Walkthrough 6: Destroy

M04B in Project: Snowblind takes place in the Republic Base as a pitched battle rages outside between the forces of the Republic and the Liberty Coalition. Our hero, Nathan Frost, is sent in on a solo mission to infiltrate the base and destroy four Rail Cannons that are proving highly effective in keeping Liberty forces at bay. The top floor of the base is also home to the Republic mainframe computer, which contains vital data that may help turn the tide of war. Frost must exercise caution while moving around the base, since the entire complex is swarming with Republic forces and automated security systems.

Infiltration is a combination of observation, strategy, and tactics. You must see the situation, assess the situation, and then use your skills to tackle it.

Remember to save your game after dangerous encounters so that you don't have to go through the ordeal again! Enemies will not follow you into Save Rooms.

The Elevator
Frost starts the mission by taking an elevator from the parking structure deep below the base all the way up to the top floor.

As the mission begins, you get an immediate taste for infiltration-style gameplay and the repercussions of alerting Republic guards. A small squad of Republic troops guards the elevator area. If you use a combination of the sniper rifle and stealthy movement, Frost can effectively kill everyone in the area without raising a ruckus. However, if you get noticed, guards will run for the nearby alarm systems, which will put all the guards in the room on the offensive as well as summoning reinforcements who arrive in the other elevators.

Avoid the guards' attention or kill them quickly before they can call for reinforcements. Guards can hear sounds and sense motion, so a combination of the sniper rifle and effective cover use is the key to success.

To be truthful, all is not lost when an alarm goes off. Finding a nearby alarm switch lets you deactivate the alarms and associated mechanisms. Unfortunately, any alerted enemies will continue to hunt you down and may potentially reactivate the alarm if they find Frost.

The First Rail Cannon
Outside of the elevator area, a long hallway leads to the first Rail Cannon room. If you have successfully gotten through the elevator area without triggering the alarm, a sole Republic guard patrols up and down the hallway. The guard is easily taken out by a direct shot from your sniper rifle or any shot that hits an explosive element. However, if you have triggered the previous alarm system or catch the guard's attention, reinforcements will arrive and take up various positions in the hall.

Guard setups in the hallway are dependent on nearby alarms. If you trigger the alarm, the hall will fill with guards. If you can get through without triggering the alarm, the guards will be unaware of you.

The first hallway offers two ways of entering the first Rail Cannon room. If you haven't triggered any alarm systems, you can go through a vent system that takes you stealthily into the Rail Cannon room's top floor area. Otherwise, you can go in through the front door.

The Rail Cannon is a massive gun that fires rail blasts at the Liberty Coalition far below. An impenetrable energy shield keeps the cannon safely contained and impervious to direct attack. Between blasts, vents in the cannon's base open up to release radioactive byproducts, which appear as thick white exhausts of steam. If you are near or within any of these vents, you risk extreme damage to yourself. There is only a limited window of opportunity to shoot the vents between cannon firing sequences. In addition, various Republic guards walk patrols on both the bottom and top floors. If the guards spot you, they activate security systems that trap you in various parts of the room. The key to effectively dealing with this room and any of the Rail Cannon rooms is to get a good idea of the layout and the patrol paths in relation to the cannon target.

The Rail Cannon cannot be directly attacked due to the advanced shield system around it. Destroy the Rail Cannon by firing rounds into the unprotected vent system in its base. As easy as that seems, it's imperative that you stay aware of security systems and guard patrols that are set up to secure the cannon. Once you have destroyed the Rail Cannon, Republic back-up forces are automatically called. At this point, you have to find an effective means of getting out of the room, or risk a pitched battle against guards and bot systems.

Coming out of the first Rail Cannon Room, a previously locked security door will be open and Republic Guards will be patrolling the hall in response to the Rail Cannon exploding. Security doors are a unique element of infiltration. Triggering security systems will close security doors, trapping you in areas with dangerous security systems and Republic guards. If you can get to a security switch (just like the one in the elevator area), you can shut down the alarm and automatically open the security doors again.

Security systems are triggered either by guards hitting alarm switches or security cameras spotting you. Your best bet is to watch the patterns of both gameplay elements and learn how to avoid them. Any number of horrendous situations can arise from a tripped security system!

Next, you pass through a pair of steam-filled boiler rooms on your way to the next Rail Cannon room. You can take a quick trip through the rooms, taking cover and shooting the guard patrols, or you can take a more complex route through vent systems to collect ammo, Ice Picks, and power-ups like the Kicker and the Nanoboost.

When you come out of the boiler room area, you find yourself in an exterior hallway. Outside the window, the fierce battle rages on as Republic forces hammer the Liberty Coalition far below. Guard presence is light here, so you can take the opportunity to open up some lockers and item crates to collect much-needed health and bio-energy.

The next hallway contains a setup consisting of a security camera, a turret, and two spider bot kennels set on the ceiling. Moving down the hallway toward the door that leads to the next rail cannon room, you must effectively use cover objects (crates and lockers) to avoid the camera's sweep. If you use your Vision Augmentation, you can see a visual representation of the range and scope of the camera's sweep. If you get past the camera system, you can either enter the next room or use a hack panel to turn off the security systems, and then go back through the hall and collect power-ups and ammo. If you are sighted by the camera and trigger the security systems, the turret at the far end of the hallway activates and spider bots are released by the kennels mounted on the ceiling. Additionally, reinforcement guards show up in the next rail cannon room.

Some tripped security systems not only trigger elements in the current area, but also summon reinforcements in the next area. A combination of the Ice Pick and cover objects is the perfect strategy to use when dealing with complex security systems.

The Second Rail Cannon
The next room is the second Rail Cannon room. A convenient objective marker on the player's HUD shows the precise position of the cannon, but the layout of this room is a little different than the previous one and the enemies are more difficult. In addition, the Rail Cannon venting system is malfunctioning, so only one vent is opening. This severely limits your vantage points for taking it out. Venturing upstairs for a shooting position, you must watch out for security cameras that will activate dormant yet potentially lethal combat bots.

Some security systems can activate dangerous non-human enemies like spider bots and combat bots. With practice, you can use the Ice Pick to dominate these bots and turn them against one another. You can also use the bots' firepower to take out the Rail Cannon. Once the Rail Cannon is destroyed, reinforcements show up, so you need to find a good tactical position to take them out or get around them.

Not all Rail Cannon rooms are set up the same, and not all Rail Cannons operate in exactly the same way. Take a moment to watch the Rail Cannons firing and the venting sequences operating to figure out an effective strategy.

On the way to the next Rail Cannon (conveniently marked on the radar with an objective marker), you find yourself in another hallway looking out over the city. The hallway gives you some breathing room and a Save Area where you can save your progress to a memory card.

You can enter the next area either through a main door or through a vent entrance that is partially hidden behind some crates. If you go through the main door, you are in the main part of the hallway. There's a door at the far end of the hall and a system of tripwires guarding a dogleg behind the hallway.

If you go through the vent system, you come out on the other side of the tripwire system within the dogleg. If you venture down the main part of the hallway, you come under attack from a lethal Republic helicopter. Bullets and missiles relentlessly pound your position, shattering windows and punching holes through walls. If you're brave (or maybe foolish) you can take on the helicopter with your weapons.

In the back area of the hall is a hack panel, which you can use to turn off the tripwires and take over an emplacement in the hallway that makes easy work of the attack helicopter. However, if you set off the tripwire system, spiderbots are launched into the hall. You can safely get around the helicopter attack by heading for the vent system on the opposite side of the dogleg hallway.

Always look for alternate routes and secret pathways. That's part of the strategy of infiltration!

The next hallway before the third Rail Cannon Room has a simple setup consisting of a camera and a shield wall. If you are spotted by the camera, the shield wall rises and blocks your access to some lockers that contain important power-ups and ammo. The security system also summons reinforcements into the next Rail Cannon Room. If you can find a security switch, you can lower the shield wall.

The Third Rail Cannon
The third Rail Cannon room forces you out into the open. You must attack the cannon and eventually get out of the room. Dangerous Republic snipers aggressively patrol the upper floor, forcing you to take cover while you figure out a vantage point for shooting the cannon vents. The exit out of the room is locked behind a fence with a Republic guard standing by. There's also a cubbyhole area protected by tripwires that activate an explosive trap system.

Watch the patrol routes of the snipers and then climb a nearby ladder to get up to the second floor. The best bet when entering an area with lots of guards is to kill the guards closest to alarm switches. This keeps the encounter relatively manageable, since reinforcements don't show up and security systems don't activate.

There's a staircase down to the exit, but the exit door does not open until the Rail Cannon is destroyed. After you take out the guards, it should be relatively easy to destroy the Rail Cannon. You can then Ice Pick into a hack panel to disable the tripwires and get the Nanoboost in the locker beyond it. However, once the cannon is destroyed, reinforcements from the next area show up and spider bots are activated to make the lower floor dangerous again.

Always assess the layout of the room. There are many ways of taking out enemies without directly attacking them.

The Rec Room
The next hallway is relatively sedate and gives you another opportunity to catch your breath and pick up some power-ups and ammo. A second Save Room is located off this hallway.

The last Rail Cannon is now marked on your radar. There are two more hallways before you reach the fourth and final Rail Cannon room. The first hallway looks out over the city and the battle below. If you are an aggressive player, you may choose to lay waste to a Republic rec room located off the hallway.

Using the alt-fire on the sniper rifle, you can turn a Republic guard in the hallway into the Republic's worst enemy. Alt-fire on the guard and then run up and hit the door switch next to him to see some great fireworks in the rec room. After the rec room is cleared out, you can collect a ton of ammo and power-ups. Effective selection of weapons and alt-fires will provide many opportunities. Exhaust all the possibilities!

The next hallway is rigged up with tripwires and traps. Tripwires are exclusive to traps; if you trip a wire, the associated traps will go off. If you Ice Pick a hack panel and disable the tripwires, the traps are rendered useless.

The Fourth Rail Cannon
The last Rail Cannon room is the most heavily defended. Ruthless camera systems are hooked up to turrets in the ceiling and have almost complete coverage of the room. The exit out of the room is an elevator door that doesn't open until the last Rail Cannon is destroyed.

This Rail Cannon is malfunctioning just like the second one. You have only one vent to aim at and the vantage points are limited. Your best bet is to take out all the guards and security systems using the skills and tactics you have learned from the other Rail Cannon rooms. When the last Rail Cannon is destroyed, the elevator activates and a convenient objective marker shows you the way out of the room to the end of the level.

Always pay attention to your radar to see where the next objective point is located. Voice cues and modal messages also provide you with important information that helps you get through the level.

The Penthouse/Conference Room
You take an elevator up to the penthouse/conference room level of the Republic base. This area is divided up into four distinct sections. The back area that the elevator exits into a storage area with large crates that provide stealthy paths for you to avoid security systems. Unfortunately, it is difficult to see Republic guards who are patrolling among the crate stacks. You can take a floor route through the crates or move across the tops of them. Both routes present their own challenges. The bottom route will avoid snipers and security cameras, but leads you to encounter the most guards. The top route avoids the guards, but potentially triggers a security camera and a sniper positioned on an upper balcony near the Republic mainframe room.

Use the alt-fire on the Republic sniper and he switches allegiance and kills all the guards patrolling the floor!

The room wraps around to a front area with huge windows that overlook the city. In between this front area and the back storage area is a dangerous area that contains a vital hack panel that will disable security cameras and a trip wire system upstairs near the Republic mainframe. If you are skilled enough, you can Ice Pick the hack panel from a distance and avoid the danger.

At the far end of the room is a set of stairs leading up to the Republic mainframe area. This is your goal, and it is clearly indicated on the radar by an objective point. Additional security cameras sweep over the area looking for intruders. If you have turned off the security system, you only have to deal with a couple of snipers up here. Otherwise, the area is a lethal combination of tripwires, traps, and a potentially nasty Republic helicopter attack that will make mincemeat out of the cover areas. Look for cover objects that can take damage in order to avoid getting caught out in the open. If you can get to the security computer at the end of the area and hack into it, the mission is a success!