XGC KNIGHT XI
Administrator
Tick Tick Boom
You have to get to the Emulsion factory before you can plant your sonic device. Unfortunately, it’s around ten kilometers away; too far to walk in any kind of reasonable amount of time. Dom’s got a plan to get you there quicker, but you’ll have to ditch your Hammer of Dawn weapon; the satellites are not overhead anymore. D’oh! The weapon is useless, then; ditch it out for a shotgun near the beginning of the level.
The two paths here are going to offer up unique challenges. The left path will take you into direct contact with a pair of boomers, which are large, beefy enemy soldiers that wield rocket launchers, while the right will let you fire on them from above. The left-hand path is the more dangerous, but the boomers can be taken out if you drop enough grenades on them. You’ll also have the benefit of being able to pick up the rocket launchers before moving on. You’ll finally manage to regroup after taking out a Troika; kill the locusts manning it, then find the silver door nearby and kick it in to move on. Chainsaw the sofas in this area before heading outside to find a set of Cogtags.
Grist
As soon as you enter the exterior area here, a boomer and a number of locusts will attack you. Don’t move too quickly here; just wait for the boomer to fire his rocket at someone else, chuck a grenade at his feet, and finish him off with weapons fire. There are going to be snipers set up around the corner to your right, so proceed cautiously, using the trees for cover, until you get to the bottom of their building and then use grenades to clear them out.
Move through the warehouse here, but when you reach the stairs leading down, where you get attacked by the Wretches, head down to the bottom of the steps and check underneath the walkway for another set of Cogtags.
Around the way, another boomer and locust set will attack you, so deal with them quickly and grab the boomer’s launcher. You may not need it in the next section, but it couldn’t hurt. When you reach the bridge nearby, a Troika will immediately start firing at you. To get close enough to take it out, hit Y to scope the "pushable car", then crouch behind its trunk and start tapping x to push it along the road. You’ll stop near a piece of cover off to your right. If you’re careful, you can look around to the right and throw a grenade up onto the Troika’s little platform and blow the gunner to hell. After that’s done, start advancing down the street, but be careful, as an emergence hole will appear behind the truck down there. You can close it up with a grenade, but you’ll probably have to make a lengthy throw. Otherwise, you can just fire away at the enemies until they stop popping up.
When you move down the road a bit, you’ll come to a Stranded gatekeeper. Before talking to him, check behind the newspaper bins between the trees on the sidewalk to find some Cogtags. When you enter the compound, you’ll find Franklin, who’ll loan his vehicle to Dom in exchange for leaving some of your troopers in the encampment.
Outpost/Lethal Dusk
The "Outpost" section of this level is long enough for a conversation with Franklin, but you’ll almost immediately switch over to the "Lethal Dusk" section after that. When you kick out the door nearby, you’ll come out to an exterior area. There’s a sniper in the little shack across the way; chuck a grenade through the door to finish him off, then grab his sniper rifle if you like.
Down at the river, you’ll find a hand-cranked transporter; you need to get on board, stand near the crank, hit X to latch yourself on, then hit A to start moving across the river. The walls of the transporter and the shaft that holds the handle will keep you safe from most of the fire, and Dom will cover your *** as well.
When you get to the far side of the river, things will have changed a bit. Remember that movie Pitch Black? Well, welcome to a retread of the basic plot there: if you stay in the light, you’re fine, but if you veer off into the darkness, you instantly get cut down by the Kryll, which are essentially vicious bats. Luckily, the same holds true for the locusts. Get used to running from light source to light source.
Checkpoint 1
You’ll reach Checkpoint 1 shortly after you cross the river. Stock up on supplies, then head through the nearby building to find an emergence hole. As Dom says, you can shoot the propane tanks scattered around here to make more temporary light for you to run from. If you make a little path towards the barricades at the end of the street, you’ll have a better shot at the locusts that are coming up, and might even be able to plug the hole with a grenade. When the hole fills in, walk across it and shoot the propane tank in the shed nearby. If you run across to it, you can find a set of Cogtags.
Start making your way down the road, shooting propane tanks as needed. (If there’s a dark patch ahead of you and you can’t see a tank, usually it’s hidden beneath some rubble, so shoot around as best you can.) When you reach the first ruined car here, a Troika will open up on you. There’s no flanking here, so you’ll have to either snipe the gunner out (aiming for his legs is the best bet from this distance) or attempt to run up the right side of the alleyway and get close to him that way.
There’s a checkpoint in the building nearby. Head past it and reach the next emergence hole, which is on the other side of a patch of darkness. You’ll have to move through the tunnels nearby to flank the soldiers, although getting a grenade angle on the hole while protecting yourself from the locusts will be difficult. When you’re ready to move on, blast the propane tank in the alleyway and use it to guide your path to the next doorway.
Another pushable car is on the street outside; it has a light attached to its front, which will let you get down the street a bit and avoid the Troika fire. If you book it into the hallway nearby, you’ll be able to flank the gunner and bounce a grenade or two into his room, finishing him off. In order to move on, you have to head down the alleyway behind this area, but first, run into the corridor behind the Troika’s room and shoot the propane tank from the window there; that will light the way and let you move on.
You have to get to the Emulsion factory before you can plant your sonic device. Unfortunately, it’s around ten kilometers away; too far to walk in any kind of reasonable amount of time. Dom’s got a plan to get you there quicker, but you’ll have to ditch your Hammer of Dawn weapon; the satellites are not overhead anymore. D’oh! The weapon is useless, then; ditch it out for a shotgun near the beginning of the level.
The two paths here are going to offer up unique challenges. The left path will take you into direct contact with a pair of boomers, which are large, beefy enemy soldiers that wield rocket launchers, while the right will let you fire on them from above. The left-hand path is the more dangerous, but the boomers can be taken out if you drop enough grenades on them. You’ll also have the benefit of being able to pick up the rocket launchers before moving on. You’ll finally manage to regroup after taking out a Troika; kill the locusts manning it, then find the silver door nearby and kick it in to move on. Chainsaw the sofas in this area before heading outside to find a set of Cogtags.
Grist
As soon as you enter the exterior area here, a boomer and a number of locusts will attack you. Don’t move too quickly here; just wait for the boomer to fire his rocket at someone else, chuck a grenade at his feet, and finish him off with weapons fire. There are going to be snipers set up around the corner to your right, so proceed cautiously, using the trees for cover, until you get to the bottom of their building and then use grenades to clear them out.
Move through the warehouse here, but when you reach the stairs leading down, where you get attacked by the Wretches, head down to the bottom of the steps and check underneath the walkway for another set of Cogtags.
Around the way, another boomer and locust set will attack you, so deal with them quickly and grab the boomer’s launcher. You may not need it in the next section, but it couldn’t hurt. When you reach the bridge nearby, a Troika will immediately start firing at you. To get close enough to take it out, hit Y to scope the "pushable car", then crouch behind its trunk and start tapping x to push it along the road. You’ll stop near a piece of cover off to your right. If you’re careful, you can look around to the right and throw a grenade up onto the Troika’s little platform and blow the gunner to hell. After that’s done, start advancing down the street, but be careful, as an emergence hole will appear behind the truck down there. You can close it up with a grenade, but you’ll probably have to make a lengthy throw. Otherwise, you can just fire away at the enemies until they stop popping up.
When you move down the road a bit, you’ll come to a Stranded gatekeeper. Before talking to him, check behind the newspaper bins between the trees on the sidewalk to find some Cogtags. When you enter the compound, you’ll find Franklin, who’ll loan his vehicle to Dom in exchange for leaving some of your troopers in the encampment.
Outpost/Lethal Dusk
The "Outpost" section of this level is long enough for a conversation with Franklin, but you’ll almost immediately switch over to the "Lethal Dusk" section after that. When you kick out the door nearby, you’ll come out to an exterior area. There’s a sniper in the little shack across the way; chuck a grenade through the door to finish him off, then grab his sniper rifle if you like.
Down at the river, you’ll find a hand-cranked transporter; you need to get on board, stand near the crank, hit X to latch yourself on, then hit A to start moving across the river. The walls of the transporter and the shaft that holds the handle will keep you safe from most of the fire, and Dom will cover your *** as well.
When you get to the far side of the river, things will have changed a bit. Remember that movie Pitch Black? Well, welcome to a retread of the basic plot there: if you stay in the light, you’re fine, but if you veer off into the darkness, you instantly get cut down by the Kryll, which are essentially vicious bats. Luckily, the same holds true for the locusts. Get used to running from light source to light source.
Checkpoint 1
You’ll reach Checkpoint 1 shortly after you cross the river. Stock up on supplies, then head through the nearby building to find an emergence hole. As Dom says, you can shoot the propane tanks scattered around here to make more temporary light for you to run from. If you make a little path towards the barricades at the end of the street, you’ll have a better shot at the locusts that are coming up, and might even be able to plug the hole with a grenade. When the hole fills in, walk across it and shoot the propane tank in the shed nearby. If you run across to it, you can find a set of Cogtags.
Start making your way down the road, shooting propane tanks as needed. (If there’s a dark patch ahead of you and you can’t see a tank, usually it’s hidden beneath some rubble, so shoot around as best you can.) When you reach the first ruined car here, a Troika will open up on you. There’s no flanking here, so you’ll have to either snipe the gunner out (aiming for his legs is the best bet from this distance) or attempt to run up the right side of the alleyway and get close to him that way.
There’s a checkpoint in the building nearby. Head past it and reach the next emergence hole, which is on the other side of a patch of darkness. You’ll have to move through the tunnels nearby to flank the soldiers, although getting a grenade angle on the hole while protecting yourself from the locusts will be difficult. When you’re ready to move on, blast the propane tank in the alleyway and use it to guide your path to the next doorway.
Another pushable car is on the street outside; it has a light attached to its front, which will let you get down the street a bit and avoid the Troika fire. If you book it into the hallway nearby, you’ll be able to flank the gunner and bounce a grenade or two into his room, finishing him off. In order to move on, you have to head down the alleyway behind this area, but first, run into the corridor behind the Troika’s room and shoot the propane tank from the window there; that will light the way and let you move on.