SEQUENCE 34 -- LEVEL 391 -- QUEEN'S LAIR [3]
(1) This is it--the last level of the game. Thou hast done well, fellow
hiveseeker! This lair is quite different from the last 2 in that there
are only 2 powerups resting out in the open--a flame thrower canister and
a hypo pack. The rest lie within 3 corridors located near each corner
of the level except the corner the queen resides in. [NOTE: More
powerups appear in these corridors when they are entered a second or
even third time; to make them all appear at once (and on HARD you don't
want to do any backtracking), enter the corridor partway, exit, and then
enter again. Also, you can follow each of the individual corridors to
its end and drop down back into the main room, but there are always
freshly-materialized 'huggers nearby. It is much safer to backtrack and
go out the way you came in.] Also unlike the previous 2 queens' lairs,
all eggs are near the walls of this large room. You won't end up
missing 1 out in the middle of the open level. For this reason, you
should simply hug the walls (especially on HARD--wander around too much
and the number of facehuggers assaulting you at one time can reach
biblical proportions). Don't worry about missing any 'huggers by doing
this; THEY will find YOU! There are plenty of good powerups to be had,
and if you are playing on EASY or MEDIUM difficulty settings you can
backtrack to keep your ammunition levels high. There are simply too
many 'huggers for the HARD player to enjoy this luxury.
(2) Here's the
rundown. As soon as the level starts, select the shotgun. You will be
dropping down out of the entrance chamber to the level below, right into a
nest of eggs. Shoot the nearest eggs immediately and then deal with
several approaching 'huggers. Finish off the rest of the eggs here and
move left (sticking near the wall as you go). Just short of the upper left
corner (as viewed on the map) is the first corridor. Initially within
this corridor are 2 shotshells, a shotgun, a smartgun magazine, and a
smartgun. Entering a second time causes a med kit and seismic charge to
appear. The queen is not too far away, and you should actually kill her
first and then return for the smartgun and ammunition. Once the queen
works herself free of the ovipositor, you can run into any of the
corridors and snipe at her from the high corridor exit (just make sure
you continually back up so that you don't drop down). The minus side of
this tactic is that the corridors are too narrow to bypass most of the
powerups, so you will have no control as to when you grab them. On the
other hand, you can simply stand your ground in the main room and hold
the queen at bay with either the smartgun or pulse rifle.
[BUG!
Occasionally the queen will get stuck against a wall or in a corner.
Stop firing and she won't be able to come after you!]
(3) With all the
goods from the first corridor in tow and the queen (long may she live)
dead, stay left to the upper right corner (the queen's corner). You
should now switch to the pulse rifle or flame thrower, since you will
not encounter any more shotgun ammunition on this level. There are 3
eggs to the left of her ovipositor (as you first approach it) and a
larger group to the right. In addition to the other facehuggers
scuttling about here, there will be 6 more that emerge from the exit
chamber on your left. There is also a hypo pack here.
(4) Leave nothing breathing and keep forward. You will encounter more eggs and 'huggers, as
well as the second corridor, in the lower right corner of the level (you
pass the flame thrower canister mentioned earlier en route). This
corridor holds 2 derm patches and body armor; hit it on the way back if
your armor levels are currently high. (AFTER you grab the body armor, 2
med kits will materialize in the corridor when you re-enter a third
time. This far into the game, your health is probably so high that you
can ignore them.)
(5) The final (lower left) corridor initially houses a
flame thrower canister, flame thrower, pulse rifle magazine, and pulse
rifle. Re-enter and another pulse rifle magazine and a grenade appear.
(6) Time to head for the exit (don't forget the armor and derm patches if
you bypassed them a moment ago). Revived huggers will be everywhere.
Move very slowly to activate them in small numbers. The flame thrower
canister and hypo pack can help you make your way if you did not grab
them earlier.
Medals of honor to all involved! Enter the exit chamber and enjoy the
final FMV sequence.