. The doors in the short hallway heading south of where the elevator lets Heather off simply isn't there anymore, so don't bother heading down that way. Instead take the hallway right next to the elevator, and head west. The first door you pass, on Heather's right, is jammed, so go past it and turn just beyond it to head north, towards the Locker Rooms. Take a moment to examine the bottom western corner, right where you turn. It is darker, and things can be seen moving beyond it, as if there are things moving in a smoke-filled room on the other side of murky glass. As Heather examines this phenomenon, you will hear the sound of a baby crying amidst all of the other ambient noises. Examining the glass, Heather comments that it looks like there is a person on the other side of the glass, but because of the smoky stuff. Creepy. Head north up the short hallway. The first two doors, the ones to the Linen Room and the Nurses Station, won't open (actually, the one to the Nurses' Station, as well as the door leading to the Staircase, don't exist here because of the strange, smoky room) so go in the next door on the right, into the Men's Locker Room. As soon as you step any distance into the room, a phone will start ringing inside one of the lockers. Inside the second locker on the right, you will find a broken payphone. Go ahead and pick it up. Some friendly fellow is calling to wish Heather a Happy Birthday, but the poor chap seems a little confused; he refers to it as her thirty-first, then to her twenty-fourth Birthday. Since it is not really her birthday, and because she is only seventeen, Heather thinks he is wrong. He also has a little trouble remembering her name, and when Heather says "Who Are You", he thinks that is it. He allows that he isn't Leonard, who he refers to as a murderer, nor Heather's "beloved Stanley" who he says is now Underground, and his new name is "Number Seven". I guess we know why the body marked with a "7" in the crematorium spoke up when Heather walked by... he finally got to see her! He says that as a birthday gift, she can chose to give pain or to receive it, whichever she hates the most. How thoughtful! Anyway, the conversation leaves Heather unsettled and bewildered. There is nothing more to find in this room, so CAREFULLY leave the room. I say carefully, because there are now Slurpers in this hallway. You can deal with them now, and get them out of the way, or you can ignore them for the moment and dash across the hallway into the Women's Locker Room. The smartest thing to do is the latter, as you can then dash past the waiting Slurpers and leave this area for good, without wasting health or ammo. But if you are sick of being pushed around, or if you are feeling a bit bloodthirsty, dish out some justice from the end of your Boomstick. Either way, the Women's Locker Room is your next goal. In the garbage to Heather's left as she walks into the room is a trashcan, and on top of it is an Empty Plastic Bag. We are going to be needing that, so grab it, then search the garbage again; you will find two Health Drinks if your supplies were low when you first entered the Hospital, or one Health Drink if you were doing alright for health items when you first entered. At the far end of the room is a strange creature imprisoned in a locker. It can't hurt you, so feel free to examine it to hear Heather's comment on the phenomenon. Is this Valtiel again? Since there is nothing else of interest in the room, leave the spectacle behind. If you did not kill the Slurpers earlier, don't forget to dodge them as you run back to the elevator; the only other door in this hall is jammed shut, so it is time to leave the second floor. Notice as you leave that the room that was formerly smoky is now clear, and there is no one inside anymore... but the glass seems to run with trickles of blood. What could it mean? Turn left at the glass corner, run back east along the hallway, then left again to reach the elevator, also on Heather's left. Go inside and head back to the third floor. We need to fill that Empty Plastic Bag that you got in the Women's Locker Room. It looks a bit like an IV type blood bag, doesn't it? Now where did we see a big ol' bucket of blood...? It is time to go back to Examining Room 4, the room with the hanging body that I told you to remember earlier. Once on the third floor, take the shortcut through the door on the south wall at the end of the hallway running to the west, instead of going through the Day Room. The door was locked from this side, but you can unlock it and go through now, rather than detouring through an extra room. Take a few steps south of the elevator, turn right, run west all the way to the end of the hall, then unlock the door on the south wall and go through. This puts you in front of the northern-most of three doors, with the Examining Room 4 being the next door on the north wall, to the west. Go into this room. Walk right up to the hanging body and "Use" the Plastic Bag on the bucket of blood, to get the Plastic Bag (With Blood). Your work here is done, so re-trace your steps back to the elevator leave the run, go left, go through the north door, turn right, run to the end of the hallway, turn left, go into the elevator on Heather's left), and go to the first floor. It's almost time to blow this pop stand. First things first: there is a Slurper and two Nurses (one Shotgun- wielding, the other with a Steel Pipe) in this hallway. Kill the Slurper first if you can, using the shotgun to tenderize him and then killing him with the Katana (or the Maul, if you are good), then kill the Nurses one at a time with a hand-to-hand weapon to save ammo. If they ever cluster together, take the opportunity to nail them with the Shotgun to whack two for the price of one; if you can get a Slurper and a Nurse, or all three together, well, that's even better. Once they are dead, check the map. First stop, there is a door just south of the elevator, going into the Day Room. Go in here first. You will be able hear a Nurse, but she can't reach you as she is on the other side of a fence. You are in an enclosed area within the Day Room, a little fenced-in alley running along the north wall. Run west to the end of the alley to find a journal. Inside it says, "The world is teeming with unnecessary people. It's God's decision that I fight. As a knight of honor, as a protector of the seal, I sacrifice myself to the blood of criminals." It seems someone was feeling a little self- important, and Heather comments on this fact. She also mentions that the "protector of the seal" shtick sounds familiar. There is nothing else in this area, so leave the room back into the first floor lobby. Check the map. There are only three other doors (besides the elevators) in this hallway that open. One of them is the door at the far end of the south hallway, which leads into the main part of the room that you were just in, where the Nurse was. We will be going there, but not yet. The door to the Reception Area, where the Save Point was in the other version of the hospital will open, but there is nothing in the room but some abandoned chairs in the corner, and the door leading to the Document Room is still jammed. The only other door that isn't jammed is the one leading into the Examination Room. The south end of that hallway is blocked by a fence, so you are going to have to go the long way; north up the east-most corridor, turn left and go all the way to the end of the hallway to the west (past the jammed front doors of the hospital, damn it), take another left, and go through the first door on Heather's left, right before the fence, into the Examination Room. There is an Ampoule on a stand to Heather's right as she enters, next to some dirty syringes, so take it. There is a Save Point on the south wall. Against the east wall is a table with a document on it. The document is addressed to a Dr. Midkiff, and pertains to the subject in room 312; it says that he is a religious fanatic who pushes his beliefs on others, and that the reason that he was in the hospital in the first place is because he stabbed someone over a religious argument. It says that he is otherwise a good person. Someone named R. Crosby signed the document. Interestingly enough, there is no room 312 in the hospital; it must refer to room 12 on the third floor, which would have been room S12, Leonard Wolf's room (why room 312, then? Players of Silent Hill 2 may remember that room 312, in a different establishment, had some significance to the story...). The door on the south wall, next to the Save Symbol, is jammed. Save if you would like, then go back into the hallway. There is only one room left: the Day Room. Go there now (go north, turn right, go east to the end, turn right and go south ALL the way to the end; the door is on the west wall at the end of the southern-most hallway). Use the Cremated Key to unlock the door and go inside, ready to deal with the Steel Pipe wielding Nurse within. Beat the Nurse down with the Katana, or dodge around her and go through the door in the northwest corner of the room. The path is narrow and there is nothing to find in this room, so either way, go through the door at the western end of the narrow corridor. I'd kill the Nurse, just for being in the way, but I am a vindictive bastard, so it is up to you. The walls of this hallway are deeply messed up, just like the wall of the hallway when you first climbed the ladder and entered the Brookhaven Hospital Dark Side. There are three Slurpers and a Nurse with a gun in this narrow area, so deal with them. There will be one Slurper almost right on top of you when you first enter, so kill him with the Handgun or the Katana before he backs you into a corner (I used the Maul my second time through, and it works great, if you can get the timing down; the first hit nearly kills him and stuns him long enough to get the second whack in, which just about kills him. A third will finish him off; but remember, timing is everything for that first swing). A second Slurper will soon come to investigate, so kill it as you did the first. If the Nurse or the last Slurper doesn't come to you, go find them and kill them, using melee weapons if you encounter them singly or the Shotgun if they are together. Once they are all dead, go back and find the door with "Happy First Birthday!" written to the left of it in sickly blue (this is room C1 on the map). (If nothing is written here, then you must not have gotten the "Happy Birthday" phone message from the crazy fellow in the Men's Locker Room on the second floor. Go up there now, hear the message, and come back). Go inside to collect your present. What is actually in this room can differ wildly, depending on what your supply situation looks like when you enter this room. It is based on some kind of ratio of how many health items you had versus ammunition, which you had more of (healing or ammo), and how much of each. It is going to be confusing, as I don't know the ratio exactly, but here we go; IF YOU HAD LESS AMMO THAN YOU DID HEALTH ITEMS YOU COULD GET: three boxes of Handgun Ammo, two boxes of Shotgun Shells, and a clip of SMG ammo (if your ammo situation was critical and you had more health items): OR three boxes of Handgun Ammo, one box of Shotgun Shells, and an SMG clip (if your ammo situation was okay, but not as good as your health items): OR three boxes of Handgun Ammo and a SMG clip (if your ammo situation was adequate but you had more health items): OR three boxes of Handgun Ammo and nothing else (if your ammo situation was good, but you still had more health items): OR simply two boxes of Handgun Ammo (if your ammo inventory was excellent but your health inventory was better). IF YOU HAD LESS HEALTH ITEMS THAN YOU DID AMMO YOU COULD GET: three Health Drinks, two First Aid Kits, and an Ampoule (if your health item inventory was critical, and the ammo situation was better): OR three Health Drinks and two First Aid Kits (if your health item inventory was okay, but your ammo situation was better): OR three Health Drinks and one First Aid Kit (if your health item inventory was adequate but your ammo situation was still better): OR two Health Drinks and one First Aid Kit (if your health item inventory was good but your ammo situation was still better): OR just two Health Drinks (if your health item inventory was excellent but your ammo inventory was better still). FURTHERMORE, there is a varying number of Nurses in this room, guarding said items, and the better your inventory is, the more of them there are. If your inventory sucks (very little ammo and support items) there won't be any nurses, and you can grab your loot and leave. If your inventory is okay (a few boxes of ammo and a couple of health items) there will be one nurse to dispatch before you can grab your stuff. If your inventory is adequate (a half a dozen or so boxes of ammo and a like number of healing items) there will be a pair of nurses, so kill one with the Handgun and kill the other with the Katana. If you have a well-stocked inventory (seven or more boxes of ammo and a like number of health items, roughly) there will be three Nurses, and it is time to break out the Shotgun to deal with them. WHEW! This inventory controlled gift system is what the man on the phone was talking about when he said that for her Birthday, "Who Are You" can either give pain or receive it, whichever she likes less; if she has a lot of ammo (for giving pain) she can have healing items, and if she has a lot of healing items (what she has to use to survive after receiving pain) than she gets more ammo, for giving pain. After the Nurses (if any) have been dispatched, the items you receive will be on a small cart on the wall opposite the door. Grab them, and on the way out, look under the corner of the bed closest to the west wall to find a birthday card wishing Heather a Happy thirty-eighth birthday. Heather does the math on this one herself; 14 plus 7 plus 17 is 38. Now we have four different ages mentioned by the crazy person for Heather; he mentioned it being her thirty-first or twenty-fourth birthday on the phone upstairs, her first birthday on the wall outside of this room, and now thirty-eighth birthday on the card. Once you have figured out the relationship between Heather, Alessa, and Cheryl, this will make a lot more sense. On the way out, check out the gurney to the right of the door: Heather says that whatever is on the gurney is too thin to be human, but refuses to look under the sheet to see what it is. Could it be... Gwenyth Paltrow? (I'm just kidding you Gwen, you know I love you. Call me, okay?). Leave the room now. Turn left and head all the way west to the end of the hall. The only door that Heather hasn't been through that can open is room C4, the last door on the south wall at the western end of the hall. Go inside. We are almost done with the hospital. There is a Save Symbol scrawled on a sheet on the west wall, but ignore it for the moment. There is an altar against the south wall, and in the southeast corner of the room is a little table with a book on it. The title is "Lost Memories"; read it. It is about ritual sacrifice, and speaks of drenching an altar with the blood of a victim pierced through the heart with a copper stake. It talks also of another ritual, in which the subject is burned alive. This particular sacrifice was usually only performed on the holiest of victims, usually a high Priest or Priestess. It is believed that this is because the god that the cult worshipped was originally a sun god. Neat. Well, we aren't about to burn Heather alive (again, technically), and I don't know whether the blood we are carrying around in the plastic bag is heart's blood from someone killed with a copper stake, but it will have to do. Go over to the altar and "Use" the Plastic Bag (with Blood) on the altar to trigger a grisly cutscene. The ritual altered the very fabric of the room you were in; where once there was the other side of the room, where the door leading out was, there is now a deep chasm, with a ladder leading down into it. Luckily, the Save Symbol is still here, and there is a boss fight coming up, so use it if you want. Then climb down the ladder. Leonard is down here, but it seems he is not quite ready to show himself at the moment. He hides in the dark and babbles about Claudia and her plans, and how they are misled but ultimately right, except in their execution. He wants a rebirth of paradise as well, but his methods are ultimately different than Claudia's. Claudia wants to create a Paradise for all mankind, to redeem the human race; no matter how crazy she is, and how messed up the way she attempts to go about it, this is her ultimate goal. Leonard on the other hand, is disgusted by humanity, and thinks that only the chosen few should be allowed to enter Paradise; people like him and Heather. He thinks that God gave him the Seal to protect it (Leonard was obviously the author of the "world is teeming with unnecessary people" journal from the Day Room on the first floor), and that means he is chosen, and that Heather is as well. He wants Heather to join him in creating this new Paradise, and that this is why she wants to kill Claudia and end her scheme. But when Heather says she doesn't want anything to do with all of that holy nonsense, he gets angry and thinks that Heather was trying to mislead him so that she could kill him and take the Seal. Heather responds that she had thought he was just a nice, normal person, and that she doesn't even know what the Seal is. Not believing her, Leonard decides to kill her to protect the Seal, and finally shows himself. Meet Leonard Wolf, a man who seems... well, a little bit messed up, to say the least. To start with, he is all melt-y and lumpy and about eight or nine feet tall, and has big spikes where his hands should be. He looks like he was an effigy made of wax, and that he is has gotten too close to a flame. It is time to put him down for good. II-d-4. BOSS BATTLE: LEONARD This battle is similar to the battle against the Missionary on the roof of Heather's apartment, except that Leonard is slower. Start off the battle by introducing him to business end of your Shotgun to knock him on his ass. Once he is down you can nail him with another Shotgun blast or try to hit him with a melee weapon like the Maul (difficult but very damaging) or the Katana (faster but less deadly). However, like the Missionary, Leonard makes a deadly sweeping attack when he rises, which is impossible to block. So if you do use melee weapons, make sure that they connect well enough to stun him, and if you use the Shotgun, make sure you are standing far enough back that you are just out of his range when he makes his rising attack. The battle is complicated by the fact that Leonard crawls away quite quickly under the water, and that Heather moves relatively slowly. While he is under water, he is impervious to firearms, so switch to the Katana or the Steel Pipe as you are chasing him, and hit him with a downward strike when he gets near. Eventually (after he decides it is safe to rise or after you have hit him enough times) he will rise up again. Remember that any of his attacks from the front can be blocked with your normal defensive stance. Repeat the steps above until Leonard finally falls. The only thing that really complicates matters is that the more he is hurt, the more aggravated he is, and the faster he moves, so you will have to be light on your toes to keep up to him when he is under water. Just nail him with the shotgun when he is up, hit him with the Katana when he is down, and he will be dead in a minute or two. An alternate strategy for the melee savvy and the brave (or the stupid): it is entirely possible to kill Leonard using only melee weapons. I strongly suggest using the Katana, due to its speed and relatively high damage. Use the defensive stance to block a frontal attack by Leonard while he is standing, then use a thrust or a three- swing attack to damage him, then block again if he doesn't fall the first time, then repeat. Once he falls into the water, use the downward swing to hurt him while he is underwater. If he falls on his back and starts thrashing, don't move in, as he will hit you with the rising attack. Eventually he will stop thrashing and either rise or start swimming away. Use the three-swing attack or a thrust if he is standing, and the downward strike if he is crawling. If you can get him backed into a corner and you have time, switch quickly to the Maul to do heavy damage to him, but only if he is not already rising; the Maul swings slowly normally, even slower in the water, and if you are wearing the Bullet-proof vest, it is even worse. Using a combination of these attacks, a little patience and a lot of caution, you can take down Mr. Meltyface in a matter of minutes, without wasting any ammo. Regardless of how you do it, when Leonard is defeated, his watery tomb fades away, and Heather awakens in room C4 on the Hospital's first floor. Now that Leonard is gone, Heather decides that it is time to go find Douglas and report back. As she starts to walk away, she kicks something that was lying on the floor: Leonard's Seal. It appears in your inventory as the Talisman. I guess we got something out of all this after all. We are done with Brookhaven Hospital, and there are no enemies, so leave the room, take a right, and run all the way to the end. Go through the door on the north wall. Now turn right and run a bit, but take the first hallway that you find, leading north towards the exit. Turn right again at the end of the hallway. The door to the Reception area will be on your right, and the Save Point is inside if you want it; this is your last chance to save for a while, so if you want to save any time soon, I would take it. Whatever you decide, the door leading out of the hospital is directly opposite this door. Let's get the hell out of here. II-e. Part Five: "Daddy, what is Robby the Rabbit doing to that man's face?" II-e-1. "Are We There Yet?": The Streets of Silent Hill As you leave the hospital, you will see a cutscene in which Vincent and Claudia are arguing, in a place that looks suspiciously like your room at Jack's Inn. Claudia is upset at Vincent for leading Heather to her father, Leonard. Vincent mocks her father's death and her beliefs, and she begins to question his faith in his religion, and says he will never know the happiness of her Paradise. He replies that he is more interested in the pleasures of THIS world, and finding his happiness here. He goes on to point out that Claudia hated her father; that he used to beat her with a merciless cruelty and make her cry. Claudia replies that this is exactly why they need to re-create Paradise, so that human cruelty can be "cured" (this isn't her exact phrasing, but I am boiling it down to the basic argument). Vincent mocks her some more, and see replies that he doesn't understand, that none of them do. It seems that Claudia's beliefs are a little crazy even for her cult. After this scene is over, we switch back to Heather on the front porch of Brookhaven Hospital. We need to go back to Jack's Inn, so run north along Carroll Street, keeping the sidewalk on Heather's right in view as a guide line so you don't get lost in the fog. Along Carroll Street you will come across two Pendulums and a Double Head. As previously when walking (or rather running) the streets of Silent Hill, your best bet is to ignore them and avoid wasting ammo and health, especially at this late stage in the game. But if you want to kill, be my guest. You should have the combat strategy down by now. There are also two Double Heads in the parking lot that wraps around Pete's Bowl-o-Rama, if you are interested. When you reach the end of Carroll Street, take a right and head east along Nathan Avenue, again keeping the sidewalk on Heather's right in view. There is only a single Double Head on Nathan Avenue, so if you aren't being chased by a bunch of other critters, you might consider killing it. Or just keep running. Whatever. Soon, you should soon see the sign for Jack's Inn on Heather's right side. When you reach the entrance to the parking lot, turn right and go in. Use the arrow pointing to room 106 on your map to help you navigate your way back to your room (it is on the wall directly opposite the entrance to the parking lot from the street, first room on the east side). Go inside. Vincent is waiting for you in your room, and he denies that there was anyone else just there. Douglas is also not around, but Vincent says that he has a message for Heather from him; that the Church is on the other side of the lake. This has got to be the church that Claudia belongs to, and where you should find her. However, the streets leading there are impassible; the only way to reach the Church now is through Lakeside Amusement Park, which Heather can get to by heading west along Nathan Avenue. Heather questions whether this message is really from Douglas, but decides that she has no choice, leaving the creepy Vincent behind. The cutscene ends with Heather back outside of her room, without even being able to use the Save Point next to the TV. Jerks. Anyway, run north out of the parking lot, then back west along Nathan Avenue. If you killed all the beasties earlier, you should have nothing to worry about. If you didn't, you may have to dodge some of them on your way west. When you reach a point on Nathan Avenue just west of Carroll Street, the game takes you automatically to the always-charming Lakeside Amusement Park. II-e-2. "Mommy, can we go on the 'Meat-Spewing Baby Eater' ride?": Lakeside Amusement Park As soon as Heather steps into the "amusement" park, Heather is seized by another one of her painful, cramping spells, and the world around her changes once more. Where previously dawn was turning the mists of Silent Hill pink with a promise of new day, the darkness and decay of Silent Hill has taken hold once more. Obviously, we are back in Silent Hill's Dark Side. Unfortunately, just like before, there is no map for the Lakeside Amusement Park AT ALL. That means that you will have to follow my instructions carefully in order to find everything of interest. Luckily, since you have been through a good portion of this section once in the dream at the beginning of the game, it should make navigating the first portion of this area a little easier. Once you regain control of Heather, walk forward until the camera angle shifts and you enter a familiar area; the first place you saw when you started Silent Hill 3. On either side of the path are corpses wearing bloody bunny suits and cages with not-quite-humans inside. Also just like before, there is nothing important to be found here, so head straight across to the far wall, then move to Heather's left along the wall until the camera angle shifts to show you the big, double yellow wooden gates. Go through them. This next area is also set up just like before, and all the same doors are jammed or unlocked. The first time you were here, there was a Double Head and a Closer here. This time, it is just two Closers instead, and they are tougher and faster than the ones in the dream. Take them out, using melee weapons such as the Katana if you can, to make navigating this area easier. The rest of the area should be just as you remember it; it is a circular path with a dark pit in the middle, so be careful near the inside edge. With your back to the door you entered this area through, you will find that there is but one door with the lock broken to Heather's left, and a bit beyond that there is a pile of boxes and rubble that keeps you from continuing in that direction. I guess right it is. From the entrance door, follow the path to the right and count four doorways; the first three cannot be opened. You will reach a set of white double doors with a lantern hanging over them, with a sandwich board to the right of the door and barred picture windows on either side of it proclaiming this to be the Lakeside Amusement Park Souvenir Shop. Unlike your first visit, there are things to find within the shop. Go inside. The set-up of the Souvenir Shop is the same as before; two shelves on either side of the room, a long, ovular counter in the middle, a check out counter with a register in the middle of the room in the back, and shelves along the side. All of them are covered with cheesy souvenirs featuring the Lakeside Bunny. On the far end of the ovular counter in the middle of the room, facing the registers, Heather will find an Ampoule. Almost directly opposite that, on the actually register counter, Heather can find a package of Beef Jerky. Depending on the state of your supplies, you may find some Handgun Bullets, a couple of First Aid Kits, and possibly a third First Aid Kit, or some variation of these items. It depends on just how needy you were when you entered the Amusement Park. At first, there is nothing more to find, but keep looking. After Heather checks out the left-hand corner of the room beyond the registers, on the opposite wall from the doors, and she begins to move away, there will be a startling crash. Go back and check out the corner. One of the boxes of candy has cracked open, revealing a Save Point within. Use it if you like. Just behind the Save Point is another broken open candy box, and inside is the Roller Coaster Key. This wasn't in the dream, so take it to make sure that things end differently than in Heather's dream. There is nothing more to find here, so leave the shop through the front door; all the other doors are jammed and cannot be opened. From the Souvenir Shop, continue to the right, past a door with a broken lock at the top of a short flight of stairs and then past a gate with double green doors that also won't open. Just past this gate is a small wooden door that can be hard to see, but the camera-angle shifts to make it easier. This is the door you want; there are no other doors in this area, and if you continue past you find the other side of the pile of boxes and rubble you would have found had you gone left at the entrance to this area. Go through the small wooden door now. This area, where there were two Closers in Heather's dream, now has two Double Heads and a Pendulum. Since you probably won't be coming through this area again, the best thing to do would be to ignore the enemies and run straight across the area, out the gates directly opposite the doors you came through. If you insist on fighting, take out the Pendulum first with the Shotgun, strafing around the area to avoid attacks. If you can get either one of the Double Heads caught in the Shotgun blasts, all the better. When the Pendulum is dead, switch to the Handgun and strafe, focusing on one Double Head until it falls, then switch to the Katana to kill the other. It sounds a lot easier to just run across the area and leave, but it is up to you. Whichever you decide, leave through the gates on the far side of the square area, opposite the narrow wooden door you came in through. There are two Pendulums in this area. If you want to avoid confrontation with them, ignore the following parts about fighting and follow the instructions to the top of the tracks and into the control booth. The Pendulums will follow you the whole way, attacking you on the staircase's landings until you reach the top. Killing the Pendulums MAY be a better option, but only if you feel comfortable fighting them by now. As you enter this area, equip the Katana and immediately turn left and go, running straight between a ticket booth and a metal railing. You should see a grounded Pendulum, so run up to him from the side and stab him with the Katana using the thrusting attack. If you perform the attack correctly, this should keep it stunned and allow you to continuously stab it until it is dead, so long as you use the thrusting attack. If it gets in the air, alternate blocking its attacks and striking it with the overhead attack until it falls. If your timing is good, you can avoid almost all damage by using this block/slash/block combo. Once it is dead, run back towards the main gate, and a bit past it (as if you had turned right when you came into this area instead of running left). Use the same techniques outlined above to take it out. If you are lucky you will catch this one resting on the ground as well. The reason I had you kill them in this order is that the Pendulum to the right starts off in the air, and if you take the time to tangle with this one first, the one that was initially on the ground takes to the air, and you miss the opportunity to take it out without too much of a struggle. Once they are both dead, it is smooth sailing. Alright, those of you who chose not to fight can pay attention again (just remember to dodge the Pendulums along the way, since you didn't kill them). Run back towards where you killed the first Pendulum, in front of the blue "Mountain Coaster Platform" sign, and turn right when you hit the wall. Run along this wall a short distance until reach the stairs, which should be on your right. Climb the stairs all the way to the top, turn right, and run straight to the Roller Coaster control booth, instead of going straight through the short gates to your left, as you did in your dream. Unlock the booth with the Roller Coaster Key that you found in the souvenir shop, and go inside. Here you will find two Health Drinks and the Roller Coaster controls (as well as a dead body hanging against the back wall, but it won't bother you). Turn the coaster off, then leave the booth and go through the short gates onto the Roller Coaster tracks. Here you will want to turn right and walk, not run, down the track, being careful not to fall off the sides of the dilapidated ride. If you are very careful you can make it a good ways down the track, to the place where the coaster smeared you in the dream sequence. This time, however, though the coaster comes hurtling down the track anyway, Heather is able to jump off the tracks in time, avoiding damage and reaching a new area of the amusement park. If you didn't turn off the coaster, you will get smeared. Again. Assuming you survived the coaster encounter, a cutscene is activated, showing Douglas confronting Claudia. He wants to know why Claudia lied to him; she had told him that Harry Mason had kidnapped Heather from her order, and that he was to find her and bring her back. She insists that this was really the case, and that Heather belonged with them, until Harry stole her away. That she was actually happy with Harry means nothing, since she was denying her true calling, namely being the mother of god and ushering in a new Paradise. Douglas mocks her vision of Paradise, and raises his gun to shoot her down, saying that he has killed before. Claudia says that she pities him, and the cutscene ends, bringing us back to Heather, who is lying unconscious on top of a ticket booth. She awakens and climbs down, and we are in a new area of the park. Once you are in control of Heather again, hit "L1" and "R1" to quickly turn around, then run straight until you see a wooden door on Heather's left, with a blank sign to the right of it. There is nothing else of interest in the area, so go through it. As you run forward down the path in this area, you will reach a sign that says "Borley Haunted Mansion". Great! Sounds like fun. Continue to follow the path for a few more feet, and the area should open up, into a wide open space with a number of small fences for people to line up behind. You don't need anything out amongst the fences, so as soon as the area opens up, turn left. You should see a Save Point taped to a ticket window here, and I strongly suggest that you use it, as there are some tricky and dangerous bits coming up. (If you are trying for a perfect ranking, you are only allowed 2 saves for the entire game; I suggest that this should be the first of the two). As you are facing the Save Symbol, there is a path to Heather's left. Follow this to Borley Haunted Mansion's front door and go inside. A purposefully cheesy narrator will welcome you to the Haunted Mansion. When he is done, walk straight across this area and out the door on the other side of the room. If this is your first time through the game, you will have to wait for the narrator to stop speaking before you can leave a room. If you have previously completed Silent Hill 3, or if you have died in the mansion and used the Continue option to come back, you can walk out of the room whenever you like. The same is true of all the rooms. This next room has a scene from a bloody multiple murder roped off on (Heather's) the left side of the room. The narrator tells you the story of the murder in his creepiest voice, then suggests that he was lying, and that only one died... at which point lightning flashes and you can see a body hanging outside the window. However, if you examine the roped off area, Heather is pretty sure that it is real blood splashed over everything. Leave through the door in the opposite wall of the room from the door you came in through. The next room is a study, and there is a body in the desk chair, which is quietly creaking. The narrator is pretty quiet at the moment, so head forward along the only path through the room. Follow the red carpet as the hall turns left, and head for the door at the end. Boo! The body that falls from the ceiling triggers the narrator again, who says that "that" is Danny, who was looking for Heaven, but lost his way. When the narrator is done talking, examine the body to discover that it is real, and not (hopefully) part of the attraction. It is unclear whether the "Danny" that the narrator was referring to was the corpse in the chair, which is actually a dummy, or the corpse hanging from the ceiling. Creepy. You can't get to the door behind the hanging corpse, so turn around so that your back is to it and head forward. The camera angle will shift to show you the real door, right ahead. Go through it. Heed the narrator's next warning and proceed through the room with caution. Walk forward in the combat stance, so that Heather is slightly crouched, and walk along the only path. Only the door at the end opens. About half way across, the ceiling comes crashing down, and it has spikes embedded in it. The ceiling stops when it hits the bars of the caged in areas on either side of the path, so it doesn't crush or kill you, so long as you are in the partially crouched combat stance. The narrator starts his routine again, and as he is talking (and the ceiling is rising) continue down the path until you reach the door at the end. The narrator has one final farewell to say, and then he is done... or so it seems. Go through this door, but be ready to run and maneuver at a moment's notice. The narrator starts in again, telling you that that last door was supposed to be the end, but that they decided that they want you to stay... forever. As you proceed further into the room, a red glow begins to fill the room behind you. If the red light surrounds you, you die. So as soon as you start moving into the corridor, don't stop for anything until you reach the end. None of the doors except for the last one will open, so just keep moving and try not to get hung up on walls and corners. The key is to always turn towards the camera when given a choice. When I say "left" or "right", it is referring to Heather's directions; if you are holding the Katana (for example) the left is towards her free hand, and the right is towards the hand holding the Katana. Here we go, start running. You are going to turn left, right, left (where the wall swings out to block the path), right, right, left, right, and finally left, then run up the four stairs and go through the door at the top. Unfortunately, you still aren't safe here. This corridor is the same as the last, with the red light chasing you along it. Get moving, and only try the last door at the end, which should be at the end of the hall, not on one of the walls. You are going to be turning left, right, left, right, right, left, right, and finally left, through the last door in the house. So much for a breather. You are back outside, but there are two Closers in this next area. Since this is something you can take your aggressions out on (unlike that damned red light), feel free to kill them, taking out one with the Handgun, then switching to the Katana to kill the straggler. Once they are both dead, go back to the door to the mansion and put your back to it for a reference point. Turn left and walk until you reach the edge of the abyss, and then follow the edge of it around to a greenish-hued wooden structure. Follow the wall of this thing until the camera angle shifts, revealing a path leading into it. Go through this path, which will lead you to another area. There is a Double Head and a Closer in this area, but don't fight them, as you can make them go away through a different means. Run straight from the path you came in through, then take your first path to the left (not the first break in the fence; this is just an opening so you can fall to your doom. The path actually looks like a path, with railings on each side). We haven't explored this area, but we will be back. Go through the door at the end of the left side path. This next area has three Pendulums and a couple of Double Heads. There are too many enemies to fight effectively, so run straight across the area and through the doors opposite the ones you came in through, into the kiddy amphitheater. Finally, an area without enemies. There is a bench along the fence to Heather's left, with a box of Shotgun Shells and Health Drink on it. As you continue forward you will see a large stage area with a lot of benches facing it. On the set of benches furthest to Heather's right, you will find a Chain. Pick it up. On the stage itself, in the spotlight, you will find a Red Shoe. Seems strange, but pick this up as well. That's it for this area, so head out, back the way you came. These enemies are all still around, so run straight across this area and out through the door opposite the one you came in through. The Double Head and the Closer are now gone from this area. Cool. Run straight ahead, then follow the path to the left, past a control booth on Heather's right. Right across from the Rocket Sled ride on Heather's right, there is a set of green metal gates, but they won't open... yet. "Use" the Chain on the door to attach one end to it, the run up onto the Rocket Sled ride across from it and "Use" the chain on the metal handle-like protrusion on the front of the central column to attach the other end of the chain. Now get off the ride and go into the control booth at the bottom of the steps. Be sure to grab the box of Handgun Ammo (or possibly a SMG clip, depending on the state of your supplies) from opposite the controls, and then examine the controls themselves to activate the ride. As it spins, the chain tightens... and rips the gates open. Nifty. Go through the now open gates. This triggers a cutscene in which Heather finally finds Douglas, who has a broken leg, and can't go anywhere. Heather seems strangely touched by Douglas getting hurt for her. Douglas asks her what they are going to do if the god-thing is born, but she blows it off, saying, "How powerful could a god from a dump like this be?" Cute. He insists that they have to do something, and Heather begins to leave, to get things over with. Douglas says that she reminds him of his son, who got himself killed trying to rob a bank, but in a good way. Heather is touched by this remark, and decides that she has to finish what Harry, her father, started. As she goes to leave, Douglas raises his gun as though he is going to shoot her in the back, and says that it may be the only way to end the nightmare. She concedes that he might be right, but he lowers the gun anyway, and she gets on with her quest. Once back in control of Heather, you can go back and talk to Douglas again, but he doesn't really say anything new. Instead, leave through the door Heather is facing when the scene ends. In this next area, turn right and go through the door here, into the fortune house. Inside, on a chair near the entrance, you can find Douglas' journal. When Heather picks it up, she reads only an excerpt. It says that Douglas was hired by Claudia Wolf to find Alessa Gillespie, who was kidnapped by Harry Mason as an infant. He did some research and found out that an Alessa Gillespie was killed in a fire at age 7, but he figures that it doesn't have much bearing on the case at hand. The Alessa he is looking for is using the alias "Heather". That is the end of the excerpt, but you can read more details by going to your regular inventory and using the "Examine" command. According to records, Alessa is supposed to be 24 years old, but Heather looks 17. This is still plausible. He goes on to say that 12 years ago, in Portland, Harry shot some "occult freak" who was originally from Silent Hill. The courts decided that it was justifiable self-defense, and Harry immediately moved away from Portland, and Alessa started using her alias. Apparently, the Order has sent someone looking for Alessa before, and Harry was forced to kill the cult member to save his daughter. Interesting. If you go further into the room you will find a Doll's Head in the middle of the larger of the two tables, which you should take with you, and a Save Symbol under a crystal ball on a smaller table to the side. Use the Save Point if you would like, then leave the Fortune House. There is only one door in this area that Heather hasn't been through, on the wall to Heather's right as she leaves the Fortune House. According to the sign above it, it is the Marchen Travel. Go on inside. This area is straightforward. There are a couple of doors in the back of the room that are locked, and to get to them you pass between two statues: one of Cinderella (on the right) and one of Snow White (on the left). Just beyond them, in the middle of some tracks, are some photographs of the "dolls" (statues, whatever), but that something is wrong... in each picture the silhouette is holding an item, and neither is holding anything now. Well, Cinderella had a thing for shoes... so go up to her statue and "Use" the Red Shoe to place it on the short pedestal next to her. Snow White had a thing for apples... but we don't have any apples. The thing that she is holding in the picture is a doll's head (actually, I thought it kind of looked like a severed Dwarf's head, but we are fresh out of those), so "Use" the Doll's Head to place it in her hands. Now go back to the tracks, take a left, and go through the door at the end of the tracks. There is a big dragon in here, guarding fake treasure, but unfortunately he doesn't do anything and there isn't anything in the treasure, either. Poop. Go through the metal door in the corner, as the other wooden one at the end of the track won't open. There are two Double Heads and a Pendulum in this area, but it might be best to avoid them if you are running low on ammo or health items. Dispatch them if you want to, then come back to the door you came into for reference. If you don't kill them, make sure to keep track of them and dodge them through this next area. Turn left from the door and run forward. Just up ahead you will see another of those bodies in the metal cages straight ahead, and an opening in the fence to your left, leading into a more open area. Turn left here to go through the fence, but then take an immediate right and go over to the concession stand. Once upon a time, Harry Mason used a notepad at this same concession stand to save his game, and if you read the notepad now, you will find a note from Harry concerning his daughter, Cheryl, and alluding to Alessa (also his daughter, really). Just to the left of this, on the counter, you will find two Stun Gun Batteries. From facing the counter, turn left and run until you reach the fence on the other side, then turn left again and follow the fence until you reach the partially open gate leading out of this area. Go on through. On a bench to the left of the entrance you should be able to find a First Aid Kit. Other than that, the only thing of any interest to you is the Merry-go-round, where Harry fought the possessed policewoman Cybil 17 years ago. From the bench, do a 180 and look for the spot of light in the distance (not the street-light, dumb ass, further back); this is the light above the entrance to the ride. It should be just about straight across the area from you. Run to the light, and as you approach, the camera angle should shift, showing you where to go. Go through the opening and hit the action button at the top of the short set of stairs to hop on board the ride. The Carousel horses are meaty and demonic, with flesh seeming to grow out of them and onto the poles they are impaled on. The first thing is to check out the note stabbed to the nearest horse, which reads "When 13 counts to 4, you will die from their curse". There are 13 horses on this ride, so when the ride has gone entirely around 4 times... you die. The note also says that you will be saved by the twelfth death. The horse with the note attached to it isn't moving like the others, because it has been stabbed in the head. This is hint as to what to do. The horses seem to be expelling a red smoke from their mouths... so kill them. Equip the Katana or the Maul and go to work bashing the horses like you expect candy to fall out. The Maul works great if you are comfortable using it. When you have done enough damage, the horse will emit a noise and stop rising and falling. Do this to each of the 12 moving horses, and the ride will stop. If you don't kill them in time, you will die. So get to work. When the horses are all "dead" a new horror awaits. Dark, blood-like smoke begins to pour out of the horses and coalesce around the carrousel, and when the cutscene is over, Heather is face to face with a chilling foe... herself, but dark and eerie, and covered in blood. It is time for Heather to face off against her own dark side. II-e-3. BOSS BATTLE: MEMORY OF ALESSA When the battle first starts, Alessa will be armed with the knife that Heather started the game with, and it isn't any more useful. Don't bother wasting ammo on this boss at all, as the best way to deal with her is up close and personal. Equip the Katana and move into striking range (this is also one of the few places in the game where the Stun Gun is effective, since you are in very close range anyway. The downside is, once again, the range). If you try to strike her before she begins her attack, she will bring up her guard and block your attack, rendering it useless. There are two effective ways of dealing with this. The first way, which is also the fastest and most effective way, takes precise timing, but it isn't really too difficult. Wait until Alessa begins her attack, and then strike her before the blow lands. This will get past her defenses, and disrupt her attack. Then wait for her to attempt an attack again, and strike before her blow lands. Simple enough. If you find the timing on this too difficult, you may find this alternate method easier; trade blows, and follow her tactics. When she is about to strike, tap the "Square" button to block her attack, then immediately counterattack and you should catch her before she gets her own guard up. It takes a little longer to do it this way, but it is just as effective. Once you have dealt enough damage, Alessa will scream and fall down and dissolve into dark smoke, but the battle isn't over. Alessa will reappear elsewhere on the Carousel, and be better armed. You will have to take her down again. This time she has a Handgun. You can use the same tactics outlined above to defeat her, but first you have to move in close enough to her that she can't shoot you effectively. Charge straight at her before she gets her gun up, or you can use one of the horses as cover to get in close and strike. Once you are inside her range she will start trying to pistol-whip you instead of shooting. This is a good thing. Use the same timing and attacks as you did against Alessa's knife-wielding incarnation, and she will soon fall once more. This time when she reappears she is holding a Steel Pipe. Fighting Alessa here is a lot like fighting a very tough and unpleasant Nurse, and can quickly degenerate into mindlessly trading attacks. Just strike at the right moment, or wait, block a swipe from Alessa, and immediately hit her with a disrupting attack of your own. When she is wielding the Steel Pipe is a good time to use the Maul, should you want to. It does a lot of damage and makes the battle go by quicker, but if you use this weapon, you can only use the "block, then attack" method, as the Maul is too slow to hit her with if you try to use it to disrupt her attacks. So if you want to, go ahead; there aren't too many places in the game to use this weapon effectively (usually in this battle I use the Stun Gun for her Knife and Handgun wielding forms, switch to the Maul for the Steel Pipe wielding form, then switch to the trusty ol' Katana for her last form. But you might find it simpler to just use the Katana throughout the battle). Smack her a few more times and after she crumples, she will re-appear one last time, this time holding a Submachine Gun. Don't give her a chance to use it. Your best bet is to charge straight at her and attack before she has a chance to unleash a barrage of bullets in your direction. Alternately, you should use one of the Carousel ponies as a shield until you can get close enough to get the drop on her with the Katana, then use the same strategy detailed above to finally put her to rest. Don't forget, even with the Handgun or SMG at close range, she can still try to pistol-whip you with them. Once she is dead, the carrousel will stop. Read the note left for Heather from herself, which is written on the floor. It says death is nothing to be afraid of, especially in light of how much suffering and death the demon/god/baby will cause when it is born. She also says that she wanted to put herself out of her misery rather than allow herself to die slowly in the sickroom the way that she did before, and doesn't know why she didn't let her kill herself. All those "herself"s mean, of course, Heather, the new incarnation of Alessa. Well that certainly explains a lot; Heather is yet another incarnation of Alessa, the same way Cheryl was in the original Silent Hill. Once you are done reading it, walk either way until you see the exit gate, then leave the ride. You will walk down a long, meaty, cancerous looking hallway. It can't hurt you, and only goes the one direction, so go through the door at the end. You will end up in a long stone corridor, with another message scrawled along the corridor walls in blood. This is actually a prayer to the Order's Dark God, and the way that it is written on the walls along the path you are taking towards the church suggests it was put there for you to see. Or rather for "God" to see. Once you finally reach the end of the tunnel, you will see a door with a sign on it. Read the sign (a greeting and instructions for church-goers) and then go inside. You are entering the final phase of the game. II-f. Part Six: "Taking Communion at Our Lady of the Bloodbath..." II-f-1. "My advice; don't drink the Kool-Aid..." The Church All right kid, you're in the home stretch. Don't screw up now. As soon as you enter the church, a cutscene begins. It seems that Claudia is surprised to see Heather, and immediately figures out that Vincent has something to do with it. Heather's presence at the church actually works into Claudia's plan, so she is not too concerned. She is only interested in the God growing in Heather's womb, and the Paradise that will come after the Judgment and Atonement. Apparently, all the evil and death and suffering in Silent Hill is just a prelude to the greater Hell that will arrive once the god is full-born, and that it serves the same purpose as Hell; to judge and purify those who are not ready for Paradise. Or so Claudia seems to think, anyway. She says that this was Alessa's dream. Heather disagrees, as she IS Alessa, and now has her memories. She once wanted this all to come to pass, because of her twisted upbringing, but living as Heather has showed her how brainwashed she had been by her mother and the Order. Furthermore, she doesn't want it because Claudia wants it, and she is the one who had her father murdered. As she is speaking of this, the horrible pain in Heather's stomach returns worse than ever, and she crumples to the ground. Claudia says that the time is almost here, and that Heather's hatred of her is good. Then she leaves, while Heather is struggling with her pain. When the pain subsides, Heather is alone in the chapel. There are paintings along either wall, and if you start in the right place and read clockwise, the basic mythology of the Order's religion is laid out. The paintings are numbered so that you can tell where to start and where to end. As you are facing the area where Claudia was standing when you came in, the pulpit, the first one is to Heather's right, closest to the pulpit. Reading them clockwise, here is a synopsis of what they say, paraphrased: 1. Origins: In the beginning human's lives sucked. 2. Birth: A man and a woman each offered sacrifices to the sun, in hopes of gaining salvation; he a snake, and she a reed. God was born from these two people. 3. Salvation: God made day and night, outlined the rules and gave people joy, and made them mortal. Gee, thanks. 4. Creation: God made other gods to lead humanity; the red god Xuchilbara, and the yellow god, Lobsel Vith, along with other gods and angels, then went to create Paradise, where folks would finally be happy. 5. Promise: Before she could create Paradise, god ran out of juice and dropped dead, but not before promising a comeback. 6. Faith: So be good little monkeys and pray, so that one day Paradise will finally show up. The end. That's one wacky religion you got there. Anyway, there are three doors on the far end of the chapel, furthest from the pulpit, but none of them open. On the pulpit itself there is a Save Point drawn in whatever passes for a Bible in this church. Behind the pulpit on a table, right under the stained glass windows, is the Eye of Night Tarot Card; I'm pretty sure that one isn't in Miss Cleo's deck. Examine the area where the card was located again to get a better view of the stained glass. It shows God flanked on either side by the man and the woman who she was created of. Heather mentions that she used to come here to pray when she was a little girl (and Alessa to boot), but that none of her prayers were ever answered. Use the Save Point if you want to, then leave through the door that Claudia went through, next to the organ (which Heather can't play, dammit. I wanted her to dive into "In Da Gadda Da Vidda" by Iron Butterfly). You are in a corridor. Just to the right of the door, posted on the wall, is the Church Map, such as it is. Unlike the other maps, this one is drawn in what appears to be crayon, on top of a drawing of some green plants and a bunny, and a pretty house with a yellow roof, and the sun. Awww! Also unlike the other maps, this one only shows the rooms that you are in and have already been in. Fortunately it draws even what you cannot see, such as the two doors further down the hall and around the corner, which you haven't through yet. As you enter each new room or hallway, it will be added to the map (it is unclear whether Heather is drawing this map herself, or if the drawings are mystically appearing. If she is drawing it herself, I wish she had thought of that for the bloody amusement park as well. It would have made all of our lives much easier). Directly across from where you found the map is a door (the southern-most of two doors). Go through it now. This is a confessional. You can hear someone crying on the other side of it. There is nothing but some books in here, and the confessional screen. Examine the confessional screen to start a cutscene. It seems that the woman on the other side of the screen has performed an act of revenge upon some girl, who apparently killed her daughter. She is asking god for forgiveness, and begging to be allowed to go to purgatory instead of Hell, so that she can be allowed to see her daughter one last time. She asks God for forgiveness. You, for your part, are given the option of saying "I forgive you" or saying nothing at all. If this is your first time through the game, it doesn't matter what you say, as you will always get the same ending. If this is not your first time through the game, then saying "I forgive you" will help to earn you a different ending to the game. (See section IV, "Endings" after the walkthrough for more details). Once you say whatever you need to say to the woman in the other part of the room, leave the confessional, as there is nothing more to do. Turn right and run past the door leading into the other part of the confessional (it is locked and will not open, even though you know someone is inside) and the door leading back to the chapel. Follow the corridor as it turns right twice, and your radio should begin emitting static. Ignore this, as it does not, in this case designate that there is a monster nearby. The door straight ahead, on the south wall, is locked, so turn left at the east-intersecting hallway. There is a metal grate at the end of the hall to the east, and beyond it you can see a dark hallway and a gurney with a bloody cloth-covered body on it; this area seems to be the reason the radio is emitting static. But since you can't see what is causing it, instead go through the door on the north wall. There is a Closer in this room, and it looks particularly nasty. It is much darker than the ones you have seen previously, as if the black smoke-like substance you saw moving over the Carousel at the Amusement Park is moving just under its skin. Closers that you see from this point out are a lot tougher, faster, and stronger than previously, so you shouldn't toy with them. Supplies are few and far between for the rest of the game, so you should avoid all unnecessary confrontations. There are no items or clues in this room, so this counts as an unnecessary confrontation. This is a classroom of some sort, perhaps for teaching their crazy version of Sunday school. The Closer is gnawing on a hunk of meat in front of the blackboard, so you have time to get out of here (in case you are curious, there is nothing to read on the blackboard. Even the notice in the top corner doesn't say anything). There is a door north of the door you came in through, on the same wall. Turn right and run straight along the wall, then go out through the new door before the Closer has a chance to get... well, closer. This is the other side of the metal grate that we saw earlier where the static was emitting with no visible source. Well, we are about to find out what was causing the static. This hallway is "T" shaped, with the top of the "T" facing east, creating a corridor that runs north and south. At either end of this north/south-facing hallway is a slumbering Insane Cancer in front of a door. Equip the Katana and engage the one protecting the south end of the corridor first. Don't let it push you too far north as you are battling it, or you will awaken the second Insane Cancer and end up sandwiched between the two of them. Once the first one is dead, go ahead and kill the second one as well. It's okay, I'll wait. When they are both dead, you are faced with three doors to choose from; a door at the north end of the corridor which heads north, and door at the south end which faces east, and a door between the two, which also faces east (There is also a wheelchair at the south end of the hallway, which Heather has some interesting comments about). The middle door is jammed, so it is either north or south. Go through the southern-most door first. This is somebody's bedroom. On the left side of the top shelf of the bookcase you will find two boxes of Handgun bullets. Just beyond that, against the east wall, there is a desk, and on that desk is a blue folder. Examine the folder once to find the Cassette Tape. Examine it again to find out a little bit about what looks to be the Save Symbols: it "Represents the deity known as 'The Halo of the Sun.' In heraldry, symbolizes a religious group. The two outer circles are charity and resurrection; the three inner circles are present, past, and future. Usually drawn in red. Occasionally drawn in black or other colors, but blue reverses the meaning into a curse on God and is therefore forbidden." Sounds like a recipe for something that allows you to come back from the dead, or "Continue" or "Load" your Saved game. Neat. Beat that Resident Evil. All you get is a lousy typewriter. Once you are done reading this, there is nothing else to see, so leave the room. Go north all the way to the end of the hallway and through the door at the end. This area is a tad freaky, and you have to pay attention. Moments after you first enter this area, you will hear a girl crying. Walk across the metal grating on the floor to the edge of the linoleum and wait. Soon you will see small bloody footprints appear, along with the sound of little feet on linoleum, as well as the crying. The footprints will slowly cross the corridor to a large painting resting on the floor, then seem to disappear behind it. Soon after, the noises cease. Examine the painting. The picture itself is of an Angel ascending into heaven, but the painting is on its side against the wall. If you watched the little girl's footprints go up to and then behind it, you will be given the option to move the painting aside. Say "Yes", and a new door is revealed. Don't go through it yet, however, or you will miss a room. Instead, go all the way north, hang a left, then go through the door on the north wall. That's a big freaking Save Symbol. This room is circular, with the Save Symbol scribed on the floor in the center of the room. Along the walls are paintings depicting the Holy Trinity of the Order's religion: "Saint Jennifer. Unwavering Faith Under Death's Blade"; this refers to Jennifer Carroll, a member of the order who was tortured to death by Christians for practicing witchcraft during the Salem witch trial era. A monument to her can be found in Rosewater Park on the shores of Toluca Lake during the course of playing Silent Hill 2. The second portrait is of "St. Alessa. Mother of God, Daughter of God". This one should need no explanation; it is a portrait of a teenage Alessa holding the baby Alessa, who would become Heather. The third and final painting is of St. Nicholas (no, not Santa Claus, dumbass) "Miraculous Hands, A Doctor of God". I have no idea who this refers to. It isn't Dr. Kaufmann from the first Silent Hill game, because his name was Michael(and also because he turned against Dahlia and helped Harry by separating God from Alessa by tossing a vial of Aglaophotis at her. Not a very saintly thing for a man to do to the God of his own religion). Hopefully it will be explained in Silent Hill 4. UPDATE: Nope, still a mystery. I'm guessing that he was the doctor who delivered Alessa, a member of the cult, and maybe the mysterious unnamed doctor who you see standing at her bedside after she was burned in cutscenes near the end of the original Silent Hill, and whose voice you hear there and in Silent Hill: Origins. I guess it doesn't matter. Anyway, our tour is now complete, so save your game if you want to (Heather will have some new deep thoughts about the nature of the Save Symbol and resurrection in general) and exit the room. Go back to the door that was once covered by the painting (the painting is now next to it) and go inside. This is a cramped and narrow hallway, filled with debris and medical equipment, including more bloody gurneys with dead bodies on them. The walls on either side don't go all the way to the floor, and there is a creature shuffling around on the other side of the wall to the south. I have a sneaking suspicion that it is our old friend Valtiel, but we will never be able to find out, as it can't get at you, and you can't get at it. So ignore it, and go through the door at the other end, on the east wall. This area is a narrow, "L" shaped walkway suspended in the darkness. The "L" is lying on it's back, with the short leg running north/south and the long leg running east/west. As you head south, you will pass a big steel cage on Heather's left, hanging in space. This is an elevator, but ignore it for the moment. There is one door on the same (west) wall as the door you came in through, just south of this, but it is jammed. There are also four doors along the south wall. But first things first; there is a new enemy here called a Scraper (see section I-b-7 for more details). They look like miniature versions of the Missionary boss, but they aren't nearly as tough. Treat them like you would a faster moving Nurse; block its attack and then hit it with the Katana, then repeat until it is dead. There is only one here, so kill it before proceeding, if only for practice. Once it is dead, check out the doors along the south wall. The three western-most are all jammed. The last one, furthest from the door you came in through, opens, so go inside. This is the church's Library. Check out the first book that you can see open, on a shelf on the west wall. It is entitled "Silent Hill's Ancient Gods: A Study of Their Etymology and Evolution." Whew! It is a treatise explaining that the religion doesn't exist now as it did in its original form. The primal gods native to the region (which was an indigenous religion, before the European settlers) were re-named and given the descriptions of Christian angels and demons, making a sort of Hellish Christian/demon potpourri. The main god of the religion, the god of snakes and reeds from the story in the chapel, was instead given the name of a Demon from the Christian religion, not by the religion's followers, but by those opposed to it, in order to show their disgust for the religion. They don't say the demon's name in the book, but in the original Silent Hill, the god was called Sammael. Continue south, and do a complete circuit of the room around the central bookcase. The next thing you should come across of interest is a desk in the southeast corner of the room, along the east wall. There is a stack of occult tomes, a blank sheet of paper... and the "Moon" Tarot Card. As soon as you pick this up, a cutscene begins, in which Vincent walks into the Library. Heather isn't happy to see him, and guesses once again that he is in league with Claudia, since he is crazy. He says he IS of the same religion as Claudia, but is sane. He doesn't want God to be born, since he likes the way things are going. He doesn't want any unpredictable god waking up and shaking up the status quo. Heather is upset that he has been using her to take Claudia out, but he suggests that Heather has been enjoying all of it. He says he has seen her face when she is killing them. She denies this, and points out that they are monsters, and Vincent acts surprised, saying, "They look like monsters to you?" This raises some VERY disturbing questions about what Heather has actually been doing, and about Silent Hill in general, but Vincent laughs it off and says that maybe he was just kidding. He then asks her if she has the Seal of Metatron, and when she says she doesn't even know what it is, he freaks out, thinking that she doesn't have it. When he says that Leonard was carrying it, Heather takes out the Seal that Leonard was protecting and he seems instantly relieved, saying that if she had the Seal then everything will be okay. He then hands her a book entitled "Otherworld Laws", and leaves. Go to your inventory and check it out. It talks about the Seal you got from Leonard, a magic square with "protective and dispelling properties" called either the "Virun VII Crest" or the Seal of Metatron (you know, Metatron. Not the leader of the Decepticons, that was Megatron. Metatron, as in Alan Rickman's character in the movie "Dogma"). The Seal can be used for either good or evil and is also difficult to control, making it very dangerous. This is why it is named after Metatron (or Metraton), who is the angel known as the "Agent of God" (that's some agent; I always wondered how he got that gig; I hear he handles Angelina Jolie as well). Once you are done reading, head north up the eastern side of the room, the side of the central bookcase that you haven't examined yet. At the northern end of the central shelf you will find another book, this one on the history of the tarot. It is actually kind of interesting, but not useful for our purposes here. There is nothing else here (unless you are playing on the Hard Riddle Level during an Extra New Game, in which case there is a ridiculously difficult riddle here that will allow you to unlock a new outfit; see section V-g-8 for more details) so leave the room. Go over to the elevator and climb inside for a ride to the lower level. This area is shaped exactly like the ledge-like area you just left, and has the same number of doors. First, go through the one in the northwest corner, at the top of the short leg of the "L". This hallway looks imposing, as it is covered in blood and iron grating, but it is devoid of enemies. As you head west, you will notice that the wall on Heather's right is a fence, but is open so that you can see what is on the other side. The camera will actually let you face that way and look through the wall by pressing the "L2" button. All that you can see is an iron-mesh tunnel suspended in a hazy orange glow, over a whole lot of nothing. If you look at the grating under Heather's feet, you will realize she is in a similar tunnel, suspended over nothing. It looks otherworldly and surreal, increasing the feeling of being disengaged from reality. Weird. Anyway, go all the way west, ignoring for the moment the hallway that intersects it heading south, and go through the door at the end of the hall on the west wall. This room is some kind of messed-up, makeshift mortuary, and the shroud wrapped bodies are all tumbled out and discarded like so much refuse. As usual, the dead are not a threat to Heather, so you can relax (if this was Resident Evil, you would be pulling out the Shotgun right about now, or getting ready to run for your life). There is only one body on a gurney, and there is an object propped up against its noggin: the "Hanged Man" Tarot Card. Examine the body itself to hear her thoughts on how much one can get used to when one has no choice. In an unoccupied shelf in the northeast corner of the room is a box of Shotgun Shells. If you had very little ammo when you arrived in the Church for the first time, there may be additional boxes here. If there isn't, sucks to be you. That is all there is of interest in this room, so leave the way you came in. Take a few steps forward, then go take the hallway heading south, turn left when the passage does, then go through the only door in this hallway, on the north wall. This creepily lit little bedroom might look familiar to you, and if it doesn't, the bloody mattress might give you a hint. Somehow, this is a re-production of Harry's room where his body was laid to rest by Heather, back in the Daisy Villa apartments. The bed is stripped of its coverings, and the body is gone... but the blood-stains remain, and there is a bloody trail leading out the door. The other door, which would have lead into Harry's bathroom, is jammed (which makes sense, because according to the map, it would have lead back into the hallway). Everything else is exactly the same, from the placement of the closet and the bookshelf to the phone, TV and VCR. As if further proof was necessary, Harry's journal is lying on the bed. In it, he talks about how he originally named Heather Cheryl, after his daughter who he lost in Silent Hill. But he realizes that the name was all wrong, since Heather, like Cheryl, is really just another incarnation of Alessa. But regardless of who she was, Harry loved her more than anything else. Heather is touched, and reveals that she still holds one memory from poor, lost Cheryl as well: Cheryl's gentle, adoptive mother, who died before Harry first came to Silent Hill with Cheryl 17 years ago. It's all kind of sweet, if a bit convoluted. In addition to the diary, there are two Stun Gun Batteries on the desk next to the bed. There is nothing more to find, so say good-bye to Harry's memory once more and leave the room, but be ready to run. That's right, I said run. There are now two Scrapers in this hallway, as if in mockery of the way Harry died, killed by the Missionary, of which they are the economy version. You can kill them if you want, but I suggest dodging them and running back east and out the door at the end that you originally entered this hallway through. One on one they are no problem, but they can be dangerous when they gang up, and you don't ever have to return to this hallway, so it is fine to leave them behind. So head back up the hallway north and turn right at the end, then run all the way back east and out the door on the east wall, back onto the "L" shaped ledge. There is only one other door in this area that opens, and that is the second to last one on the south wall. Go through it, but be ready. This is another "L" shaped ledge (this one with its long leg running parallel to the long leg of the previous "L" shaped ledge, and it's short leg pointing south, like an "L" that fell on its face), and there are two Pendulums and a Scraper here. The Pendulums won't cause you too much difficulty as you pass through here multiple times, but the Scraper could become a problem. Run west to the bend of the "L" to put some distance between you and the Pendulums, and don't worry about any of the other doors except the one in the south-west corner, as they are either jammed or simply not there. The Scraper starts in this general area, walking north and south along the short leg. Kill him with the Katana as quickly as possible, then quickly exit through the door in the southwest corner. Start down this hallway, but go through the first door you find, which will be on Heather's left, on the south wall. Just beyond this door there is a section of corridor that is made of mesh, and there is an interesting sight if you look through it facing south, but we will check it out when we get back. There are two Closers in this room, but no items or clues of interest. To save ammo and health items (and your hide), jag left and dodge the Closers, heading for the door in the southeast corner of this dark room, on the south wall. Run through before the Closers become a problem. Move south down this hallway until you reach a patch of white linoleum. The crying invisible girl has returned, and once again she will show you where you need to go by leaving bloody footprints in her wake. She slowly leads you to the seemingly blank east wall. Once she is gone once again, search the area that her footsteps lead up to and search to find a secret door. Before you go through it, investigate the strange squeaking noise coming from the south end of the corridor. The hall is choked with bloody beds and debris, but just beyond them at the end of the hall is a strange and chilling sight: the creature Valtiel mindlessly turning his valves. Hanging above him are what seems to be two sets of pale female legs, still kicking. It is impossible to tell who they are, because vibrantly red curtains obscure their upper bodies and even their hands. There is nothing you can do to interact with this strange scene, so get your fill of the strangeness, then examine the secret door on the east wall. This will activate a cutscene in which Heather pushes open the wall, effectively making a short passage that runs east. There is a door at the other end of the passage, on the south wall. Go through it. If this room doesn't look familiar to you, then you must not have played the original Silent Hill. It is another room that should not exist here, a secret room in the basement of Silent Hill's other Hospital, Alchemilia, located in Central Silent Hill. It was a storage room that was converted to a sickroom to care for Alessa after her mother burned her almost to death, and where she "lived" for seven years, under the care of nurse Lisa Garland. On the desk to the right of the door are a couple of unmarked drug bottles and at least one box of Handgun bullets. If there are more here, it means that your ammo situation must have been critical when you entered the Church. There is a chair next to the bed, and on the chair is a book. Inside the book is the Fool Tarot Card, and it is marking a particular passage in the book. The passage reads: "Aglaophotis. Red liquid or crystals resembling blood. According to the Kabbalah, the name is taken from an herb with the power to dispel evil spirits. It is said to grow in the Arabian deserts. It may be vaporized or applied as a poultice to guard against demons. It is powerful, but as it is rare, it is extremely difficult to obtain." In the original Silent Hill game, the Aglaophotis was used by Harry to separate a possessing entity from the policewoman Cybil (if you got one of the good endings. If you didn't, then you just killed her), and by Dr. Kaufmann to separate Sammael from Alessa, which allowed Harry to defeat it (if you got one of the good endings. If you didn't, you must not have saved Kaufmann, in which case you kill Alessa, not Sammael). This is the first time the red liquid from the original Silent Hill has been named, and finally explains just what the hell it was and why it could do what it did. It also gives you a very, very important key to finishing the game; that bit about it being able to "crystallize" and "be applied as a poultice". Keep this little bit of important information in mind for the end of the game. On the top of the monitor station next to the bed you will find an Ampoule; you might find a second Ampoule if you had few healing items when you entered the Church. Finally, examine the bed and the picture on the monitor stand next to it for some personal thoughts from Heather about this room. When you are done, leave the room. The radio clues you in that there are now enemies in the corridor; there is now an Insane Cancer blocking the hallway to the south, where Valtiel is, and there is another at the north end of the corridor, where the exit is. Luckily, you don't have to worry about the one to the south, because he only bothers you if you get close, and you don't need anything down there. The one at the north end is lying closer to the west wall, so you have plenty of room to run past him if you hug the east wall as you run for the exit. You don't ever have to come back to this hallway, so this is your best course of action. Slip past him and run through the door on the north wall. Unless you killed them earlier, the two Closers are still in this large, dark room, so dodge them and run to the door in the northwest corner of the room. Go through it and you never have to see those particular Closers again. Turn left and head west down the corridor. The next door you come across, on the north wall, is jammed, but there is something interesting to see on the other side of the mesh wall right across from it, so put your back up against it and press the "L2" button to look through the south wall. The wall is made of metal mesh or grating, just like the one I pointed out earlier, and there is another corridor floating in the orange haze. What is different however is that Valtiel is out there this time, and he appears to be choking a nurse, who is inside the other suspended corridor. You can't do anything to stop (or help) him, so do your best to ignore him. Head a bit further west, then take the connecting passage south and go through the door at the end on the south wall. Once again, this room should look familiar to those who played the original Silent Hill, and when you visited it that time it was out of place and time as well. It is Alessa's room as it existed when she was seven years old, before her house was burned down with her inside it. When you saw it in the first game, the door at the end marked the entrance to the last battle. Here it is no different. But you can't go through the last door yet. Taped to the shelf to the right of the door is a Save Symbol. Right next to that shelf is a butterfly collection, neatly arranged and hung in frames. In the frame closest to the Save Point, one of the butterflies is missing, and in its place is a Brass Key. Take this with you. There is a sketchpad on the bed. It is the sketchpad that Cheryl was carrying with her when she disappeared into Silent Hill seventeen years ago. On the cover is a picture she drew of Harry, her father and hero. Inside is a riddle written as a poem by a little girl, pertaining to the way to open the locked door, which you will need all the Tarot Cards to unlock. We don't have them all yet, so we won't worry about it for now. Across from the sketchbook, on the desk, is another notepad like the one Heather found at the concession stand in Lakeside Amusement Park, the ones that Harry used to save his game in the original Silent Hill. It talks about Harry's preparations for his final battle all those years ago, and his determination to save both Cheryl and Alessa. In the south-west corner of the room, on the floor next to some bookshelves are some drawings that Alessa did when she was little, and if you look at them, Heather will remember some things about her and Claudia playing together when they were both young. You can look around the room at all the other objects, getting Heather's thoughts on them, but there is nothing else of use that you can find in here. You have exhausted all of your options for exploration except for two; the tarot-locked door leading to the final battle (which you can't open yet) and the locked door way back at the beginning of the Church, the door on the south wall in the hallway where the confessionals are located. You just found a key, and (surprise surprise) it opens that door. Save your game if you want to, then leave the room. Run north to the end of the hallway, take a right, and then run all the way east and go through the door on the east wall at the end (yes, Valtiel is still out there, choking a dead nurse). Don't forget about the Pendulums (as if their sound would let you) if you left them alive at this "L" shaped ledge. Turn left, run north as far as you can, then turn right and run west all the way to the end, and go through the last door on the north wall, dodging the Pendulums as you go. Turn left again and run north in this next "L" shaped ledge, turn right at the end, and get on the elevator to return to the first floor. Go right and go through the northern door on the west wall. There is still something moving on the other side of the demi-wall to the south, but it still can't hurt you, so run all the way west and go through the door at the end. Unless you want to head north and go back to the Save Point where the portrait of the three Saints of the Order are located, turn left as you enter this corridor and go through the door at the south end. Run forward in this next "T" shaped corridor until you reach the connecting hallway, then turn right and go through the door on the north wall at the western end (bottom of the "T"). This next room has changed, but the way that you deal with it shouldn't. The room that was once a classroom with a single Closer in it now has two Scrapers and a Slurper, and is swarming with the dark, blood-like substance that is quickly obscuring the walls and doors. Your only goal is to run to the western door on the south wall (the same wall as the one you just came through). Turn left, dodge the enemies and run through the other door on the south wall. If you lose sight of it in the swirling blackness, quickly check your map to get your bearings and adjust accordingly, then quickly duck through the western door on the south wall. The floors of this hallway are covered in moving blood, which is also painting bloody swaths on the wall, but don't worry about it. Turn right, move into the main corridor, then turn left and go to the door on the south wall. Use the Brass Key to unlock this new area, then go through the door. Your radio should tell you that there are enemies in this corridor, but they can be (and should be) avoided. There is the same something crawling around on the other side of the demi-wall (Valtiel?), but that isn't the danger. The corridor goes south for a bit, then there is a corner, and the passage continues to the east. There is an Insane Cancer in the middle of this stretch, between the two doors on either end of the north wall. If you attack the Insane Cancer, a Scraper will appear out of nowhere and ambush you from behind, pinning you between two enemies. To avoid this, go through the first door on the north wall, right where the hallway makes its first bend. This leads into a classroom, one that also exists outside of this place and time. There are lockers in the back of the room, which cannot be opened. In the middle of the room is a desk, and all the other desks are jammed against the walls of the room, as if to put as much distance as possible between them and the desk in the center. Examine this central desk. The words "Go Home", "Drop Dead", and "Thief" are scratched into its surface, and Heather remembers that the desk once belonged to her when she was Alessa. Apparently, she wasn't the most popular kid in class. Examine the book on the teacher's desk in the eastern end of the room. It is a notebook, and inside is a letter to somebody, written by a teacher named K. Gordon. Gordon was apparently Alessa's teacher, and was concerned about the abuse that she was obviously suffering at home, as well as the emotional abuse she got at school from the kids who called her a witch. This room is pertinent to the original Silent Hill for a couple of reasons: first of all, Harry visited it in two forms while searching for Cheryl; once in its physical location in Midwich Elementary School, and again in the otherworldly amalgam maze at the end of his journey. Now we know why it was so important to Alessa/Cheryl. The second interesting fact is that during his journey, Harry found a key in Midwich Elementary school that was the key to K. Gordon's house, where he found some useful supplies and passed through the house in order to find a way to reach the original church. But I digress. Depending on your ammo situation when you entered the Church, there may be a Submachine Gun clip on a desk to the left of the teacher's desk, on a tray. If there isn't, you had too much ammo when you entered the Church. Examine the room and the pictures in it to your heart's content, then leave through the OTHER exit to the room, on the east end of the room, behind and the right of the teacher's desk. You are now back in the hallway, on the other side of the slumbering Insane Cancer. Now you have a choice. If you feel like fighting, you can attack it; this will alert the Scraper and it will come running, but this time you won't be sandwiched between them. Then you can use the Shotgun and catch them both in the blast, hopefully taking care of both at the same time. Or you can leave well enough alone and avoid a needless battle this late in the game. Either way, head south from the door you exited the classroom through. DO NOT GO THROUGH THE DOOR ON HEATHER'S LEFT, ON THE EAST WALL!!! There is nothing in this room except for four cranky Scrapers, so don't bother unless you are feeling homicidal (or suicidal). Instead, go through the first, northern-most door on Heather's right, on the west wall, right across from the gurney. There is a bookshelf to the right of the door, with a cassette player on it. "Use" the Cassette Tape in your inventory on the tape deck to learn some interesting tidbits about Vincent. It is a conversation between Vincent and a female parishioner, who tells a skewed version of the events that happened in Silent Hill seventeen years ago. She goes on to ask Vincent if it is true that Claudia has found the "Holy Mother", and it seems like this is news to Vincent. He covers it up pretty well, mentioning that it must be true, because Claudia's "Sight" never fails her. Apparently, she is a psychic or a clairvoyant. This conversation explains how Vincent knew to come seek Heather out and foil Claudia's plans. He suggests to the parishioner that they both forget about the conversation, and she agrees that it might be best. She sounds excited about the idea of God finally being reborn, but Vincent certainly does not. As a final clue, there are some papers on the desk against the west wall. Read them to finally figure out what Vincent's motivations really are. Apparently, "Father" Vincent has been using the Order's money for his own personal gain, and extorting donations from some followers. He apparently was instrumental in helping the Order grow, but it seemed more like he got his position more through financial savvy and charisma than through any depth of faith. The letter is signed "L.S." (I have no idea who this might be). In other words, Vincent is a priest in the Order, who has been using it not for spiritual growth, but for financial gain. That is why he doesn't want God to be reborn; he has a good thing going using his position to skim money away from the church for his own use. He doesn't really follow the Order's beliefs, but was manipulating them for his own gain. So Claudia's true faith, and her attempts to bring back God are ruining the good thing that Vincent had going in Silent Hill. Not to mention the whole painful "Judgment and Redemption" thing doesn't sound like much fun. There may be a First Aid Kit on the stand next to the door if you were low on health supplies when you entered the Church. There is nothing else to find here, so go back into the hallway and go through the last door on the west wall, next to another bloody gurney at the end of the hall. This sparse room is Claudia's. On the bookshelf to the right of the door, you will find Claudia's journal. Go ahead and read it; I'm sure she won't mind. It tells you quite a bit in its few pertinent pages. It talks of how Claudia knew that Alessa was not really dead, and that she had been reborn as a baby, but that she couldn't find her. It goes on to say that one of the priests gave Claudia a book to read that detailed how she could cause the rebirth of God, but that it was "too cruel" and that she didn't know how she would be able to do it when she found Alessa. Finally, it talks about how Claudia spends her free time reading about suffering and plague and child slavery, and about her not wanting to stand idly by while such horrible things are happening in the world. Wow. Claudia actually honestly wants to make the world better. She wants to bring about Paradise so that she can end all of the suffering in the world. And she didn't want to hurt Heather, but felt it was the only way to awaken God and bring about this Paradise. Huh. I don't know about you, but I still want to kill her, noble truths aside. On the end table next to her bed is another touching little object; a birthday card that Alessa gave her on her sixth birthday, saying that she loves her as much as if she were her real sister. It is the only truly personal item in her cell-like room, signifying how much it meant to her. On the end of her bed is the last tarot card, the High Priestess Tarot Card. Now we can unlock that door on the second level and finish this thing. Leave the room, take a left, and run north to where the hallway bends. If you did not kill the Insane Cancer and the Scraper earlier, don't forget to detour through the classroom to avoid confrontation once again. If you killed them earlier, just follow the hallway. Either way, go through the door on the north wall at the end of the hallway. In the next bloody hallway, take your first right and go through the door on the north wall, back into the classroom with the two Scrapers and the Slurper. Dodge the enemies and go through the east door on the same wall that you just came through (south wall), using the map to guide you if the swirling darkness is too thick to see the door. Turn left, run east, then turn and run north at the end of the hall and go through the door at the end of the north passage. Run north a few steps and go through the first door on your right, just beyond the painting leaning against the wall. Go down the hallway and out the door at the east end (ignoring the thing on the other side of the wall once again). There is a new, nasty bubbling noise in this area, caused by the liquid blood- smoke stuff crawling over every surface. Ignore it and get in the elevator, and go back down to the lower level. When the elevator lets you off, turn left and run, turning left again to follow the path as it bears east. Go through the second to last door on the south wall (the third, counting from left to right). If the swirling blackness gets too much, here or in the next room, use the map to lead you to the correct door. Don't forget about the Pendulums in this next area, dodging them as you turn right and follow the path, going through the last door at the end, on the west wall. Run all the way west until you reach the hallway that goes south (and yes, Valtiel is STILL choking that nurse!) leading to Alessa's room, the Save Point, and the last puzzle before the final battle. Go through the door at the end of the southern passage to enter Alessa's room. We are finally almost there. Read the riddle in the sketchbook on the bed to figure out how to arrange the Tarot Cards on the pattern on the door. It says that there are some cards in each row, but never more than two. It goes on to refer to the "upside-down man"; if you examine your cards, you will see that the Hanged Man is hung upside down. It says he is "under the ground", meaning the lowest level, the bottom row, and that "To his right; to his left, there's no one around", meaning The Hanged Man is the only card on the lower level, right in the middle, with no other cards on the bottom row with it. "The Moon is up above the sky," means the Moon card is in the top row, easy enough, and that it rests above the "crazy clown" meaning the Fool card. Since we know the Hanged Man is the only one on the bottom row, we know that the Fool is somewhere in the middle row, and that the Moon will be placed directly above it. They cannot be in the middle row, since the Hanged Man is in the middle, and the beginning of the poem said that there can't be three cards in a row, and since the Moon has to be above the Fool... so they are in either the right or the left columns. Let's move on; "Your Excellency praying to God most high" refers to the High Priestess card, and the fact that it is always looking up at the "night sky" tells us that the last card, the Eye of Night, is directly above her. Once again, we know they are not in the central row, because of the rule about not having three cards in any one row, so all we know is that they will be on whichever side the Moon and the Fool are not, either on the right or the left. The last clue is the clincher, saying that the "scary and hateful" thing in the night is on the left, not on the right; it is referring to the Eye of the Night card. So there you have it. In the top left-hand corner of the grid, place the Eye of the Night card, with the High Priestess in the middle row, right below it. In the middle column, place only the Hanged Man, in the middle of the bottom row. In the top-right hand corner, place the Moon, and put the Fool card right underneath it. The door will then unlock (Note: this refers to the answer to the Normal Riddle Mode. For the solutions to the Easy and Hard Riddle Modes, refer to section IV, "Puzzles", after this walkthrough). Save your game at the Save Point taped to the shelf, then go through the tarot-locked door. Note: if you are going for a perfect ranking, in which you can only have two saves, this last save point should be your second. There is a bloody, nasty passage between you in the end. Run south, turn right when the passage does, run west, turn right when the passage does, run north, turn left when the passage does, then run west some more. You will enter a fairly large chamber with a fairly large fan at the southern end. Run to the north and go through the door on the north wall. This is it. A cutscene reveals Vincent and Claudia arguing in a columned room in the church. He says that wishes both Claudia and Heather would die, so that his life could go back to normal. Claudia asks Vincent when he stopped believing in God, and he replies that he does believe in her, and fears her, but that he believes that the horrible world being created around them is not the work of God, but rather a world built of Claudia's nightmares, just as Alessa created a world out of her nightmares seventeen years ago. He reminds her that the Church was built with his money, money which she spurns, and that he is not ready to see it all go to hell. Right as he is beginning to leave, Heather enters the room. He tells Heather to kill Claudia, but instead Claudia stabs him in the back, literally. She thanks Heather for nurturing the God in her womb with her hatred of Claudia, which is the only way that the God can thrive. That is why she killed Heather's father, and then stuck around so that she would know who did it, even though she knew it was "too cruel", and doing so made her feel sick inside; she needed Heather to hate her with every ounce of her being, and to long to kill her, so that her God could thrive off of that hatred and grow to maturity. It was the only way God could be reborn. Heather points out that a true Paradise can't be born of a God who is nurtured by hatred. She says that she knows her actions were evil, but that they were necessary for the greater good, so that God could be reborn. She is aware that she herself is damned, but that she is willing to make that sacrifice in order to "save" the rest of the world. In the end it is Vincent who brings an end to the Philosophical discussion, telling Heather to use the Seal of Metatron to end it all. Heather brings it out, but Claudia is less than concerned; she says that the Seal was nothing but an insane dream of Leonard's, and that it has no true power. It seems she is right, because the Seal does nothing. Wow. We really wasted our time going to Brookhaven. Claudia then finishes Vincent off by stabbing him in the heart, saying that God has room in hell, even for Vincent. She then turns on Heather and tells her that she has no place to run, and that it is time. Immediately, one of the horrible cramping pains tears through Heather, dropping her to her knees. As Claudia crows on about her triumph the God can be seen taking over Heather; red tendrils begin to grow over her skin and out of her pores, and it looks as though she will soon be overcome. Heather forces the God back with pure force of will, long enough to finally take one decisive action. Actually, that is where you come in. Do you remember the book you found in the sick room, where Alessa lay in mind-numbing agony for seven years, the book that talks about the substance called Aglaophotis? Seventeen years ago it was used to separate Sammael from Alessa, so that the God could be defeated. Now it is the only thing that can save Heather from being devoured from within by that same God. Long ago Harry gave Heather a pendant with a red jewel inside, and told her never, ever to take it off. If you "Examine" the pendant now, and look at the jewel inside, Heather mentions that she doesn't understand why the jewel makes her feel sick inside. The reason is that the jewel is made out of compressed Aglaophotis, the magical substance that can rid people of demonic possession. Harry tracked down some Aglaophotis and had it made into a jewel, or rather a pill, just in case what he suspected about his daughter was true; that she was the reincarnation of Alessa, and that Sammael was buried deep inside her womb. His trials in Silent Hill taught him a valuable lesson, and now his forethought will save Heather. From the time that you regain control of Heather, you have somewhere between thirty seconds to a minute to "Use" the pendant, or, more specifically, the Aglaophotis pill inside it. If you don't, a cutscene will begin in which Heather will die horribly as Sammael is born from within her, while Claudia looks on in horror and/or rapture, and it is game over. If you do use the pendant in time, another cutscene begins. Heather takes off her necklace and swallows the Aglaophotis, and Claudia, not knowing what it is, doesn't try to stop her. At first it seems as though the pill didn't work. Heather falls to the ground in pain once more, and the red tendrils start to cover her body. But then she starts retching, and Claudia becomes disturbed, demanding to know what Heather swallowed. Heather vomits up the nascent Sammael, which looks sad and pathetic on the floor of the Church, like a large, wriggling, cancerous slug. It is obviously dying, but Heather attempts to finish it anyway, and tries to stomp on it. Before she can, Claudia knocks Heather aside and picks up the God, horrified by what Heather has done. She is disgusted that Heather would do such a thing, but then does something even more disgusting to save the God; she swallows it. As Heather looks on in horrified disgust she chokes the slug-thing down, and almost immediately begins to be taken over by what is now within her. Unlike Heather she doesn't try to fight it, and stumbles across the room to a oval shaped hole in the floor. Just as the transformation begins in earnest, she is yanked through the floor by Valtiel, who is now protecting the God squirming inside her. You are left facing the ragged hole in the twisted metal that was left when Claudia was yanked through the floor. There is nothing important to see up here, nor are there any items to pick up, so lets get this over with. Walk up to the edge of the hole and Heather will jump in, beginning yet another cutscene. Claudia's robes are lying on the floor, but she is no longer inside them. She has become the embodiment of Sammael, who has grown to monstrous proportions, but is still not fully formed. Valtiel, who has been seen throughout the game turning valves and strangling nurses, acts as midwife to the newborn God, placing as ceremonial shroud or hood over the strangely beautiful, somewhat reptilian female face. Heather is upset when she finds out that Claudia is already dead, disappointed that she didn't get to kill her herself. But she is even more disturbed by what she does find; the unfinished newborn God that she rejected and almost killed. It isn't happy. It is time for the final battle. II-f-2. FINAL BOSS BATTLE: THE GOD The strange creature is not fully formed, and as such, some of its skeletal structure is still showing. Well, most of it in fact. It does, however, have a large, gray head that seems to resemble Alessa's, and has already grown to a large size. Since the only part of it that isn't skeletal is the head, this is the part that you have to attempt to do damage to. The only weapon that you can effectively aim upward at a range is the Handgun, so equip that as soon as the battle begins. Now it is time to position yourself so you won't get hit. There is a semi-circle drawn on the ground in front of the monster, like a three-point line in basketball. This delineates Sammael's attack range, so stand outside of it before beginning your own attacks. If you are standing inside this semi-circle while the creature is upright, Sammael will be able to reach you with it's mighty arms, and hit you with its most devastating attack, which will slam Heather against the wall and cause quite a bit of damage. So while it is standing, you should stay outside the semi- circle and fire up at the head. When you are outside the line, there is only one attack that it can use to hit you. It will create a rolling semi-circle of fire, just inside the scribed semi-circle that you are using as a point of reference. From this rolling arch of fire, lines of fire will shoot outside the circle, heading straight for Heather. So stay outside the semi-circle and strafe left or right, firing at the creature's head. If you keep moving left or right, the line of fire that shoots out from the semi-circle of fire won't be able to hit you. Keep strafing left and right, while firing up at the head with the Handgun. After several shots, the creature will fall forward, into a crawling crouch. While you have it down at your level, switch to a more potent weapon, such as the SMG or the Shotgun, move forward inside the semi- circle, and unload into its head at closer range. Don't move it TOO close, however, since the semi-circle also delineates Sammael's arm reach, and it could strike you with its limbs if you get in too close. So stand just inside the line and fire away. If the God throws out line of fire, simply back up until you are outside the line, but continue to fire. Strafe left or right to avoid the lines of fire that shoot outside the semi-circle. Eventually Sammael will stand upright again. Move back outside the semi-circle, re-equip the Handgun, and start the process over again. You will know that Sammael is almost dead when it starts throwing out two lines of fire at once, but don't be intimidated. Continue to use the same tactics, only sidestepping two lines of fire instead of one this time. Keep the pressure on and continue with these tactics, and soon the monster will topple once and for all. If you run out of ammunition, switch to the Katana and heal yourself up to full health. Make sure you are wearing the bulletproof vest. Wait for Sammael to throw out its fire attacks, then run in close and attack the pelvis region. Strike it a few times and Sammael will fall forward into it's crawling posture. Run up to the head and start hacking away, blocking if you can and healing if necessary. If Sammael rises again, start hacking at the pelvis until it falls forward, then hack at the head again. If you go hand to hand with Sammael and kill it with a melee weapon, you get a special weapon as a reward during your next game. (See section V-e after this walkthrough for further details). However, you had better hope your health and healing items are up to the task if you hope to kill Sammael hand to hand. However, even if you have plenty of ammo, once you have her on the ropes, you might want to move in to kill her with a melee weapon if you still have a few healing items, especially Ampoules. First of all, it is more satisfying to beat Sammael's head in with the Maul. Second of all, this will allow you to unlock the bonus weapon the next time you play through. Either way, that is it for Sammael for Silent Hill 3. II-g. Part Seven: Epilogue Heather gives the fallen god a couple of kicks to the head for good measure, then turns to leave. Before she makes it out of the room, however, she is finally overcome by the grief for her father that she wouldn't let herself succumb to when she was on the path of revenge. Now that Claudia and Sammael are gone, she allows herself to cry herself out over her father, than gets up and leaves the room that has become a God's tomb. After that, it is time for the game's ending. If this is your first time through the game, you will get the "Normal" ending no matter what. There are two other endings that you may get depending on certain circumstances, if you have beaten the game even once before. Look at section "III. Endings" for info on each one. If this is your first time beating it, congratulations! You've done it. Now get cracking and play through the Extra New Game on Hard Mode. There are still two more endings, several secret items, and many, many new costumes to unlock. III. Endings Obviously, this section contains spoilers. In fact, this whole damn guide is a big spoiler, as most walkthroughs are. If you don't want anything ruined, don't read this. If you are just looking for ways to get the alternate endings, you will find this information in section "V. Secrets and Mysteries" below. III-a. "Normal" Ending The scene changes to Lakeside Amusement Park, to the place where you left the injured Douglas. He looks up as Heather approaches, and asks if it is over. She is holding a knife, and says "Not yet... You are still alive!" and lunges towards him, then yells "Boo!" and starts laughing. Heather has a demented sense of humor. It must come from carrying a dormant Hell-God in her womb across for thirty-eight years and three lifetimes, getting burned alive and dying twice. Anyway, Douglas mentions that Heather has a messed up sense of humor, and she says that he doesn't have to call her Heather anymore, that he can call her by her real name; Cheryl, the name her father gave her. He asks her if she is going to allow her hair to go back to its true color, to which she replies "Don't you think blonds have more fun?" And that is the end. No, really. Well, there is one still shot of Heather kneeling in front of Harry's grave, but that is it. Well done, soldier. III-b. "Possessed" Ending If you have already beaten the game once, you can get this ending if you satisfy a few requirements. For every enemy you kill, including boss monsters, you receive 10 points. For every point of physical damage you receive, you receive 1 point. And if you tell the woman in the Church confessional (as opposed to the Sewer confessional or the Shopping Mall confessional...) "I forgive you", you receive 1000 points. At the end of the game your points are tallied, and if you have 4000 points or more, you get the "Possessed" ending, you lucky dog you! All of the above information about points came from the Brady Games Silent Hill 3 Official Strategy Guide by Dan Birlew. No, I didn't use the guide while playing the game or working on this guide, but I looked this stuff up in it because I figured you would like an answer better than "Kill lots of stuff, get hit a lot, and forgive the confessional chick", which was the only thing I knew about getting this ending. Anyway, this is the "Bad" ending, similar to the "Bad" ending of the original Silent Hill or the "In Water" ending of Silent Hill 2. In other words, this ending won't leave you with a warm fuzzy. Anyway, the battle with God ends as normal, but when Heather leaves the God's final resting place, things are different. The scene opens up in Lakeside Amusement Park as usual, but the camera focuses in on a puddle, and a dead Douglas is bleeding into it from a bench where he lies dead. He was apparently killed by a bladed weapon, and Heather is horrified to recognize the bloody knife that did the job as her own, the one that made her feel "tough". She was possessed by the dark God and it used her to kill poor old Douglas. Fade to black, cue music. III-c. "Revenge" Ending To get this ending, you must have the "Heather Beam". To get the Heather beam, you must kill a total of 333 enemies, though this doesn't have to be in one game. Once you do, you then have to use the Heather Beam, or the more powerful Sexy Beam version of it to kill at least 30 monsters in a single game, before you reach the Daisy Villa Apartments. If you manage to do so, remove all weapons from Heather's hands before you enter. Once you do so, an incredibly wacky ending will ensue. For more information on how to obtain the Heather Beam or the Sexy Beam, see subsection V-f in section V, "Secrets and Mysteries" below. This ending is a "joke" ending, similar to the "UFO" ending from the original Silent Hill or the "Dog" ending from Silent Hill 2. Unfortunately, you cannot know what the "Revenge Ending" is. You must see it for yourself. Hey, if it worked for the Matrix, it works for me. Honestly, it is one of those things that loses something in translation. It is very funny if you see it for yourself, but loses almost everything if I tell you. The only hint I will give you is that it is a sort of sequel to the UFO ending of the original Silent Hill, with an even crazier twist. IV. PUZZLES IV-a. Bookstore Puzzle There is a door in the back of the bookstore that has been locked using a four-digit code that must be punched into a nine-digit keypad. The secret to unlocking this door is tied to a five volume Shakespeare Anthology that can also be found in the bookstore. The four-digit code and the means of figuring it out is different depending on which difficulty level you are playing on. IV-a-1. EASY Two of the five books have fallen off the shelf. Place them back on the shelf in the proper chronological order (i.e. I, II, III, IV, V, in that order). The four-digit code is simply written across their spines in big numbers, so punch the four-digit code displayed into the keypad by the locked door in the order that they are written on the spines. The code is randomly generated in each game, so you will have to figure this brainteaser out on your own. If you are able to count to five on your own, you shouldn't have too much difficulty. IV-a-2. NORMAL This puzzle is slightly more difficult than the "easy" version, which required you to be able to count all the way to five. There will be a sign near the locked door that reads "Fair is foul and foul is fair. Put these books out of order." All five books will be on the floor in front of the shelf where they belong. You simply have to put them back on the shelf in a random order that looks "right". The four-digit code written along the spine should look as if it was written there naturally, with no huge gaps or partial numbers. Since there is usually one half of a number on one spine and the rest of the same number on the next book, this puzzle shouldn't take too long to figure out; it will just take some trial and error book arranging on your part. If it looks like there is only three numbers written along the spines, then the missing number is probably a "1" that is barely viable due to the cracks between the books. The code is randomly generated in each game, so I can't just give you the four-digit number. IV-a-3. HARD Sweet Baby Jesus. While the Easy and Normal versions of this Puzzle merely involve moving some books around on a shelf, the Hard version not only expects you to have working knowledge of five of Shakespeare's major works, but to multiply and manipulate the numbers that you come up with. The five books are once again on the floor in front of the bookshelf. However, you do not need to put them back on the shelf to proceed, since the four-digit code is not written across the spines, but comes from the book's number in the anthology instead. "Examine" the books in your inventory to find out their number in the anthology and what play is contained in that volume. The five books of the Shakespeare anthology series are: Shakespeare Anthology 1- Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare Anthology 2- King Lear Shakespeare Anthology 3- MacBeth Shakespeare Anthology 4- Hamlet Shakespeare Anthology 5- Othello There is a note next to the locked door that contains the information you need to unravel this puzzle. It reads: "In here is a tragedy--- art thou player or audience? Be as it may, the end doth remain: all go on only toward death. The first word at thy left hand: a false lunacy, a madly dancing man. Hearing unhearable words, drawn to a beloved's grave---and there, mayhap, true madness at last. As did this one playing at death, find true death at last. Killing a nameless lover, she pierced a heart rent by sorrow. Doth lie invite truth? Doth verity but wear the mask of falsehood? Ah, thou pitiful, thou miserable ones. Still amidst lies, though the end cometh not, wherefore yearn for death? Will thou attend thy beloved? Truths and lies, life and death: a game of turning white to black and black to white. Is not a silence brimming with love more precious than flattery? A peaceful slumber preferred to a throne besmirched with blood? One vengeful man spilled blood for two; Two youths shed tears for three; Three witches disappeared thusly; And only the four keys remain. Ah but verily... In here lies a tragedy. Art thou player or audience? there is something which cannot become a puppet of fate or an onlooker, peering into a cage." Figuring this one out requires a working knowledge of Shakespeare. Luckily, I was an English Major in college, and have soft spot for the bard, so was able to figure this one out with only a little bit of swearing and cursing of the gods. To figure it out, you have to take each stanza one at a time and figure out each anthology's place in the riddle. So here we go. The first stanza reads: "In here is a tragedy--- art thou player or audience? Be as it may, the end doth remain: all go on only toward death." This refers only to the plays as a whole and acts as an introduction. All of the five plays mentioned end in death. Let's move on to the next one. It says: "The first word at thy left hand: a false lunacy, a madly dancing man. Hearing unhearable words, drawn to a beloved's grave---and there, mayhap, true madness at last." The first line refers to where this particular anthology number belongs in the four-digit code; the first at thy left hand would be the first number, reading left to right. The false lunacy, the madly dancing man, the beloved's grave, and the end in true madness... it can only be referring to Hamlet. Hamlet played at insanity in an attempt to draw out his father's killer, but in the end fell into true madness when his thoughtless need for revenge drove his beloved Ophelia to suicide. The anthology number that contains Hamlet is number "4" so that is our first number. So far so good. The next stanza reads: "As did this one playing at death, find true death at last. Killing a nameless lover, she pierced a heart rent by sorrow." I'm not sure where the bit about "killing a nameless lover" came from, because he had a name, and it was Romeo (Update: a huge word of thanks to Antonio Ricardo Chafran. He reminded me of the "What's in a name?" passage in Romeo and Juliet that says "I take thee at thy word. Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I will never be Romeo." So that explains that). In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet "played at death" by taking a potion that made her body seem to be dead, even though she was still alive, albeit in a coma-like state. She did this to escape the constraints that both her own and Romeo's families put on them, faking her death so that she could be free. Unfortunately, the letter to Romeo that would have told him of her ploy was detained, and so he didn't know she wasn't really dead. As a result Romeo killed himself for real over her comatose body in the crypt where she had been laid to rest. Waking to find her lover dead beside her, Juliet killed herself for real by stabbing herself in the heart with Romeo's dagger, rather than try to live in a world without Romeo. Thus she played at death, and then died for real after inadvertently killing her lover, "piercing a heart rent by sorrow" with the dagger. The anthology that contains Romeo and Juliet is Volume 1, thus the second number in the code is "1". Two down. The next stanza reads: "Doth lie invite truth? Doth verity but wear the mask of falsehood? Ah, thou pitiful, thou miserable ones." This one is a little more obscure, but MacBeth deals extensively with the issues of lies vs. truth, and struggles of the moral ambiguity of MacBeth using lies and deception in order to take the throne. The anthology that contains MacBeth is Volume 3, so the third number in the code is "3". Two more numbers to go. Next we have a stanza that says: "Still amidst lies, though the end cometh not, wherefore yearn for death? Will thou attend thy beloved? Truths and lies, life and death: a game of turning white to black and black to white." The last line of this is the most obvious, if one knows anything about board games. There is a game in which all the pieces are disks that are black on one side and white on the other. One player plays black and the other player plays white. The goal of the game is to turn all of the pieces on the board to your color, either turning the white pieces black or vice versa. The name of this game is Othello. In the play, the deceptions turn "truths and lies, life and death" back on themselves, turning truth into lies and life into death. This could certainly also be described, metaphorically, of "turning white to black and black to white". So now we know where the board game got its name, and also what the fourth number of the code is. Othello is in Volume 5 of the anthology, and thus the fourth number is "5". We can figure out the last number by process of elimination, but where is the fun in that? We are on a roll. The next stanza reads: "Is not a silence brimming with love more precious than flattery? A peaceful slumber preferred to a throne besmirched with blood?" In Shakespeare's play King Lear, the titular character has three daughters. His daughter Cordelia loves her father greatly, but isn't vocal about it, rather allowing her actions to speak for themselves. On the other hand, her sisters are constantly flattering their father and kissing his ass, while in actuality, all they want is the throne for themselves, which they fight over with much bloodshed. Thus the "silence brimming with love" refers to Cordelia's love for Lear, which is "more precious than flattery" given by her sisters. Thus, this is referring to King Lear, which is in Anthology volume 2. Thus the fifth number is "2". Now we have the five volumes in order: 4, 1, 3, 5, and 2. But we aren't done yet! There are still two more stanzas left in the poem, and we will need to look further for our code than was previously thought. The second-to-last stanza says: "One vengeful man spilled blood for two; Two youths shed tears for three; Three witches disappeared thusly; And only the four keys remain." The "vengeful man" refers to Hamlet, who wanted to get revenge for his father's murder. He "spilled blood for two", meaning that you should double the value of the digit that represents Hamlet, which is 4: therefore, the first digit of the code is now "8". The "two youths that shed tears for three" refers to Romeo and Juliet (two sad youths if there ever were any) and the fact the number representing them should be multiplied by three. Romeo and Juliette were in Anthology 1, so triple that and you get "3". The "three witches disappeared thusly" obviously refers to MacBeth, in which there were three witches who set MacBeth on the path to his destiny, and the "disappeared thusly" part means that the number referring to MacBeth can be removed from the equation (which is good, since there was five numbers and the code is only four digits). MacBeth was in Anthology 3, so remove the second three from the equation, and "only the four keys remain": which means we are finally done. Your final, four digit code should be 8, 3, 5, 2. The last stanza does not have anything to do with the actual code; it is just a closing stanza to the riddle. Punch 8352 into the keypad next to the door, and you can finally be on your merry way. IV-b. Hospital Second Floor Key Code Puzzle The door at the end of the hallway is locked with a four-digit code that must be punched into a nine-digit keypad. The key to figuring out this code is a clue written on a piece of paper near the door. What the four-digit code is and the clue necessary to figuring it out is different depending on what difficulty level you are playing on. IV-b-1. EASY The clue written on the note near the door reads: "Press, move 2 right; press, move 1 up; press, move 2 down; press and the door shall open." The keys on the keypad are set up as three rows of three digits, 1-3 being on the top row, 4-6 in the middle row, and 7-9 on the bottom row. We don't know what the first number that needs to be pressed is, but we can figure it out by following the instructions on which buttons to press AFTER the first one. The first clue says that after pressing the first button, the next button you press is two numbers to the right of the first. This means that the first number has to be one of the three numbers on the left of the keypad, or else you wouldn't be able to move two to the right; you would run out of numbers. This means that the first number has to be 1, 4, or 7, and moving two to the right would make the second number 3, 6, or 9. But the next clue says that the third number pressed has to be one up from the second number, which means that the first and second numbers can't be in the top row, because there are no numbers "up" from there. That means the first number has to be 4 or 7, the second number has to be 6 or 9, and the third number has to be 3 or 6 (the digits directly above the two possible numbers that could be the second digit). But the next clue says that you have to be able to move two digits down from the third number to find the fourth number, which means that the third digit has to be in the top row, or else you wouldn't be able to move two rows down. That means the third number has to be 3, which means that the second number is 6 (the digit right below the three on the keypad), and the first number has to be 4 (two to the left of the second digit) and the fourth digit has to be 9 (the digit two rows down from the third digit). So your final code is 4, 6, 3, 9. Punch this into the keypad to unlock the door. IV-b-2. NORMAL The key to opening the door is posted on the west wall, right next to the door. This is a rather tricky mathematical riddle, but along with Stanley's clue that the code is four digits, you can figure it out. The first important clue states that the Second Number is two times the Third. Based on the nine numbers on the keypad, this limits the possibilities of what these two numbers can be, since it doesn't deal in half numbers, such as 2.5. This means there are only four possibilities for the second and third numbers; 2 and 1, 4 and 2, 6 and 3, or 8 and 4. The next clue states that the fourth number is half the first, resulting in the same four sets of numbers for the possible choices; once again, 2 and 1, 4 and 2, 6 and 3, or 8 and 4. The puzzle clearly states that the first number is larger than the second and the third number is smaller than the fourth. Combining this with the number sets we got earlier, this gives us only six possible four digit codes to deal with; 4212, 6213, 6423, 8214, 8424, and 8634 (work it out yourself if you have to, but these are the only possible combinations of the eight number sets that allow for the first to be larger than the second and the third smaller than the fourth). The riddle states that no numbers are repeated, so you can eliminate 4212 and 8424, leaving only four choices. To figure out the rest the riddle, you need to look at the keypad itself; the numbers 1,2,and 3 are in the top row, 4, 5, and 6 are in the middle row (horizontally), 7, 8, and 9 are in the bottom row, 1, 4, and 7 are in the left row (vertically), 2, 5, and 8 are in the middle row (vertically), and 3, 6, and 9 are in the right row (vertically). The riddle states that only one of the numbers is in the top row, which means we can eliminate 6213, 6423, and 6423 (since digits 1,2, and 3 are all in top row, and thus can't be used in the same sequence. The riddle goes on to say that two of the digits are not in the right row, and that one of the numbers is the final key, but these two clues are redundant, as we already have our answer; THE ANSWER CAN ONLY BE 8634. IV-b-3. HARD The "Hard" version of this puzzle may in fact be one of the most Difficult and esoteric puzzles in the history of electronic gaming. The clue posted next to the locked door now reads: "Pure eyes, blue like a glassy bead--- You are always looking at me and I am always looking at you. Ah, you're too meek --- beautiful, unspoiled: thus I'm so sad, I suffer--- and so happy, it hurts. I want to hurt you and destroy myself What you would think if you knew how I felt. Would you simply smile, not saying a word? Even curses from your mouth would be as beautiful as pearls. I place my left hand on your face as though we were to kiss. Then I suddenly shove my thumb deep into your eyesocket. Abruptly, decisively, like drilling a hole. And what would it feel like? Like jelly? Trembling with ecstasy, I obscenely mix it around and around: I must taste the warmth of your blood. How would you scream? Would you shriek "It hurts! It hurts!" as cinnabar-red tears stream from your crushed eye? You can't know the maddening hunger I've felt in the midst of our kisses, so many of them I've lost count. As though drinking in your cries, I bring my hopes to fruition: biting your tongue, shredding it, biting at your lips as if tasting your lipstick. Oh, what euphoric heights I would reach, having my desires fulfilled like a greedy, gluttonous cur. I longed, too, for your cherry-tinted cheeks, tasty enough to bewitch my tongue. I would surely be healed, and would cry like a child. And how is your tender ear? It brushes against my cheek; I want it to creep up to my lips so I can sink my teeth into its flesh. Your left ear, always hearing words whispered sweet as pie --- I want it to hear my true feelings. I never lied, no... but I did have my secrets. Ah, but what must you think of me? Do you hate me? Are you afraid? As though inviting you to the agony at the play's end; if you wish, you could destroy me --- I wouldn't care. As you wish, you may destroy me --- I wouldn't care." Wow. That was beautiful. You've got to wonder why Hallmark hasn't snatched up the rights to make greeting cards based on the Silent Hill brand name. Anyway, figuring out this puzzle takes some visual thinking and the ability to follow important themes through the poem. For this reason, we will have to break down the poem systematically. First things first, although this poem is about eating a face, it is still referring to the keypad next to the door, which, as you might have noticed, doesn't look a god damned thing like a face. Let's look at the first stanza of the poem: "Pure eyes, blue like a glassy bead--- You are always looking at me and I am always looking at you." Well, the keys none of the keys are blue or glassy. They are all steel gray. So I guess we can ignore that part. The important bit is the last two lines of the stanza, that says that "you" (that is to say the keypad that represents your face) are always looking at "me" (that is to say the person who is mashing at your face, the person pushing the buttons on the keypad) and vice versa. When you are face to face with another person, your right would be their left, and their left would be your right. Keep this in mind as we continue. The next three stanzas read: "Ah, you're too meek --- beautiful, unspoiled: thus I'm so sad, I suffer--- and so happy, it hurts. I want to hurt you and destroy myself What you would think if you knew how I felt. Would you simply smile, not saying a word? Even curses from your mouth would be as beautiful as pearls." Okay, these three stanzas are just setting the stage. The writer of the lovely poem thinks that the object of his affection is too beautiful for his own good, so he is going to fix the problem. So for the rest of the poem he is re-arranging her face, so to speak. Let's continue, shall we? "I place my left hand on your face as though we were to kiss. Then I suddenly shove my thumb deep into your eyesocket. Abruptly, decisively, like drilling a hole." Okay, that is pretty Goddamned direct. His left hand goes onto her cheek and he jams his thumb into her eye. Just like pressing a button. Nifty. So now we just have to figure out where the eye is on the keyboard. Now technically it would be her right eye, because it is his left hand, and he is facing her. But it is still the left side of the keyboard. So we know it is on the left, or in the left-most column. That means, with the nine-digit keypad we have been working with, that the number would have to be 1 (top), 4 (middle), or 7 (bottom), if it is on the left hand side. Thinking of the keypad as a face (not a whole head mind you, or else we would have to worry about the forehead and whatnot, and that would screw up the whole thing), the eyes are towards the top section, the nose would be near the middle, and the mouth and chin and whatnot would be at the bottom. Logical? Good. Now if we only have three columns to work with, and we want to be symmetrical (since this is, presumably, a human face, and not some mutant with its eyes shifted to one side, though this is Silent Hill), the eyes would have to be on either side of the keypad. So the number in the top row (where the eye would be), on the left-hand side (where he is shoving his damned thumb) would be the number 1. So keep that in mind as we press onward to the second digit. Let's look at the next two stanzas. "And what would it feel like? Like jelly? Trembling with ecstasy, I obscenely mix it around and around: I must taste the warmth of your blood. How would you scream? Would you shriek "It hurts! It hurts!" as cinnabar-red tears stream from your crushed eye?" So he wiggles his thumb around in her eyesocket, hoping for a taste of her nummy eyeball jelly (educational side-note: the jelly that comes out of a ruptured eyeball is called "vitreous humor" in medical texts. The crusty eyeball gunk that you wake up with is called "aqueous humor". This has nothing to do with the game, but now if it comes up on "Jeopardy" or "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", you'll know and can share the money with me). He gets his chance when her "cinnabar-red tears" stream from her ruptured eye. Now believe it or not, this is actually referring to the second number. Though he isn't jabbing his thumb at it, is does refer to a part of her face, in a round-about kind of way. The bloody mess streaming from her eye would run downward, towards the area right below her eye. Since these stanzas are actually talking about wanting to taste her bloody tears, this is what we have to follow. The area right below the ruptured eye (where the bloody goo would go) would be the middle section on the right of the keypad, which would be the number 4. So oddly enough, this is our second digit. So we are halfway there. On to the next two stanzas, for the third digit. "You can't know the maddening hunger I've felt in the midst of our kisses, so many of them I've lost count. As though drinking in your cries, I bring my hopes to fruition: biting your tongue, shredding it, biting at your lips as if tasting your lipstick. Oh, what euphoric heights I would reach, having my desires fulfilled like a greedy, gluttonous cur." So apparently, while they used to make out, the poet really kept thinking to himself "this is nice and all, but I would really like to eat her tongue". So, true to form, he does so. Let's not dwell on this, and just press onward. The mouth, traditionally, is on the bottom half of one's face, usually towards the center. Assuming this is the way that the poet's lady-friend is set up, that would put her mouth on the bottom row of the keypad, in the dead center, and the number in the middle of the bottom row is 8. So 8 is our third digit. He seems to be getting more direct, so we will only have to look to the next stanza for the fourth digit. "I longed, too, for your cherry-tinted cheeks, tasty enough to bewitch my tongue. I would surely be healed, and would cry like a child." Okay, now we have cheeks. Now personally, I would think that the cheeks are kind of in the middle of the face, but I would be wrong. If you REALLY think about it, the cheeks are on either side of mouth, while your cheek BONES are right below your eyes, in the middle of your face (i.e. where the cinnabar tears dripped earlier). Now, the right side of the face would be pretty messed up by now, so let's assume that the cheek he noshes on would be her left, cheek, which would be on the right side of the keypad. If the cheek is next to the mouth, it is on the bottom row, and if it is on the right side of the keypad, it would be the number 9. So this is our next number. Now that should be the four digits, which is all we need, but the poet isn't done yet. So let's look at the next two stanzas and see where this is going. "And how is your tender ear? It brushes against my cheek; I want it to creep up to my lips so I can sink my teeth into its flesh. Your left ear, always hearing words whispered sweet as pie --- I want it to hear my true feelings. I never lied, no... but I did have my secrets." Okay, now the sick bastard wants to eat her ear, and the second stanza tells us that it is her left ear, which we should know by now in the right side of the keypad. Now I know that we said that the area right below the eyes is the cheekbone area, but forget that for a moment. On your face, where are the ears? In the middle of your noggin, off to he sides. Which would place the left ear in the middle of the right row, which is the number 6. Try not to think of the numbers as a face in relationship to one another, but rather what REGION of the face the numbers on the pad could represent. Thus the middle number in the left row represents the cheekbone in one stanza, because it is roughly in the middle of the face and off to one side, while the middle number in the right row represents an ear, because it is positioned roughly in the middle and off to one side. The last few stanzas don't refer to any body parts, so we don't need to worry about them in the context of the riddle. Unfortunately, we aren't done yet, because we came up with five numbers from the poem, but there are only four numbers in the final code. We will have to look at this in detail or order to figure this out. Here are our five numbers, along with the clues that led us to them: 1. Thumb in the right eye: number 1. 2. Licking the eye-jelly from the right cheekbone: number 4. 3. Chewing on her mouth and tongue: number 8. 4. Tasting her left cheek: number 9. 5. Eating her left ear: number 6. Now let's play "One of these things is not like the others"; what do four of these things have in common that the fifth does not? Let's see: pushing, licking, chewing, tasting, eating? Only one of these things does not have to do with something being done to another with their mouth, and that is the first clue. So the key to this puzzle is the same as its theme: cannibalism! So if we remove the only clue that is not directly cannibalistic, we are left with the numbers 4, 8, 9, and 6. This is your four-digit code, so punch it into the keypad and try to never think about this riddle ever again. 4896 is your final answer. IV-c. Hospital Briefcase Puzzle In Brookhaven Hospital there is a mostly-covered up corpse on a gurney in Examining Room 3 on the second floor. The corpse has two tattoos, but only the one on his arm needs concern us. It reads, "The Start Time is My Key". From nearby documents you will find that the patient occupied room M4 when he was alive. When you go to room M4, an alarm clock will go off. Turning off the alarm is unimportant (though it is certainly less annoying to turn it off). The important part is the time that is displayed on the clock. On the bed nearby is a briefcase locked with four numerical dials: turn the dials so that the briefcase dials read, from left to right, the time displayed on the clock when the alarm goes off (i.e. the "Start Time"). The way that the numbers are displayed or must be entered is different depending on which Riddle Difficulty setting you are playing on. IV-c-1. EASY The clock is digital, and displays the numbers exactly as they should be entered. You don't even have to know how to read a conventional clock. If the time is only three digits (7:45, for example), then use "0" as the first digit (which means 7:45 would be entered as 0-7-4-5, while 12:52 would be 1-2-5-2. IV-c-2. NORMAL The clock is a conventional clock, but the time should be entered the same as it is on the "easy" setting. If the time is only three digits (9:23, for example), then use "0" as the first digit (which means 9:23 would be entered as 0-9-2-3, while 11:07 would be 1-1-0-7. IV-c-3. HARD The clock is a conventional clock, but the time displayed entered in military time. For those unfamiliar with military time, instead of being based on two sets of twelve hours, in a.m. and p.m. (i.e. there is a 9:00 at morning and another 9:00 at night), it is based on a single twenty-four hour cycle, starting and ending at midnight (which would be considered 00:00). Thus if a clock reads 9:15 and it is in the morning, the time is actually 9:15, while if it reads 9:15 at night it is actually 21:15 (in other words twenty-one hours and fifteen minutes after midnight). For the purposes of Silent Hill 3, assume that it is after noon, and thus if the time was 5:34, it would actually be 17:34 for the purposes of the code, entered as 1-7-3-4 from left to right on the briefcase's number dials. IV-d. Hospital Mortuary Puzzle If you take the elevator in Dark Side Brookhaven Hospital to level B3, you will find ten numbered corpses on gurneys that are necessary to opening the door to the oven in which the bodies are cremated. Go to the oven door and examine it. What you find there is different depending on what difficulty setting you are playing on. IV-d-1. EASY The door to the oven is already open, and the Cremated Key is sitting inside. The puzzle requires you to pick up the key and leave. That is it. No tricks. Take it and get the hell out. IV-d-2. NORMAL There are bodies on gurneys throughout this room, with numbers written on the ends, ranging from 0 to 9. The map doesn't show this level, but for the purposes of this riddle, we will call the wall opposite the elevator, the one with the incinerator on it, north, and the wall where the door to the elevator is located is south. In this scheme, the numbered bodies are lined up so that 1 and 2 are against the north wall, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are across the middle of the room, and 7, 8, 9, and 0 are lined up along the south wall. There is an incinerator set into the middle of the east wall, for disposing of bodies, but the door is locked with a dial padlock. Scratched into the door of the incinerator is a pattern marked with roman numerals, from I to IV. The numbers are marked on a grid, placed in random squares, so the code is also randomized. The answer is rather simple; the grid represents the placement of the bodies in the mortuary, with the top squares on the door representing the bodies against the wall I dubbed "north", and the bottom squares representing the bodies against the wall that I called "south". Each body has a number attached to it. The roman numerals represent which number of the four-digit code it is. For example, if the roman numeral III was marked in the top left corner of diagram, you would look in the top left corner of the room to see which body is located there (in the above example, this number would be "1"), and the number attached to this body would be the third number in the four digit code. Do this for all four numbers, put them in the proper order, and then enter them into the numerical lock next to the incinerator to unlock it. IV-d-3. HARD On the door to the oven you'll see a memo which reads: "Burn the one who knows no death . Pure, adored by those above. No prayers within, just simple love. And now the pining hunter. The flames longing for his rebirth. A distant flame within the earth. Burn up that heavy body of his. Make it wind, dancing in the sky. That bottomless gut now a cloud, now a sigh. The sweet blood on his laughing lips. Now calls him to the gates of hell. There burns evermore that soulless shell. Four bodies return to ashes. Thus the door is opened. Thus the door is opened." Furthermore, on each body-laden gurney there is a number and a poem: 0- The Kite: The Kite hot, crazy and panting mad. Sweet shackles that tease and excite. Death itself would drive him wild. Red blood that turns milky white. 1- The Sparrow: Who killed Cock Robin? "The Sparrow," they said. "He wants them all dead. To him honey-sweet is their sobbing. 2- The Owl: The Owl who forgot the sky. Resigned to his poor earthbound state. Hungry of full didn't matter at all, He ate and he ate and he ate. 3- The Thrush: The grass the Thrush so loved to eat. Gave him sweet happiness. He sank ever deeper and finally fell. To destruction and fatal distress. 4- The Robin: Cock Robin, who hid the key away. Is ash in the oven all right. The place he held is empty now. And the doors remain shut tight. 5- The Lark: The Lark's child lost all his words. And walled himself up all away. Heart and mouth both locked up tight. In a cage where no one want to stay. 6- The Dove: The Dove's hope died, he chose his path. His flapping wings fell still. Drenched in scarlet there he lay. His cheeks pale white and chill. 7- The Linnet: He seeks out her soul by his own black ambition. Frightening her out of her wits. Whispering love songs in her ear. What cruel Linnet wants, he gets. 8- The Rook: The black Rook is the praying sort. Who hears the gods in the skies. His whispered petitions go on without end. And glassy and dim are his eyes. 9- The Wren: The Wren with pure heart as yet unrefined. Makes us laugh unto his feeble lip-smacking. But still we all know he shall never grow old. And he knows not how much he is lacking. First things first: this whole shebang refers to the old English folksong/poem "Who Killed Cock Robin", the text of which goes: "Who killed Cock Robin?" "I," said the Sparrow, "With my bow and arrow, I killed Cock Robin." "Who saw him die?" "I," said the Fly, "With my little eye, I saw him die." "Who caught his blood?" "I," said the Fish, "With my little dish, I caught his blood." "Who'll make the shroud?" "I," said the Beetle, "With my thread and needle, I'll make the shroud." "Who'll dig his grave?" "I," said the Owl, "With my pick and shovel, I'll dig his grave." "Who'll be the parson?" "I," said the Rook, "With my little book, I'll be the parson." "Who'll be the clerk?" "I," said the Lark, "If it's not in the dark, I'll be the clerk." "Who'll carry the link?" "I," said the Linnet, "I'll fetch it in a minute, I'll carry the link." "Who'll be chief mourner?" "I," said the Dove, "I mourn for my love, I'll be chief mourner." "Who'll carry the coffin?" "I," said the Kite, "If it's not through the night, I'll carry the coffin." "Who'll bear the pall? "We," said the Wren, "Both the cock and the hen, we'll bear the pall." "Who'll sing a psalm?" "I," said the Thrush, "As she sat on a bush, I'll sing a psalm." "Who'll toll the bell?" "I," said the bull, "Because I can pull, I'll toll the bell." All the birds of the air fell a-sighing and a-sobbing, When they heard the bell toll for poor Cock Robin. Let me get this out of the way; Hee Hee! They said "cock". Now that I've gotten that out of my system, let me further add that this is believed to be a poem about the death of Robin Hood, and how the whole of creation mourned his passing, not about an actual bird. That having been said, unfortunately knowing all this doesn't do a damn thing to help you figure out the puzzle. But it does help us understand how it fits into the folklore/legends/children's story/rhyme thing the game has going on. A BIG thanks to Jack Babington for bringing this to my attention. As an English major, I should be ashamed. You may have noticed that the poem-memo on the oven has four verses, each of which refers to a specific bird, though not by name, and a final verse to tie everything up. The numbers before each "bird's" poem is the number it represents on the numerical lock. Thus, the first stanza of the memo refers to the bird representing the first number to be entered into the lock, the second stanza is the second number, and so on. Now to figure out which bird each stanza is referring to; all it requires is comparing clues and keywords from the poem on the oven to clues and keywords in the poems on the gurneys: "Burn the one who knows no death . Pure, adored by those above. No prayers within, just simple love." So the first bird is pure and does not die. Just by scanning the poems about each bird, we only see two that may be said to be immortal; The Rook's "petitions go on without end", and it is said of the Wren "still we all know he shall never grow old". The rest of them are either said to have died, or it doesn't specify one way or another. So our next clue is that it is pure. Of the two we narrowed it down to, it is said that the Rook "is the praying sort" which may mean that he is pure. However, the poem about the Wren says explicitly "The Wren with pure heart as yet unrefined". He fits both our criteria, so he is our bird. The Wren's number was 9, so that shall be our first digit. Let's go on to the second stanza. "And now the pining hunter. The flames longing for his rebirth. A distant flame within the earth." Now the flames and rebirth thing makes me think of a phoenix, but that isn't one of the choices. What we do know is that the bird is a hunter, he is pining (i.e. sad), and that the flames within the earth want him. Okay, so our keywords are hunter, pining, and earth. Well, only two or three of the birds we have to choose from are hunters, depending on how you look at it. The Owl and the Kite (which is a kind of raptor) are the two obvious choices, but the poem about the Sparrow says that he is a murderer as well. However, I discounted the Sparrow because I have never seen or heard of a sparrow hunting down or eating other birds or even small mammals. So that leaves the Kite and the Owl. The poem about the Kite doesn't really say that he is sad, but it does say that it is "crazy and panting mad", something about "sweet shackles that tease and excite" and that "Death itself will drive him wild". So apparently he is a sado-masochist and a necrophiliac, and doesn't seem to be really "pining" about it. The Owl on the other hand "forgot the sky", and "Resigned to his poor earthbound state" because he has a severe eating disorder. He doesn't seem to be very happy about it, and could probably be said to be "pining". Plus, being earthbound, the "flames within the earth" are probably for him. So the answer is the Owl, and the number that represents him is 2, which is the second number in the code. Only two left. The third stanza says: "Burn up that heavy body of his. Make it wind, dancing in the sky. That bottomless gut now a cloud, now a sigh." Okay, now this one just sucks. The clues on how to answer figure it out aren't even really in the poem, or in any of the birds' "songs". The stanza talks about the bird's heavy body, and it's "bottomless" gut. It says to burn up the body (flames again, of course) and to "make it wind". Now based on the "heavy body" and "bottomless gut" references, we would have to assume that it is referring to the Owl (who "ate and ate and ate" whether he was "hungry or full"), the Thrush (who "so loved to eat") or even possibly the Wren (the "feeble lip- smacking" makes me think of food or gluttony). None of these really talk about burning up a body, or anything about wind, however, so I decided to figure out the last number, and then try the numbers for the Owl (2), the Thrush (3), and the Wren (9) as the third digits, one at a time until I got it right. To my surprise, the code didn't work. I rechecked everything, and KNEW that the other three digits were correct, so I kept wracking my brain with the third clue, but couldn't figure it out. Finally, in frustration, I tried each of the 9 digits on the keypad until I got the code right. In the end, the number ended up being "7", which is the number that corresponds to the Linnet. Here is the Song of the Linnet again: "He seeks out her soul by his own black ambition. Frightening her out of her wits. Whispering love songs in her ear. What cruel Linnet wants, he gets." Consequently, we know that body number seven is our old pal Stanley Cole, for a number of reasons. First of all, there is the note in Leonard's room stating that Stanley is gone, and that his new name is "Number Seven", and that he can be found downstairs. Kind of a big clue. There is also the fact that as you walk by corpse number seven, he sighs out the word "Heather", because he finally got to see her. And lastly there is the stanza itself, which describes the crazy old bastard pretty damned well, as well as the way he harassed and frightened Heather throughout the game. Unfortunately, knowing this doesn't help you at all in figuring out the code, since it has nothing to do with the riddle. As you may have noticed, there is nothing about the Linnet being heavy or gluttonous, nor about burning the body, becoming wind, clouds, or sighing. In the end, I went to the Encyclopedia Britannica, and found out everything that I was missing; the Linnet is known for eating up to three times its own weight in seed every day, to the point that it sometimes cannot even fly afterwards. In fact, this is where it gets its name: one of the main sources of food for the Linnet is flaxseed, which it eats more of than any other food source. Flax fibers are used in the manufacture of the cloth linen. Both linen and the Linnet got their name from the Latin word for Flax, which was Lin. So the Linnet got its name from pigging out on Lin. As for the rest of the clues in the poem, I can only speculate. According to the Encyclopedia, the Linnet is usually black, red, and white. In the stanza it refers to burning, which results in red flames and black char, and turning it into a cloud, which are often white. Here you have the Linnet's three colors. Mind you, this is a stretch of logic to try and figure out what the hell they were thinking when they applied the stanza to the Song of the Linnet. Apparently you have to have an encyclopedic knowledge of goddamned birds to survive in Silent Hill. Anyway, the Linnet's number is 7, which is the third number in the code. Now on to the last, which is a cakewalk compared to the bloody Linnet clue. "The sweet blood on his laughing lips. Now calls him to the gates of hell. There burns evermore that soulless shell." So here we have blood, laughing lips, and a bird who is going to hell and is a "soulless shell". Scanning the poems for blood, we have a few candidates; the Kite (who is crazy, excited by death, and something about "red blood that turns milky white"), the Sparrow (who murdered the Robin, wants them all dead, and who finds their sobbing "honey- sweet"), the Dove (who lies "drenched all in scarlet") and the damned Linnet (who wants "her" soul, has "black ambition" and who is "cruel" and gets what he wants. The next clue suggests that the bird enjoys the death; by saying it has "sweet blood on his laughing lips". The Kite is definitely a candidate, because he is "excited by death". So is the Sparrow, who we know murdered the Robin, wants them "all dead", and finds their sobbing "honey-sweet". The Dove doesn't really fit because the poem implies that the bird is bloody because it killed, and is going to hell for its soullessness. The Dove, however is bloody because it is dying; it is "hopeless" and its "cheeks pale white and still". The Linnet is also out of the running because it hasn't actually killed anything (at least not yet); it is "cruel" and has "black ambition" but it is merely frightening "her" out of her wits by singing love songs in her ear, not actually killing her. So we are down to the crazy Kite and the murderous Sparrow. The last bit of the stanza says that the bird in question is going to the gates of hell, where its "soulless shell" while burn evermore. This suggests even further evil, soulless murder. The Kite is mad, and "Death itself would drive him wild". I don't want to think too much about the whole "Red blood that turns milky white" part. Along with the thing about death driving him wild part, it definitely takes me to a sexual place, not a murder place. The Kite is turned on by death, but nothing says it is a murderer. The Sparrow on the other hand "killed Cock Robin", "wants us all dead", and finds their sobbing "honey-sweet". This flat out says he murders, wants to murder more, and enjoys it. This definitely sounds like a "soulless", hell-bound bird. So the answer is Sparrow, whose number is 1, which is our fourth and final number. So the first stanza gives us the Wren (9), second stanza leads us to the Owl (2), the third stanza confuses the hell out of us and makes us angry but the process of elimination and the Encyclopedia Britannica gives us the Linnet (7), and the fourth stanza leads us to the Sparrow (1). So the code that opens the door to the oven is 9-2-7-1. Punch it in, get your key, and then go study your Ornithology in case it is tested in a later Silent Hill game. IV-e. Tarot Card Puzzle This puzzle requires you to gather five different Tarot Cards from five different locations and place them in a specific pattern on the door in the back of Alessa's room on the bottom floor of the Church. The cards you will need are The Eye of the Night(XXII), The Hanged Man(XII), The Fool(0), The High Priestess(II), and The Moon(XVIII). Each of these Tarot Cards is located in a different part of the Church, and all must be collected. Refer to the walkthrough for their individual locations. The pattern that you will be placing the cards in on the locked door is in the same setup as the numerical keypads throughout the game; nine possible spaces, in three rows of three, both horizontally and vertically. You must refer to the Sketchbook on the end of the bed in the same room to figure out where the cards go, but their placement differs depending on what difficulty setting you are playing on. IV-e-1. EASY The Sketchbook contains a diagram that shows you exactly where to place the cards in the pattern on the door. The Fool goes in the top left- hand corner of the grid, The Moon goes in the top right-hand corner of the grid, The Eye of the Night goes in the direct center of the grid, The Hanged Man goes in the bottom left-hand corner of the grid, and The High Priestess goes in the bottom right-hand corner of the grid. Place the cards in these spaces and the door will unlock. Remember to save, and then go through the door towards the final confrontation. IV-e-2. NORMAL Read the riddle in the sketchbook on the bed to figure out how to arrange the Tarot Cards on the pattern on the door. The poem reads as follows: "Now the first thing you must know, Is that there's something in each row. But that is not the half of it: Three would be too hard to fit. The upside-down man under the ground, to his right, to his left there is no one around Leave him alone though his tears are profound. The moon is up, above the sky, Full or crescent, floating high. Twinkling light sits like a crown On the head of a crazy clown. Your excellency praying to God most high Do you think you can tell me why You always look up at the night sky? Do you have it now? You didn't forget? One major point you mustn't omit. And now at the last, before you take a whack Here's one more hint to help you keep on track. Scary and hateful that thing in the night Better be careful - it's not on your right! Turn to the left and you'll keep it in sight." Let's again analyze it part by part: "Now the first thing you must know, Is that there's something in each row. But that is not the half of it: Three would be too hard to fit." It says that there are some cards in each row, but never more than two. It goes on to refer to the "upside-down man"; if you examine your cards, you will see that the Hanged Man is hung upside down. It says he is "under the ground", meaning the lowest level, the bottom row, and that "To his right; to his left, there's no one around", meaning The Hanged Man is the only card on the lower level, right in the middle, with no other cards on the bottom row with it. "The Moon is up above the sky" means the Moon card is in the top row, easy enough, and that it rest above the "crazy clown" meaning the Fool card. Since we know the Hanged Man is the only one on the bottom row, we know that the Fool is somewhere in the middle row, and that the Moon will be placed directly above it. They cannot be in the middle row, since the Hanged Man is in the middle, and the beginning of the poem said that there can't be three cards in a row, and since the Moon has to be above the Fool... so they are in either the right or the left columns. Let's move on; "Your Excellency praying to God most high" refers to the High Priestess card, and the fact that it is always looking up at the "night sky" tells us that the last card, the Eye of Night, is directly above her. Once again, we know they are not in the central row, because of the rule about not having three cards in any one row, so all we know is that they will be on whichever side the Moon and the Fool are not, either on the right or the left. The last clue is the clincher, saying that the "scary and hateful" thing in the night is on the left, not on the right; it is referring to the Eye of the Night card. So there you have it. In the top left-hand corner of the grid, place the Eye of the Night card, with the High Priestess in the middle row, right below it. In the middle column, place only the Hanged Man, in the middle of the bottom row. In the top-right hand corner, place the Moon, and put the Fool card right underneath it. The door will then unlock. Don't forget to save, then continue on to your final confrontation. IV-e-3. HARD. As always, each Tarot card is given a roman numeral that corresponds to it (The Eye of the Night(XXII), The Hanged Man(XII), The Fool(0), The High Priestess(II), and The Moon(XVIII)). The Sketchbook on the bed contains a bit of writing and a drawing that look roughly like this: "I had a dream. In my dream, I opened a door. But was that really me? I had a different name. ING WXX NXA OEI IFI VII MOX NOT XVH XON HNG III XAA CXX CCX JII IEI IHT 5 are true and 4 are lies---and there are some fibs mixed in with the truth. That's 'cause it's scary to write only the truth. But dreams... dreams are like lies, after all." Now this puzzle looks intimidating, but compared to the other riddles in the Hard difficulty setting, it really isn't that hard. Obviously, the letters and numbers broken down into three rows in three columns represents the pattern on the Tarot-locked door. The Sketchbook tells you that 5 are true and 4 are lies, but we already knew that because we only have 5 Tarot Cards. As for the rest, it is just a matter of looking at the Roman numerals on the cards, and figuring out how the drawing matches them. What do they have in common? The roman numerals on your cards are made up entirely of combinations of only four roman numerals; X, V, I, and O. "C" is also a roman numeral (representing one hundred), so leave that one in as well, so that things don't get confusing later. To make the drawing in the sketchbook match this pattern, remove everything that isn't a roman numeral. That means that all the Ns, Gs, Ws, As, Ms, Ts, Hs, Js, and Es have to go. When this is done, you are left with modified clusters that look like this: I XX X OI II VII OX O XV XO III X CXX CCX II II I Or, if you put all the numerals in each cluster together to make actual roman numerals, it would look more like this: IOI XXII XVII OXXO O XVIII XII CXXII CCXI Now, if you know anything about roman mathematics, which were derived from the work of Greek mathematicians such as Pythagoras, you will know that the numeral "O" is never used to designate anything other than absolute zero, or nothing. It was not used to designate an empty digit place, as it is in the Arabic mathematics used today, as it is to show the empty "ones" column in the number 10, or the empty "tens" column in the number 103. So anywhere you see a "O" used with any other numeral, remove it. This leaves us with: II XXII XVII XX O XVIII XII CXXII CCXI We know from the Sketchbook that five of these placements are true, and the rest are false. Figuring out which are true is simplicity itself; check the number on the Tarot Card. The number of each of the cards is represented in the above diagram, and its placement on the diagram corresponds to its placement on the door itself. The cards are The Eye of the Night(XXII; top row, middle column), The Hanged Man(XII; bottom row, left column), The Fool(0; middle row, middle column), The High Priestess(II; top row, left column), and The Moon(XVIII; middle row, right column). Visually, that looks like this: II XXII (none) (none) O XVIII XII (none) (none) Place the cards in the door like this, and the door will unlock. Save you game, then proceed to the final battle. V. Secrets And Mysteries V-a. ADDITIONAL ACTION LEVELS: In addition to Easy, Medium, and Hard Difficulty settings, there is also Beginner Mode and Extreme Action Modes I-X. To unlock Beginner Mode, simply die three times while playing on Easy. You will then be able to turn Beginner Mode on in the "Extra Options Menu" by setting it to "On". In this mode, enemies do only a fraction of the damage they do in a normal game, while Heather's attacks are devastatingly powerful. In addition, all ammunition that you receive in the game is automatically doubled. The downside is that your end game Results will be severely reduced by using this mode. As for the Extreme Action levels, all you have to do is beat the game once on the Hard difficulty setting. This will unlock the mode "Extreme I". This is more or less the same game as the Hard mode, but Heather has about half of her usual stamina and health, so she dies quickly and gets exhausted quickly. If you beat "Extreme I", you unlock "Extreme II", in which Heather is even weaker than she was in "Extreme I". This continues incrementally every time you beat an Extreme Mode, all the way up to "Extreme X". This is the tenth Extreme setting (hence the roman numeral X), and in it even the weakest enemy attacks become devastating, while the strongest become fatal. V-b. BULLET ADJUST: As in both previous Silent Hill games, beating the game once makes additional playthroughs a lot easier. If you beat the game on any difficulty level, you unlock the "Bullet Adjust" in the Extra Game Options screen (go to normal game options and press L1 or R1 to show more hidden options). The first time you beat the game, you will only be able to set this to "x2". This means for every box of ammo you find, you will receive twice as much as you did before setting the bullet adjust. That means instead of 10 Handgun bullets, 6 Shotgun shells and 32 SMG bullets per box, you will instead get 20, 12, or 64 respectively. Once you beat the game a second time, the bullet adjust can be set to "x3", tripling your ammo! Every time you beat the game, the Bullet Adjust will be able to be set one level higher, up to a maximum of "x9". This means you will get 90 Handgun bullets, 54 Shotgun shells, and 288 SMG rounds per box! Yeehaw! So start shootin' partner! UPDATE: Topbasha sent me an e-mail to inform me of an exploit for the PC version of the game; if you save the game right before the last battle, beat the game and then reload the game and do it again, every time you do so, it is considered clearing the game again for purposes of the number of times you've beat the game. This means you can easily use this to bump up your bullet adjust to X9 very quickly. As I don't have the PC version of the game I can't confirm this, but since it is feasible and Topbasha seems trustworthy, I add it hear for those dirty cheaters who own the PC version of the game. The rest of us will just have to earn them the old fashioned way. V-c. GOLD AND SILVER PIPES: In an Extra New Game, obtain the Steel Pipe as normal. Proceed until you reach the area in the sewers where you need to electrocute the tentacle-y monster. Now approach the water from the area just to the left or the right of the front of the bridge. Heather, for some damn reason, wants to know if you want to throw in the Steel Pipe. It is your most useful weapon at this point, but hey, what the heck? Go ahead and throw in the Steel Pipe. When you do so, the Goddess of the Sewers will appear and ask you a bunch of questions. If you answer them all truthfully, she will give you back your Steel Pipe and some the Gold and Silver Pipe's, to boot. If you lie, you get SQUAT, not even your Steel Pipe back. Now, the Gold and Silver Pipes are no better, faster, or more powerful than your Steel Pipe, and since they are considered "Special Weapons" like the Beam Saber or the Flamethrower, using them actually reduces your endgame ranking. So why bother, you ask? Because they DO count as special items, and as such when you get them and don't use them, they increase your end ranking. Getting them is necessary to getting the 10 Star Gold Rank. Now for an interesting story about the Sewer Fairy and her Gold and Silver doodads: game enthusiasts and the elderly may remember a certain fairy in Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the SNES (and now for the GBA; I guess you don't have to be that elderly after all) who would give you Gold and Silver Arrows and Boomerangs and stuff for hucking your normal items into her bathtub (or pond or whatever it was). This was also done in Harvest Moon and more recently, .hack, with a pair of axes. I was taking some classes on Mythology last summer, and actually found out where this tradition came from. I had assumed it came from Japanese Folklore, but apparently the fairy is supposed to be an Avatar or somesuch of Mercury, the Roman god of Trade and Profit (who in turn was a rip-off of Hermes, the God of all that same sorts of stuff, but in Greece). You know, the bloke with the wings sticking out of his hat. Anyway, there was a myth in which a laborer was working next to a river and his best axe fell in and sank to the bottom. Being poor and needing the axe to earn his wage, the man was distraught and fell down by the riverside to weep. Presently, Mercury rose up out of the water (the god, not the poisonous liquid metal; this wasn't the Hudson River) and asked the man why he was crying. When the man told him what had happened, the god dove down to the bottom of the river and returned with an axe made of gold. He asked the man if this was the axe the man was looking for, and he said no. The god dove down again and came back with a silver axe, and when he asked the man if THIS was his axe, he again said no. The god dove down a third time and came back with the man's plain old boring axe. When the man saw it he was overjoyed, and told the god that this was truly his axe. Mercury, pleased with the man's honesty, gave the man back his axe, but also gave him the gold and silver axes to show his pleasure. The man returned to town and told the story to a few of his friends. One of them, figuring that he wanted in on a piece of that action, ran to the river and threw his own axe into the water on purpose. He then fell down and pretended to cry, and sure enough, Mercury showed up and inquired as to the source of all the blubbering. The man told his story, and, true to form, Mercury dove down and came back up with a golden axe. But when he asked the man if it was his axe, the man was overcome with avarice, and grabbed at the axe, claiming it was his. Mercury was pissed and disappeared, and the dumbass was left with no axes at all, just like Heather and her Steel Pipe if you too are a dumbass and lie to the fairy. Later the second man died of syphilis, alone and afraid. Actually, that last part wasn't in the legend, but I figured the guy needed a worse punishment for lying to a god. Any REAL god would have turned him into a pillar of salt, or replaced his genitals with a rabid spider monkey or something. I'm telling you, they just don't make gods like they used to. V-d. BONUS WEAPONS: At the end of your first game, you will be rewarded with one of two bonus weapons: the Beam Saber or the Flamethrower. Figuring out which one you will get is simple: if you have killed more monsters with melee weapons than you have with firearms, or if the two numbers are equal, you will get the Beam Saber. If you defeat more enemies with firearms than you do with melee weapons, or it is your second time through the game, you get the Flamethrower (unless you got it the first time). You do not start out the next game with your bonus weapon; it must be found like a normal item within the game. The Beam Saber can be found in the second floor north corridor of the Central Square Shopping Center, in the northwest end of the hall, beyond the Save Room where you get the key out from under the palette with the Tongs: examine the door at the very end of the hall and you will find that the doorknob is really the Beam Saber handle. The Flamethrower can also be found in the Central Square Shopping Center, in Helen's Bakery (where you find the Tongs). It will be on the counter next to the flyer on the counter (the text of which now says "Crispy toasted DEAD right to your front door". Good stuff). For more information on each weapon, see their descriptions under section "I-c. The Arsenal". These are considered to be "Special Weapons". One thing to keep in mind about these weapons is that using them at all will reduce your ranking at the end of the game, though just picking them up increases your rating. If you don't care about ratings, go forth and kill 'til your little black hearts are content. V-e. UNLIMITED SUB-MACHINEGUN: This works just like the regular SMG, but never runs out of bullets. In order to obtain it, you have to kill the last boss monster (i.e. "God") with a melee weapon such as the Katana or the Maul. This is not to say that you have to fight the whole battle using the melee weapon, just that the finishing strike must come from one. So when the God starts getting frantic and throwing out two arcs of fire at a time, switch to a melee weapon and club away until it is dead. Once you do so, you will be rewarded with the Unlimited SMG in your next game. It can be found near the beginning of the game, on a stack of boxes in the alley near the bathroom window that Heather climbs out of to avoid Douglas. One thing to keep in mind about these weapons is that using them at all will reduce your ranking at the end of the game, though just picking them up increases your rating. V-f. HEATHER BEAM/SEXY BEAM: The key to obtaining this special attack is to kill, kill, kill. Really put your heart into it and hunt down those monsters in an effort to exterminate their kind from the very face of the earth. To unlock the Heather Beam, you have to kill a total of 333 enemies, though they don't all have to be in one game. One thing that will help you reach this total is use of the otherwise craptastic item, the Perfume. This is an item that can be found in the Women's Locker Room on Brookhaven's Hospital's second floor. Once you equip it, monsters will be able to smell you, and will seek you out from further away. Normally, this would be bad, but since you want to kill them all and stomp on their little heads, it is okay. Also, you if you really want to get it quickly, obtain the Unlimited SMG and lay waste to everything in your path early in the game. This will severely hurt your end game rating, but it is the quickest way of slaughtering everything and getting the Heather Beam. The Sexy Beam is a more powerful version of the Heather Beam, which Heather can use by obtaining the Heather Beam, and then using the Special Costume, the Transform Costume. The code for the Transform Costume can be obtained by beating an Extra New Game (or by looking on the list of Costume Passwords that I list in another part of this section V-g, called COSTUMES). While she is wearing the Transform Costume, Heather becomes the super-being Princess Heart, and her Heather Beam becomes the much more powerful and impressive Sexy Beam! For a full description of the Heather and Sexy Beams and how they work, see section "I-c. The Arsenal". Note that use of the Heather or Sexy Beams are necessary to get the secret "Revenge" ending of the game. V-g. COSTUMES: Beating the game on any difficulty setting unlocks a new option on the title screen that says "Extra Costume". When you choose this option you are brought to a screen that looks like a keyboard, where you can enter secret passwords in order to unlock new fashions for Heather to wear. There are separate sets of keys for upper and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and symbols. Passwords are case sensitive, which means that you should enter them EXACTLY as they are presented, and that a "B" is different from a "b", and that spaces in words matter. Once you have entered the code, press the red "Enter" button on the right of the keyboard to enter the code. If you type in a password and unlock a costume, then immediately start a new game, Heather will be wearing that costume as the game starts, even in the cutscenes. Otherwise, the costume has to be equipped in the inventory screen. Costume passwords are obtained in a number of ways. Some are special promotional passwords that you can only get from certain websites, magazines, or strategy guides. Others are unlocked by meeting certain criteria in the game. At least one is obtained by trying to solve a ridiculously difficult riddle in an Extra New Game. Below is a list of each costume I know of, and how to get it or where the code came from. The words before the colon is the costume's name, the password to obtain it is in the parentheses after the name, and the description of where the password comes from is after the colon. V-g-1. Transform Costume (PrincessHeart): This wacky costume comes from a long-standing Japanese tradition of putting spunky young girls into sailor's costumes and turning them into superheroes. This one comes complete with a crazy transformation sequence every time you un- equip it and then re-equip it. In addition to looking snazzy, this costume also has a practical use of changing the Heather Beam into the more powerful Sexy Beam. To obtain this costume you must simply complete an Extra New Game. The password will be displayed on the results screen. V-g-2. Heather Shirt (HappybirthDay): This is apparently a copy a shirt worn by the creative team during interviews. This shirt is very easy to obtain, because you get the code to unlock it in the Results screen after you beat the game for the first time. V-g-3. Don't Touch Shirt (TOUCH_MY_HEART): Touch her heart? Don't mind if I do! Unless she means literally: that would just be icky. During an Extra New Game, search the Women's Locker Room on the second floor of Brookhaven Hospital for a magazine on a bench. Examine the magazine and the code for this shirt is displayed. V-g-4. Block Head Shirt (PutHere2FeelJoy): This is a special shirt awarded to pacifists. If you can get through an entire game and only kill 10 or fewer enemies, the code for this shirt will be displayed on your Results screen. Remember that boss enemies are people too, and count towards your 10-monster total. Since there are 5 bosses, this means you can only kill 5 other critters in the entire game. Serial killers need not apply. V-g-5. God of Thunder Shirt (GangsterGirl): That isn't Thor, so it must be Raiden (or Raijin), Japanese god o' Thunder. This is one of my favorite costumes in the game, because it turns Heather into a pale, blue-haired Goth girl. You get the code for this costume in your Results Screen after completing a game on the Extreme X action setting. V-g-6. Transience Shirt (ShogyouMujou): I found the password interesting, so I looked up the meaning of Shogyoumujou. Fittingly enough it is a Japanese Buddhist phrase, meaning the impermanence of a thing. I say fittingly enough because this costume is obtained by clearing all three Riddle Levels (Easy, Medium, and Hard). The password will show up on your Results screen after clearing the last one. And after some of those damn Hard puzzles, you will feel you have earned it. Unless you just copied it from here, that is. V-g-7. Golden Cock Shirt (cockadooodledoo): It is actually called the Golden Rooster shirt, but the other was funnier. This shirt is a bitch to obtain, unless you just use this code. To get the password, you must get a perfect ranking, which takes a ridiculous amount of time and effort just to get a shirt with a damn chicken on it (well, it actually makes the Flamethrower and the Beam Saber exceptionally powerful, but I felt like whining). The password will be displayed on the results screen. Notice the third "o" in the "dooodle" part of the password. A lot of people miss that. V-g-8. Royal Flush Shirt (01_03_08_11_12): This one was, if you'll excuse the term, a bitch. In order to even begin to get the password, you must complete an Extra New Game, and then start the next game using the Hard Riddle Mode. Continue as normal until you reach the Archives/Library in the Church at the end of the game. This time through, there are clues scattered throughout the books. These clues are supposed to help you figure out the password. Here they are: -Clue 1 - "A secret told before you awake: the start of a new transformation." -Clue 2 - "There's no separating numbers from beginning to end." -Clue 3 - "14 buttons all told; therefore, one is always two." -Clue 4 - "The first number is 'the traveler to St. Ives.'" -Clue 5 - "The second number is 'the hare wears a crown of straw.'" -Clue 6 - "The third number is 'king of beasts and goddess of harvests.'" -Clue 7 - "The fourth number is 'representative of both knight and page.'" -Clue 8 - "The fifth number is 'lapis lazuli or turquoise.'" So, clue number one: "A secret told before you wake, the start of a new transformation." This refers the fact that it has to be on a second or greater playthrough. Clue number two: "There's no separating numbers from beginning to end". This means that there are no spaces between the numbers as you input them. Hence the underscores between the parts of the code. Clue number three: "14 buttons all told; therefore, one is always two.". This means that even if a number is a single digit number, you must enter it as a double digit by putting a zero in front of it. Thus it is "03" instead of just "3". Clue number four: "The first number is 'the traveler to St. Ives.'" The fourth is the first number, and refers to an old British children's riddle. Here it is: "As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives. Each of the wives had seven packs; Each of the packs held seven cats. Each of the cats had seven kits. Kits, cats, packs, wives, How many were going to St. Ives?" The answer? One. He just met the one traveler, not all his wives and their cats or whatever. Clue number five: "The second number is 'the hare wears a crown of straw'" I have to admit that this one had me stumped the longest. I tried thinking of the image of a rabbit wearing a straw hat, but that didn't remind me of any legend or myth or anything. I thought of Robbie Rabbit, and searched each of the Robbie corpses to see if any of them had straw hats or numbers written on them. Nope. I thought of the Chinese zodiac, but that didn't fit the code. So I finally figured it out while replaying the original Silent Hill for a walkthrough that I was working on. In that game there are a lot of references to Alice in Wonderland in the puzzles, and that is when it hit me: the March Hare. March is the third month. 03. Which also fits in with the zodiac theme of the rest of the puzzles. Here's the kicker though. I still couldn't figure out where the "crown of straw" came in, so I picked up Alice in Wonderland off my shelf and read the tea party section with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. The text didn't illuminate anything, but as I was closing the book, one of the Illuminations illuminated the whole thing: that is, the Illumination or illustration that the original Alice artist, John Tenniel, did of the tea party. Low and behold, the March Hare has wisps of straw sticking out all over his head in all the pictures of him. So I researched further: Victorian illustration would often use straw in a character's hair to symbolize insanity, due to the fact that many crazy folk of that era lived in Asylums, which used straw for bedding and pillows. Furthermore, the reason it was called the "March Hare" was due to the old term "mad as a March Hare" which referred to the fact that the month of March is the rabbits' rutting season, during which time the males of the species act crazy, "boxing" with females in a bizarre looking courtship ritual. On a side-side note, apparently Erasmus (1466?-1536), the Dutch Renaissance scholar and theologian, wrote the expression "mad as marsh hare," and there is now some speculation that this got corrupted to "March" in later decades. However, long before Carroll was writing, the expression was "mad as a March Hare," regardless of scientific validity. But I digress. Clue number six: "The third number is 'the king of beasts and goddess of the harvests'". This refers to Leo, the lion, which is the eighth zodiac sign, as well as the month of August, the eighth month, which is the traditional month of harvesting and earth-mother worship. Clue number seven: "The fourth number is 'representative of both knight and page'". This refers to the relationship between the modern deck of cards and the ancient tarot card deck. In the tarot, the first of the "face" cards, after all the numbered cards, was either the Page or the Knight. In other words you would have for each suit ten numbered cards, followed by the face cards (i.e. the Knight of cups, the Queen of Cups, etc). In the modern deck of cards, not only did the suits get changed (from swords to spades, coins to diamonds, pentacles to hearts, and staves to clubs, with some variations), but the face cards got renamed as well. The page/knight became the Jack. The Jack, of course being equal to "11" in most games of cards, the next value after the numbered cards. Hence, 11. Clue number eight: "The fifth number is 'lapis lazuli or turquoise.'". This last clue is comparatively easy. Well, at least for me, since I was born in December; lapis lazuli and turquoise are both birthstones for the month of December, the 12th month. So there you have it: 01_03_08_11_12. Victory is mine! NOTE: I just wanted to give props to David Filipi for also figuring out this riddle. Though I had just stumbled across the March Hare reference on my own, he sent me an e-mail in which he had come to the same conclusions independently, using his own research. So while I managed to struggle through it on my own, he deserves recognition for this impressive feat of intellect. V-g-9. Killer Rabbit Shirt (BlueRobbieWin): This shirt depicts everyone's favorite blood-soaked mascot, Robbie the Rabbit! The password was obtained from the Brady Game's Official Silent Hill 3 Strategy Guide, and was exclusive to that guide until it was released onto the net. V-g-10. Onsen Shirt (I_Love_You): Onsen is a Japanese word that means hot springs. What this shirt represents, whether it be hot springs in general or a specific hot spring, is currently unknown. The password was obtained from the Brady Game's Official Silent Hill 3 Strategy Guide, who said it was an exclusive, but others claim it originally came from the Japanese industry magazine, Famitsu. V-g-11. Zipper Shirt (Shut_your_mouth): The password for this interesting shirt was exclusive to the Brady Game's Official Silent Hill 3 Strategy Guide. If only it were a real zipper... V-g-12. The Light Shirt (LightToFuture): This shirt is incredibly cool and should be recognizable to fans of the original Silent Hill. It is a reproduction of a painting that was the key to a puzzle in Alchemilia Hospital, called "The Light Illuminating the Darkness". The password was obtained from a cool interactive website called SH2003.com. As of the time of this writing the English Language version is unavailable (because it is a Japanese website, but I want a website that interesting in English, dammit), but the password was obtained in room 308. V-g-13. EGM Shirt (EGMpretaporter): This is a shirt promoting the American gaming magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly. The code was obtained from their magazine (prêt-a-porter means "ready to wear" in French, for thems of you who ain't culture-fied). V-g-14. GamePro Shirt (ProTip): This is another U.S. gaming magazine, and the password comes from the pages therein. V-g-15. PSM Shirt (badical): PSM stands for Play Station Magazine. This is one of the few U.S. gaming magazines that is still independent. It is not the OFFICIAL Playstation magazine, but that just makes them rebels. The password came from their magazine. It was better than their second choice, "tubular". V-g-15. Game Informer Shirt (gameinformer): Game Informer is yet another U.S. game magazine, who also has a website (www.gameinformer.com). Their exceptionally clever password came from the magazine. V-g-16. Official PS Magazine Shirt (SH3_OPiuM): This is the Official Playstation Magazine's shirt; accept no substitutes. This is Sony's Official U.S. game magazine, and every month it comes with a bonus disk with viewable and playable demos. Pretty cool. The password came from the magazine. The password isn't promoting the use of Opium or its byproducts; it is simply a clever play on the magazines acronym, OPM. Get it? V-g-17. OPS2 Shirt (extra_thumbs): Now don't get confused, but this is also the Official Playstation Magazine, but this one is from the U.K. I'm not British, believe it or not, so I can't tell you too much about this one. The password came from the magazine. Update: Someone who IS British reminded me of the background on the password and where it came from. There was an add in the magazine about a doctor who grafted extra thumbs onto a patient in order to make him a better game player. The slogan was something like "Offical Playstation Magazine; Much better than extra thumbs". Thanks to Ben Burnham for the head's up. V-g-18. PS2RO Shirt (MATADOR): Another Official Playstation Magazine, this one from Spain. A matador, of course, is a Spanish bull fighter. I am not Spanish either, senior. The password-o came from the magazine-o. V-g-19. Play Shirt (sLmLdGhSmKfBfH): This is a German gaming magazine called (wait for it) Play. I do not schprecen ze Deutch either, though I am sure you can't tell. They also have a website (www.playplaystation.com). The password came from there. V-g-20. GameSpy.com Shirt (iaml33t): This is a popular U.S. videogame website (www.gamespy.com). The password was obtained from their website. "iaml33t" is written in an informal gamer's dialect that some call "leetspeak": letters in words are changed around, omitted, or misspelled, and numbers take the place of similar looking letters. For example, "l33t" means "Elite" (the 3s took the place of the "e"s, because they look kind of like backwards capital "E"s. It would take a book to explain the whole damn thing. Used by l33t m4zt3rz and retarded 12 year olds everywhere. V-g-21. IGN.COM Shirt (IGN_pickleboy): IGN is another popular U.S. gaming website. IGN stands for Internet Gaming Network, I think; they seem to just go by IGN now. The pickleboy is one of their mascots. The password came from their website. V-g-22. 13eme Rue Shirt (Suspense): 13eme (Treizième) Rue is French for "Thirteenth Street", and is also a French horror television network (which I really wish we had over here in the U.S., though not in French: I can still read the language very well, but my verbal comprehension is about the same level as a bright chimp). The code could be obtained on their website or by watching the channel itself. If you can read French, have Euro dollars, and want a 13eme Rue shirt of your very own, you can buy them at their website (www.13emerue.fr/13emerue.htm). V-g-23. Game Reactor Shirt (SH3_Wrestlarn): Game Reactor is a popular gaming website in Europe (www.gamereactor.net). The site isn't in English, but it isn't too hard to navigate. The password came from their website. V-g-24. GMR Shirt (GMRownzjoo): GMR stands for German Monkey Review. Actually, it probably doesn't, but I can't seem to figure out what it actually is. I assume a gaming... thing... of some sort. I obtained their password from gamefaqs.com. UPDATE: Thomas Hagan, who works for EBGames (or did once upon a time, since this was a while ago and I hope for his sake that he's moved on with his life in the last four years and counting) wrote in to tell me that GMR is a magazine that his used game emporium makes him shill to the rubes (my words, not his). GMR contains "coupons and deals for gaming software". Now that EB is owned by Gamestop, I believe this magazine has been since tossed aside like a bag of moldy tangerines in favor of Game Informer, but as of the time he wrote in, this would be accurate. So thanks for the info Thomas. For those who are interested, the last part of the password is also "l33t" speak. "Ownzjoo" means "owns you" in monkey. For those of you who weren't interested, don't read that last sentence. Or this one. V-g-25. GN Shirt (IwannabeaGJ): This is a shirt for the U.S. Gaming Network, who hired a bunch of non-gaming pretty boys to pretend to be gamers and act like jackasses on television. Actually, that is what the "GJ" in the password stands for: "Gaming Jackasses". Or maybe not. They also show about 4 programs over and over again. Kind of like MTV. But at least it is a start in the right direction. The password was aired between and during their 4 shows. They've since been renamed "G4", and then "G4 Tech TV", when they were best known for the show "X- Play" with Adam "Sissypants" Sessler and Morgan "Manjaw" Webb (thanks to the exceptional, if often tardy webcomic "VG Cats" for the Morgan Manjaw dig. Hilarious). V-h. DOUGLAS- KING OF NO PANTS: This is an incredibly odd little secret. If you punch in the classic Konami code (that's right, the one from Contra), while "Extra New Game" is highlighted on the title screen, then select your Action and Riddle difficulty levels, you will hear Heather make a strange noise. Now start the game. Whenever you see Douglas in this next game, he is not wearing a shirt or pants, just his boxers, tie, hat, socks, shoes, and trench coat. Disturbing. For the uninitiated, the Konami code is Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, "circle", and "X" ("circle" and "X" take the place of the Nintendo's "A" and "B" buttons). V-i. EASTEREGGS: V-i-1. SPECIAL DEATH SCENES: In certain areas, if you allow Heather to die, you will be treated to a different "You Died" screen then normally. Here are the ones I have found so far: -When Heather is killed by a monster, sometimes Valtiel (the strange valve-turning, God-hooding demi-monster) will show up and drag Heather away by her legs. Why? Where does he take her? The world may never know, thankfully. -If Heather is killed by Nurses in the hospital, a misshapen doctor will show up and drag Heather away by her legs. -If you take too long getting off the tracks in the Subway, or if you try to walk along the tracks between areas, you will get a cutscene where a train shows up and smears her, complete with very disturbing and squishy sound effects. -Once you finally get onto the moving subway train, try to leave through the train's back door, or go back through a door you just came through. Heather will end up standing on a narrow platform on the back of the train, and if you move forward towards the edge, it will switch to Heather's perspective so that you can experience her falling off the back of the train and dying, firsthand. -If you try to cross the bridge with the water monster in it without first electrocuting it with the Hairdryer, Heather will be pulled into the water by the tentacle and messily killed. A big word of thanks to "artemis.panthar" for reminding me of this one. -After you climb the long ladder leading past Valtiel and arriving at the dark side of Brookhaven's third floor, go through the door straight ahead and come back. The ladder is suddenly gone, and if you aren't careful you will fall to your death and get a little scene of Heather plummeting past Valtiel, who is clinging to the wall. Thanks to Damien Carlisle for this tidbit. -If you don't shut off the power to the roller coaster in Lakeside Amusement Park and try to walk along the tracks, the coaster will show up and mangle her, just like in the dream at the beginning. -Just before the final battle, when Heather is supposed to use the Aglaophotis, don't. After a minute, Heather will once again be overwhelmed by the God inside her and you will be treated to a cutscene where she dies horribly and noisily. V-i-2. VALTIEL: According to "The Book of Lost Memories", a Japanese language guide to the meaning of Silent Hill, the valve-turning faceless pseudo-enemy of Silent Hill 3 is named Valtiel. According to the guide, his appearance and actions in the game are symbolic, as he turns the valves of fate as Silent Hill switches from "normal" to "dark side". The round valves represent the cyclical nature of Alessa's death and resurrection, and he seems to be linked to this cycle, which is why he drags her away after she dies, to somehow return her to life and continue the cycle. His name is comprised of the French word "valet" meaning one who serves, and the Hebrew suffix of "-iel", which designates angelic status. Thus Valtiel means "Attendant (or servant) to God". This clearly fits his behaviors and role in the game, as he is also seen arraigning the God at the end of the game, in some sort of ceremonial capacity, as if girding her for battle. If the God of Silent Hill represents the Judaic/Christian God in the twisted pantheon of Silent Hill, then Valtiel would be like God's right hand, a role held by Metatron in the Judeo-Christian hierarchy. This is supported by the fact that Valtiel has a Seal of Metatron (or something quite like it) tattooed on each of his arms. Besides the tattoos, Valtiel seems to have a featureless "face", without eyes, nose, or mouth, though there is a weird mouth-slit on the back of his head, which in some illustrations has a thin, whipping tongue coming out of it. He wears a filthy smock/skirt combo thing, and has gloves that are either black or such a deep, bloody red as to resemble black. His head is usually whipping around crazily, Jacob's Ladder style, making his features even harder to make out. He is never seen standing, but is instead crawling, climbing walls, or clinging to other surfaces in lizard or insect-like manner. He is always seen turning his valves as Heather enters the dark world sections of the game, suggesting that it is he who controls the transformations between the worlds. In Silent Hill 4: The Room, we find out a little more about Valtiel, though he doesn't appear in the game himself. According to The Order's religious traditions, Valtiel was one of the beings created by God to lead the people to obedience. Valtiel itself is worshipped as one who is the closest to God. As such, there was a sect of The Order devoted to the worship of this creature, started by a man named Jimmy Stone, called the Valtiel Sect. They believed that in venerating Valtiel, one is coming closer to God. Everyone's favorite demon-raping killing machine Pyramid Head (originally from Silent Hill 2) has the exact same tattoos, smock, gloves and clothing as Valtiel, suggesting that at the very least, the "holy" executioners of whom Pyramid Head was an archetype, may have been garbed and marked in veneration of Valtiel. Or maybe Pyramid Head is Valtiel hooded and garbed for battle, though the appearance of multiple Pyramid Heads and their role in Silent Hill 2's storyline makes this a little more unlikely. However, Valtiel is often seen towards the end of the game strangling or otherwise... interacting with the Nurses, much like Pyramid Head was often seen "raping" the female-like monsters in various instances in which you encounter him. It is an interesting parallel, to say the least. Here is a list of the places where I have seen him appear: - Heather can see him stumbling around outside the elevator with his head whipping rapidly back and forth, right after she finds the Radio. He also appears to be attacking or molesting a red and white monster thing during this sequence. Interestingly enough, this is the only place in which the red and white monster thing is ever seen. - He can be seen turning a valve on the wall near two pairs of kicking legs whose bodies are obscured by some sort of red curtain in the lower levels of the Church. This is the scene that is shown just as you turn on the game, before the title song. - He can be seen turning the valves as you climb the ladder towards what turns out to be the third floor of Brookhaven's Dark Side. -Right after this, after going through the door, run to the gap in the wall and turn the camera towards it. If you are quick enough (and don't fall into the hole), turn to the right and you should see Valtiel pull a nurse up over a ledge and drag her off. Thank you to Mathew Chatham for pointing this out. -Right after this, if you go back to the ledge where the long ladder was leading up to Brookhaven dark side, the ladder is now gone and you will fall to your death if you aren't careful. As you plummet, Valtiel can be seen clinging to the wall. Thanks to Damien Carlisle for pointing this out. - He can be seen choking a nurse outside of the window in the lower levels of the church. See the walkthrough for the exact location. - He climbs down the wall and ceremoniously places a hood/helmet thingy on the God just before the final battle. - In certain places in the game, when Heather dies Valtiel appears, grabs her by the legs and drags her away into the darkness, in a very suggestive manner. Maybe he is God's daddy? Or is he just going to... get God, to save it from Heather's dying body, not unlike what happens with Claudia at the end of the game (though thankfully, Claudia waited until God had "left the building", so to speak...) - He may or may not be the thing moving around behind the walls in certain parts of the last stage. Update: This IS Valtiel. Using screenshots from the PC version of the game, it has been confirmed that this is Valtiel. A huge "Thank You" to Joyner Trejos Osorio for taking the time to confirm this, and for his thoughts on the mysterious Valtiel. - He may or may not be the thing that is stuck in the locker in the Women's Locker Room in Brookhaven's Dark Side. Update, using the same tricks as were used to figure out that the "wall crawler" was indeed Valtiel, this one is confirmed as well. -Ahem. This one is a little... disturbing. And having played through a ton of horror games, I don't use this term lightly. In Brookhaven's dark side, right before you get the empty IV bag, there is a window completely obscured by black, viscous smoke, and something that sounds like baby can be heard from the other side. If you illuminate this area brightly with the flashlight and the flamethrower (if you have it), you can KIND OF make out Valtiel doing something on the other side of the glass, mostly identifiable by his turning knobs gesture. However, if you have the PC version of the game and use a camera hack, you can zoom into this area if you want, though hopefully you won't want to after hearing what is back there. It is, in fact, Valtiel performing oral sex on a nurse hanging upside down from the ceiling with that mouth-thing on the back of his head, supporting the whole "Pyramid Head rape thing". I would say "Thank you" to Crisco Sandwich for pointing this out, but I could have gone my whole life without knowing this. I feel dirty just for telling you. -Though it is hard to make out that it is actually him, Valtiel is what rips up through the floor of the church and draws Claudia down into the bowels at the end of the game, right before the last battle. He moves so quickly that it is really hard to make out at normal speed, but if you slow the footage down it is quite clear. It seems that now that the God has switched bodies, Valtiel is protecting Claudia, not you. Stinking traitor. I ask you; if you can't trust nurse-licking valve demons, who can you trust? V-i-3. EXTRA NEW GAME WEIRDNESS: There are a couple of areas that change slightly between the first time you play through, and an Extra New Game. The first area is in the Central Square Shopping Center, and it is pretty subtle (I noticed it because I used all the shops' names in the walkthrough). In the first game the café is clearly called the Café Turn Mill, but when you play through in an Extra New Game, the name has changed to the Café Paradise. I guess since Claudia failed at recreating a real paradise, she decided to buy a little coffee shop and call it paradise. Another area that is different is the first four sections in the Underground Pass stage, whose walls and floors are now made out of pulsating, nasty flesh. Furthermore, if you are playing on the Hard action setting or higher, Heather actually gets hurt if she lingers too long in these areas, and even die. So don't dawdle, unless you hate Heather. Finally, if you play through the game and unlock the Flamethrower, it is available for pickup in Helen's Bakery during an Extra New Game. What is different is the flyer on the counter that once was for Helen's delivery service. It has changed so that it now reads "Crispy toasted DEAD right to your very door". Heh. V-i-4. LIFE DISPLAY: If you complete the game on the Hard Action setting, you unlock a feature that displays Heather's Health and Stamina in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Once it is unlocked it can be toggled on and off in the Extra Game Options screen. The top, yellow bar indicates Heather's Health, and the lower, green bar indicates her Stamina. Furthermore, if Heather gets grappled or knocked down by an enemy, a thin, purple bar appears that indicates how long it will be before Heather can get up and/or free herself. These indicators are damn near vital to getting a perfect 10 Gold Star Ranking (so you can tell how much health you have lost). They are also very useful when you are using the Heather or Sexy Beams, since these attacks use Stamina, so that you can tell how much power you have left. V-i-5. SILENT HILL 2 REFERENCES: If you have a Silent Hill 2 Clear Game save game on your PS2's memory card, Heather will refer to parts of that game during certain situations in Silent Hill 3. They are as follows: -If you examine the second stall in the first floor women's bathroom in the Central Square Shopping Center Dark Side (the stall right next to the bloody stall where someone knocked back), Heather will find a plugged toilet. The game will give you the option to reach into the toilet and clear the obstruction, but if you try to get her to do so, Heather freaks out and wonders who would do something so disgusting. The answer is James Sunderland, the protagonist of Silent Hill 2. He found an item in a plugged toilet, and this game is referring back to that incident. -If you examine the mailboxes in Daisy Villa Apartments, right across from the save point, Heather will mention that there is no mail, not even a letter from a dead wife. Just such a letter is what brought James to the town of Silent Hill in the previous game. -If you examine the poster on the stage in the Heaven's Night bar, you find that it is referring to the return of a dancer named Lady Maria. Maria was the name of one of the main characters of Silent Hill 2, who worked at Heaven's Night. In addition, on one of the tables is a tourist brochure for Silent Hill that came right out of Silent Hill 2, word for word. -If you examine the small section of fence on the north side of Brookhaven Hospital's roof, Heather will make a comment that refers to an incident in Silent Hill 2, in which James was pushed through that very fence. -As mentioned in an earlier section, there are some intriguing similarities between Silent Hill 3's Valtiel and Silent Hill 2's loveable scamp Pyramid Head. See the "Valtiel" section for more details. V-i-6. METAL GEAR SOLID REFERENCE: When Heather finds the body hidden in the wall of the incomplete building, right after she crawls out of the sewers, it has a Silencer lying at its feet. This whole scenario is a reference to Konami's OTHER great franchise, Metal Gear Solid (actually, Castlevania is pretty damned good as well). The main character in that game is known for using silenced weapons to make his kills, and his code name is Snake. Heather makes comments to this effect when she finds the body and the Silencer. V-i-7. JACOB'S LADDER REFERENCE: By the admission of the game designers, the film Jacob's Ladder was a major inspiration for some elements of Silent Hill (in particular that surreal high-speed head- whipping around thing that some of the monsters and the horses on the Merry-Go-Round do). In homage to Jacob's Ladder, Bergen Street Station was included in Silent Hill 3, which was a major locale in Jacob's Ladder. v-i-8. STEPHEN KING REFERENCE: Marc Clark pointed out the following about a couple of the doctor's names in Brookhaven; "Dr. Midkiff is an obvious reference to actor Dale Midkiff, who portrayed Dr. Louis Creed in the Stephen King movie 'Pet Sematary.' As for the document signed by 'R. Crosby,' well, this may also be a reference to the same film. Actress Denise Crosby played the role of Rachel Creed in 'Pet Sematary,' and the signature on the document may be a veiled reference to this fact. Think about it. 'R' could easily stand for 'Rachel,' and with the 'Crosby' surname, this could be an allusion to 'Pet Sematary.' Rachel Crosby... cute." Not being a big fan of the movie version of Pet Semetary myself, I never would have made this connection, but I think it is reasonable to assume that it is correct. Kudos Marc. People, keep those horror references rolling in... v-i-9. HOUSE OF LEAVES/NORSE REFERENCE: Now this one just kicks ass, because it has to do with both "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski, which is my favorite book of all time, as well as Norse mythology. If you look at the name plate on some of the doors in the back hallways of the Central Square Mall, you will see that many of them read "YGGR-DRASILL". To anyone uninitiated into Norse Mythology, that looks like gibberish. But it actually refers to Yggdrasil, the World Tree of Norse mythology, a sacred ash tree whose trunk is the earth, whose branches hold the heavens, and whose roots hold Niffleheim, the Underworld. Yet another reference to shifting between worlds. In addition, Yggdrasil was of vital importance to "House of Leaves", the word appearing on the last page of the text as a vague hint as to what the hell just happened. I can't tell you what it means because the book HAS TO BE READ BY EVERY HUMAN WITH A SOUL, but I can tell you that it very, very much ties in with Silent Hill mythology. The basic premise of one level of the book (and the book can be read and understood on several levels), is that a man named Navidson moves into a house on Ash Lane, only to discover that the dimensions on the inside of the house are larger than those on the outside. Soon he finds doors in walls which used to contain none, leading into impossible hallways of an endless labyrinth, in which something stalks and time itself seems bent on the destruction of those who trespass. "House of Leaves" is probably the best novel in the English language, if you don't mind having to unravel the labyrinth that this book was created to be, as well as to represent. Pure brilliance. Consequently, another door in the Mall reads "NORNEN", which are the Norse Fates, Goddesses who spin out and determine the days of man's fate, spinning it out onto an endless loom until it's pre-determined end. v-i-10. CAFE TURN MILL: A couple of weird things about Turn Mill. First of all, once you've finished the game and started and "Extra New Game", you will find that the name of "Cafe Turn Mill" in the Mall has suddenly been changed to "Cafe Paradise Moon". This appears to have something to do with the whole theme of the return of God bringing about Paradise; the God DID return when Claudia took it into her own body, so I guess it did bring about a return of Paradise. Unfortunately for The Order, it turns out that Paradise was just a crappy cafe. Furthermore, if you look around in the Mall at the little posters on the wall, you will see some for "The Return of Tien Aill". This seems to be the root of the name of the cafe in the first place, and now it makes a lot more sense. Because "Tien Aill" is Gaelic for "Other World"; it was another name for the Fey Realm of Tir Na Nog in Celtic mythology. So "Tien Aill" is a reference to the shifting from one reality to another, more mystical state. v-i-11. BORLEY HAUNTED MANSION: Borley Haunted Mansion is an obvious reference to the Borley Rectory, England's most haunted house, at least until its destruction in 1939. Obvious at least to John Fernie, who wrote to me about it. I had heard of it, of course, but forgot that it was called the Borley Rectory. Regardless, the list of its hauntings are too extensive for this guide, but are easily found online. Hauntings, exorcisms, deaths... the whole shebang. It has been the basis for a number of movies, and has been referenced countless times in movies and TV shows. Thanks again, John, for bringing it to my attention. v-i-12. SESSION 9 REFERENCE: In the hospital, there is a part where you see a wheelchair on the other side of some unbreakable glass, framed by the light spilling through the doorway. This is an exact recreation of a classic scene from the creepy 2001 horror/psychological movie "Session 9". The movie deals with the horrible things that happen to a team of renovators working on a derelict insane asylum. It is a really cool, really screwy movie, and the scene recreated in Silent Hill 3 is important enough to the narrative of the movie to be featured on the cover of the DVD. Good stuff. v-i-13. EXORCIST 3 REFERENCE: In Brookhaven, as you are climbing the long ladder up to the dark side, you will see a nurse cut up and jammed into the floor, as well as Valtiel turning his valves. Scrawled nearby is "What a wonderfull world". This is a clear reference to EXORCIST 3, in which a nurse was eviscerated an her torso refilled with rosaries; nearby the Gemini Killer had scrawled the words "What a wonderfull life" in blood (misspellings from the original). In addition, it has been suggested that the nurse in question in Silent Hill 3 is Lisa Garland, the nurse who used to take care of Alessa, as shown in the original Silent Hill and in the "flashback" you see while in the labyrinth in Brookhaven, after Leonard leads you to the door that did not previously exist. This has not been confirmed, however. I couldn't make out Lisa's trademark red sweater in the all the mess, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there. V-j. HOW TO GET A PERFECT RANKING: When you get your ranking at the end of the game, you will notice that it is made up of a number of factors, and that your success in these variables is measured in Stars. What isn't as obvious is that the stars represent an actual numerical score. The big stars are worth 10, and the little stars are worth 1. The most stars you can get is ten big stars, which means that you can receive up to 100 points. In order to get a perfect score, you have to get these ten big stars, which can only be achieved by performing exceedingly well in each of the variables. Here is what you need to accomplish to get 10 big stars (100 points): -Ending: Which ending you get doesn't affect your score. -Action Level: Play on Hard or higher to get 5 stars. -Riddle Level: Play on Hard to get 5 stars. -Clear Time: Beat the game in 3 hours or less to get 10 stars. To do this you have to avoid all unnecessary combat and skip cutscenes. -Split Worm Kill Time: Kill Splitworm in two minutes or less for 2 stars. -Missionary Kill Time: Kill Missionary in two minutes or less for 2 stars. -Leonard Kill Time: Kill Leonard in two minutes or less for 2 stars. -Memory of Alessa Kill Time: Kill MOL in two minutes or less for 2 stars. -The God Kill Time: Kill The God in two minutes or less for 2 stars. -Clear Number: You need to have 3 or more game Clears to achieve 5 stars. In other words, you have to beat the game at least three times before you can get all 100 points. Sorry. -Save and Continue Number: You can only save or continue 2 times, for 5 stars. If you choose to save, I suggest just before Borley's Haunted Mansion (because it is too easy to get hung up on a corner when the red light is chasing you down the hall) and before the final battle. -Item Number: You are awarded 1 star for every 5 items you pick up during the game. You can get a total of 20 stars here, which means you need to pick up 100 items or more. -Extra Weapon Number: You get one star for every bonus weapon you unlock. For the perfect you have to find all 5 (Beam Saber, Flamethrower, Gold Pipe, Silver Pipe, and the Unlimited SMG) for a total of 5 stars. -Defeated Enemies by Shooting: One star is awarded for every 5 enemies you plug with a gun, up to a maximum of 15 stars, or 75 enemies. You should kill NO MORE OR LESS THAN 75 with your guns in a single game; killing too many more could reduce your "Defeated Enemies by Fighting" rating or push your time over the limit, but any less is not enough. -Defeated Enemies by Fighting: One star is awarded for every 5 enemies you kill with close range melee weapons, up to a maximum of 15 stars, or 75 enemies. You should kill NO MORE OR LESS THAN 75 with your melee weapons in a single game; killing too many more could reduce your "Defeated Enemies by Shooting" rating or push your time over the limit, but any less is not enough. (Note: since you should only kill 75 enemies by shooting, and 75 enemies by fighting, you should not kill much more than 150 total enemies in a single game, or else you are wasting valuable time. This number includes the 5 bosses) -Total Damage: This is the total amount of damage Heather receives during a single game. Though the actual numerical value of Heather's health is hidden in the game (i.e. it is never expressed in numbers), the Brady Game's Official Silent Hill 3 Strategy Guide says that Heather has 200 health on Easy, 100 on Normal and Hard, and only 50 on Extreme. I tell you this only to give you an idea of how little health Heather is allowed to lose in the entire game and still get a perfect ranking. In order to get 5 stars necessary to get the perfect ranking, you cannot receive more than 500 points of damage through the entire game. This means that if you are playing on Hard (as you should be to be getting the perfect), Heather's total health would have to be totally emptied only 5 times for you to lose your perfect. When you think about how often you use healing items in this game, and the fact that you have to kill at least 150 enemies, that is not a lot. Use the Life Display you can unlock by beating Hard Action level to help give you an idea of how much health you are losing; especially on Hard Mode, it doesn't take too many hits to screw up your chances of getting a perfect ranking. So the key is, don't get hit. Learn to use the strafing techniques, and how to strike so that enemies can't strike back. Learn which weapons are most effective against which foes, so that they drop quickly and don't get a chance to hurt you. Learn to use the block button effectively to reduce the amount of damage you take, and how to use the Bullet Proof Vest effectively. All of this will help you achieve this ranking. -Take off points: Finally, there are certain actions you can take which will actually subtract points from your total. For every time you use any of the five Extra Weapons (Beam Saber, Flamethrower, Silver Pipe, Gold Pipe, and Unlimited SMG), the game subtracts one point. That means using any of them even once in a game destroys your chances of getting a perfect. The bullet adjust does not effect your final score, however, so always pump up your adjust as much as you can to make your life easier. Also, if you use Beginner Mode, 15 points are subtracted, but this won't matter because you have to be playing on at least Hard in order to get the perfect. If you do manage to get a 10 Big Star Perfect Rating, you are rewarded in a couple of ways. First of all, you will be given a code for the special Golden Rooster Shirt as a commemorative prize (or just get the code from here). Secondly, and more importantly, your Beam Saber and Flamethrower get greater ranges and become more devastating on your next Extra New Game. And since you don't need to go for the perfect ranking, you can finally use them! The Beam Saber is especially satisfying. VI. Final Review Silent Hill 3 is one of the most satisfying and frightening horror games I have played since the original Silent Hill, almost five years ago. The graphics are superb, the gameplay intuitive, the puzzles challenging, and the sound is just about perfect. That having been said, it is not quite the perfect Silent Hill experience that I had been waiting for. It is close to perfect, but not quite. First, let's look at what the game does right, which is just about everything. For starters, Silent Hill 3 is one of the best looking games for any system, ever. The hoops that the designers have made the PS2's graphics engine jump through are simply astounding. From the lighting and water effects, the in game character models, the monsters, the cutscenes, and most importantly, the environment, I have not seen another game with its level of almost hyperrealism. Though the PS2 is considered to be inferior to the other current generation systems graphically, I cannot imagine this game being able to look more frightening, realistic, or polished in any other format. The character models were astounding in their level of details, from the near translucency of Claudia's skin to the blemishes on Vincent's chin. You could even see the characters' pores for God's sake! Character movement was believable and varied; each character even walked in a distinct way that was unique to them, from Heather's no-nonsense stride to Vincent's arrogant swagger. The monsters, even the lame ones, were equally well done, with unique looks and impressive presence. Even the Numb Bodies looked good, with their veined purple hides giving the impression of something infected that has been under water for a month. Effects on the later creatures, such as the special Closers in the Church at the end of the game, were truly disturbing and unique. The environments were varied and perfectly rendered, from the derelict office building to the cold stone of the underground tunnels. When Heather walked down an abandoned street, surrounded by fog with the early morning sun suffusing the scene, you were there with her and couldn't help being surprised by the touch of beauty in that horrible place. As usual, the mist and darkness effects were almost a character in the game, and lent even the outdoor environments a claustrophobic and suffocating air. And as good as the realistic elements were, the surrealistic elements stole the show. From the head-whipping motions of some of the monsters and the horses on the merry-go-round (which was lifted from the movie Jacob's Ladder to excellent effect), to the show-stealing effects of the liquid smoke/blood/darkness that bled from the environment in places, the special effects really gave the game a nightmarish quality that sets it apart from other horror titles. Sound was also just about perfect. Heather's boots made realistic noises no matter what kind of surface she was running on, from stone and wood to grass and water. Ambient background noises were varied and omni-present, from the dripping of water in the sewers to the creaking of metal in the dilapidated amusement park. These elements are often overlooked, but when they are done well, as they were in this game, it is a big step towards total immersion. The monsters were, as always, unbelievable, but in a good way. From the pathetic mewling of the Numb Bodies to the screeching of the Pendulums, each monster had its own distinctly disturbing sound. Especially unnerving was the sound of the creatures feasting on fallen flesh and the almost indescribable slurping/crackling noise that the Slurpers made. It would have been nice if the background noises and the monsters stopped when you paused, because it is hard to, say, speak to one's wife while there is the sound of a room full of Pendulums grating through the surround sound speakers. The voice acting was spot on, professional, and most importantly, believable. Silent Hill has always been a series where sound has been almost as important as anything else in the game, since you often rely on it to keep track of your many enemies. Silent Hill 3 not only doesn't disappoint, it raises the bar for further games in the series and other horror franchises as well. Gameplay was the one element where you didn't see many improvements over earlier games in the series, but that is hardly surprising. Silent Hill 3 still controls in much the way the original Silent Hill did, and doesn't deviate far from the standard set by Resident Evil way back in 1996. But as the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The controls are intuitive to those who are familiar with the earlier games, and should prove pretty easy to pick up even for newcomers. The quick turnaround command is a lifesaver, and the lock-on feature seems to have been optimized for this game. The one new element in terms of control is the quick-use button mapped to R3. I didn't use it very often, mostly because the game played so similar to its predecessors that I usually forgot it was there. However, once I did remember it, I found it a nice change from constantly going to the inventory to heal. Other new features, such as the Beef Jerky and the Sub-Machinegun, might as well not have been there. The Beef Jerky was rarely useful except in instances where you absolutely did not want to fight and needed to slip through a narrow corridor past an enemy. Since I just love beating enemies' heads in with Steel Pipes and Katanas, the only time I ever used it was to try it out, then I promptly forgot about it. People made a big deal about the inclusion of the SMG in Silent Hill, and how it was going to change the whole dynamic of the game. In practice, ammo for the weapon was so scarce that the SMG could only be used for brief instances, which were usually boss battles. The clip of 32 emptied incredibly quickly and there were only a handful in the game, so the vaunted SMG boiled down to a couple of brief blasts of fully automatic gunfire before you switched back to the reliable old Shotgun. Ah, Shotgun, how I love you. The puzzles were one aspect of the game that blew me away, especially on the Hard Mode. When they said hard, they meant it, and it really made me feel like I worked for it when I finally worked them through. They also seemed to make more logical sense than in the last game, with the exception of the damned Bird puzzle (bloody Linnet; I hope it chokes to death on its flax seed). The storyline was one of the game's strongest aspects. The franchise has gotten to the point where the story is going to tie back into previous games, which is off-putting to those new to the series, but a welcome blessing to those of us who have been with the series since Harry Mason's day. Honestly, if you are starting a series with number three, you shouldn't be expecting to jump in with both feet and immediately not feel like an outsider. Silent Hill 3 actually does a pretty good job at being accessible to newbies, as you can enjoy most of the game without having played the others. However, there WILL be a point at which you will feel a little left out of the loop, and frankly, you should. The first two games need to be played; they are so good it is an insult to their memories not to do so. I for one am hoping that since Konami is making a high tech re-make of the original Metal Gear Solid for the Game Cube, that we can hope to see the same for Konami's other great series, Silent Hill. I know that it is a dream, but the idea of seeing Harry and the zombie children of Midwich Elementary School in on the current generation systems in all of their blood-spewing, nightmare-inducing glory... excuse me, I am getting a bit misty-eyed. Anyway, the story does a wonderful job of explaining things gradually while still moving us along at a brisk pace. It tied seamlessly in with the storylines of both Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2, although I am getting a little confused as to when this game takes place; did Silent Hill take place almost 20 years ago, in the 1980s, or did it take place in 1996, and Silent Hill 3 takes place in 2013? Or did it take place somewhere in the middle, with Silent Hill in 1991 and Silent Hill 3 in 2008, or what? Not that it really matters, but they are eventually going to have to address what is actually happening with the REAL Silent Hill, the resort town in the real world, in the interim. It has been unclear as to whether or not Silent Hill has been abandoned for the last 17 years, whether the real city lives on, corrupted but without the monsters, or whether it has almost ceased to exist entirely, gradually fading from people's memories like a bad dream. Do people still live there? Did they ever live there? I hope that someday soon they will begin to address these sorts of questions. And what happened to Cybil? Regardless, the twists and turns of Silent Hill 3's story left me begging for more. Which is one of the few things I have to complain about. The game wasn't really short for a survival horror game, and it did feature a number of new and classic environments. Unfortunately, I was hoping to see more of Silent Hill itself, as the town has become sort of a character in and of itself throughout the last two games. Between the first two games we were able to explore dozens of square miles of Silent Hill and the interiors of over a dozen building and environments. While in Silent Hill 3 we do visit West South Vale again, and go into Brookhaven Hospital and Lakeside Amusement Park again, as well as visit the Church (which may or may not be the same building where Harry met Dahlia in the original Silent Hill) and briefly stop by the Heaven's Night club, that is it for the town itself. Not only that, but there is not a single item to be picked up while exploring the exterior of the town. While I understand that the town itself was not the focus of this game, I still think the game could have been much longer, and would have liked to see more of the town. Actually, what I really would have liked to see is the entire town as explored in both of the previous games opened up for your exploration, from Old Silent Hill and Central Silent Hill to Lakeview Hotel and Toluca Prison. Since it is entirely possible to beat the game in under three hours, I would have really liked to see them go all out and open the entire town up to us for the third game in the series. I would personally love to be immersed in Silent Hill for a game that clocks in at 10 hours or more. But that is just my opinion. Of course, if that were the case this walkthrough would be about 400 pages, so I guess it is best that it was not much longer. Another element that I was not quite as pleased with was some of the monster design. The Numb Bodies were just plain lame, and though the Double Heads looked neat, they were otherwise indistinguishable from the zombie dogs of the Resident Evil series, from their movement, to their leaping attacks and their AI. Another aspect that bothered me a little was Heather's character design. Besides her wardrobe being a touch white trash, Heather looked like she was strung out, with pale, waxy looking skin and obvious bags under her eyes. I know that they wanted to portray her as a bit of a bad girl, but I don't see her father raising her as a junky. Also, while the protagonists of the first two games in the series genuinely seemed overwhelmed of and terrified by their situation, Heather acclimated to it a little too readily, which reduced some of your connection to her. I do understand her circumstances, but with Silent Hill's mood, the main character should not be cracking jokes about the monsters or making wry comments about the mind-bending horrors. She seemed just a little too hip and ironic for the game. I liked her overall, but she left the game feeling a little unbalanced in terms of mood. A perfect example of this is the game's "Normal" Ending. Traditionally, the endings of Silent Hill games have messed with your perceptions of reality, left you questioning the nature of life and love, or at their worst, left you with a feeling of bleak despair. In this game we get "Don't blondes have more fun?" While on the subject of endings, there are only two real endings and a joke ending to the game, while the original Silent Hill had six, as did the Greatest Hits version of Silent Hill 2. Another thing that disappointed me is the way that the weapon selection for the game seems to be heading. The thing that set Silent Hill's combat apart from Resident Evil's is the makeshift nature of the weapons that you had access to, at least early in the game. In the original you could get a Kitchen Knife, a Steel Pipe, a Sledge Hammer, a Hatchet, a crappy Handgun, a Shotgun, and a Hunting Rifle. These are all things that you might find in an abandoned resort town. Weapons in Silent Hill 2 included some of the above, but one of the first weapons that you come across is a board with a nail sticking out of it! Now THAT my friend, is survival horror! By contrast, Heather's arsenal includes a Stun Gun, a Katana, a freaking Maul, and an SMG! These are definitely not weapons you are likely to find lying around the average town, and it is moving the series closer to games like Resident Evil in terms of weapon's play and combat. If anything, Heather's game should have been even more make-shift in terms of combat, because she only had a shopping mall, a subway, and some office buildings to explore before she got to Silent Hill, not an entire town. I would have loved to see her pick up a Baseball bat from the sporting goods store, a shovel from a home and garden center, or a butcher's knife from the café while in the mall, and make her wait until the subway to come across a jagged piece of metal that she can use as a Steel Pipe. I know I am nitpicking, but I really want to see this series stay unique, and veer away from the ultra-hip and the gaming status quo. Silent Hill has always been something unique for fans of horror, something a little more visceral, disquieting, and dark than most games. Furthermore, the previous Silent Hills had references both obvious and oblique to the horror genre, from naming all of its streets after horror and sci-fi writers to putting Mushnik's Flower Shop from Little Shop of Horrors in the background of one of the streets. Other than an oblique reference to Jacob's Ladder in the subway (Bergen Street station was featured in the film), this game had little in way of the horror in-jokes. Regardless, I still think that this is one of the finest horror games to ever hit the shelves, and as such I give it a 9.1 out of 10. I really had very little to complain about in this game, and in every other aspect it just blew me away. It has taken the franchise to new heights in terms of storyline, sound, immersion, graphics, and sheer terror. The gameplay has stayed consistently true to form, and I really can't wait to see where the next game takes us in the horrible disturbing paradise that is Silent Hill. Silent Hill 3 is an instant classic. VII. Conclusion and Farewell Well, I guess that is about it. I won't give you the normal non-sense about this being my intellectual property and whatnot. I did spent an awful lot of time and hard work to build it from the ground up, but I understand that it is a guide to someone else's intellectual property, that I was neither hired nor asked to do. That being said, please do not try and pass this off as your own work or post it on your own website without at least telling me first. In manuscript form it is 190 pages, and consumed a couple months of my life and my laptop's hard drive. I also think that it may be the most comprehensive guide available for Silent Hill 3, and contains a lot of my personal thoughts and feelings on the game, the genre, and life in general. This guide is will go first to GAMEFAQS.COM, and soon will be up at my upcoming horror themed site WWW.ADARKERVISION.COM. Keep an eye out for it for more on horror games, movies, books, and more. If you have any questions about this or anything else, feel free to write to me at adarkervision(at)yahoo(dot)com and I will get back to you as soon as possible. If I get enough questions I will add a FAQ question and answer section to the end of this already ridiculously long document. Thanks for taking the time to peruse it, and I hope that you found it entertaining and useful. Be well.
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