XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX A guide to using Peter (who is much like Jim) & The Perfect Underbelly Walkthrough by Creflo April 19, 2006 This work is the property of the author and may not be altered, reposted, sold, or plagiarized in any way. Feel free to take the ideas, form a team, conquer Underbelly and then tell all of your friends that you already knew everything about Jim and File:2. Table of Contents: ------------------ (0) Preface (1) Conventions (what you should already know) (2) Jim Features (the luckiest subway employee) (3) Underbelly specific advantages for Jim (4) Walkthrough in 3 phases (Employee Area bust-in, B2F & Boss, Vent Tower) (5) Solo Walkthrough notes (6) Tips (7) Puzzle Solutions -------- Preface: -------- Peter is an NPC character based on Jim. Peter carries Antivirus medication instead of Jim's Lucky Coin. From here out, only Jim will be referred to. This guide is NOT for beginners. The game has been out for some time now and a certain minimum comprehension is assumed. The purpose of this guide is to familiarize the reader with the character Jim and the Underbelly scenario. With proper planning and quality partners, a perfect score of 30,240 can be reached online using this guide. Currently, there are 12 presumably legitimate players who have attained this score online in the North American system and 14 players in Japan. Creflo's team used only 3 players, no David, and NO OTHERS (NPCs). For this reason our plan was a bit different from the one listed here, and the accompanying video walkthrough does not follow the procedure exactly. The team of Creflo, STARSBRAVO3, jrkerr (AKA Mad_Jackal) and Bloodbath have been conquering the Resident Evil:Outbreak titles since their inception. Most of the work in the original game was in Down Town (Scenario Mode) as this was the last bastion of cheat-free and 'Others'-free play for some time. Down Town was a place where NPCs (such as USS1 and the Mr. Coloreds) were not selectable characters, and where exploits which required the cheater to actually start the room were not usable. Partners were not easily grouped in Down Town play, and Easy mode was not available for speed runs. Partners were chosen based on Friend lists and difficulty was assigned automatically based on the average achievment of each member. Each player had to defeat a given scenario numerous times on Normal and Hard in order to gain access to Very Hard games. The team swept the top ranks of every scenario Down Town in both speed and points until cheaters managed to find way to take their unsavory play to this area. Creflo's Jim was the first to score 37462 at Decisions, Decisions even before any Japanese or US Up Town players. http://www.thankyoufortakingmycall.com/outbreak/rankings When File:2 was released, many of the original players jumped right in and found that while several improvements had been made, many of the same problems still existed. Annoying or underqualified players could not be booted from rooms. No effort was made to contain the widespread cheating except that now each console could only create 3 IDs, and even that has been circumvented in some cases. Down Town was removed and replaced with a little-used Quick Start. Searching for other players was still not available from pre-game chat rooms, and the function was REMOVED from the post-game chat. Some of the improvements include special starting items for each of the 8 characters, call-out of rooms on the map and of codes from memos, strafe, and others. Many Jim fans, players, and alleged senseis abandoned this character because the cheapness of his dive was somewhat reduced in File:2. However, this was more than made up for in the improvements of the character which are discussed in 'Jim Features' section. A quick review of controls, including new features in File:2... (btw, these may be changed from default) X activates everything. That is, memos, maps and SPs are examined. Special actions such as using David's Vinyl Tape on the crack are initiated. When combined with an aim button (R1 or R2) a weapon is fired. O combined with an aim button activates a character's special move such as Jim's dive, Cindy's duck, Kevin's kick, Mark's block, Yoko's crawl, George's collegiate tackle, David's wrench or Alyssa's back-leap (much improved, btw). [] (square) is now the map. Again, placing the cursor over a particular room and pressing the triangle will make the character call out the selected room to all other characters in the vicinity. /\ (triangle) is the so-called ad-lib button. Technically, an 'ad-lib' is an off-the-cuff statement, such as when actors improvise lines which are delivered extemporaneously (not from the script). For this reason, a "map ad-lib" is an oxymoron. There is an important distinction between aiming with R1 vs R2. R1 will automatically point a character toward the closest enemy. This is not always the best choice. For example, when standing guard at the crates in Desperate Times with a melee weapon with David behind (stabbing the crawlers), R1 will take the character's attention away from the crate entrance toward the crawlers who are closer. Also, with Jim the R1 will turn him towards an enemy he may want to flop AWAY from. Since Yoko's crawl and Alyssa's backstep work AWAY from the direction the character is facing, the R1 is often still the best choice, but not always. R2 puts the character in 'ready stance' without changing the alignment. This is useful for shooting a door without bothering to turn towards approaching enemies or for aiming at a particular spot on an enemy (such as Nyx's throbbing sphincter) when the autoaim is not directing the weapon towards the most effective area. Often, tapping the controller up or down in conjunction with an R2 aim can enable a weapon to hit a particular target which is otherwise not in focus. For example, when decending stairs it is often the case that enemies are too low to be picked up by a weapon's 'radar' and holding the controller down may result in shooting into the steps. In these instances, a quick downtap-fire will aim the weapon slightly down and towards the target. R2+O is the preferred method for Jim's dive almost every time. There is also a distinction to be made between using the D-Pad ("crosshairs") and the analog stick to control the character. In simple terms, the pad is used to move the characters relative to the direction in which they are facing. The stick moves the characters in relation to the camera. Best play is often achieved using a combination of both techniques. The Outbreak series is not the first Resident Evil title to employ the analog stick. Many may remember RE2 for the Nintendo64 that had a less-refined analog system in addition to the crosshairs. This system was less able to adjust to changing camera angles and led to more running in circles. For some, the best strategy in the Outbreak series is to use the D-Pad for performing the quick-spin and for instances where precision running in relatively straight lines is required. When circling enemies or manuevering around many obstacles, the stick may be used to a somewhat better effect, but remembering the areas where camera changes occur is key to using the stick. ------------ Conventions: ------------ -This guide is intended for a reader who is familiar with the game and (at least minimally) with the characters and the Underbelly scenario. -An 'fmv' is a full-motion video. Also known as a cutscene. Skip these by pressing START! -The 'Quickspin' manuever is a 180 degree turn performed by holding down on the direction pad and pressing circle. -FAS is a First Aid Spray (save these for stronger characters..Jim only needs the weaker health items) -SP is a hidden Special Item that appears as blue text as opposed to regular memos. 8 need to be collected for maximum points -The coin that gives Jim "Heads" bonuses is referred to as the Nickel. -The Viagra coin that gives +5% bonus chance on Critical Hits, makes melee weapons resist breaking, prevents hunters from ruining guns and increases the chance of random events is referred to as the Lucky Coin. -'Read the memo' doesn't really mean read it. 'X' on it once to bring it up, and 'X' again on the 'No' option to register the completion action. Only the 'Torn Memo' and 'Small Notebook' memo need to actually be read in Underbelly. ------------- Jim features: ------------- Jim is the only magician in a party of fighters and healers. DIVE/PLAY DEAD. The dive no longer makes Jim invulnerable as OB1. It was always intended to be used as a ruse. Enemies will no longer seek Jim out when he plays dead, but if they are in mid-attack, they might still harm him. Flying enemies will hit Jim when they dive in, Hunters will hit Jim when they slash (or 1-hit-kill attack), Oscar the Elephant will stomp a prone Jim and so on. The best way to get past approaching enemies is to let them get as close as possible and dive right through them. The enemy will usually continue running past Jim. The dive is also effective for shaking off fleas who become attached to Jim. Almost always, the R2+O dive is preferable to the R1+O. R1 will turn Jim toward the enemy, but R2 will keep him diving in the direction he was already facing. In some instances, playing dead will cause nearby zombies to turn away from Jim and start beating on nearby doors to escape the room. This can be helpful for opening stubborn doors like the Break Room door, but Jim may have to lay there for a few long seconds. This results in a skyrocketing virus %. Take an herb or pill first if possible. HEADS. Contrary to what just about everyone else seems to think, Jim is not confined to 3 "Heads". As part of the Jim-weakening policy in File:2, four "Heads" (worth 10% each) PLUS the Lucky coin (worth 5%) are necessary to replicate the original OB Jim's 3-Headed 45% chance critical hit bonus. More than 4 "Heads" are possible, especially on Normal or Easy difficulty, but it is usually a waste to gamble Jim's 4th "Heads". There are various superstitious methods of flipping "Heads"...experiment. When a critical hit is kicking in, the controller vibrates and there's a noticably different effect of the weapon on the enemy as they're knocked back more than usual. The coin bonus applies to all melee weapons, pistols, shotguns, and sprays but apparently not to bottles. It also seems that Jim can get critical hits ON TOP of 'automatic criticals' such as firing up into the elephant's face when he rears back. This is 2x 2x damage...give the Hunting Rifle to Jim! A NOTE ABOUT CRITICAL HITS: ALL characters have an inherent 5% chance of a critical hit with these same weapons, even the fumbling Yoko. It could be said that this 5% chance is added to whatever bonus Jim manages to build up with the Nickel, giving him up to a 50% chance of a critical hit with 4 "Heads". Kevin and Alyssa have what is referred to as the Critical Aim with handguns. As stated in the manual, if the aim button is held for a bit longer with these characters they will 're-aim' for a more damaging shot. If it hits, it is a critical hit every time. Alyssa's potshot WAS described to be a special ability to hit more than one zombie with only one handgun bullet but apparently CAPCOM couldn't get it to work. They gave up and loaned her Kevin's critical aim. Also, EVERY character gets a critical hit EVERY time on a zombie by aiming up with a shotgun at a nearby zombie's head, up with the Hunting Rifle at the Elephant (when aimed into his maw as he rears back...R1+L1 to maintain aim then release L1 right before firing), or with the Pesticide Spray up at the Gigabite boss as it raises to call its rolling thunder. SWINGERS. Jim can consecutively swing ALL melee weapons except the knife*. Contrary to popular belief, this DOES include 'pokers' like the spear, stun rod, brush and wooden pole. For regular swingers like the iron pipe, square timber, long pole, axe and hammer, simply follow up the initial swing with another right AFTER the weapon passes in front of Jim. A steady rhythm will enable unlimited consecutive swings. Jim should err on the side of too slow (in which case he will just stop swinging) instead of too fast (Jim will hunch over and pant for a second...leaving him vulernable). For the pokers like the spear, Jim should allow the weapon to poke out and begin to withdraw a good bit before following up with the slashes, which are at a quicker rhythm. The timing of these poke/slashes must be quite precise. Because of this skill and the Lucky coin, Jim dominates with these weapons. In his hands, the stun rod is good for about 15 shocks, compared to 9 without the Lucky Coin. The "charge" of the stun rod is based on the durability of the pipe, not on the juice in the battery. Try using the 3 available stun rods in Desperate Times game with a David partner who doesn't need to blow open the locked doors with Time Bombs. If Jim stands in the entrance of the crate nook at the East side of the final seige area, he can fend of incoming enemies while David stabs crawlers. Behind the protective field of Jim's shock swings, David and any potshotters remain relatively safe**. In fact, from this position, Jim's follow-up swings reach BEHIND him to put some juice to the crawlers if they stand up at his back. Use R2+X swing rather than the auto-aim R1+X which will swing Jim toward the crawlers. Think about this: Without potshotting, Kevin gets 14 shots from his .45 at 450 points each (6300). One stun rod is good for 15 shocks at 360 each (5400) and with 3 Heads, roughly every 3rd swing is for 2x damage WITHOUT having to wait for re-aim. The spear is good for 30 pokes with the Lucky Coin compared to around 15 for regular folks. *"What about little sticks and bent pipes that are to be thrown?" the smart- alec reader asks. Well, Mr. Clever-britches, those items CAN be multiswung by Jim also! If Jim is spazzing out with the curved pipe and it turns into a bent-pipe, he will continue to swing it ("brass knuckles") until the rhythm is broken. At this time he returns to ready stance and the item is only a 1-hit thrown item. It appears that swinging the brass knuckles does not accomplish anything other than making Jim appear badass. **For a sample video of the poke-swing cattle prod in action, visit: http://www.thankyoufortakingmycall.com/outbreak/pokeswing.mpg SMELL. Jim is not as attractive to certain enemies as other characters. This is due to his offensive odor. If Jim remains motionless and silent, he can often avoid a gangbang. Jim is usually able to beat open the Employee doors in Underbelly without interference UNLESS other players are around him. This enemy repellant can even cause extra glitchiness when nearby players are trying to shoot an enemy. A bad place for this is the West side of the swamp in Wild Things. The Horn Bill becomes more difficult to hit as the CPU may struggle to determine its location based on an approach/avoid conflict. The enemy ends up teleporting around gunshots at these times. ITEM SENSE. Jim can locate items on the map before they have been examined. The weakness of this skill is that when another player picks up the item, it still remains as a '?' on the map. Many players forget to use this skill as a way of saving a trip down a long hallway to check for an item that may not be there. For example, in Wild Things outside the Boarding House, there is an item that may or may not appear at the end of the flooded area under the walkway. Also, in Underbelly, there is a long trip up the Ticket Office steps that can be avoided with a quick psychic scan. A quick "No" from Jim will save other players from a wasted trip. Item Sense does not work in Hunt/Kill games (Elimination or Showdown) where there is no map. This skill is especially handy for new players or for maps/difficulties which are unfamiliar to the player. Check the map right away when entering a new room. LUCK. Jim's presence makes certain random events more likely to happen. These include the Elephant roar and Back-Alley scream in Wild Things and the woman being pulled through the ceiling in Underbelly. It seems that some of the luck of these events resides in the Lucky Coin that Jim can pass off to other characters; however, even without the coin Jim gets the random events much more often than others. JIM'S WEAKNESSES. The primary disadvantages of playing as Jim are a result of his poor physical conditioning. The biggest factor is the high rate of increase of his virus percent. Not only does the natural infection rate go up faster than any other character when Jim is just standing around uninjured, but also when he takes a hit the surge (around 4-5% per hit) is more than for any other character. Finally, judgement must be used when performing the dive as Jim's virus gauge soars during this period. He is particularly weak in Desperate Times as the gas has a crippling effect on his zombification percent. Keep in mind that pills and herbs can be used to stave off an increase in infection for up to 30 seconds, and a white AV pill (Jim's drug of choice) will keep his virus from increasing for about 180 seconds. Jim has only 1800 Hit Points (even fewer than Alyssa). On Very Hard, one zombie swat will usually take him to yeller Caution, two can put him into orange Caution or worse depending on the type of attack. About the only benefit of this is that one green herb is plenty for Jim. It will ALWAYS bring him out of Danger and can take him from barely orange to almost green. For this reason, larger healing items are wasted on Jim. For example a FAS is enough to top off even the souped-up Colored stickmen, and a Red+Green mix is worth 2000. These should be saved for other characters when possible. 2 Green Herbs are worth 1000 points and are more than enough to take care of a wounded Jim. Finally, Jim is quite slow. While not the slowest of all characters, he is easily outpaced by the athletic Kevin and most others as well. He does not benefit from the typical tactic of many online players in which the tackle is used to ascend stairs more quickly than the jog that a character normally does up or down steps. Jim might as well just go ahead and use the normal run on stairs because he won't get there any faster nor will he make the annoying squeal. ------------------------------- UNDERBELLY-specific advantages: ------------------------------- Jim has the following advantages in the Subway: -He starts the game already knowing the maps. -In Easy and Normal difficulties, he starts with the Employee key. -Jim has his own locker in the Break Room. (Don't forget to check twice for an extra item...not in most guides!) -Ricky, Jim's dead coworker on the Men's East terlet, has a memo that only Jim can read. -Only Jim and his costumed clones can crawl through the vents. -Being a Subway employee, he starts with knowledge of the Connector Memo. -As stated, the presence of Jim's Lucky Coin increases the chance of seeing the woman being pulled through the Employee Women's Bathroom ceiling. Jim must actually walk in and see the woman pulled for the points to count. Hearing the scream and leaving is not enough. Ducts: Depending on the difficulty, the destination of the various vents changes. The full list is available in other FAQs and guides, but the only ducts to be concerned with for the VH Perfect Walkthrough are in the Storage Room and the Pump Room. There is a 1/4 chance of landing B2f when Jim enters the Storage Room duct. Exchange a good item for a tape before entering the duct (leave it for partners?) so Jim can put the Shotgun E in its place in his inventory during the excitement of the Storage Room #2 fire drill (sometimes there's a FAS in there, too). However, if Jim lands B2f in a non-David game, he's saved significant stair time. Jim also has a slim 1/8 chance of hitting Storage Room #2 from the Employee Hall ducts...even before B2F has been accessed! Storage Room #2 is completely unneccessary in the max points game and should be avoided. When Jim shuts off the water, exchange the crank for the item nearby (Red Herb, Blood Pack or Green Herb) so it'll be close by when Jim returns from the power room/storage room to crank the water back on after taping the crack. No need to carry it around. Jim is well suited for this task since there's an escape duct right by the crankhole so no there's no need to fight through the disgruntled subway staff. Even though the duct sometimes leads to the dreaded refuse dump, it may drop Jim right next to the power room for a quick power-on. ------------ Walkthrough: ------------ Join a game with at least one other player. Your teammates must be able to open both of the Employee and Break Room doors and must be able to defeat the final boss without your assistance. No big deal for most quality,skilled players. Having one Alyssa and either David (for his lighter), Kevin, or Mark makes things easier. There is one lighter available in one of several locations in this scenario(see 'Tips'), so David is not crucial; however, since he will not need to use his tape on the crack, David is free to make the hammer, flamespray (after you've run the lighter) and spear. At some point it would be nice for Jim to trade his Lucky coin for David's lighter if he is on board, so that David can make the most of the custom weapons. The flamespray is actually LESS effective against fleas than an unignited pesticide spray. Its only use in this scenario would be to have a bit of fun with one of the 2-shot pest sprays against the zombies of B2f. Don't waste the valuable 9 shotter! The real talent needed is in clearing hallways for pacifist Jim. This is especially treacherous if the team is going all-out for max points including the vent tower ending. The fleas will poison and bleed Jim's escorts if they are not ace gunners. Playing Very Hard difficulty, avoiding use of weapons or getting hit, grabbing all memos and 8 Special Items and performing ALL possible completion items are necessary for maximum points. The only items Jim cannot complete are "Use the Employee Key" (Easy and Norm only), "Railway to Tomorrow" (if Jim escapes through the Ventilation Tower) and "Use Vinyl Tape"(David Only). The 1st and 3rd player to enter the game chat room will start on the West side (in Hard and VH games). To insure that Jim and David start on the same side (for lighter-Lucky Coin exchange), the Jim-player should start the room and the David player should wait until a 2nd player has entered the chat room before taking the 3rd spot. Again, this can be done with just 2 players, in which case Jim should meet up with David in the Subway Car. Instruct your partners to unlock BOTH Employee doors and one of the Break Room doors as soon as possible and spend the rest of the game collecting guns, ammo, and health for the final fight, after which they will accompany Jim to the Ventilation Tower exit. Make sure that they do not perform any of the completion items such as using the B2f key or any of the actions downstairs. In fact, their presence is not even necessary in the pump room and may even be a hindrance unless they stay in the hallway and distract or destroy enemies. A good team, in the order they would enter the pre-game chat room: P1: Jim (forget the ridiculous clones like Samuel and Mr Green-jeans) P2: Alyssa, Mark, or Kevin (using handguns to defeat the Megabite sub-bosses) P3: David P4: Cindy (if you have a skilled Cindy player who is not afraid to use a scattergun and whose bandage is helpful to stop flea-bleeding) A solid team of gunners would be the best bet for an uncertain group. In this instance, replace Cindy with Kevin or Mark (who can move the Storage Room crate [useless] and the Ventilation Tower crate without assistance). Have Alyssa/Kevin collect the Handgun GL and let Mark grab the conventional Handgun clips and later he'll man the shotgun. David is terrible with a pistol using his 1-handed showoff style. He can man the molotovs and special custom weapons while holding Jim's Nickel. Phase One: If correctly positioned, Jim should start at the top of the West stairs. Exchange the Lucky Coin for David's lighter and run down the stairs. Upon entering the West Ticket Office, head for the crack between the two ticket machines and grab the Umbrella SP. Depending on the item set, there will be an alcohol bottle in this room somewhere nearby. Use the item sense to determine the position of items and grab this bottle. It is Jim's mission to assemble the 2 sets of Molotov cocktails because he MUST pick up all 3 Newspapers to obtain maximum completion %. If other players assemble the cocktails, it would deny Jim the opportunity to 'read' the papers. David should collect whatever other items fit his fighting mood. With Jim's Lucky Coin, a pipe and a Concrete Piece, David can hammer open the doors the the Employee Area and the Break Room in 4 hits each! Who needs Alyssa with this power? The hammers are also effective for dispatching zombies but it can be frustrating to hammer the bugs. If the Handgun GL is found in this or the next area, David or Jim should deliver it to the East Tunnel for one of the partners. Jim should proceed into the West Concourse past the first column on his left, quickspin, and grab the Test Book SP from the mailbox. Head to Women's Bathroom (West) which is the one on the right. Enter and 'use' the lighter in the darkened area of the second stall. Remember to check for Newspaper#1 in the Women's Bathrooms. Head down to the Subway tracks using the stairs near the locked Employee Area door. Remember that the stairs near these doors lead to the Subway Car side of the tracks. The other stairs lead to the side where the 2nd emblem is later found. Run East toward the area where the boss fight will later take place. If you have collected any FAS and/or have assembled a Molotov, these should be left in place of the less useful items such as a blue herb (good for antivirus purposes)in the boss area. Newspaper#3 is located either at the North side of the area in the shadows, near the small divider, or in front of the lighted squares (which is where the fighting crew will be standing when the boss fight takes place). It is a good idea to leave a molotov set or FAS in place of Newspaper#3. Run to the far end of the East Tunnel Area and actually read the Torn Memo which will give the combination for the locker in the Break Room which contains the B2f key. Ad-libbing while this note is on screen will announce the code to other players who would not normally be able to open the locker without having first read the note. Just a few feet from the Torn Memo is the Rulebook SP located on the head of the dead body. Run out of the area back to the tracks and climb the East steps. In the East Concourse, enter both bathrooms. In the Men's East Bathroom is Jim's dead co-worker Ricky who died on the terlet like Elvis. Examine the body with X, then X again to read the touching memo. Exit the bathroom, enter the Women's East Bathroom and use the lighter in the darkened stall. If the Newspaper#1 is not here, it will be found in the East Concourse between the poles or in the shaded area. Exchange it for #3 which is no longer needed. Proceed through the East Concourse turnstiles to the East Ticket Office. Climb the stairs closest to Jim (South stairs)and read Jean's memo. Quickspin and run back down the stairs, turn right, and head over the the garbage can by the other set of stairs. Grab the Ticket SP. Quickspin and head a few steps to the overturned garbage can to read the Small Notebook Puzzle. This provides the combination for the drawer in the Control Room. See below for solutions to these puzzles. Exit the East Ticket Office, race through the East Concourse and down the stairs by the Employee Area door back down to the tracks. Use the lighter on the pole near the Subway Car on the West end of the tracks. Examine the pole immediately after to get the "Afraid Of The Dark" SP. If you have collected a Blood Pack, it is a good idea to swap it for the item in the far corner. Later, when the fleas have been activated in this area, the blood can be spilled just behind the pole where the fleas cannot reach it. They will all head in that direction and ignore players, but they cannot drink the blood and grow into menacing Megabites. You might want to check the Subway Car at this point for Newspaper#2. Here you'll find the Wet Matches SP on the divider behind the driver's cab and the Button SP at the rear of the vehicle. Run back up the stairs to the East Concourse, through the (hopefully now-opened) Employee Area door. If Jim still has the Lucky Coin, jump into the Women's Employee Bathroom and pray for the scream as the helpless NPC is pulled into the ceiling ("panty shot"). If David is still wreaking havoc with the coin, it's best to wait until after the water has been shut off and David has exhausted his hammers. Run to the (hopefully now-opened) Break Room and enter the combo in the locker. Shoulder-tackle the locker to the right to open the door and grab the Emp ID SP inside. Open the locker on the far side (only Jim can open this) and leave the contents for the partners. There is a bent pipe and either 3 Recovery Meds or a 2-shot Pest Spray inside. Run to the bunk beds and use the lighter for the 4th time to reveal the shotgun. Leave the weapon for the gunners. Exit the Break Room and run to the North end of the Employee Area to unlock the stairs to B2f. Hopefully the partners will be waiting here. Phase Two: Run down the stairs to the B2f area. Midway down, the second alcohol bottle MAY be found. If not here, it is back up in the Breaker Room or in the Storage Room near the blocked stairs. Run past the sleeping zombie to the end of the hallway and enter the Emergency Power Room. As always, grab a Blue Herb for virus protection on the way if one is available. Grab the Valve Handle, exit the room, take the first right, and proceed down the stairs into the flooded area. Dive past any enemies and enter the pump room. During this time, the partners will be keeping the subway staff busy. Zombies will beat the door open quickly if they are not being dealt with, but will not swarm Jim as fast as they do other characters. Head up the steps, use the crank and swap it for the item which is just behind the crankhole. Exit through the duct at the top of the steps if enemies approach, otherwise grab the Maintenence Form memo on the right side of the door and the ammo in the corner and head out. Using the pump room duct will drop Jim off in one of several locations: -Back in the pump room - 1/8 chance (Quickspin and try again) -Refuse Dump - 1/4 chance (Quickspin and exit! This is a dangerous room but you might be able to grab the Newspaper#2 without taking a hit) -B2f passage near pump room 1/4 chance -B2f passage near Emergency Power Room - 3/8 chance The latter is the preferred drop. Run back into the Emergency Power Room and turn on the power. There is often a Recovery Medicine in here. If Jim has a free space, grab it for the others. This is also the worst place that the lighter may be found for those who are playing without David. Run back up the stairs to the breaker room and solve the puzzle (see 'Tips'). Be sure and read the 2 memos in the room before exiting. Head through the Employee Passage to the Storage Room*. Grab a Repair Tape and swap it for Jim's best health or ammo. This will be helpful for the teammates. There is an Emergency Rations SP located near the crate and perhaps the 2nd alcohol bottle. Rush the Repair Tape back to the pump room, use it on the crack, turn to the left and grab the crank from below, examine this area for 'Molemen Attack' SP, climb the steps, use the crank, grab the Maintenance Memo if necessary and ammo and escape. Grab the Founder's Emblem and run back upstairs. * In a 'perfect game', it is not necessary to enter the Storage Room duct, as the 3-shell shotgun is an unneeded risk. Here are the possible drops anyway: Ret'n Storage Room 1/4 (try again or just walk downstairs) Employee Passage 1/4 (go ahead and walk downstairs) Storage Room #2 1/4 (quickspin and exit..unless Jim can grab the shotgun w/o a hit) B2f Passage 1/4 (preferred drop to rush the tape) On the way out of the Employee Area, stop in the Women's Employee bathroom if Jim hasn't yet heard the scream AND seen the woman dragged up through the ceiling. Again, it is more likely to happen if Jim is holding the Lucky Coin. Also, head to the Control Room and read the Connector Memo (even though Jim learned this complicated procedure in Subway School, it is needed for points). Enter the combination in the drawer and take the contents to the team out on the Subway tracks. If a teammate has triggered the fleas by walking close to the Subway Car, the Control Room is completely safe from Subway Staff (who are NOT sandwich artists). There are two locations in the Control Room where the lighter can spawn. It may be near the Connector Memo or in the locked drawer. If David is not on board, it would be wise to check the Control Room early in the game. Be sure to grab the memo on the East side of the hallway from the shelves on the way to the tracks. At this point, if the fleas haven't been triggered, Jim should proceed to the lowered area between the tracks a good distance from the gas can. If another player runs to spill the blood, the small fleas will be drawn to it but the large Megabite will jump down to Jim's level and head towards him. When he comes within range of the gas can, another player can dispatch him with one explosive shot. Whether its Jim or the others, be sure to spill blood just behind the post so that fleas will hop toward it but be unable to drink. Enter the Subway Car and wait for the 3rd train arrival fmv (wheels sparking on the tracks). If Jim didn't have time to grab the 2 SPs in the Car, it would be a good idea to grab them before the 3rd video. At this point, Jim should've collected all of the possible memos and 8 SPs (extras are listed in this FAQ). Grab the 2nd Founder's Emblem after the train crash and place both in the slot between the cars. Re-enter the Subway Car and open the map. If the partners are in place (just in front of the floor lights, where the boss will appear) and ad-libbing, their dots should appear on the map indicating that they are ready. 'X' on the driver's cab area so that Jim will be hijacked into the E Tunnel Area, starting the boss fight. Jim should remain out of the way during this period. Gigabite strategies will be discussed below. If Jim is carrying any ammo for the team, place it near the rear (West) of the area and remain wary of the rolling meatballs which would ruin an otherwise perfect run. After the boss is defeated, remain in the area for a bit to make sure all players are fully stocked and ready for the final phase. There will be no further enemies here, and now's a good time for everyone to exchange items. If any single green or blue herbs are around, they would be helpful as antivirii for Jim. If he hasn't grabbed the Torn Memo or the nearby Rulebook SP, now is a good time. "How could Jim have opened the Break Room locker without reading the Torn Memo" the reader asks. Another player can run to the memo early on, pull it up in their inventory screen and hit the ad-lib button when Jim is nearby. This will make it possible for Jim to enter the code, but it will not count as him having READ the memo. After the end of the announcement about the train leaving (or shortly before), run to its former location, grab the Ventilation Tower key and head back through the Employee Passage back down to B2f. Be sure to stay a few steps behind the partners as they dispatch the nasty fleas on the way. Phase Three: Throughout this process, it would be best to let the partners clear the way for Jim. Fleas can be unpredictable, especially when several players are in the same area increasing glitchiness. Particular problem areas include the stairs to B2f and the Emergency Power Room where Jim will be using the Vent Tower Key. A good plan is to wait a few seconds before ascending the stairs from the platform to the Employee Area. Let the partners clear the way with the shotgun then bring Jim up the rear. Again, when everyone else enters the stairs to B2f, give them a few seconds to make sure the path is clear. Don't forget to stop in the Refuse Dump on the way if a Newspaper or SP is needed. During the time it takes Jim to grab the Newspaper #2 (if here), the bloodpack (if here) and the SPs*, the partners can enter the Emergency Power Room and dispatch the dangerous and quickly-respawning Blue Fleas which are NOT attracted to bloodpacks. Jim should wait outside the door until the partners yell "C'mon" to indicate that the fleas are temporarily down. Jim then enters the room and runs to unlock the door to the Ventilation Tower. *The Red Orb SP is in the back of the room. Jim's Wooden Clogs SP is a right-hand turn from the door. These should be unnecessary as 8 SPs may be found before the boss fight even begins. It would be a good idea for Jim to wait inside the cage where the crank was obtained while the partners clear the steps to the Vent Tower. Close to the duct where the fleas enter is the best place for Jim to stand. Again, when the partners give an all-clear, Jim should have no trouble racing through the now-unlocked door without the poison-inducing fleas catching up. As quickly as possible, Jim should race through the tight confines of the narrow hallway which should now be somewhat free from fleas. Through the far door and up the first ladder, Jim should be able to avoid the Megabite with its back to the entrance. If Mark is in the party, he will be able to move the crate above and to the left of the 1st ladder while Jim cuts right and retrieves the Model Train Wheel. No points are given for pushing the button which lowers the elevator, so that is a job for Mark (or whoever pushes the box). If he is jumped during the Elevator-lower fmv, he will be able to skip the scene more quickly and get back to work. After Jim acquires the Wheel, there will be some protection needed from the small flea that guards the 3rd level of the vent tower and the ladder which leads to the final level of the tower before the grate. If the partners can work this critter over enough for Jim to get to the penultimate level without killing it, that will be one less flea that spawns up top. Make sure Jim hands off the final bloodpack to a partner who'll ascend the ladder up to the grate area. This partner should spill the blood a few feet away from the ladder and begin tackling/stomping the fleas away from the lure. This will keep them busy but unable to swell into Megabites while Jim runs to place the Model Train Wheel and ascend the final ladder to glory. NOTES FOR THE PARTNERS: Once the Employee Doors are opened (Alyssa picks, David coin+hammers, Mark bashes) it is important to gather the appropriate ammo and stock the East Tunnel for the final fight. Jim will gather the molotovs, so leave those items alone, unless a Newspaper#1 from the East Concourse can be brought to Jim while the Torn Memo is being read. There are 3 papers that Jim MUST read but only 2 alcohol bottles, so one paper can be read and discarded. Of those 10 molotovs, only a few are needed for the Gigabite boss if 9 straight pest sprays are aimed straight up without hindrance. If David is along for the ride, Jim's lucky coin and hammers surely will quickly bash open the Employee Area and the Break Room. Make sure Jim gets the Lucky Coin back before trying for the panty shot in the Women's Employee Bathroom. Alyssa needs to grab the Handgun GL and as many clips as possible (2-3 can be found?). These should be potshotted against Gigabite and his minions. The GL(ock) is effective at long range, much like Mark's backup gun. Same goes for Kevin if he is chosen. Mark needs to stock the handgun clips and any of these three partners would need to find all loose boxes of bullets. Remember that handgun damage (and other damage besides Ampoule shooter, pest spray, or molotovs) is halved againt the Gigabite boss. Use guns primarily for clearing the Megabite sub-bosses while the big boy is sprayed/liquored up by another. The player holding the pest spray should stand right on the lit squares in front of where Gigabite later appears once Jim has triggered the fmv. From this location, the spray can be applied directly up into the boss' face when he rears back to call the rolling meatballs. The pest spray is a continuous succession of critical hits which stumble Giga out of his attacks every time if done properly. It is possible to save ALL of the shotgun shells for AFTER the boss fight. The hairy flea run to the vent tower is the most-likely spot for Jim to take damage, and the shotgun is quite effective there. Partners should stay ahead of Jim and holler out "c'mon" when the coast has been temporarily cleared. Take out the first flea on the B2f stairs with a downward shot after taking a few steps toward the enemy. Hitting the gas can would be even better. Quickly descend to the first landing and turn to hit the second flea. Call to Jim and move on. Clearing the Emergency Power room can be tricky as the poisonous fleas are not attracted to anything other than human flesh. Be ready with a R1+L1 shot immediately upon opening the door. A second shot will kill the enemy and by then the second flea will have already attacked the party. Dispatch this one and call to Jim, who will unlock the door and cower inside the cage (where the cranks are found) while the gunners clear the stairs to the vent tower. This location is a good place to use any remaining molotovs as there are at least 2 small fleas and one Megabite that must be taken out quickly. SOLO JIM UB VH WALKTHROUGH. Mostly, Jim will run the same route, but there are a few differences in a solo run. For one thing, Jim will not be able to avoid using weapons so make the most of them. Start the game by flipping the Nickel to get 3-4 "Heads". Jim is much more fun with this bonus. Hang onto the Lucky coin and use a pipe to open the locked Employee and Break Room Doors. After 20 overhead swings on the door, the pipe will bend. Another 3-4 swings with the flaccid pipe will pop it open. During the Employee bust-in, Jim draws considerably less attention than other characters, but sometimes enemies DO eventually come around to hear what the banging is all about. Often, a dive is enough to send them right back down the stairs. It's possible that even multiple enemies turn right around in their tracks and head back down immediately during a 2 second nap at the door. If they won't leave Jim alone, either retreat down the stairs or lure them over to the far end of the Concourse (by the turnstiles), dive straight at them as they rush towards Jim and return to pounding the door. Once inside, a replacement pipe can often be found in the Employee passage. Use it to beat the North door of the Break Room. Having a Blue Herb on hand will enable Jim to dive away from approaching zombies who will often turn their attention to assisting with the door. Once they begin pounding (with much more strength than Jim)on the door, they are no longer a threat and will not attack Jim, even if he stands right beside them. Collect Recovery Meds as much as possible. Go ahead and open the Control Room Drawer and grab those right away (or else the Shotgun shells). Enemies may enter, but they can easily be flopped past after entering the combo. Be sure to re-search Jim's personal locker in the Break Room after grabbing the Bent Pipe and grab the extra Recovery Meds (forget the 2 shot Pesticide Spray if it appears instead) underneath. Jim will have to surrender the Lucky coin to make room for other items after the Break Room is open and the panty shot has been witnessed. If max solo points are sought, the lighter will have to be run to the 4 spots at some point. Best do this before setting off the fleas. After running to B2f, cranking the water off, switching the power on and solving the Breaker Puzzle, run for the Storage Room and grab the tape as above. This time, however, hitting Storage Room #2 is not so bad. Veterans may remember this as the room on B3f of Decisions, Decisions from OB where the map was located. The duct from which Jim enters corresponds to the location of his SP in that first game. Dive/run past the giant flea and grab the shotgun from the shelf on the right. There may be a FAS on the opposite shelf. Visually examine this area while Jim is still in the crawl-in animation to see if the FAS is visible, because dancing with the big sucker is not something Jim needs to do for very long. This is why I do not suggest this room for the No-damage multiplayer walkthrough. Jim almost always takes a hit here...sometimes a bleed. Exit the duct and land either in the Employee Hall, the Men's Room, or back in Storage Room #2. Proceed down to B2f with the Repair Tape as above, crank on the water, grab the Emblem and make for the trains. Again, sometimes after grabbing the Repair Tape and entering the duct in the Storage Room, Jim may get a huge time boost by being redirected down to the B2f hall instead of the Storage Room #2. For this reason, it is important to grab the Repair Tape BEFORE entering the Storage Room duct. For fighting the boss, I suggest that Jim carries the stacked Recovery Medicines, the Shotgun E, shells, and a Pesticide Spray with 9 hits. If some molotovs can be assembled and left in the fight area, they might prove useful. Eliminate the 3 sub-fleas with the shotgun or (preferably) the molotovs before attempting to attack the boss. As they respawn, stop what Jim is doing and eliminate them. If ammo is scarce, they can be lured toward the back of the area (West) and Jim can evade around the little divider wall. This only buys time to attack for a few seconds at a time before they must be lured away again. If Jim is going to take the Vent Tower home, use up the molotovs first and try to conserve Shotgun Shells for the multitude of fleas. Because Jim will be carrying the Vent Tower Key for a good part of the journey, only 3 other item slots are available: Shotgun, Shells, and Health. With molotovs vs Giga, Jim needs to stand in front of the beast and chuck them right into the chin. During the reload of the next molotov, Jim is vulnerable to reprisals which he could otherwise dive through. When the beast takes a big sweep, dive into it and try to get up as the backhand is coming across the other direction. If Jim throws the fire from the side, he will often overshoot, and most side hits do less damage to bosses anyway. It is possible to throw molotovs in succession (diving towards Giga right after Jim reloads the next bottle) and avoid the sweeps. Jim will get up into Giga's harmless underbelly and can run around to safety to wait for the next raise-up to call meatballs. Try to stay in the middle of the tracks so the Giga calls from the lit-square area. The meatballs will roll on either side. With the pest spray, simply stand in front of the boss as he raises up to call his minions and spray upward repeatedly. Giga should not be able to recover before the next hit comes. 9 sprays and a little chaser will finish him off. During the return trip to the Vent Tower, make great haste past fleas when possible or stun them with one quick shot. Two is enough to kill them typically if they are hit at close range and Jim has some "Heads" luck. The stairs leading to B2f house 2 small fleas but the first is near a gas can. Walking down a few steps and firing 1-2 down-tap blasts should do the trick. Hurry around the corner and be ready for the 2nd flea which is somewhat hidden by girders in the foreground. Stop at the Refuse Dump on B2f and grab the Blood Pack or shells and pick up the final Newspaper if needed (but put it right back down). When entering the Emergency Power Room (formerly a safe room before flea infestation)immediately R1+L1 fire at the blue jumper who'll be right on Jim in a second. A second shot will put him down for good, but by that time the other blue flea is hot on his heels. These buggers are not attracted to blood packs and they respawn from the side duct as soon as they are killed. The cage where the crank was found is a temporary safe haven, but it is difficult to get in there without being jumped. The following area (Vent Tower Stairs) no cake walk either. Expend all remaining ammunition on these buggers as there are 2 Pest Sprays in the walkway before the exit. There are several small fleas and one Megabite here. Being solo, Jim probably won't have a Bloodpack to spare (need one for the very end!) nor will molotovs be available, handy though they'd be here. Jim would be lucky to have time to fully load the shotgun at the top of the stairs after blasting the 2 Blues before the jumping browns are in position. Once in the final area, run past floor Mega to the far ladder (may require some luring to the other end) and ascend to the awaiting flea which guards the elevator switch. Initially, this flea will be facing the wrong way and can be hit with the pest spray but the little bastard will be on Jim quickly. Keep in mind that every flea which is killed in the vent area will spawn up top afterwards. Two cans of 9 shots of spray seems like quite a bit, but trying to place the Model Train Wheel will be difficult with a bunch of hopping bugs hot on Jim's tail. The Bloodpack will only buy a little time since no one will be around to bump the enemies away. They will quickly swell and seek out Jim's flesh. Good Luck. Hope you survive to hear the zombies 'boning' in the distance. TIPS: -Combine the Recovery Meds which may be found in: Jim's Locker (3x), Control Room Drawer, Emergency Power Room, Subway Car, West Concourse, B2f hall. -Unless solo, save these for the partners who may not hit those locations. -The papers can be found at: the boss fight area East Tunnel(#3...always) The East Concourse(#1..shadows behind North stairs or between poles or in the Women's Bathroom). Paper#2 is in the Refuse Dump, the Subway Car, or the Employee Women's Bathroom. -One bottle is either in the West Ticket Area or Concourse The other is at stairs to B2f, Storage Room, or Breaker Room. -If David is not along for the ride, the lighter may also be found in the Control Room drawer or nearby item spot, the Subway Car, the Emergency Power Room, or the Storage Room. -After running the lighter route (W.Women's, E.Women's, Subway Pole, Break Room) leave the shotgun under the bed unless Jim is solo. Jim does not have to pick up the shotgun to get the points for the lighter run. -Suggest that the partners use the 9x Pesticide Spray(s) against the boss. It ties him up and once the user is in close it can't miss...unlike the molotovs. It is a Critical Hit every time, and a well-placed frontal assault will hit several times each puff. ---------------- Puzzle Solutions ---------------- Breaker Puzzle: -On Very Hard, there are 2 variations. If the first number is 9, click these circuits: +6, +1, +10, +8, +6, +3, +10 If the first number is 7, click these circuits: +6, +3, +10, +8, +6, +1, +10 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Control Room Puzzle: -There are numerous variations for the Small Notebook Puzzle. The idea is that if the letters on page 2 are traced onto the alphabetical grid on page 3, the 4 numerical digits of the code will be revealed. Some potential code letters: 1: any two letters (duh) 2: ABJIQR, GHPOWX, CDLKST, EFNMUV 3: ABRQ IJ, GHXW OP, EFVU MN (4 + 2 letters) 4: EMN FV, CKL DT, GOP HX (3 + 2 letters) 5: FEMNVU, DCKLTS, BAIJRQ 6: BAQRJI, DCSTLK, HGWXPO 7: ABR, GHX, CDT (3 letters) 8: GHXWG OP, EFVUE MN, CDTSC KL (5 + 2 letters) 9: LKCDTS, JIABRQ, POGHXW 0: CDTSC, GHXWG, ABRQA (5 letters, start/end same letter) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Item Set Patterns: -Certain arrangements of items can be predicted based on the code from the Small Notebook puzzle. For example, every time the starter of the room is playing UB for the first time that session (since reset) the Small Notebook code is 2916 and the Torn Memo code is 'DESK'. Thanks and Credits: Everything I know about this game I learned from: Mr J.R. Kerr (AKA Mad_Jackal): the best player of the game. Mr STARSBRAVO3: the other best player of the game. Mr Bloodbath: the best player who doesn't play anymore. Mr ResidentEvil988: the best 100% Cindy in the game. Hours of time was sacrificed by these players to enable the rankings and credibility of the name Creflo. Each of them is a teacher, a gunner, an instigator, and a friend. Talented, clean, never-cheating partners are hard to come by in Raccoon and I am eternally thankful and blessed by their presence. Here's a "Perfect Game" runthrough of the Underbelly scenario supported by Mad-Jackal and STARSBRAVO3: http://www.thankyoufortakingmycall.com/outbreak/UBpts1.wmv http://www.thankyoufortakingmycall.com/outbreak/UBpts2a.wmv http://www.thankyoufortakingmycall.com/outbreak/UBpts3a.wmv http://www.thankyoufortakingmycall.com/outbreak/UBpts4a.wmv Other runs may be found in the directory http://www.thankyoufortakingmycall.com/outbreak/ Dan Birlew's Bradygames Strategy Guide came out for this game the same day the game was released. It proved useful only in that it contained information which was given to the author directly by CAPCOM which could never be determined through play testing (of which Dan apparently did little). Innumerable errors are in the guide and in the past it appears he included deliberately false information so he could later prove plagiarism. This includes (in the first Outbreak game) mislabelling the location of one of Cindy's Bunny Costume SP items as being behind the exploding door in Hellfire. In the File:2 guide information about Completion Item points is incorrect in several areas. Using David's Vinyl Tape on the crack in UB is only worth 20, not 40. The box which must be bashed in End Of The Road is incorrectly labelled. Instead of being in the Experiment Room as Dan states, it is actually guarded by the spider in the lower levels. There are more errors but they would give too many folks ideas of how to improve their ranks and that's for another guide. Regardless, Birlew's guide was consulted for gameplay data but NO INFORMATION OR DATA WAS COPIED INTO THIS GUIDE. Check out these great websites for their extensive data: http://www.the-last-escape.com/biohazard-outbreak/ (French) http://obfile2.nobody.jp/indexsav.html (Japanese)