Thing, The - Strategy Guide (Page 01)

Below are the cheat codes, hints and help for Thing, The - Strategy Guide (Page 01).

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or part in any form
or in any medium without the express permission of Outpost #31
is prohibited.

This wholly independent product is the sole property of Outpost #31.
It is neither authorized nor sponsored by, nor licensed or
affiliated with Universal Interactive. The Thing and its characters
are trademarks of Universal Interactive. All title, characters and
products described or referred to in this guide are trademarks of
their respective companies.

Yes, you're right... this looks just like a GameSpot Game Guide.
Why reinvent the wheel?

Submit any errors, corrections, discoveries or suggestions to the
author for inclusion in a later revision.

Written by: Chris Morgan, camorgan@outpost31.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction 5

Chapter One - Basics 6
Combat Strategy/Tactics 6
Navigating through levels 7

Chapter Two - Weapons/Items 8
Weapons 8
Taser 8
Pistol 8
MP5 8
Shotgun 9
Blowtorch 9
Flamethrower 9
Sniper Rifle 9
Grenade Launcher 9
Grenades 10
Items 10
C4 10
Flares 10
Flashlight 10
Fire Extinguisher 10
Medical Kits 11
Blood Test Hypos 11
Adrenaline hypos 11
Misc. 11

Chapter Three - Walkthrough 12
Level 1 Outpost #31 13
Level 2a Norwegian Outpost - North 18
Level 2b Norwegian Outpost - South 22
Level 3a Norwegian Research Center 25
Level 3b Norwegian Medical Center 28
Level 4a Weather Station 31
Level 4b Pyron Hangar 35
Boss 1 37
Level 5a Pyron Sub Alpha 39
Level 5b Pyron Sub Beta 41
Level 6 Strata Medi-Lab 44
Level 7a Strata Maintenance 48
Level 7b Strata Furnace 53
Boss 2 57
Level 8a Transit Hangar 1 59
Level 8b Flight Control 64
Level 9a Weapons Security 67
Level 9b Weapons Lab 70
Boss 3 74
Level 10a Field Testing 76
Whitely 80

Introduction

T
he Thing is a multi-level game with elements of both first person
shooters and action adventure games. This guide is meant to give
you tips and hints on how to complete the game. If there is a
secret in the game that we've found, you'll know it. One can
follow the guide to know everything about completing the game,
however that will seriously rob you of the experience, so use
this guide judiciously. You paid money for this, why rob yourself?

Inside you'll find:
* Guides for every level.
* Walkthroughs for every objective
* General combat and exploration strategies
* Maps for nearly every level. Some levels are so simple a map
wasn't worth making. And the maps may not be to scale, but they work.
* Tips that you would only know after playing through before.

Inside you won't find:
* Who is infected and who isn't. Unless it's one of four scripted
infections, it's pointless. Anyone can become infected at any time.
* Who freaks out and who doesn't. Again, there are a few scripts
but the rest depend on what you do or fail to do.
* Everything. I may have missed some things. If I did, send them in.
* The meaning of life.

Chapter One - Basics

The Thing manual has all the information you need to play the game,
however, what it doesn't include is tips about how to survive the game.

Combat Strategy/Tactics

This is not a first person shooter. There isn't ample ammo or health
lying around; in fact, there are long stretches where you may be
concerned you'll find any at all. At one poin, I was actually down to
pistol ammo only.

Try to keep track of what weapons and ammo you have. It's pointless to
waste precious ammo and time trying to take out a target with one weapon
when another could do it in 3 shots.

Keep your NPCs well armed. Even the medics are excellent shots and have
decent enough AI to avoid getting killed (though due to basic personalities
some NPCs are a bit more careless).

Stock up on ammo as often as possible and be sure your NPCs are fully
loaded as well. Almost all troopers will drop ammo so be sure to police
it up after you kill them.

The flamethrower is a very important tool. Not only is it the only means
to finish off any Things bigger than a scuttler, it can also be used as
a defensive weapon by setting the floor around you on fire to keep Things at bay.

Trust/Fear/Infections on non-critical NPCs are not really covered here.
There are several variables involved and it would make try them moot.
Just watch everyone!

Wooden crates can be shot/burned open to reveal health, ammo, or weapons but
they may also hold a nasty surprise as well.

Navigating through levels

Though all travel in the game is done from a chase-cam perspective, during
combat a player can switch to a 1st person perspective. This will remove
the auto-aim ability but does give you the ability to peer around corners
to know what to expect without being seen.

Be aware that the environment outside can be just as deadly as anything else
you can find in the game. While you can tolerate the temperatures enough to
explore around, once your health reaches the point where it impacts health
your health meter will drop very rapidly.

Along this same line, your NPCs suffer from the weather at the same rate as you.
If you are able to step out of the weather, even if you can't see your NPCs do
the same on screen, their exposure meter will climb as well as yours.

There is more than one way to solve many problems or navigate the levels in the
game. I can't cover them all here but will cover the ones that worked for me.

Chapter Two - Weapons/Items

This section covers all weapons and items available to a player.

Weapons

Taser
The Taser is capable of delivering a 5000-volt charge to whomever it is
applied. The Taser will disable a target and cause them to drop a weapon.
This is particularly nice when wanting to disarm a squad member when they
have gone hostile... at a cost. Using it against a teammate will cause a
medium trust loss.

Pistol
The pistol is the most accurate of all the weapons. Fires rapidly and is good
against small enemies. Giving a pistol to a teammate will cause a small Trust gain.

MP5
The MP5 is the standard weapon for you and your squad. The MP5 will make
light work of small enemies and slow larger ones down. Giving an MP5 to a
teammate will cause a small Courage boost and Trust increase.
Shotgun
These powerful weapons can push an enemy back. Shotguns are deadly at close
range but very inaccurate at long range. Giving a shotgun to a squad member
will cause a medium Courage and Trust boost. This is my weapon of choice.

Blowtorch
This is an EXTREMELY short-range weapon. It can be used to kill a larger enemy,
but a hit-and-run approach should be used. A blowtorch can also be used to
ignite fuel spills. Fuel canisters for the blowtorch have a yellow stripe on them.

Flamethrower
The flamethrower is the ONLY way to kill a large, self-repairing enemy. Use
enough to ignite the enemy, but be aware that you can also toast your teammates
as well. Fuel canisters for the blowtorch have a yellow stripe on them.

Sniper Rifle
You can guess how these are used. Aside from that, these generate a large
Courage/Trust boost when given to a teammate.

Grenade Launcher
Can launch any of the grenade types (below). They make a big BOOM, however, they
have low accuracy. These cannot be given to a squad member.

Grenades
There are 3 types of grenades: Standard, Flame and Stun. Standard is, well, the
standard, exploding grenade. Flame grenades work more or less like a Molotov
cocktail. The Stun grenade is like a Flash-Bang used by SWAT teams. Use them to
stun and confuse the enemy.

Items

C4
C4 charges are mission specific and cannot be used as a weapon so they are listed
under items. Plant these charges to make things go BOOM is a big way.

Flares
Use these to mark or light your way. Also use these to ignite fuel spills.

Flashlight
Well, uhhh, use them to shed a little light on the subject.

Fire Extinguisher
Put out fires blocking your progress.

Medical Kits
Use to heal yourself or a teammate when a medic isn't available.

Blood Test Hypos
Use these to prove your humanity to your teammates... or theirs to yourself.

Adrenaline hypos
Use these to give a temporary Courage boost, especially useful when an NPC is
looking like the cheese has fallen off his cracker.

Misc.
Keys, PCs, Terminals, Tape Recorders and Documentation.

Chapter Three - Walkthrough

Think you're ready to face the horrors that befell the crew at Outpost #31?
Well, perhaps you'll want to learn a little about how to play the game first.

The first couple levels are primarily training levels so you can learn the in's
and out's of squad control and how to combat the enemy. From there, the
difficulty ramps up until you're neck deep into the story as well as the enemy.

Good Luck!

Level 1 Outpost #31

After the first cutscene, you'll be given your first two objectives, 'Retrieve
evidence and rescue any survivors' and 'Keep team alive'. Throughout this level,
unless you've turned them off, you'll get several tutorial popup messages
informing you of what you are encountering and how to deal with it.
Easy enough... here we go.

Upon arrival be sure to turn around 180 degrees and about 20 feet ahead of you,
you'll find an MP5, ammo and 4 flares. Pick up all these items (note: you can
only carry 5 flares total and you start with 4)

(Fan note: Nearby, you'll find the sign seen at the first part of the movie
noting where you are.)

Once you've gathered the items, head inside the outpost. After entering the
only exterior door, head to the first door on the left. You really won't
have a choice as the hall is blocked with debris anyway.

Once you enter far enough into the radio room, a cutscene will run that
introduces you to your NPCs and their jobs. You'll learn what two of them
are good for during the remainder of this level.

Across the room from the door you just entered, is a sparking junction box
next to a door. When you approach it, you'll get a tutorial about what to do.
Fix the box yourself OR if you look at your engineer, you'll see an icon over
his head more or less asking, "Want me to fix that?" If you want your engineer
to do it, approach him until a hand appears on that icon and press the activate
key/button. He'll confirm the order and head to the box. Once fixed, the door
next to it will open... walk inside. A PC, apparently loaded with a quarter
stick of dynamite, will explode. This will give you the opportunity to use your
medic. Approach the medic and he'll administer first aid and raise your health.
If you have a medic handy, they will always return you to 100%, however, the
phrase 'Physician heal thyself' doesn't apply here. You'll need to keep tabs
on your medic's health to avoid loosing him.

Pick up the pistol, pistol ammo, and MP5 ammo in the PC room. Take this time to
distribute weapons and ammo to your NPCs. If you do, you'll see trust indicators go up
via the icon system.

Head back into the hallway. Once you step into the hall, an explosion will clear the debris
that had blocked your path before. Feel free to explore the recreation room and living
areas of the camp while you go to the far end of the hall. Cross the last room and head
toward the lightpole you see outside. Just outside the destroyed room, there is a room
with a locked door. When you approach it, a tutorial will notify you that you need to find
the key to enter and you have you next objective, 'Gain Access To Infirmary'.

Follow the lightpoles. Along the way you will see wreckage of a chopper and snowplow.
Eventually, you will reach a collapsed area/hole/pit. Head down and you will find several
areas to explore. Directly ahead of you is a shelf with some ammo and just past that is a
small nook with a fire extinguisher.

Turn around and head left until you reach another area with more flares. Again, you can
only carry 5 at a time so you may not need them.

Continue clockwise around the pit and you will find the remains of MacReady's shack.
Go inside and activate the recorder for MacReady's recorded message from the movie.
Exit the shack and go to the last area to explore down here (you'll cross back across the
ramp that led you down here). Inside you will find Blair's ship and a brief cutscene as you
and your NPCs discuss what they've found. The key to the infirmary is also down here on
a table in that room.

Head back to the infirmary door. Now you'll be able to gain access inside.

Once inside the infirmary, turn immediately left and find the junction box. This box is
more sophisticated and you will not be able to fix it on your own. Have your Engineer
repair it.

Notice a door to the right of the box. It is locked by access code. You will need to find
the code to be able to get through the door.

Scattered around the room are 4 documents you can read for little tidbits of info, an
adrenaline syringe and a PC. Use the PC to get the access code for the coded door.

If you approach the corpse in the corner of the room near the PC, your medic's fear level
will rise. A brief cutscene will interlude but once back in game, if you access your NPC
menu, you'll see the Wheldon is looking around nervously. You can counter his fear one
of two ways. Administer the adrenaline shot to him and he will calm down but a just as
effective way to accomplish this is the simply have everyone follow you away from the
corpse. (Anyone else think it's odd that the medic is the one who has a problem with a
corpse?)

Now that you have a door access code, proceed to the locked door, activate the keypad
and go through the door. Behind the door and to the left you'll find a Medical box on the
wall with 3 health packs. Also in the room is another junction box; either have the
engineer fix it or fix it yourself.

Once you get the junction box repaired, you can open the other door in the room and
access your first save recorder. This is the standard way of saving throughout the game
with some differences. On the PS2, you are only allotted 3 saves positions; on the PC you
have 10. (XBOX is unknown at this time.) Save your game if you wish.

Exit the door immediately to the left of the junction box and head outside.

Follow the lightpoles and proceed to a shack. Once there you will find the body of
Childs. This will activate a cutscene in which you contact Whitely and inform him of
finding both Childs and the "UFO". Whitely will give you your last objective to collect
some C4 they have dropped in and blow up the remainder of the camp. As you are
talking, a mysterious figure passes in the distance. Follow the 2nd set of lightpoles to the
drop site. It is marked by smoke grenades but is probably easier recognized by the
crashed helicopter. Open the crate and collect the C4. Once this is done, the objective list
will update to include planting a charge in the Infirmary and one in the Radio Room.

You can follow the lightpoles backtracking to the base, but if you face the lightpoles that
led you to the C4, then turn 90 degrees left, it's a much shorter trip.

Once back inside the infirmary, look for the red outline of a C4 pack. This is where you
will place the first charge.

At this point, I decided I didn't want to drag the whole team back through the camp on
my way to the radio room so I went to the NPC menu and told them to all stay put. You
don't have to do this if you don't trust leaving them behind. Return to the radio room and
look for a similar red outline. This is where you will place the last charge. Once it is
placed, head back to the infirmary, head back to the infirmary, pick up your men, and
head out to the spot where you picked up the C4 for an evac.

(TIP: Though you don't have to do this, you can collect weapons and ammo from your
NPCs just before entering the evac point. They may loose trust but who cares, they will
be leaving. This will give you as much advantage as possible when they may be in short
supply later.)

Once all your men have made it to the evac point, a cutscene will begin in which you are
informed that radio contact with Alpha team has been lost. Blake informs the Colonel
that he will send his team home but he will go locate the second team... we're on our way
to the Norwegian outpost.
Level 2a Norwegian Outpost - North

After arriving at the Norwegian base, if you explore a little outside the base, you'll
discover some downed electrical fence that is uncrossable, if you don't believe me, try it
;-) During the course of this level you'll have to figure out how to shut that power to that
fence down to complete the level.

Head to the right of the fence area and you'll find a door leading inside along with a fresh
flare burning. Someone must have been here not long ago. Continue down the hall and
you'll find a locked door on your right. You can't open it at this time, but you will be able
to later. Keep winding down the hallway until you encounter a junction box that needs to
be repaired to unlock the door just right of there. Of course, you'll get a peek at what's in
store for you when the door opens.

Head through the door and to the back left of the room, there you'll encounter Carter.
There is some exchange of dialogue that ends with him not trusting you until you heal
him. Search the room until the find the health pack. You'll also find a flashlight, fire
extinguisher and MP5 ammo. You'll also find the infamous Norwegian who cut his own
throat to avoid being taken over from the movie. A little more search will also reveal an
access code locked door and an area with a save station, PC, and CCTV setup. You'll also
notice that next to Carter is a room with two fuel barrels blocking the door. We'll cover
this in a second.

Return to Carter with the health pack and heal him. His trust will go up, but not enough to
accept any orders from you. Give him a weapon and some ammo and he'll help you out
(or hold him at gunpoint but at a serious cost of trust). To the right of that location, near
the PC, Save Recorder and a CCTV set, there is a junction box. Until you get the junction
box working, they won't. Have Carter repair the box for you.

While this is going on, you can take the time to get into that room blocked by fuel barrels.
Shoot the barrels to cause them to explode opening the door. Use the extinguisher to put
out the remaining flames and enter the room. Inside you will find a blowtorch, 1 fuel
canister and 3 MP5 ammo clips. Head back into the main room.

Once the power is up, you can use any of those items on the desk in the corner. The PC
will give you some info about the state of mind at the Norwegian camp. Feel free to save
you game at this time as well. (Note: saving in the first two levels isn't as important in the
first level, but beginning with this level, you'll want to take advantage of every save
station you can find. There are long periods of time between them and no quick save
feature)

Access the CCTV camera station. This will switch you to a view of the room behind the
door needing an access code. Fans of the movie will instantly recognize this room. Look
around and you'll find the ice block the Thing was originally thawed from as well as an
NPC (Cruz) standing in a small nook, a corpse and a bulletin board. Notice the bulletin
board has some numbers written on it. Zoom in on the bulletin board until you trigger the
"Ice Block Code Key" message.

Head to the door and get in there. A cutscene will begin and you'll get some explanation
about what has been going on with Alpha team from Cruz. Once the cutscene ends, I'm
sure movie fans will want to nose around the room. The corpse has a key to the room you
encountered in the hallway on the way in. The nook contains the power switch to turn off
the fence outside. You engineer will have to repair it. Once done, you'll get a clip as the
power to the fence goes down.

Issue the "Follow Me" command to pick up the Cruz and distribute weapons... get ready.

Head back out of the room and into the hallway leading here. Here you'll encounter The
Thing for the first time. Several scuttlers will begin attacking down the hallway. There is
a fuel barrel in the hall. Shoot it and the fire can help you kill off some scuttlers. Kill
them off, but be careful, though one alone isn't a serious challenge, they are all fast and
can get under your feet quickly and since you can't look down in 3rd person, you won't
know it until they starting biting.

Once the hall is cleared, enter the door to your left (it had been locked on your way in)
and pick up the items inside including 3 health packs, 5 clips of pistol ammo and 4
regular grenades.

Go outside and stay left until you find the lightpoles leading to an area down along the
Norwegian base. You may be attacked along the way but once you reach the bottom, you
find a corpse with pistol ammo, an MP5, two MP5 ammo clips, and a health pack.

(Tip: There is a shortcut back up instead of walking the long way around but if you take
your NPCs down with you, it won't work. If you go alone however, face away from the
blocked door then head left and hug the wall. You can make it up the entire way and not
have to go back the long way with the lightpoles.)

Go outside and to the area with the downed fence. You'll now be able to cross through.

Level 2b Norwegian Outpost - South

Once on the other side, follow the lightpoles to a radio shed with a large antennae tower.
Upon entering the room, a scuttler will burst from a crate and attack. Take care of the
scuttler and inside you will find a save station and a fire extinguisher.

Exit the room and head follow the lightpoles straight ahead to a small shed. When you
approach the shed, a few scuttlers will attack you so take care of them quickly since it's
getting cold out there. Repair the junction box and enter the shed. Inside you will find a
flamethrower. Pick it up then use your extinguisher to put out the flames on the floor so
that you can also pick up the 3 fuel canisters.

Head back out of the shed and return to the radio shed. Again, scuttlers will attack you.
Shoot them and move on.

Once you reach the radio shed, go inside to warm up then when you exit, head to the
building to the left. Approach the door and you will get a panning view that will give you
a hint as to how to open the door. Around the corner from the door there is a stack of
wooden crates. Shoot them to reveal a junction box.
(Tip: Only shoot the crates on the bottom, this will destroy them, the crates on top as well
as conserve ammo.)

Repair the junction box and head inside. As you head inside, a cutscene begins. You've
found Pierce but he doesn't know if he's too happy about it and obviously doesn't trust
that you are still human. Pierce informs you that only a blood test will confirm if you are
human or not and that there is a medical kit near the kennel. Go there, pick up the kit and
come back so he can watch you take a blood test. Before you leave the room, pick up the
key and fuel canisters and use the save station if you like.

Go back outside and head behind the radio shed to the kennels. Scuttlers are scattered
throughout the kennel so be ready for them.

There are also lots of supplies scattered throughout the kennel area. At the first building
on the right as you approach, go inside to find a health pack lying on a desk. Shoot the
crates in the room for two more.

In the kennel on the left as you first approach the kennel area; there is a health pack at the
back of the cage.

If you go to the back of the kennel area and find the shed with a door and a junction box
needing repair, inside you will find 3 pistol clips, 3 MP5 clips and 2 flares.

Finally, return to the building that would be second on the right as you entered the area.
Go behind it, go up the ramp and open the door. A crate at the back contains 3 blood
tests. Collect them and return to Pierce.

Once you walk up close to Pierce, the blood testing begins. Blake will start with himself
and, of course, come out ok (as a player, you cannot become infected, you can only die)
but when testing the other NPCs (Cruz and Carter), well, just wait.

Once you have the situation in hand, collect any weapons and ammo dropped and head
outside.

Level 3a Norwegian Research Center

A quick cutscene reveals that somewhere in the 40 feet that Pierce and you had to go out
the door, you became separated. As you continue your mission, another NPC, Pace
begins pitching grenades. Blake goes into the tower gets the run down from Pace that he
and Williams had been tracking someone and they all became separated. It's your job to
find them.

Inside the tower, collect the flashlight grenades and MP5 ammo. Be sure to stock Pace up
and fill yourself. There is enough ammo that both will have a nearly full load.

Head out and follow the lightpoles to the next building. There is another junction box
here that you will need to repair to get inside, but be advised that you will be attacked be
a handful of scuttlers when you start repairs.

(Tip: The scuttlers will emerge from some ductwork on the outside. If you shoot it before
you get there, it will destroy the duct and they cannot get out.)

(Note: Around the outside of this building to the right is a corpse with a health pack. You
can't have enough of these on hand so I'd suggest getting it.)

Repair the box and head inside to a small entry area. You only option is to proceed
through a door. When you entry, there is a brief cutscene showing an attached room that
is your overall mission for this part of the level. Enter the room and be ready for a couple
waves of scuttlers. Nothing major but watch that corpse in the floor, it likes to spit a
couple out.

Head out of the room and go around the corner to the left. Walk all the way to the end
and gather MP5 ammo for yourself and Pace from the box on the floor. Make sure you
look out the window; you'll get to see a 'walker' going by and they'll make up part of your
next objective.

Make your way back up the hall and go to the broken junction box on the wall and repair
it to get into the next room. Also pick up the 2 flame grenades setting on top of the fuel
drums. Once the box is repaired, open the door and head into the cafeteria.

To the left of the entry door, there is a PC and two stacked crates. Use the PC for more
storyline and then shoot the bottom crate to destroy both crates and obtain a TASER.

Head to the back of the room and your next NPC, Williams, will warn you to keep away.
Blake tells him he needs his help to get into the comm room but Williams isn't going
anywhere until you kill the 3 walkers roaming the level. You won't have to look hard...
they'll be coming for you.

If you've been following this walkthrough, you'll have a flamethrower in your inventory
but if not, head into the far corner of the room to the kitchen and kill the scuttlers there.
Get the flamethrower from the chest and the fuel from the cabinet on the wall. There is
also a blood test near the stove and a save station.

Go back out the cafeteria door. The first walker will bust through the wall near the fuel
drums in the hallway. The best way to fight the walkers is to wear them down with
regular gunfire but you have to cook them to kill them. Also be advised that almost all
walkers will let a couple scuttlers loose when they die.

Once this first walker is dead, continue through the hole it made in the wall. A few more
scuttlers will appear and around the next corner, a walker will burst through a door.
Finish him the same way you fought the other but be aware you're in a tight area and
you'll need to check your aim.

Proceed into the next rooms. A few scuttlers will appear to pester you. There is an
adrenaline syringe on the table that you can get. Walk around the loop into the room with
the bed and eventually the final walker will burst from another room. Once it is dead,
investigate the rooms it came from. The first room has a stack of crates. Shoot them to
reveal a crate containing a shotgun and the far corner of the next room has a crate
containing 3 boxes of shells for it. Return to Williams, watch the scene, and lead him to
the comm room to get access.

Enter the comm room and repair the junction box in the corner so you can use the save
station. Once you attempt to use the radio, 2 walkers and several scuttlers will attack
from the other room. If you don't like the cramped comm room to stage a fairly big fight
from, you have just enough time to get into the recreation room, however, you can also
use the door to corral your enemies to avoid being surrounded.

Take care of the baddies and save again if you like. Also inside the room are shotgun
shells and health packs. Williams will start leading you and Pace out the back door of the
Research center. Follow him and get ready to expend some ammo.

Level 3b Norwegian Medical Center

The Norwegian Medical Center is a complex of 5 rooms. Three are offshoots of the rest.
When the level starts, the three of you will be in the main room. In this room, you can
find an MP5 lying on an examination table.

Open the door the room 1 and proceed to room 1a. Upon opening the door several
scuttlers will emerge and will keep on emerging until you destroy the two pods on the
floor. Be advised however that 4 barnacle like tentacle Things are on the wall and inflict
a decent amount of damage if you just venture in. You can stand in the doorway and
torch one of the pods to decrease the number of scuttlers that emerge and then pitch in a
flame or regular grenade to damage or kill the rest. Proceed slowly through the door and
if required, finish them off. The first tentacle is on your right, right beside the door.
Another lurks behind the door and one on the ceiling behind the door. The second pod
and a tentacle are just behind the door as well.

Repair the junction box in the room to gain access to the radio room (room 3).

Head into the radio room and save your progress. This room is very dimly lit but inside
are a save station and on a bed are a fuel canister and torch and two more fuel canisters
scattered around the room. In the far corner of the room there is a box where the
emergency radio should have been. Once you approach this area, get ready... you're going
to have to survive multiple waves of scuttlers. Ammo will become quite precious.

Be sure Pace and Williams are properly equipped. In my personal opinion, flamethrowers
are a waste during this battle and only raise the possibility of splash damaging you and
your other NPCs.

Move from room to room eliminating the waves of scuttlers. During the battle be aware
that room 2 contains a shotgun and stores of MP5 rounds and shotgun shells, you'll need
them. Take every chance to resupply and save when you feel you've made good progress.

(Tip: Close the doors behind to each room once you are done with a wave. This keeps the
next wave from pouring into the room while you are fighting the previous one. You can
also open the door, pitch in a grenade and kill several since they are so bunched up)

Once you think the epic battle is over, two different walkers will burst through the outer
door. Fight them the same way you fought the walkers in the previous level. Head
outside. Once you reach the bottom of the stairs, a brief cutscene will show you the
person you are pursuing running along a set of lightpoles. Before you take off however,
turn to the right off the stairs and fight a burst-out style walker. Once dead, continue to
the right and find a trailer that has been burst out of. Inside are two blowtorches and a ton
of fuel canisters. Once you've collected everything, head back out and take off in just
about any direction away from the buildings and keep going until the next level loads.

Level 4a Weather Station

Upon arrival at the Weather Station, you'll see Mr. X run into a warehouse. You can't
follow him through that door, however. Proceed along the lightpoles until you are inside
the fenced area. Turn right and walk along the fence toward a small shed with a corpse
lying outside it. You can take a break from the weather inside the shed and then pick up
the MP5 ammo, pistol and pistol ammo off the corpse.

Turn and head for the main lighted area.

Head up the stairs into Bldg1. Inside you'll have to fight a few scuttlers in the initial room
and two more in an adjacent room. In the adjacent room are two flares if you need them.
The NPCs don't seem to follow through the next steps so just leave them behind while
you complete the next little bit.

Go into the room with a staircase. Under them is a crate with MP5 ammo if you need it.
Go up the stairs to the roof. Outside, turn right and jump across to the roof of building
two. There is a grate on top you can shoot out to gain access to the building. A scuttler
will jump out so just shoot him. Drop into the opening and shoot a couple more scuttlers.
In this room are two more grates. Pick one and shoot it open. Down on the next level are
two more walkers. They are fast and deadly so you won't really want to deal with them
up close, especially with all those fuel drums sitting around; A little bad aim and BOOM.
Oh wait, so shoot them when you're not down there. Shoot a drum until it explodes and
send the entire floor up in flames. This will usually take care of the walkers but
depending on where they were in the room, they may live through it. Once the flames die
down, drop down and finish off anything left alive.

Search the room until you find the key for the Weather Dome Bldg. (WDB). Once you
find it, head outside and back into Bldg 1 and pick up your NPCs and then head for the
WDB. As you approach, a small scene will show you the man you've been chasing go
into the dome.

On your way there, if you are in need of flamethrower or fuel, follow the small gap
between the Warehouse and WDB and you'll find a corpse with a flamethrower and fuel
canister. A few scuttlers will attack you when you near the corpse but they are easy to
handle. Turn back and head to the WDB door.

Once inside, kill a few scuttlers that pop out then check the lockers for MP5 ammo, a
health kit and a blood test. In the next room you'll finally find a save station but in typical
style, the instant you start to use it, several scuttlers will emerge to give you trouble. Kill
them and head around the corner into the room with the staircase. Go to the end near a
corpse and two more scuttlers emerge. Kill them and recover the pistol from the corpse.

Enter the kitchen near the corpse. Inside you will find ammo for both MP5 and shotgun
along the left but watch out. A fire will breakout near the door and soon nearly engulf the
room. Quickly head back out the door and wait for the sprinkler system to come on and
put out the flames. Once they are out, you can finish stocking up on ammo and retrieve a
key in the far corner of the room. Along the way out, walk along the leftmost wall and
pick up some sniper rifle ammo, fuel canisters and more shotgun ammo.

Leave the kitchen and take the stairs up for a nice new experience. Upstairs you will find
yet another new walker. This beauty will extend a tube from its abdomen and disgorge
scuttlers for you to deal with. There are also several scuttlers upstairs so you'll need to
pay attention to where the baddies are. Focus your fire on killing the walker but don't let
the scuttlers swarm you either. A pack of them is just as deadly. The new walker will
even introduce you to a new scuttler and considering it has emerged from an abdomen, it
makes since. This new scuttler is a stomach on legs and it launches gobs of bile that will
really slow you down. They can be fairly easily dodged but if hit, it will make combat
fairly tough for a few seconds.

Round the corner into the restroom. Check the lockers for a health pack. Proceed into the
bathroom but watch for a walker to charge out after you. If you back into the doorway,
you'll also find several stomach scuttlers on the table that begin hurling bile. This makes
for very cramped quarters and a bit of a harrowing fight. Once you've eliminated the
threat however, check the stalls (by the way, nice corpse wouldn't you say?) for a blood
test. Considering where you find it, would you want to use that needle. I might consider
just risking Thing infection. Leave the bathroom back into the main room but don't forget
about any stomach scuttlers that might still be on the table.

In the far corner of the room, you'll find a PC that has a tidbit to continue the story along.
Once you get it, head up the stairs and outside to the dome. Once you exit the door a
cutscene begins. Once the scene ends (notice I left out juicy details), search the room and
pick up the sniper rifle and sniper ammo clips. Use the PC to find out what the next box
on the table does. Use the viewer for the telescope. < Insert movie fan rejoicing here. >

Exit the dome, down the stairs and look behind the door that led to the roof. Notice those
fuel drums; shoot them so you can use the downed antennae to cross over to the
warehouse. On the roof just under the antennae is a health pack. If you need it, drop down
and grab it. A few scuttlers might protest but a little buckshot goes a long way. If you
decide to get it, work your way back through the building to the downed antennae.

Once across, head left and keep winding your way around, shooting scuttlers, and
working your way up until you reach a grate. Shoot it out and head inside to the next
level.

Level 4b Pyron Hangar

During the cutscene, you'll crawl through some ductwork and emerge inside a huge
hangar. Once you drop down to the catwalk, NPC Collins will yell for and the view will
pan around to show several scuttlers as well as a new four-legged walker I'm going to call
a 'bulldog'. Kill them all then go into the little nook and repair the junction box to restore
power to the level.

If you'll notice, there is a locked door to an office where you drop down. Getting in here
is the overall objective for the level, well, that and the first boss Thing you'll encounter.

Go into the office and talk to Collins. Use the PC and you will get your next mission.
Give Collins a weapon, stock up on the health packs on the wall, and get going on getting
that crane running.

(Note: This level can be very difficult as there isn't a save station for quite some time. Be
ready to repeat this one.)

Head downstairs and near a junction box that is located under the stairs. While you are
down there, a lot of scuttlers and 3 bulldog walkers will come out of hiding. If you can
get the shot off quickly, there is a set of fuel drums nearby you can shoot and explode to
create a wall of fire that will cause a little damage as you get back to the stairs. Work
your way slowly back up the stairs killing as many scuttlers as you can on the way and
getting as many shots in on the walkers as possible. (Fighting them on the stairs corals
them into a narrow column to make the fighting easier) Once they are in the red, burn
them. Odds are you'll be backed all the way to the top before you have them worn down
enough to torch them.

{gcdtbes}

Thing, The - Strategy Guide (Page 01)

Thing, The - Strategy Guide (Page 01)

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