Colony Wars: Vengeance FAQ/Walkthrough Copyright 2004-2006 Richard Beast E-mail me at [email protected] ==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--== |-|===================|-| |-| TABLE OF CONTENTS |-| |-|===================|-| 1. Introduction 2. Basics 3. Weapons 4. Walkthrough 4.1. Sol 4.2. Gallonigher 4.3. Gallonigher II 4.4. Gallonigher III 4.5. Gallonigher IV 4.6. Sol II 4.7. Cronus 4.8. Cronus II 4.9. Cronus III 4.10. Cronus IV 4.11. Alpha Centauri 4.12. Alpha Centauri II 4.13. Alpha Centauri III 4.14. Alpha Centauri IV 4.15. Boreas 4.16. Boreas II 4.17. Boreas III 4.18. Boreas IV 4.19. Final Battles 5. Cheats 6. Copyright / Contact 7. Credits If you want to find a section or get to a part of the walkthrough quickly, press Control + F and enter the words you're looking for. It'll then come up; do this instead of manually scrolling down, it's one of the magic pieces of the internet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~~\\ SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION ~~// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Aren't you happy that once again, you get to see the name of Richard Beast on another PSX game?! Find this in you, young reader, and look! ...Alright, back to the real world. I honestly cannot remember how many guides I have done in almost two years of this now, and I'm writing this in between three others, but you can say that this is in between my 27th and 30th. And I'm a large PSX fan and still buy and play them to this very day, that's something else that I can touch on. This was actually the first game for my PlayStation in which I can remember, and because the PSX is my favorite console, it's obviously quite special to me. Whenever I play this game, I get somewhat nostalgic; it's weird. Special game to me or not, it's a damn respectable game, and you should definitely give it a try when you have the opportunity. Anyway, the guide here is what I hope to be one that leads you through a game that even a professional site such as IGN considers tough. To add toward that, this guide has a single FAQ (and not a complete guide) up on GameFAQs, so that's added motivation. Anyway, I've rambled on enough. Take care and try not to let Grand Theft Auto force your guns out of your pockets, - Richard Beast ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~~\\ SECTION 2. BASICS ~~// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Colony Wars: Vengeance is basically just what one might think it to be upon looking at the title name. It's a space shooter involving several different missions. You are a pilot named Mertens, fighting for one of two groups who are at war: the Navy between them and the League of Free Worlds. The two had fought a war in the past, and the League won. So, as the Navy's new leader, Kron, says: "The time for suffering is over. The time for vengeance is now." You'll find about 40+ missions total in Vengeance, but you don't have to play through all of them. Some missions, you have to beat, some that you don't. When you lose some missions, you'll go to a different "act" consisting of three missions, while if you win you'll just go to a different (but usually easier) act. So... that's how it is. Regardless, this guide covers every mission you can play, so happy reading. Controls =-=-=-=-= D-Pad/Left Analog Stick: LOL X: Fire primary weapon []: Toggle between primary weapons O: Target enemy with secondary weapon; press again to fire /\: Toggle between secondary weapons Select: Toggle between third and first person views Start: Pause L1: Decelerate R1: Accelerate L2: Flip over to the left R2: Flip over to the right For each mission, the Navy will give Mertens a set primary weapon (out of the possible Seismic Lance, Grapple Gun, Leech Beam, and Ion Cannon, or Particle Gun for ground missions) and a set secondary pod (Offense Pod, Defense Pod, Repair Pod, and Probe Pod) in which he can use at will. Check the weapons section for more information on them. Another thing that's worth noting is the radar at the bottom. You'll use this a hell of a lot during the course of this game, so you'll have to get used to it. In the center is Mertens's ship, and you can line it up with a different dot and possibly accelerate forward in the ship until you find what you are looking for. Green dots indicate enemies, blue dots indicate allies, and white dots indicate objects (such as crystal asteroids). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~~\\ SECTION 3. WEAPONS ~~// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I should give you a note that you'll have one of these weapons (or on a single occasion, two) per mission, and that one is set. Only cheat codes can allow you every weapon per battle, although you will always have the Anti-Shield Laser and Laser; once you get the Wraith, you'll get the Plasma Cannon as well as the Anti-Shield Torpedo; once you get the Diablo, you can use the Scatter Gun as well as the Plasma Torpedo, and with the Voodoo, you lose access to everything you had before but get the new, amazing Alien Laser, Missiles, and Torpedoes. It's empty, but worth it. Anti-Shield Laser =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This weapon is best used against normal little League craft in their early stages, but when the shields are gone (the yellow gauge to the left will turn to red) take note that the Anti-Shield Laser will do no damage. Once that happens, you're stuck using the Laser. Laser =-=-=-= It's not as much as the name would make out, let me tell ya. It's just a red gun, but it's much quicker and faster than the Anti-Shield Laser is, to say the least. While the previous blue laser worked against shields and did no hull damage, this does little shield damage and works well against hulls. Seismic Lance =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Definitely one of the worst weapons for combat; this one should really only be used for mining or occasional other disasters. It'll emit a large blue laser from it, but it can't destroy shields or hulls nearly as quick or effectively as the lasers, so just use this when you need to. Grapple Gun =-=-=-=-=-=-= This one is actually pretty neat for grabbing enemy aircraft, swinging them around, and damaging them. However, this one is primarily used for support or to drag something into a large aircraft to damage it. Thing is, do not move until the grapple is completely detached. Believe me. Leech Beam =-=-=-=-=-=- A useful support weapon, although you'll rarely use it, really. It can be used on a League craft to drain its shield energy, and it's the only way to regain health during a mission. Only problem is that you really have to be far too close to an enemy to make full use of this one. Particle Gun =-=-=-=-=-=-=- This is by far the strongest weapon in the game, but you'll get it when on a ground mission with the Spook, and only. There are perhaps five or six ground missions in the game, so that sucks. Anyway, this one will send you into a first-person mode as a ball of energy, and you can move into any small thing and destroy it while the Spook keeps a long distance. Extremely damaging. Ion Cannon =-=-=-=-=-=- One might judge quite how good and powerful this weapon is from the title. My sole problem with this weapon is that you don't get it NEARLY as often as you should. C'mon, about four or five times? Anyway, it won't scratch a large ship but if you're close enough to an enemy, the beams will destroy it in one hit. Basically, it's two long lasers that will come out and shock the enemy a few times. It's also fast enough to do me enough good. Anti-Shield Missiles =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The number of these that you have depends on the ship you're using. The Hex has two, the Wraith has three, the Diablo has four, and the Voodoo has none, but hey, that's more than made up for. Anyway, not even these are any good on hulls, but they're take out most small fighters' shields in a single hit if they aren't reflected by flares. Try to conserve them for larger ships, however. Plasma Missiles =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The number of these that you have depends on the ship you're using. The Hex has two, the Wraith has three, the Diablo has four, and the Voodoo has none, but hey, that's more than made up for. These missiles are great on hulls, and will do more damage to them than Anti-Shield Missiles will to hulls, but do remember they'll take one half of a shield at most. Try to be conservative with these, however. Anti-Shield Torpedoes =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The number of these that you have depends on the ship you're using. The Hex has zero, the Spook has one, the Wraith has one, the Diablo has two, and the Voodoo has none, but that's more than made up for. These are DEFINITELY best for large fighters, and I never use these on small fighters except on very rare occasions. Good for large ships you have a time limit for taking out, nevertheless. Plasma Torpedoes =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The number of these that you have depends on the ship you're using. The Hex has zero, the Spook has zero, the Wraith has zero, the Diablo has two, and the Voodoo has zero. I guess that makes the Diablo the coolest ship, then? These get more uses in my game (between Alpha Centauri and the final battles in Boreas) than Anti-Shield Torpedoes, especially against the unknown fighters within short missions. Still, they're best used on large aircraft. Alien Laser =-=-=-=-=-=-= Amazing. Simply amazing. This has all the shield attacking power that the Anti Shield Laser had, and all of the power that the Hull Laser had. This just has everything, and it's just as fast as the Hull Laser, not slow like the Anti Shield Laser is. Too bad you'll only have it for the very final parts of the game, because this is the definitive weapon, aside from the Particle Gun and possibly the Ion Cannon. Alien Missiles =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Not much can be said about these that hasn't already been said. The Hex, the Spook, the Wraith, and the Diablo are very lacking of these; only the Voodoo has any of these, and that's four. However, these are so fast and powerful that you'll fall in love with them at first sight. And they're pretty too, I can put that on its list of pros. It is, however, best for large aircraft, although it works well against the Alien Ace and some small mission parts. Alien Torpedoes =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This is the single most powerful thing that Mertens can use, with the possible exception of the Particle Gun. Alien Torpedoes are great even for the very strongest of enemies, and there is NO small fighter which can survive a hit of these. The problem is, you only get two of them. Conserve them, and enjoy them for the three missions that you can use them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~~\\ SECTION 4. WALKTHROUGH ~~// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * * * 4.1. SOL * * * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Colony Wars: Vengeance will start us off in Sol, as Mertens and the Navy crew try to restore the warphole that the League took out. It all begins with a standard mission. Anyway, every mission gets a difficulty level. These are the different levels of difficulty I'll give 'em. 1: Pathetically easy, shouldn't be a problem 2: Plain easy, not anything you'll struggle with 3: Pretty easy, just don't do anything stupid 4: Not too bad, but might be a nuisance 5: Average, can be annoying or slightly difficult, though 6: Not _extremely_ hard, but still a challenge 7: A challenge, one that might be pretty hard 8: A truly hard mission, not something you're expected to win 9: Very hard mission, will take lots of skill 10: Almost impossible, takes lots of practice So... here we go! +---------------+ | ESCORT DUTY | +---------------+ Difficulty Level: 1 Alright, this is probably the easiest of all the missions we get, so shall we take advantage of that? A Tribe gunship will start in front of you. Hit L1 and R1 to accelerate forward, and then use the Anti-Shield laser to attack it. All the gunship will do is go around and give you a little bit of fire here and there. Some gunship. Look to the left of your screen until you see a message, "Shields Down" and then switch to your normal Laser. With your Laser, destroy the entire gunship, and we're making progress! After that one is destroyed, some of your friendly Navy airships will come in. Just stand by and wait for warpholes to open up. Three Navy airships appear, along with a Tribe gunship. Ignore this one; the other airships will take them out, although the gunship manages to destroy one of them in a single hit for some reason. :\ Oh well, it'll get the exact same treatment from another airship. Wait until a Tribe gunship appears that does not get shot down immediately, and this time take a faster approach. Use your Anti-Shield missiles and normal Missiles at it (watching the "Shields Down" note on the left, since missiles have very little ammo) until it's gone, and repeat with the next Tribe gunship that appears. Eventually, another Tribe gunship will appear and be destroyed by your comrades in mere seconds, and mission complete! Time for some asteroid mining. +----------------------+ | RESOURCE COLLATION | +----------------------+ Difficulty Level: 1 This mission is perhaps even easier than the first, although your objectives are quite different than what they were in the previous one. You'll start with a weird asteroid in front of you, that seems to have something in it. That's right; it has a crystal right through it. Switch to your useless Seismic Lance, which on this occasion can help destroy the asteroid very quickly and get the crystal. You can see the asteroid's energy from a bar on the left, so you'll know that you're hitting it. Once the asteroid's destroyed, check your radar below. Look for any place that has a white dot on it; that indicates a crystal asteroid. Keep on destroying those asteroids and mining those crystals, there are five in total. While you destroy the asteroids, you will get your first encounter with small Tribe fighters. They're very easily dispatched with using your Seismic Lance, although do remember that these are only Tribe fighters instead of League fighters; League ships pack a much bigger threat than these guys. Destroy, mine, and do all that hoohah until a large Navy airship appears. You have to "defend" this big baby from the other ships, but note that it just needs to collect the crystals. You can just fly off and it'll get all of them. Klein will come out of the aircraft to help, although he can't be relied on to destroy Tribe fighters, exactly. Have some fun by flying around, shooting down the enemy ships, and then the last crystal will be collected and the Navy airship will flee. +--------------------------------+ | BRING BATTLE PLATFORM ONLINE | +--------------------------------+ Difficulty Level: 1 This is the last "joke" mission we have for quite a while, although this one gives you a little training with your Grapple Gun. Three Tribe Stormlords will attempt to attack the Navy Battle Platform, but do we really need advice on how to deal with Stormlord pansies? ;) After eliminating them, a cargo pod will appear near the Navy Cargo Trans at the far end of the area. Accelerate over there and switch to your Grapple Gun and grab the cargo pod with it, and then you can switch to your lasers. Make fun of the Stormlords by shooting them on the way, and when you get to the battle platform, release the cargo pod. Repeat this twice to move on to another mission, after the Navy reactivate their warphole. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * * 4.2. GALLONIGHER * * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +------------------------------+ | EMERGING FROM THE WARPHOLE | +------------------------------+ Difficulty Level: 5 This is the first "real" mission in Colony Wars: Vengeance, and definitely the hardest one so far. Start by following the three green dots you see on the radar, to meet with League Fighters. They're much stronger than the Tribe Fighters, but even if you take lots of damage, you can use your Leech Beam to drain their shield power and restore yours. Use the Anti-Shield Laser and Laser normally to destroy all of them, and it's over...? Definitely not, we're only just beginning! You'll see a large white rig appear. You have a very punishing time limit to try and destroy it, so give this all you've got! Fly as close to it as you can! I've found that if you fly close to it really quickly it'll fire even more powerfully, but ignore your health, since the part after this is really easy. Use all of your shield missiles and then give the rest of the shield everything you can fire, but that won't be enough. Fire your Anti-Shield laser like there's no tomorrow, then finish it by firing the rest of your Hull Missiles. But once it's destroyed, the real things come in! The sentinel here is one of the biggest things in all of Vengeance, but it has to be among the easiest crafts here. You will be grabbed by thick grapples, so you cannot retreat from the sentinel, but you don't need to. We've got some stuff to fix here. This is one of the toughest parts of the mission, though. The sentinel comes with two large cranes that REALLY take your health off. Immediately laser them to pieces before they do anything serious, and distance yourself from them as best as possible. Don't worry if you have a molescular amount of health after you finish the cranes off, since the only thing that can damage you after the cranes are gone is your own self. You know, ramming the sentinel is kind of killing yourself. If you've lost a lot of your shield energy, just leech it away from the sentinel. Get close to it, and it's rare for it to get a single hit on you. You'll be using your Anti-Shield laser a LOT on the sentinel after you leech your shields back, but don't worry. There's no time limit, and something this big could obviously take a really big beating. Now, the rest is a bit more complicated. You could Laser the remains of the sentinel for the rest of your life, but not destroy it. Instead, you have to shoot for the bridge in the front. Aim your fire at that yellow part there, and then it goes BOOM! We've finished that mission! If you succeeded in this mission, go to Gallonigher II. If you failed, go to Gallonigher III. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * 4.3. GALLONIGHER II * * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +--------------------------------+ | RESCUE BESEIGED INSTALLATION | +--------------------------------+ Difficulty Level: 7 This mission is really hard, and I don't exactly expect you to win this one. If you do, however, win this one, go over to Disrupt League Supply Network, although if you lose this one you'll have to do Minesweeping and Disrupt League Supply Network, and win both. Anyway, line up the Hex with the purple dots on the map at the lower-left, and go over to them. Use your Grapple Gun to get a hold on them, and then drag them to the green vortex at the far distance of Mars (at least, I think that's Mars down there, I might be wrong) and get very close to it, but DO NOT ENTER. If you do, it's a failed mission. Once you get dragged in, turn around, go back a little, and wait for it to be sucked in. Then make your way out of there. League fighters will attack a bit, but they are nothing serious. +----------------+ | MINESWEEPING | +----------------+ Difficulty Level: 3 Our first mission which is almost completely dedicated to defending a Navy Frigate. It'll surrounded by mines, so you have to buy it time. Three League Ballistas can be seen flying at it from a small distance, so shoot them down quickly. After that, the mission is pretty straight forward. When you see a message on the left reading "ARROW OPENING JUMPGATE", or the like, look on your map at the bottom-left corner of the screen, and line up your Hex with the green dot, and shoot 'em down from there. Just wait until the Navy battleship eliminates all of the mines around it, and then an even larger battleship will appear, thus ending this mission. +---------------------------------+ | DISRUPT LEAGUE SUPPLY NETWORK | +---------------------------------+ Difficulty Level: 5 This is a rather fun mission, although the first part of it can get quite dangerous. Instead of the crappy old Hex, we've got the Spook for this mission. After this mission and (hopefully) the one mission of Gallonigher IV, you'll be on your way to Cronus to get a ship even better than this! The Spook has an Anti-Shield Torpedo, although you really won't need it in this mission. If that wasn't good enough, it gets better from there. You've got the Plasma Cannon, a slow but really powerful weapon. In this particular mission, we also have the AWESOME Particle Gun. It'll be difficult to see our enemies with it, but the Particle Gun is devastating, and quite capable to eliminating a small fighter, shields and all, in a single blow. It's also got a long range and can be controlled. Start by charging the Particle Gun and aiming it to the trees on the right. Let it land on the League turret there, and then accelerate a bit and use the Particle Gun on the trees at the far left, and then keep a close attention to the green dots on your map. Try to use the Particle Gun to wipe out all of the League Turrets, since they'll be REALLY annoying. When you see League Hammers emerging from the hangar on the ground (it can't be destroyed, although I've taken its shields down before, uselessly), take a break from torturing League turrets and instead slaughter the Hammers. More will likely come out, with a League Frigate trying to grapple them and eject. If you see a grapple attempt to pick up a League Hammer, use the Particle Gun to destroy the ship. It should be an easy target. Once enough ships are destroyed, the mission is over. Skip to Gallonigher IV now. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * 4.3. GALLONIGHER III * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Only read these three if you beat Emerging from the Warphole. If you just beat Disrupt League Supply Network, skip to Gallonigher IV. +-----------------------+ | CLOSING LEAGUE EYES | +-----------------------+ Difficulty Level: 6 The Closing League Eyes -> (Jump Missile Threat) -> Elimination of the League Super Gun path is probably harder than the Rescue Beseiged Installion -> (Minesweeping) -> Disrupt League Supply Network path, but it's not too bad. This is the second toughest mission in Gallonigher, so shall we get started? You don't really need to, but I prefer to shoot down a few League fighters until Klein starts getting more aggressive. When he starts getting a bit stronger, accelerate to the League Research Facility (you can easily see it). Be careful -- this is no pushover. It is equipped with a giant laser which can likely destroy you in about five hits, and can and will take quite the beating. Take full use of all your missiles. To avoid the Facility's laser, frequently fly around it. Remember: except in one certain occasion, they can NOT hit anything that's moving! After punishing the Facility's shields with your Anti-Shield Laser and both Anti-Shield Missiles, use Plasma Missiles and your regular Laser to finish the rest of it, then three white dots will appear on your radar. Turn from where the Facility was and switch to your Leech Beam. Once at the satellites, leech them crazy. After the yellow gauge at the top (could take a few tries) fills up, that satellite is finished. Be careful NOT to destroy the satellites, or it's mission failure. After they're all leeched, just eliminate the rest of the League fighters. Just be careful to fire a Flare if one locks on to you, or you could spend your days in an emergency escape pod. +-----------------------+ | JUMP MISSILE THREAT | +-----------------------+ Difficulty Level: 3 Definitely the easiest of the three missions we get here, so no need to "brace yourself". What you'll have to do is defend a couple of Navy battleships, not really too difficult. The first part of the mission will mainly just be some Hammers and Arrows. Not something that I need to concern myself with. Klein will do pretty good here as a wingman, since he'll be using missiles a lot, and just proving that the Navy is stronger than the League. ;) Eventually, jump missiles will start coming from the distance. When this happens, use your full might to shoot them down, while Klein handles the regular old League craft. If a jump missile hits a battleship, that's quite a lot of damage sustained. Fend them off a bit, and you've got yourself a won mission. +---------------------------------------+ | ELIMINATION OF THE LEAGUE SUPER GUN | +---------------------------------------+ Difficulty Level: 6 You'll have the Spook Dropship for this mission; in case you completed Emerging from the Warphole and didn't get to play the mission Disrupt League Supply Network, I'll copy the description here: After this mission and (hopefully) the one mission of Gallonigher IV, you'll be on your way to Cronus to get a ship even better than this! The Spook has an Anti-Shield Torpedo, although you really won't need it in this mission. If that wasn't good enough, it gets better from there. You've got the Plasma Cannon, a slow but really powerful weapon. In this particular mission, we also have the AWESOME Particle Gun. It'll be difficult to see our enemies with it, but the Particle Gun is devastating, and quite capable to eliminating a small fighter, shields and all, in a single blow. It's also got a long range and can be controlled. Our objective here is to destroy the League Supergun, but you can shoot at it for the five minutes you're allowed for this mission and not destroy it. Instead, you have to destroy the shield generators of the supergun's three reactors (gathered around this large area), then remove the shields of the reactors and probe them. This is no easy task; the shield generators can take quite a beating. I'd recommend for one of the shields generators, you use the simple Plasma Cannon for the whole thing (maybe one Anti-Shield missile), then just use the Anti-Shield laser to remove the reactor's shields (not hard at all), and then probe it, and go to the other generators and for one, use the remaining Anti-Shield missiles and your Plasma Cannon for another one of them, and the Anti-Shield Torpedo for one of them. Use your Plasma Missiles well. After all the reactors are probed, two Navy Frigates will obliterate the supergun. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * * 4.5. GALLONIGHER IV * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +----------------------------+ | INTERCEPT LEAGUE SAPPERS | +----------------------------+ Difficulty Level: 4 This mission will begin as we see five League Maces, Swords, and Ballistas in flight, heading towards a Navy Cruiser. Our mission is to eliminate any of the League fighters, and defend the Navy Cruiser. Start by destroying the five enemies here as fast as you can, as they always seem to use anti-shield weapons on the Navy Cruiser as fast as they can. Continue to eliminate them, and then eventually, League Ballistas come in here with... a special kind of backup. Continue as post wingman for the Navy Cruiser, and Ballistas will arrive with mines. These dangerous things want to attach themselves to the battleship and explode in just a few moments, so use your Seismic Lance to immediately remove them when they attach themselves to the Navy Cruiser. When that happens, take out the Ballistas and Maces on sight, although many of the former will flee. After that, it'll just be a repeat with another ship wave, and then another wave of mines. You know the drill. If you beat this mission, you won't have to bother with Sol II and will go straight to Cronus. If you lose, game over. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * * * 4.6. SOL II * * * * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +----------------------+ | ERECT DEFENSE GRID | +----------------------+ Difficulty Level: 2 In the beginning of this mission, there are absolutely no League fighters anywhere. That's because we've got to fix up a defense turret or two to eliminate Frigates that are eventually going to come. All you have to do is fly around finding gun barrels, then use your grapple gun and drag them to their respective complexes to complete the turrets. Each of them requires a Left Gun Barrel and a Right Gun Barrel to be completed, but the power they pack is tremendous. Find empty bases and drag the barrels over to them, careful not to move until the grapple is detached, or it'll go out of the vicinity of the empty gun base and you'll have to waste time. There are four barrels here and two bases, and as I said before, both could use Left and Right Gun Barrels. If you have two Navy Sentry Guns, the battleships have absolutely no chance whatsoever. Help out your new automated sentry guns a bit with missiles and stuff when the frigates finally arrive, and that's a successful mission. +---------------+ | CARGO HEIST | +---------------+ Difficulty Level: 5 This mission isn't that tough, as long as you keep an eye on your radar, the entire time. Whenever a green dot appears on your map, fly over there and take it out immediately. The goal here is to stop the League from stealing two of the several cargo pods around here. If they steal two of them, it's all over. Alright, just mildly go around, use your anti-shield laser to take out the League fighters, and wait for a League Frigate to appear. You can't destroy it, and it won't even attempt to attack, but it'll drop its friends off to attack. At this point, give them all you've got. Fly around rapidly, especially getting to the ones in the center of the radar. As long as you've improved your Hex's engine and acceleration enough, it shouldn't be too bad. +--------------+ | LAST STAND | +--------------+ Difficulty Level: 6 The first part of the mission faces us against three League Swords. Fine, just use the Anti-Shield laser to eliminate them. However, you MUST not use the Laser against their shields. We only have seven minutes to complete the mission, and that's punishing. After they're gone, a large Navy Supergun will appear, but it can't fire at the warphole to slaughter any League Frigates that come in, unfortunately. :( We've got to power it up first. Some League Arrows will appear from the warphole before we can power it, so destroy them with perhaps a missile or two, along with a combination of your Anti-Shield Laser and standard Laser. Now two Power Cells will appear to the left. Energy from the cells must be taken out with your Leech Beam and then, the energy must be leeched into the supergun. Leech some power from a single cell, and then just go back to the supergun and start getting the power in there. When you get a message "Leech Beam Empty", go to the other power cell and drain the power until it disappears, and then return to the supergun and power it. After it's powered, it'll fire right into the warphole as soon as one of those damn battleships comes in to attack! Yay, that was easy. Some more League Arrows will appear, so destroy them and then repeat the process of filling the Supergun with the energy from the power cells. Next round, even more ships will appear, but continue filling up the supergun. Now, we finally get out of here and to Cronus! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * * * 4.7. CRONUS * * * * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +------------------------+ | SCOUT ASTEROID FIELD | +------------------------+ Difficulty Level: 4 There's a remarkable difference between the Hex and your new aircraft, the Wraith. You've got three of each missile instead of two, and as an added bonus, you get the Anti-Shield Torpedo. Only use this against large ships, however, since until you get the Diablo, you have one of them. Add to that, you get the awesome Plasma Cannon. If you failed Intercept League Sappers and went to Sol II, you may remember the Navy turrets. Unfortunately, League Sentry Guns are very much like those are around here. The Plasma Cannon, although obviously rather slow, can eliminate them in two hits. Get BEHIND one of those guns and destroy them with the Plasma Cannon, and a winner is you. After both Sentry Guns are gone, head over to the asteroids. Lance up the crystal asteroids, and four League Maces will arrive through a jumpgate. The Plasma Cannon is definitely the best way to take them out, having the power it does. In no time, a Navy Mining Vessel will arrive. League Mining Vessels have got a LOT of endurance, but I can't say the same for Navy Mining Vessels. You'll have to assist it. After it gets a crystal, an unknown entity named the Widowmaker will arrive with two League Swords. The Widowmaker (whom I believe is an alien) is invincible for the time being, so leave him be and instead eliminate the League Swords. In the meantime, the Widowmaker will destroy Klein's ship in one hit! Ugh... Klein fails to eject, and therefore dies. Avenge your fallen comrade with your wingwoman Becks, and destroy the Widowmaker's shields, whereas he will flee. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * * * 4.8. CRONUS II * * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +-------------------+ | SUPPORT ASSAULT | +-------------------+ Difficulty Level: 3 Damn are the League persistent... a Navy Destroyer (a more powerful version of a Frigate) needs your assistance, as a League Processing Plant is going to sacrifice itself so that it collides with the Navy Destroyer, wiping both of them out simultaneously. Do not even think about going for the League Processing Plant, since it has the usual powerful laser, and I've hit it with the Anti-Shield Torpedo and all of my Anti-Shield missiles, then harrassed it for the rest of the mission before it collides with the Navy Destroyer and couldn't finish it off. Instead of getting all aggressive, we've got to be more defensive and eliminate other things. Take out the League Swords around here and wait as some more backup arrives and the League Processing Plant gets really close to the Navy Destroyer (that is when the Navy will tell you to divert the course of the battleship by grappling it). You'll especially need to do that when the 'Destroyer's shields and engines are destroyed. Get behind the rear end of the battleship and grab it with your Grapple Gun, and then head forward, away from the League Processing Plant. Ignore all other offense and get the battleship away! Repeat this a few times, and you'll find a considerable distance between the Processing Plant and the Destroyer, completing the mission. +------------------------+ | INSTALLATION DEFENSE | +------------------------+ Difficulty Level: 5 One of the tougher missions in the game if you're bad with the Grapple Gun; however, I rarely encounter this mission. Anyway, you have three minutes or so before a giant League fleet arrives. A nice thing they allow us to do is to deploy proximity mines near jumpgate markers using the Grapple Gun, and then shoot them from a distance so that they target anything that arrives near them. Since these mines are so powerful and the markers indicate where the fleet will come in, they'll be very useful. However, it is not necessary in any way to do this. When the League fleet does come in, you can take them on with your lasers and the Scatter Gun, but hey, it's just not as easy. If you do it like this, be prepared to immediately fly around and exhaust every missile in your arsenal. Quickly fly around and find the green dots, and immediately line them up with the Plasma Cannon, as a few hits with that will take them out. You'll have much less to deal with if you brought the proximity mines into proper spots, though. +--------------+ | HIT 'N RUN | +--------------+ Difficulty Level: 3 This mission isn't _too_ difficult, but for appropriate results, you will have to play out some strategy. First of all, you have to tow a League vessel to the Navy battleship at the beginning, using your Grapple Gun. However, it happens to be guarded by a large minefield and a League Research Facility, and that's not to mention six cloaked Sentry Guns. Let's take care of the Sentry Guns first, methinks. First of all, fly over to the minefield and wait for two of them to appear. There are no more or less than six Sentry Guns, and they will uncloak in pairs of two. So just fly around and destroy three pairs in all, and then get away from the League Research Facility, and let's handle the minefield. However, it is important NOT to make the mines target the research vessel, or they'll hit and it'll be a perfect mission failure. My method was to get near the mines, grapple them, and then tow them back into the distance, where they'll fly off into space. Just get close, but not _too_ close to each of them, and pull them each away. When they're all gone, get a firm hold upon the yellow star-shaped research vessel, and bring it back to a Navy Destroyer at the beginning, and then you'll be on your way to the great Cronus IV. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * * * 4.9. CRONUS III * * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ This act consists of some of the toughest missions in the game. Be well aware of this before you proceed. +------------------------------------+ | ELIMINATE LEAGUE MINING FACILITY | +------------------------------------+ Difficulty Level: 9 This mission is among the toughest in the entire game, and I have only beaten this sucker once. First of all, you have a six minute time limit to heat up a bunch of asteroids and drag them over to a League Mining Facility which on its own can destroy half of your shields in one hit, but what's worse is that it's surrounded by League Sentry Guns and Arrows. Fly around a bit, keeping your distance and shooting at these things with your Plasma Cannon if you wish to succeed, and then use your Anti-Shield Laser a bit on the mining facility, and Drake will tell Mertens that it's guarded by an extremely powerful shield that absorbs lasers. Add to that, only physical impacts can do anything. Now the only way to make a good physical impact that doesn't damage Mertens is to drag heated asteroids over to it with your Grapple Gun, and then let them collide with the facility. About five hits will take it, but this facility is one of just about every large League battleship in this game that comes with a shield that will destroy 1/3 of the Wraith's entire health. So you'll have to keep a distance, burn the asteroids a bit with your Plasma Laser, and DO NOT move until the grapple is fully detached. If you move, that diverts the course of the asteroid, and we don't want that. Do it just like you would want to crash into the mining facility, and in meager seconds, you just might win. +----------------------+ | SCOUTING GRAVEYARD | +----------------------+ Difficulty Level: 6 You'll have to be quick and NOT waste time on this mission, especially being that the Widowmaker will arrive and try to distract you. You'll have to defend two Navy vessels against a massive League fleet, so that's why you have to watch for everything. Most of the opposition is plain Sentry Guns (evil) and League Strike Cannons (very evil). Whenever you see a League Strike Cannon on your radar, fly on over to it and blast it to pieces. The Plasma Cannon is very useful in this mission, as it's a quick weapon for destroying both Sentry Guns and Strike Cannons. Start just by flying around looking for Sentry Guns. Get behind them and shoot them with your Plasma Cannon to get them smoking, and then blow them up with your lasers as fast as you can. If a League Strike Cannon appears, immediately blast it with an anti-shield missile, then use your Anti-Shield Laser to get rid of the shields, and finish it off with the Plasma Cannon. Eventually, the Widowmaker will appear. Ouch. When he appears, immediately use a missile or two on him to get him out; he's by far the strongest enemy here. After he's gone, continue scouting the area for anything that isn't on the Navy's side (other than the debris, though) and destroy it. +------------------+ | SENTINEL ALERT | +------------------+ Difficulty Level: 5 This mission will probably give some people real difficulty, although once you know how to do it it's pretty easy. First of all, here's something you won't see any other time. Navy Turrets, and a Navy Reactor. You'll have to first hold off your everyday fleet of League fighters, take a very unusual sentinel out, and protect the Navy Reactor. Fly around the Navy Reactor and the Navy Turrets, protecting them with your Plasma Cannon and lasers, and wiping out all those annoying Maces, Lances, and Ballistas until the key moment: when the shadow of a huge INSECT appears. Okay, now who expected that? Unless you usually pay attention to what Ops says, which I do not. Still, this is nothing to be underestimated. It's got a large supply of energy and can wipe out the reactor in two uses of its guns, and that's if the small League fighters haven't already taken the shields down. It's got one weak spot: the armor on the abdomen, which is for some reason quite thin. You should try and keep a distance from the insect because of its powerful laser (we all know it well) although it will rarely if ever use it if it gets up on its hind legs to charge an attack at the reactor. This attack is slow, but it'll do a huge ton of damage to the Navy Reactor; a few turns of this and you'll have a mission failure. Still, continue using anti-shield weapons on the insect's abdomen, and when the shields are down, hit it in the same area with your Plasma Cannon and plasma missiles, and then with enough luck the Navy Reactor will be left standing. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * * 4.10. CRONUS IV * * * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +-------------------------------+ | INVESTIGATING DISTRESS CALL | +-------------------------------+ Part 1 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 6 This is the first mission in the game which is split into two parts (well, there's one mission that's split into three parts, but that's beside the point). The first part involves dogfighting against many League fighters and a battleship, and the second one involves finally eliminating the Widowmaker. Anyway, go over to the beacon ahead. It looks like the power cells which we should probably remember from Last Stand, if we went there. However, this has absolutely nothing for us, except three League Maces who brought us here to trick us! Don't you just love falling for traps? Oh well. Fortunately, you have the plain AWESOME Ion Cannon, which can easily take them out in a single hit if you get close enough and hit accurately. Fire it well at the things! After they're gone, a League Destroyer will appear near the Navy Destroyer in the sector. Go over to the League Destroyer and fire all of your Anti-Shield missiles and your Anti-Shield Torpedo at it to take out the shields, and then take out the shield generator, reactor, engine, and bridge. After that, a "for now" infinite amount of League Swords will appear in the sector, so fight them all off. Eventually, they will shoot the Navy Destroyer down, so it'll be gone soon, but that's actually imperative for mission completion. Take out all the ships that are currently here, and then the Widowmaker will appear through a jumpgate. He'll taunt you a little bit, and then exit the sector. You'll follow him through the jumpgate automatically. It's payback time! Part 2 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 3 Although this part is slightly harsh on the health, it's very easy if you do it accurately. After the Widowmaker taunts you some more, begin avenging Klein by switching to the Ion Cannon and blasting the living damned heavens out of the Widowmaker. It takes a lot of fire, obviously, but you will eventually destroy him... to where he splits into two! Yes, the Widowmaker was an alien who could split into two... at least that's my theory. Anyway, these two "Unknowns" are much easier to destroy than the Widowmaker was, being that they pack much less health. The Ion Cannon, like before, will wipe them out in almost no time at all. They, in turn, will split into two each, so you have lots of work to do. They're just as weak as regular League fighters, however, so it shouldn't be that bad. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * 4.11. ALPHA CENTAURI * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +----------------------------+ | OVERSEE MINING OPERATION | +----------------------------+ Difficulty Level: 2 This mission is quite easy, since you do have three Navy Mining Vessels here, versus a pair of asteroids and a few League Swords. Go after the Swords while leaving the asteroids to the Navy vessels, and you'll be a bit better off. You WILL find a huge asteroid in front of you, but ignore that. Finish with the League Swords (don't use Plasma Missiles, though), wait for the Navy Mining Vessel to destroy the large asteroid, and then a dozen swarming fish come out to play. Yep, you heard me right. Galaxy mutant fish, swimming in space. Video games get weirder and weirder as they go by, don't they... they obviously have no shields, so just shoot them around a bit with your Laser until they're all gone. They're pretty fast, but they go down very quickly, despite liking to surround you and fin you rapidly. Once the small fish are gone, a gigantic space alien bug shows up. Okay, this mission is just getting far too weird. However, the space alien bug acts like a scorpion in that it fires energy from its tail onto the mining vessels, but only after stopping to charge it up. Just wait for it to stop, while simultaneously dodging the energy shots, and before it charges up, hit its head with your Plasma Cannon, Laser, or Plasma Missiles. You'll know that you've hurt it when that happens. Continue this process of hitting it when it stops, and then it will flee, giving you the success. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * 4.12. ALPHA CENTAURI II * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ I sincerely hope you didn't fail Oversee Mining Operation, because this is the hardest act in the game, bar none. +-------------------------+ | RESCUE SCIENCE VESSEL | +-------------------------+ Difficulty Level: 10 I would rank this as the toughest mission in the entire game. Especially if you're bad with your grapple gun, this is your worst nightmare. Fortunately, you do not have to succeed in this mission to advance in the game, so it's all good. :) Our first objective is to lance the Navy Science Vessel's compartment to free the isotopes inside. Find a large black section of the vessel and use your Seismic Lance, and eventually the large black cover will come off and explode, and lots of isotopes will fly out of it! That can't be good... unless we grapple them and use them as weapons. Let me warn you: anything except... something... at the end of this mission will lose their shields with a single one of these things. Approach with caution. Get near the League Frigates and when you're just in front of them, release the unstable isotope on it, and if you're lucky enough the isotope will crash into the frigate, damaging it severely. For the first Frigate, a Diablo wingman will assist, trying to drag an isotope to the Frigate (and unless it gets destroyed, guaranteed succeeding). Even if you don't destroy the League Frigate like this, you can always destroy its shields very quickly (torpedoes, anyone?) and destroy the shield generator, engine, shield generator, and reactor quickly. However, two Frigates will appear simultaneously after the first one, so then you've really got to drag isotopes to them. Four isotopes, to be exact. However, I've found the one on the left only needs two Anti-Shield Torpedoes to get the shields gone. Any other frigate would require about six Anti-Shield Torpedoes (accessible by cheating), but this one doesn't. Destroy its weak spots after the shields are gone, and for the other one, use the isotopes. Once they're gone, this HUMONGOUS League ship called the Behemoth will appear. Sincerely enough, you have to be quite a while away from it for the whole thing to display on your screen. If that wasn't bad enough, this thing can also take a GIGANTIC beating, and it takes twenty-two Plasma Torpedoes to destroy its hull alone. Trust me, I've cheated to discover this. Being like this, it takes about three isotopes to destroy the shields, and then I recommend flying around the ship using the Scatter Gun to destroy the weak spots, which indeed can be found on the League Behemoth. You have two minutes to destroy it. Good luck; you'll surely need it! +--------------------------+ | AVERT NATURAL DISASTER | +--------------------------+ Difficulty Level: 7 What a marvelous beginning for one of the hardest missions in the whole game, which must be completed. Either this one or Rescue Science Vessel, but we all know that Rescue Science Vessel is THE toughest mission. Alright, enough of my rambling. There is a huge asteroid storm coming toward a Navy Starport and a Navy Cargo Transport, and you'll have to divert the asteroids. About twelve of them appear at a time, and four or five will destroy each aircraft. If one of them disappears, it's game over. The only way to divert them is to use the Grapple Gun. Get a firm grip upon any that come near, while keeping a post close to the Navy Starport. Whenever you grab one of them and let it go, it's almost guaranteed it's not going to hit anything. Continue with all of them, while taking drastic measures if it is needed, and then a giant asteroid will appear from the direction of the sun. Now this, not even the Grapple Gun can stop. You need to use a generator for a jumpgate to do this. Look at the radar on the side of the screen to find one, and then tow it near the asteroid so that a jumpgate will block it from hitting the Navy Starport. Whenever I complete this mission, I find myself laughing for some strange reason. Haha. At least we got past this mission, though. +--------------------+ | REMOTE TARGETING | +--------------------+ Difficulty Level: 4 This is by far the easiest and most entertaining mission in the Alpha Centauri II act, although it's not so easy that it's worth puking to. Head over to the large League Cruiser and probe it, along with any other League battleships you come across. After it's probed, a jump missile will come in and target it, and when it hits the cruiser, it's gone. However, after this point, jump missiles might turn up as green. If they do, IMMEDIATELY destroy them, as the effects if they hit you will be absolutely devastating. Followed by another League Cruiser. By now, the place is probably flooded with League Maces. Ignore them; just find another League Cruiser and probe it; then wait for the jump missile to show up and take it. If the jump missile happens to be green, I guess that's bad luck. Then you'll have to unload all your very best anti-shield weaponry and destroy the weak spots. Anyway, once the second League Cruiser is gone, a League Dreadnought appears. In my game, two Navy jump missiles showed up (both blue) and hit the League Dreadnought to reduce its hull to critical. Simply blast it down with your Scatter Gun if this happens, but if it doesn't, you'll be forced to fly all over the place dodging the Dreadnought's laser and hitting it with missiles, the Plasma Cannon, and the Scatter Gun. Once/if the shields are gone, launch the rest of the assault on the engine, bridge, shield generator, and reactor. Anyway, after this mission, you're arrested. Wow. To Alpha Centauri IV. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * 4.13. ALPHA CENTAURI III * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +---------------+ | DATA SNATCH | +---------------+ Part 1 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 1 This mission is... a joke, right? Really, I think that Psygnosis made this mission easy just to give you a false sense of security. You'll now be under order from a group called the Watch, so you have to obey their orders. What you first need to do is wait as League Frigates and Navy Frigates destroy each other in turn, and then take out the three League Swords in the area. After you destroy them (missiles work well), go over to the Frigate. It'll probably destroy the Navy Frigate soon, but just let it; that's unavoidable. Use your Anti-Shield Torpedoes on it, and that should take out its shields. Now use the Grapple Gun and grab onto it, whereas we will exit the area and enter none other than... Part 2 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 7 ...Part 2. It's just as short as the last one, but this one is a meteoric rise in difficulty above that stuff. This time, you'll have to go to the League Facility and probe it for a list of traitors, and then destroy the League Swords that will eject from the installation, while simultaneously avoiding laser attacks from not only the facility but that League Frigate we got dragged in here with. If that wasn't bad enough, the League Facility has a device that detects noise, and if you enter the white beams that are emitting from it, you will be attacked with the laser we're used to by now. Seven or so hits of it will destroy you, and we have to do a bit more than we did last time. Get over to the facility... slowly. That way, the percentage rate of your being detected will be considerably lessened. While going slowly, you can also keep an eye out for the white beams, being able to pass around them and avoid being blasted to death. Once near the facility, probe it and then fly away at once! Two League Swords will come out of the facility, so we have a little more work to do. Use your Anti-Shield Missiles and regular missiles to take out the two League Swords, and maybe even use an Anti-Shield Torpedo. Now just fly around a bit, and destroy the League Frigate. Your Anti-Shield Torpedoes and Scatter Gun on the weak spots should be more than enough to take it down, though. After it's gone, the Watch will finally tell you where to find the traitor. So where are we going next? None other than the third part of this awful mission... Part 3 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 1 Another significant change in difficulty; this part has about a fourth of the difficulty of the previous one. A Navy Starport will cloak, leaving you to deal with three League fighters. Eliminate them like you normally would (missiles work well here, as always) and then the Starport will uncloak again, allowing you to collect the traitor list. Probe the Starport, and once you retrieve the pod a traitor will come around. Now we can finally finish business with that little punk. Use the remaining missiles and your Scatter Gun to finish it off, and we're done with this business. However, if you fail this mission you would get to rush forward quite a bit... +-------------------+ | CAPTURE TRAITOR | +-------------------+ Difficulty Level: 3 This mission is almost EXACTLY the same as the last one, but this one we have to win. Anyway, a League Starport will uncloak, first of all. It'll give you three League Maces to play with, but the Scatter Gun will turn them into a litter of space debris in no time. After that, none other than a League Frigate appears to the left side of the sky. Time for another large ship to take out. Just use your Anti-Shield Torpedoes and the Scatter Gun on it, and then the League Starport will finally uncloak. That took long enough. When the 'Starport finally shows up, go around it and blow the shields down with your Scatter Gun, and when the shields are gone, make sure you do not destroy it. Wait for members of The Watch to board it and chase a traitor's escape pod out, and then go for the pod and destroy it; that shouldn't be any problem. After that, you'll have to take out the rest of the League Mace pilots around here, but the Scatter Gun will feed them a thing called death before they spoon it down your throat. +----------------+ | TRAITOR HUNT | +----------------+ Part 1 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 3 Now we have to deal with everyone who is unloyal to the Navy, including Becks, in the second part of the mission. To find out their true status, you have to probe them with the Probe Pod (duh). This mission is easy enough, considering the enemy Navy aircraft are usually destroyed very quickly by other Navy members. Keep flying around this place and scan every ship for their true and actual identity, and if they're of the League, it's likely they will be shot down very quickly, but if they're not, unload the Scatter Gun anyway. Continue probing everyone, and remember: that includes Becks. Eventually, she will flee and you'll get a message from Kron, saying that the woman is leaking information to the enemy. Bye bye, Becks. Part 2 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 2 Time to dispose of the notorious traitor that is Becks. She's got two Watch members as wingmen, so take them out first with your missiles. Do remember that members of The Watch tend to be quick and powerful, and they have a certain fondness for missiles, so flares will be a necessity here. Watch (yes, you've got it) out for Becks too, as she'll help her comrades quite a bit. Do not try to conserve your torpedoes, as no large craft will show up. Anyway, when members of The Watch are gone, Becks will go to full power, but this should be an easy battle regardless. Take note that Becks will cloak and uncloak at will, so when she uncloaks, use every single weapon you have in your arsenal, including secondary missiles and torpedoes. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * 4.14. ALPHA CENTAURI IV * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +--------------+ | SENTENCING | +--------------+ Difficulty Level: 5 This is my favorite mission of the game. Music is good, the mission's not too hard and not too easy, and has the epic matchoff with Becks, in case you failed the missions in Alpha Centauri III (which is perfectly understandable). You'll be out of control, being grappled along by two Watch members, although the both of them will be shot to death by League fighters. Speaking of League Fighters, they're our first target. There's a League battleship around the left, so turn around and head over there, and unleash your Anti-Shield Torpedos on it, and finish it off with the anti-shield laser until the shields are gone, and do the usual drill with the various frigate parts while moving around to avoid the laser... we've done this all a hundred million times and then some. Drake now gives you, of all recommendations: to destroy the Watch Installation! Yes, they're all a bunch of false, tricksy bastards and it's time to do away with them. Get near it, and move around like you usually would, while using Anti-Shield missiles and your anti-shield laser, and when the shields are gone, Watchleader Becks ejects. Heh heh heh... Finish it off, and then scout the area and eliminate any Watch members around... that makes our job easier. A single purple dot will be left. Go over there to find the traitorous Becks, although usually it takes quite a bit of acceleration to find her. When you do find here, use everything you've got left to take her out, and pay no attention to all the nonsense she speaks. After she's gone, wait a minute for Navy Diablos to enter the area, and we're on to Boreas... ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * * * 4.15. BOREAS * * * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +---------------------------------------------+ | SPEARHEAD ASSAULT INTO LEAGUE HOME SYSTEM | +---------------------------------------------+ Difficulty Level: 2 This mission is very short, very easy, and somewhat sweet to boot! As we arrive, three League Hammers and a Navy Battle Cruiser will enter the sector. League Hammers are the bottom of League technology, so shoot them all to pieces until a League Astro Gun appears. League Astro Gun? That's something we haven't yet seen... as you may expect, it is the only League Astro Gun in the game (like the League Behemoth) but will shoot and destroy the Navy Battle Cruiser in one hit. Alas... avenge them by getting near the Astro Gun, but you can't even hope to shoot down this sentinel. Just look around the bottom side of it and you'll find a small door. To destroy the Astro Gun, we have to enter it and destroy the reactors inside it. Shoot the door until you can enter, and then you'll find three reactors. Shoot them down with your Laser, and then Mertens will automatically eject as the Astro Gun explodes... ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * * * 4.16. BOREAS II * * * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +------------------------------+ | DEFEND CRIPPLED BATTLESHIP | +------------------------------+ Difficulty Level: 4 This mission really isn't too bad, although it's important to act quickly and give all your might in the second part. It starts out just the same as it always seems to: defend a battleship from a bunch of League Arrows. Just as usual, the Diablo's great for using the Scatter Gun, so just track them down and exhaust that on them, while looking for them with the radar at the bottom. Do that, and they're goners. However, once the League Arrows are gone, Unknowns will start appearing. Where do they come from? Nope, no one ain't telling us. However, they're lead by a giant frigate (an Alien Battleship) and that's the target, or it'll just tow the Crippled Battleship out. Anyway, use your Anti-Shield Torpedoes, every one of your Anti-Shield Missiles, and the Scatter Gun until the shields are out. Once they are, it will likely flee, but use the Plasma Torpedoes and Missiles just in case. After it's gone, fly around and fend off the small fry with the Scatter Gun, and that's that. Ugh. The third mission of Boreas II... evil. +-----------------------------+ | ANSWERING DISTRESS SIGNAL | +-----------------------------+ Part 1 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 2 Because I'm feeling generous upon the time of writing this, I'll break down and give this part of the mission a difficulty rating of 2/10, because the alien fighters here are a little tough to hit. Oh, that reminds me. You have the Spook for this fight and are aided by no less than four Navy Spook wingmen. Now that is just plain hardcore. So, five Spooks versus five alien fighters. And after I got finished with this one, three of the Spooks were remaining. Anyway, just fly in there with the Spooks and use the Particle Gun to track them down if you're feeling pretty accurate, but otherwise just use the Plasma Cannon. The real part is yet to come. Part 2 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 4 Probably among the coolest missions in the entire game, this one has four Navy Civilian Buildings and one Command Center against an Alien Battleship, a few docked aliens, and a bunch of spores. SPORADIC! Yeah, really. Don't even try to go up against the Alien Battleship; it's just too far up in the air. It'll first sic a bunch of spores at you; take these out immediately, because two of them will eliminate the Navy Command Center, thus losing the mission. Start by using the Anti-Shield Laser for them until the bullets start to get deflected, and then use the Laser. The Plasma Cannon is just far too inaccurate for proper use here. After that, four alien ships will come out from their battleship, so destroy them quickly like normal. Just use the lasers at their right times, and all of your missiles, as this is the only time you'll need them in this mission. After that, six or so more spores will come out, but use your Particle Gun for these. It's very accurate in this case, so long as you know where the spores. After they're gone, it's a success. +------------------------------+ | ELIMINATE ALIEN SUPER BEAM | +------------------------------+ Part 1 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 2 No, the real mission has not begun yet, by a long shot. This part is merely a warmup. Anyway, we're paired off against three League Lances. Wait, the League versus the Navy in THIS occasion? Ridiculous... anyway, kill time for the Navy Mining Vessel to lance the asteroids down by destroying two of the Lances, but leave the other one alone. The League just isn't much of a problem anymore, and another Lance will just show up, one after another. Anyway, when the asteroids are blown open, fly to them and tow them over to the Navy Mining Vessel. When it gets all three of them, we can go on to the second hardest thing in the game... Part 2 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 10 Ugh... ugh... just the second hardest mission in the game, and rivaling the very hardest in every way possible. What you have to do is destroy four green discs and drag four reflectable discs into EXACTLY proper places, all of these within less than four minutes. All in all, almost impossible. If you want to beat this mission, though... immediately accelerate forward and use the Scatter Gun to destroy this disc, and then turn back and destroy the disc there as fast as you can. Look around for a red disc, and continue to tow it over to one of the rings, being carefully not to turn around. Only one disc will appear at a time, so no time to correct screw-ups. Line up the Diablo's cursor with the one in the middle of the rings, and once you get close to one of them, let it go, being careful not to move before the grapple is fully detached. Repeat this with all of the rings around the area... if you can. Like I've stated before, this is an extremely hard mission, and even I can't beat it (well, I beat it once, but I cheated). ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * * 4.17. BOREAS III * * * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +-------------------------+ | SUPPORT HEAVY ASSAULT | +-------------------------+ Part 1 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 3 This isn't quite as easy as it looks, as these three League Lances like to just show up and fire Anti-Shield Torpedoes at the Navy Destroyer, which doesn't exactly help. Get into the offensive immediately, and use missiles as well as the Scatter Gun to take them out as quickly as possible. If you get them down to two Lances before the Destroyer's shields go down, then you'll win this part guaranteed. Part 2 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 4 This mission seemingly begins as a Navy Destroyer goes up against a League Power Plant, but an unidentified force will then show up and eliminate the power plant, AND attack the Navy. So, despite that rather kind annihilation of the League, they're our enemy. And they are aliens, you know. For the fight... ignore the Alien Battleship, the ones we want to go for are the regular alien fighters. Note that these fighters can be extremely fast, so they're not easy to target. I recommend the Scatter Gun for just about the whole battle, since it has all the three definitive aspects: speed, power, and accuracy. Continue to target the purple dots, although the Alien Battleship will bring some more on to you and then flee. Continue fighting them off as you defend the Navy Destroyer. It is really the same part as the last one, except just slightly, slightly harder. +----------------------------+ | ELIMINATE ALIEN VANGUARD | +----------------------------+ Part 1 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 1 Is that Uranus over there? Hmmm. Once you begin, you'll just start next to a Navy Dreadnought, defending it from three Alien aircraft. Don't worry, there will be a real part after this one. Use the radar to track the pink dots down and use your missiles on them (Plasma Missiles can take a hull out in one hit in my game) so it shouldn't be long before you get to the second part. Part 2 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 5 This is a much harder part than the previous one, since this one will face you and the Dreadnought against an Alien Battleship and several small fighters. I tell you now: you'll have VERY little time to eliminate the Alien Battleship before the small ones destroy the Navy Dreadnought. If any of them get bad, go to them and blast them down, but our main target here should be the Alien Battleship. Much harder than a League Frigate, if I do say so myself. Try and move while shooting at it, and unload all four Anti-Shield Torpedoes on it. Just use a bit of Scatter Gun fire on it to reduce it to only its hull, and then unload all of your Plasma Torpedoes and shots from the Scatter Gun onto it. When the large battleship is gone, the mission is automatically over. Just so long as you didn't waste time going after the small fry. +----------------------------+ | CAPTURE ALIEN TECHNOLOGY | +----------------------------+ Part 1 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 1 Alright, this is obviously meant to be funny. You've got three of the bigger (therefore, easier) alien fighters versus you, a Diablo wingman, and a Navy Power Plant. Ignore the power plant while chasing the alien fighters down, using all of your acceleration. However, after you finish that small part, you will go to the _real_ fun part. Part 2 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 4 This part of the mission will have you cloaked, although Ops and Drake telling you that are the only way you'll know that. Anyway, the alien fighters cannot see you and you don't want them to. Therefore, do not even press the shoot button. Just accelerate past the ships, ignoring them, past the Alien Fueling Station, and to the Alien Battleship. Use your leech beam on it, and then... now this is interesting! We're taking control of an alien fighter. Of course, the aliens know well enough you're not one of them. Look around for a jumpgate, while immediately flying away from the numerous alien ships. You can hang around and test out your brilliant Alien Laser and plain rich Alien Missiles, but don't worry, we'll get those soon enough. Just make it to the jumpgate as quickly as you can, and then you'll take control of the Diablo again, with the craft in Navy possession. Just fool around with the small fry here, and Ops will call it a success. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * * * 4.18. BOREAS IV * * * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +--------------------------------------+ | CLEAR A PATH TO THE ALIEN WARPHOLE | +--------------------------------------+ Part 1 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 3 This mission may be slightly annoying because you can suck yourself into the nearby jumpgate by accident, but it won't really come as anything too hard. Hopefully you've built up your acceleration and engines, though. Anyway. The Navy battleship will deploy cannon parts for you to take to a jumpgate. It's basically the same mission as "Rescue Beseiged Installation" in Gallonigher, except much easier. I've found that if you drag a part to the jumpgate and then pass through the very upper part of it, you won't be sucked in. So hold your horses (or in this case, your engines) until the jumpgates starts pulling. Then fly up, detach your Grapple Gun, and then fly upward and back. An Alien fighter will appear each time you do this (four times), so go back to it and take it out with the Scatter Gun, and repeat the process thrice and then we'll go to the real part of the mission. Part 2 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 2 You read it correctly; this part is easier than the last. There are three Alien fighters flying around here, so buy the Navy Strike Cannon some time to put itself together while you shoot them down. You can use anything you want, as not once again will you need to use your missiles or torpedoes during this mission. Anyway, the Navy Strike Cannon was assembled when I finished off the alien fighters, in my game. Mertens will then automatically dock it. Now, this is fun! You can take control of the Navy Strike Cannon and use it on four Alien Battleships (you counted right, four) ships that will appear, one after another. It requires charging, but one blast will take a shield/hull off of the battleship. Anyway, just line the cannon up with the battleships, and try to do it quickly because they'll cast the usual lasers that you have probably seen the League and Navy use on each other. And another note: do NOT continue shooting after Mertens gives Ops the message. I'm serious; the Navy will classify you as a traitor. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ * * * * * 4.19. FINAL BATTLES * * * * * ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ +------------------------+ | CLOSE ALIEN WARPHOLE | +------------------------+ Part 1 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 1 For this short part of the game, you'll have the Navy Voodoo aircraft. This son of a gun is all powerful, with just about everything you need. It's got speed, power, weaponry... ah yes, it has Alien Missiles and Alien Torpedoes. These work in all circumstances, and are extremely powerful against shields and hulls alike. Now, for the first part. You need to eliminate three Alien aircraft to get to the next sector, but this is just a plain pushover. Throw out your Alien Missiles, lock on to the enemy and use your Alien Lasers to blast them to pieces, and before long you'll be riding on a jumpgate towards the actual mission. Part 2 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 3 This mission is much more complicated and difficult than it looks. Trust me on that. Anyway, you'll find a crystal in the middle of the screen firing beams into the warphole, and this is our target. Except you have to break its secret web lock code. Basically, this is a game of Simon Says. It'll gather power from one of eight or ten small crystals around it, and then fire. It's important to note that the crystal will do this in a set order. Basically, look at which crystal the main one draws power from, and then shoot it with the Alien Laser. It'll go from one of them, to two, to three... to about seven, when finally the crystal and the entire warphole explode. Now that was a nice way to go out with a bang. A big talking Alien Ace will come in to fight you, but he's pathetic. Just track him down and use your Alien Missiles and Alien Torpedoes if you get close. Easy. +-------------------------+ | STOP KRON'S SUPER GUN | +-------------------------+ Part 1 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 1 We need to find out where the super gun is before we take other measures. That is no problem at all -- this part is obviously just a joke. Start by going to Kron's Command Craft to the far side, and use your Alien Torpedoes to take the shields down. Don't worry; the much harder Part 2 will replenish your ammo, so don't worry about that. Three Alien Torpedoes and perhaps a bit of Alien Laser fire ought to wear the shields down. It's important not to destroy Kron's Command Craft, or you're left without the knowledge of Kron's location. Get near the craft and leech the data from it after the shields are gone, and then it will flee. To proceed, you'll have to take down three Kron Loyalists (Navy traitors, really), with the help of one Diablo wingman. He's a bit of a help, so go out with him and use your Alien Missiles to hit the Navy aircraft, and then go through the jumpgate... Part 2 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 6 Alright, you really didn't think that THAT was it, did you? :) Of course, we have to fight two of Kron's aces and three Navy aircraft, though. The regular loyalists are the same as they were last mission; don't worry about them. The Loyalist Aces are slightly tougher, but they shouldn't prove too much of a problem. Go around and fly with your two Diablo wingmen, but do not even think about using an Alien Missile or Alien Torpedo. You need those badly. Just use the Alien Laser. Okay, you have one minute to destroy Kron's supergun. This part really sucks, since Kron won't hesitate to use his lasers on you. The gun has four weak spots and those are the areas you need to go for. These parts are the long blue and white wings around the sides (nearing the middle), and each require a little more than an Alien Torpedo to destroy. So that leaves us one minute to use an Alien Torpedo on each wing, then use the laser, and for the fourth and final wing, use Alien Missiles. Quickly do this while moving around a bit so you don't get killed off the bat, and... Kron escapes. What a ripoff. +------------------------+ | LOCATE AND KILL KRON | +------------------------+ Part 1 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 1 Alright. You've practically beaten Colony Wars: Vengeance once you've gotten past that tough mission. This part, as well as the final showdown itself, is just plain easy. Kinda like the final boss fights of Final Fantasy VII, if you have played that. Anyway, Kron quite OBVIOUSLY has to have two Navy members here and ready to shoot you down before he shows himself. Just use an Alien Missile or two to take them out quickly. Once you've gotten rid of them, a Navy loyalist vessel will show up. This is really just a Navy Frigate; it's weak, it goes down very easily, but it's got the giant laser. Keep a good distance from it or fly around it, and target it with an Alien Torpedo and maybe a few blasts of your laser, and then Kron's Command Craft itself will appear. It's much bigger and tougher, and we need to get its shields down. Just hit it with your remaining secondary weapons; it's nothing compared to what we've faced. Kron will then flee the sector. Chase... that... criminal... down... Part 2 =-=-=-= Difficulty Level: 1 You read it correctly. This is a pitifully easy final showdown, and I did it on my first try in a few hits. Seriously. Of course, Kron will cloak himself and sic two Navy loyalist bodyguards on you. Perhaps use an Alien Missile or two on these, and then blast them down furiously with the Alien Laser, until FINALLY, Kron uncloaks himself. No one to protect your cowardly ass now, Kron. Better stand and fight up to Mertens, now. Anyway, Kron can cloak and uncloak a bit, but only temporarily. Mertens has the advantage, with the Alien Torpedoes and Alien Missiles. Speaking of the former, it might be a good idea to chase Kron with an Alien Torpedo always ready to fire. It's not really that tough, and if you line Kron's aircraft and the Voodoo up correctly and fire, Kron is dead in one hit. After exhausting all your torpedoes, use missiles. They have much greater accuracy, and unless Kron uses a flare or cloaks himself, he can't defend against them if you lock on. Regardless of whether you use missiles or torpedoes, Kron will succumb very easily to your Alien Laser, just so long as you can find him. It's like just about every other battle in the game: one craft's AI won't be too horrible on you, but if they really gather up on you, you're at a terrible problem. Enjoy it showing Kron's ship being blown up eight times, and learning some about his history in the ending; you've deserved it! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~~\\ SECTION 5. CHEATS ~~// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Alright, bad man. Here are all the cheats in the game, but try not to use them under any circumstances until you have beaten the entire game. Got that? Use them wisely... -------------+---------------------------------------+ Pass | Effect | -------------+---------------------------------------+ Avalanche | Infinite afterburners | Blizzard | All cheats on | Chimera | Infinite secondary weapons | Dark Angel | Guns do not overheat | Demon | Gain access to everything in the game | Hydra | Collect 99 upgrade tokens | Stormlord | All cheats off | Thunderchild | All Navy ships available | Tornado | All weapons available | -------------+---------------------------------------+ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~~\\ SECTION 6. COPYRIGHT / CONTACT ~~// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ +--------------+ | E-Mail Rules | +--------------+ I love getting good emails, so you're free to email me with a question any time, but I will not answer questions already answered in this FAQ. I prefer e-mails with good grammar, and subjects with Colony Wars: Vengeance <insert whatever here> or I will delete them, sorry. Also, don't send me e-mails about other Colony Wars games with a Vengeance subject, if you please. And don't bother sending things like: "You friggin' idiot. Your guides suck, you suck, and everything about you sucks. DIE DIE DIE!" "BURN IN THE FLAMES OF HELL, YOU STUPID RETARD!!!" "What the hell did you think you were doing writing all that garbage, you piece of crap? "I hope you fall down the stairs and break every bone in your body!" "u su><0rz, eVrYtInG BoUt u sUx, dIe ass!!!!!!1" I will laugh at such e-mails and delete them. So... if you're not just playing a friendly joke on me or something, don't bother with that crap cos I've been through with it too much. Another thing: don't send me e-mails in any languages other than English or Spanish. I can read both English and Spanish pretty well, but I prefer English. Still, I can do Spanish pretty well, so if you absolutely have to send me an e-mail in Spanish, hola. But if you know English, I want that. Thank you. +----------+ | IM Rules | +----------+ My AIM list is closed because of everything I need to get, so you'll have to e-mail me to get on. If you are on, however, do not give me spam or ask me to work for your site, or I'll probably remove you from it forever. Sorry if I'm rude, but I am quite busy often and can't stay on a lot, so I can't work for your site. It doesn't matter what it is; I WON'T WORK FOR YOUR SITE. Asking me to is asking to never talk to me again. Thank you. And please don't IM me a lot too, because I have like 20 people always IMing me, and although I hold nothing against them, I would prefer having light IMs. Thank you again. My name is rbeast288. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ~~\\ SECTION 7. CREDITS ~~// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Alright, props go out to any who have helped in any way while I've written this guide. Here they are. - Jeff "CJayC" Veasey: For running the whole site of GameFAQs, the main site that I work for. It's an awesome site, and I must commend CJayC for running this great site for 6 whole years and posting this guide. - Stephen Ng: For being the FAQ editor for IGN, which is the other site that I write for. I am honored to write for IGN, since it is a great site. I was also very glad to do an exclusive for IGN. - Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, U2, The Eagles, Queen, Van Halen, The Beatles, and many others: You probably know why I'm thanking you, but I don't believe this guide would be up as quickly if it weren't for all of you. - The people who support me and still keep me writing today; stuff happened a year ago, and without these people, I would not still be writing: SinirothX, Psycho Penguin, Meowthnum1, CVXFREAK, Karpah, ZoopSoul, Crazyreyn, Gobicamel, asa2377 (OH EM GEE YOU TROLL), Warhawk, Cyril, supernova54321, Minesweeper, AlaskaFox, me frog, RHarrison, masterzero99, Tom Hayes, wayalla, djg40, MTincher, NickBush24, BurningFox, AquaBlast, and definitely more that I'm forgetting: you don't know all that you have done to support me since I began to write almost two years ago.