Difference between revisions of "Hell"

Revision as of 16:02, 9 April 2009

For the actual planet, see Eizo VI-C.

Screenshot of Eizo VI-C, "Hell"

Hell is the third mission in Unreal II. It features a visit to an ice planet, Eizo VI-C.

Atlantis interlude

The mission begins with an Atlantis interlude. You are first shown a short cutscene with Atlantis flying in space. Then you appear right on the captain's bridge and Ne'Ban walks up to you. Interestingly, if you run away from him earlier than he talks to you, Ne'Ban will follow you until you talk to him, even into the dropship or briefing room. The dialogue goes most fluently in this order:

Ne'Ban: Greetings, Marshal.

Dalton (Nice job): Great piece of flying back there.
Ne'Ban: It is a pleasure to serving.
Dalton: Docking with the marine ship looked tricky, too.
Ne'Ban: A maneuver I have practicing many times. It was an honor to re-unite those men with their fighting unit.
Dalton (Next destination?): Do you have a course plotted?
Ne'Ban: Yes. A place called Hell. At least, Aida told me to go to Hell, so that is my plan.
Dalton (Aida and Isaak?): Where is everybody?
Ne'Ban: Aida is in the briefing room, and Isaak is in the weapons bay.
Dalton: See you later.
Ne'Ban: Telling me: Is this Aida the same Aida who won the battle of Taiko and brought victory in the Strider Wars?
Dalton (Maybe): Why do you ask?
Ne'Ban: She is very famous among my people.
Dalton (Yes): [Yes,] although she doesn't like to be reminded of it.
Ne'Ban: She must have been very young, in human years.
Dalton: She was.
Ne'Ban: Why is she not a general in your army?

Dalton: She has a little problem with authority. But don't worry - she's working on it.

When you get to know that you're all going to hell, go down the ladder into the Briefing Room and talk to the hero of the Strider Wars, Aida, to start the briefing so you could understand if it was a joke of Ne'Ban or there really is a planet called Hell. Here's the dialogue:

Aida: Ready for the briefing?

Dalton: Let's do it.

Aida: We are approaching Hell, a frozen moon orbiting the planet Gaigan, a gas giant in the Eizo Star System. Elysium is an Axon Corporation research facility on Hell that works closely with the TCA, the organization we all so proudly serve. Commander Hawkins says there have been no transmissions from the station for 18 hours. Our mission is to find out why. The base has four research modules located around a central hub. Each of the labs focuses on a different area of weapons research. Here's a look at the surrounding terrain. You'll set down here. This bridge leads into the base. By the way, the Commander mentioned the researchers are working on an artifact that sounds a lot like the one we recovered from Sanctuary. You don't suppose they could be *related*, do you? That's it. Isaak should have your weapons ready. God knows he's had enough time.

But that's not it. Talk to Aida again to learn why she said the last sentence, and more about the planet itself:

Aida: Still here?

Dalton (Mission Summary): What's the short form?
Aida: Find out why the research facility has gone radio silent. You can take another look at the holograms if you'd like.
Dalton (More Planetary Info): What else can you tell me about Hell?
Aida: Gaigan is a gas giant planet about 11 times the diameter of earth. Hell is one of its 14 moons. Hell's surface is mostly rock, covered by spires of ice and slush. The atmosphere is nitrogen and methane, along with complex compounds like ethane, hydrogen-cyanide, and others. Thermal vents spew this poison into the thick, soupy sky, and it falls back to the surface as toxic chemical snow. Temperatures average around 250 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit. Delightful.
Dalton (Isaak): Why don't you let up on Isaak?
Aida: Why should I? He killed three of my friends. He's a danger to this ship, and the sooner I can convince you to kick him off, the safer we'll all be.

Dalton: See ya later.

Now you can go and meet Isaak in the weapons bay for another dialogue:

Isaak: Hey, boss. Got more gear for you. Turns out that energy rifle you nabbed from the Izarians had a limiter on it. Maybe the Skaarj didn't want to give anything too powerful to their slaves. Anyway, I took the limiter off and now it's a real weapon. I call it the shock lance. The alt-fire is an EMP burst that'll fry anything electronic. I've also loaded up the shotgun you found on Sanctuary and scrounged some toxic grenades for your launcher. Wanna take a closer look?

Dalton (Yes): Let's see what ya got. Isaak: I modified one of the Izarian energy rifles to make it more powerful. Primary fire generates two plasma bolts that don't do much damage. But the re-fire rate is high, which lets you put a lot of hits on a target in a short amount of time. Alt-Fire creates an EMP field that will seriously screw up any machinery it hits. Take your pick. Dalton (Shotgun): Show me the Crowd Pleaser. Isaak: This is an M700 12-Gauge Semi-automatic shotgun. Absolutely lethal close up, and pretty damned good at mid-range. The alt-fire puts out explosive incendiary slugs with a wider spread and a more limited range. Anything else? Dalton (Toxic Grenade): What about the gas grenade? Isaak: It sprays out a cloud of neurotoxic gas that is so caustic it eats right through metal armor. What'll it be?

Dalton: Some other time.

There are a few more things to do before you leave Atlantis. First off, go behind Isaak and look at his desk. You'll see an Artifact that you've got from Sanctuary. If you open the locker in this room, you'll see that it now contains a Shotgun and the Energy Rifle. Now go out of the weapons bay, up the ladder and into your own room (the first one on your left). Look at the screen and you'll notice a few pictures from Sanctuary and Swamp to remind you of your journeys (the picture of Avalon is also still there). Finally, climb down the ladder, go into the loading bay and use the PeaceKeeper to start your mission.

Hell

Hell - Descent

The level starts with a short cutscene that shows PeaceKeeper landing on the surface of Hell. Shortly after, you gain control. This place, contrary to any definitions of Hell, is actually a very cold moon. Look up to see amazingly realistic view of the gas giant, Gaigan. Take out your Energy Rifle, because this is probably the only place in this mission where this weapon will be useful. The first area is relatively peaceful, only with Mukhoggs trying to injure you. They fall after a single primary shot of your Energy Rifle, so you're safe. Generally you won't see any real enemies for a relatively long time.

After you start the level, you have three ways to advance: you can use the "road" to the bridge which is on your left, going under an icy arc with very realistic icicles, you can go right to the bridge by climbing the mountain directly in front of you or you could walk down to the valley. Generally you should look around, because this level is amazingly realistic and was made with care.

Trivia

• Some of the level designers for the maps of this level had arachnophobia, as you can't see a single Araknid when you open the maps in UnrealEd. All of the enemies are spawned, so they aren't visible in the level editor.
• If you try to talk to Ne'Ban in Atlantis Interlude after he says everything, you will get replies in this order:

Sorry, captain. I am occupied territory. Perhaps some other time.

Flying now. Perhaps talking later.
Many pardons, but could we talk later?
Old Hex-Core saying: "Talk to pilot, go splat."
So sorry, but this is not a good time.
Dodging asteroids takes much concentration.
Excusing me kindly, but not now.
I am flying. And time is flying. Your language is most curious.
Have your people call my people. We'll be lunch.

Stars are pretty. Hitting them is not.