Max Payne - Part 3: A Bit Closer to Heaven

1. Prologue, Part 3: A Bit Closer to Heaven

With a Valkyr-soaked brain, Max floats through another drug-induced psychosis.

On the Trail of Blood, jump down to the trail to the right, continue, and jump to the trail ahead. The unbroken trail turns to the right. The next junction consists of a broken trail straight ahead, one down to the left, and one directly below to the right. Angle to the right and walk off and land on the trail below. Remember, things are not as they appear — Max will overshoot if he tries simply to walk off and land on the bloody splatter. Proceed and jump to the right. At the next junction, jump ahead you can see the baby's crib to your right. Jump to the candlelit platform and walk to the crib.

Max encounters the murderer of his wife and child in their bedroom. Shoot him in spite of what your eyes tell you.

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2. Take Me To Cold Steel, Part 3: A Bit Closer to Heaven

Max finds himself on a small platform on the roof of the Cold Steel Mill. Smash the glass skylight and jump down onto the crates. From the safety of this room, shoot any of the three laser-triggered bombs and head into the room beyond. Grab the gear and listen to the weather forecast.

The next door leads to a catwalk above a warehouse. Below on the floor, two masked goons are patrolling. Run to the right and shoot the first with the Beretta, then shoot the barrels as the second begins to run up the ramp. Finish him off with a shot or two. Before heading down to the floor, grab the Colt Commando and ammo from the rack at the far end of the catwalk.

Head down the ramp and check for supplies in the Cold Steel shipping containers. A third goon is in the one opposite the office door. As you enter the office, your presence is announced on the intercom and yet another goon comes to investigate. Press the switch to open the overhead door in the corner diagonally from the ramp. Smoke the first thug as another rushes in behind him.

Ignore the booby-trap in the small room beyond. Instead, head through the door at a forty-five degree angle, walk to the center of the room near the laser tripwire, and then back out as fast as you can (a backward roll helps). You know if you have walked in far enough if you hear a grenade clinking on the floor. After the explosion, cut down the masked goon who rushes out a few seconds later.

Head on in, go through the door with the square opening, and get ready to battle three more guys in the smelting room through the far overhead door. Two are directly ahead on the control platform -- take out the first, then the second who will also lob a grenade. Rush up the ramp to the immediate left (the steel I-beams provide protection) and finish off the third up on the catwalk. Grab the painkillers from the first aid cabinet before heading back down, then take their stuff from the control platform and from a second one behind the molten crucible.

Open the next overhead door and make your way to the other side of the room by walking the handrail and jumping the mounds of slag in the molten pit. Grab the supplies and as you jump on the first crate to return to the smelting room, the same overhead door opens revealing a masked goon. You can wait until the door goes down, climb over the crates, open the door again and waste him. Or if you want to be sporting about it, continue over the crates and give him a fair fight.

Turn right and head over to the door opposite the second control platform. Toss a grenade or shoot it out through the door and take out two thugs and a booby-trap. Grab the shotgun in the cabinet in the supply crib.

Get ready to go through the door on the left into a large room divided by molten sluices. there is a thug on a catwalk in the middle of the left wall and another thug who runs from left to right across the back wall of the room and throws a grenade, then hides behind crates. Run into the room and pause a moment while the thug with the grenade tries to get into position, then run and dive to the left about halfway across the floor and take out the thug on the catwalk. Retrace your steps to the near steel column, then run and shoot and dive for cover behind the crates against the right wall. If the thug does not go down on the first pass, line up just behind the steel column to the left for cover and dive and shoot again. If all goes well, he is dead and a stray bullet will not have hit the explosive barrel (comes in handy shortly) behind you.

Head up the catwalk stairs, activate the retractable walkway to the other side, and as you step onto it a third thug appears through the door from the previous room. Detonate the barrel, continue across the catwalk and down the other side, and run toward the other side of the room. A fourth comes running down a long open ramp. do not forget the ammo on the crate.

Run up the ramp and across the expanded metal balcony, go through the far door into a long hallway, and a masked goon comes around the corner from the opposite end to greet you. Two of his buddies wait just around each corner.

Proceed through the door into a long storage area, turn left, dive and take out a thug in front of the dim crates, then smoke the other (he does not know what hits him) who runs up and stands on the crates to the left.

Head up the short flight of wooden stairs, through the door, down the hallway, and pause at the window opening on the left, just out of sight of the two thugs inside. When they are done talking, they come running out the door. Backward-dive and shoot the first; forward dive and shoot the second. Go into their room, take their stuff, and listen in on the walkie-talkie. Then make for the door at the end of the hallway.

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3. Hidden Truths, Part 3: A Bit Closer to Heaven

Max is standing in a small supply room within the Cold Steel Mill. there is an office ahead and as soon as you move forward, a masked goon comes bursting through the other door to the left. Dive into the corner to the right of the office door, take out the first, then smoke the second in the office. Read the notes, grab the supplies, then dive through the other door and pump the third. If you are low on painkillers, there is more in the small crate. Shoot the booby-trap and uh-oh, the steam pipe is punctured. Turn the valve.

Go through the next door onto a high catwalk and mow down a thug running on the catwalk across to the right. A bomb explodes below destroying a low bridge over the conveyors while another thug down on the floor comes running in from the right. Continue to the other end of the catwalk, go into the next room, toss a grenade (run back out onto the catwalk until after the explosion) to detonate the booby- traps and barrels, then go back, pick up the fresh grenade, and bump open the door leading to the other catwalk then stand back. A third thug appears on the first catwalk where you entered the conveyor room. Run back to the previous door, dive through at an angle onto the catwalk, and pry the Colt from his lifeless fingers.

Make your way across both catwalks to the last door, open it, stand back as far as you can and shoot the booby-trap. Use a grenade if you are in the mood.Two more busted steam pipes and no valve. Time your move to get past the first steam jet. See the Ingram on the floor just beyond the second? If it looks too easy, you are right. Time a dive and take out the thug around the corner waiting for you to pick up the bait. Through the window bars, shoot the arcing switch in the small room to open the door, then hop over the railing and go in and shut off the steam.

The now-accessible door is booby-trapped. Opening it sets off a chain of explosions on the upper floor of the large room beyond, so open it and step back.

When the dust settles, a masked goon starts shooting from a control room window diagonally across the large room. Hug the wall to the right and run, avoiding the holes, for the other side of the room. Walk over behind the cover of the red crates near the window, dive toward the railing, and smoke him. Use the crate on the forklift to get down to the main floor.

Head for the stairs to the catwalk over the conveyors, extend the retractable bridge, then run across and dive and blast the goon emerging from the back of the shipping container to your left. Take his gear, shoot the barrels on the forklift, and kick open the newly accessible door.

Startled, the goon in the next small room blows himself up while rigging a booby-trap. His buddy rushes in and bursts through the door straight into your line of fire. there is a first aid cabinet in there if you need anything.

Head on through and kick the door on the right. Another explosion rocks the foundation. Jeez, these guys are a bunch of idiots. Stay put and one of the idiots tries to bang his way through the door you are blocking. Fade backward and put him out of his misery. Now do not get too cocky. Inside and across the room is a guy up on a catwalk at two o'clock and he throws a grenade as soon as you walk in. Rush in and fire while running sideways to the right along the wire mesh conveyor cage.

When he is down, hop up on the cage (or run down to the other end and climb up on the crates). When you jump to the damaged ramp and run up to the catwalk, another guy emerges from the door at the top. Not too difficult. Turn around and note the shelves in the far corner. The stack of crates to the right blocks the catwalk, so use the I-beams. After a few steps another hapless soul bursts in through the door below: he is no match for Max "Flying Wallenda" Payne. Get the goodies and head back to the door at the top of the broken ramp.

At the left end of the small room ahead, a pair of thugs start shooting from behind a wire mesh screen. Rush the door and dive behind the crates. Dive back and forth between the cover of the crates and the door or just lob a grenade over the crates. Walk through the next door into the control room (you have already killed the guy in here), take his supplies, and take a look at the surveillance monitor. Kill the unsuspecting fool about to storm the control room.

Head out and around to the right, run through the door and to the railing of the balcony. Shoot the hooded thug below on the warehouse floor as he tries to run up the short flight of stairs to the control platform. Immediately dive to the right and shoot the second one in the middle of the floor. If he does not go down, try another pass. Or, from the cover of the steel column, carom a grenade off the yellow crane girder.

Head down the ramp in the far left corner and collect goodies from the shipping container under the ramp. Move on to the control platform, check the cabinets. A sign DO NOT OPERATE CRANE WHEN DOORS ARE CLOSED. Operate the crane and watch it smash the overhead door. Crouch on the single steel slab in the middle of the floor and shoot out a portion of the cracked overhead door. Keep shooting and nail the goon in the shipping room next to the pallet of yellow concrete bags. A second runs to the right of the opening, just out of sight.

Kick open the door behind the pallet, step back, and shoot the booby-trap. Side-dive through the door and mow down the thug to the left. A bounty of pills and guns.

Walk over to the remaining door and kick it open. A bank of blast furnaces. The place is not as dangerous as it appears. Step into the corner to the left and shoot the booby-trap. Hop into the rail cart and press the lever in the front. It starts to roll. As soon as it hits and clears the hot obstruction on the track, jump out the rear and go back to the corner to watch. As it reaches the other end, the overhead door down there opens and a pair of thugs. The cart squashes the one in the middle of the tracks. When the overhead door closes, make your way on foot, avoiding the two hot spots on the track. do not forget to shoot the other booby-trap and do not try to pick up the sniper rifle.

Press the switch in the left corner to open the overhead door and wait for it to start closing before diving sideways to the right (the idea is to remain in the blast furnace room) to take out the second thug waiting directly beyond the switch. Open the overhead door again and run for cover behind the unused carts on the far wall. Crouch down facing the second overhead door that begins to open as soon as you set foot in here. Another cart filled with molten steel and a large hot ingot rolls in and crashes into your cart.

After the explosion, move a couple of steps (still crouched) to your left and shoot the barrel behind the third thug. Three down, one to go. He is on the control platform to the right. When the second overhead door closes, walk over and press the button on the left (take care not to touch to flaming cart), dive in and finish him off. had you not killed the second thug, judging by the position of the carcass there is a good possibility the second cart would have squashed him too. Idiots.) Collect the loot and pull the EMERGENCY SHUT OFF VALVE lever so you can go back into the blast furnace room and retrieve the sniper rifle.

Dive through the remaining door in the cart collision room and cap the first masked goon hiding behind the toppled shelving. Another rushes in. Detonate the booby-traps and get ready for the next room.

Another conveyor room. The bad news is it contains four thugs. The good news is that two of them are dead. You could shoot it out with them, but to leave without a scratch. Run through the door, head to the left, and dive for the cover of the crates in the corner. it is OK to stand up as long as Max's nose is pressed up against the crates. Inch to the right as far as possible without exposing yourself to the thug on the broken bridge over the conveyors. Step backward against the wall and drill the thug on the catwalk. Switch to the M79, dive sideways to the right, and plant a grenade on the second story rear wall that extends out behind and above the thug on the bridge — there is a convenient vertical tie beam to aim for. Mount the stairs and line up a jump over the conveyors to the jutting stringer beam on the left.

Open the overhead door and a masked thug ahead throws a grenade. Run to the cover of the wall to the left of the door, wait for the detonation, then dive in and waste him.

Call the D-6 elevator and battle a couple of masked goons up close when the door opens. Or stroll back to the corner opposite the overhead door button and take 'em out with the M79. Get in the elevator.

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4. The Deep Six, Part 3: A Bit Closer to Heaven

The elevator disgorges Max in the bowels of the Cold Steel Mill — the secret Valkyr manufacturing facility about to self-destruct. After their squabble, the boys in suits start firing through the glass doors of the elevator lock, so dodge back and forth between the cover of the crates. Go through the door marked PROCESSING, shoot the thug to the left who's back is turned, then shoot the valve of the horizontal propane bottle atop the red boxes to his left to finish off his two buddies as they try to flee. Marvel at the bubbling Valkyr vats, then exit through the door marked TEST FACILITIES. (Break those annoying sirens as you go.)

Keep heading to the right through the security locks and find and examine the CELL ACCESS security panel, then double back and head through the doors marked LABORATORIES. Stop at the three active control panels, read the one marked 665 and now that you have the code number, double back and activate the CELL ACCESS panel — the doors marked BLOCK-B open. Before you hop in the elevator and descend to the BLOCK-B detention cells, stock up on painkillers in the small storage room to the left of the dead lab technician.

The only warm bodies down here are a drugged test subject in cell B1 and the scientist in B7 you heard about in the previous chapter. Free the impatient man of science (whom you need to get through the decontamination chamber lock) and hop into the BLOCK-A elevator with him. Let your conscience be your guide regarding the poor soul in B1.

Your companion takes you up to the familiar previous floor. Be prepared to take down two masked goons who want to spoil the party. If they kill the scientist, the party is over. Follow him back through the LABORATORIES door to the three active panels. do not worry if he loses you, he is hard at work tapping on the keyboard of the Airlock Access panel. Do as he says and get in the decontamination chamber. After he activates the door on the other side of the airlock, he flees and is gunned down.

As you step out into the next room with a small steam leak, notice the large glass window behind and to the left. When you approach, two thugs chase down another technician. there is nothing you can do to help and you get yourself killed if you stand there and watch. Run into the next room with the massive steam leak and head straight for the white cabinets. Hop up onto the counter and cross over out of harm's way. Head to the elevator door marked LABORATORIES 2, get in, and press the button.

The Laboratory is booby-trapped with a tangle of laser tripwires. Use several grenades or shoot them out individually. The only dangerous one is at the right of the elevator doors, but if you stand blocking the left door from closing then time a backward move into the elevator and shoot, you do not get hurt. Activate the computer monitor ahead and learn the terrible truth about Project Valhalla, then head for the elevator door marked STORAGE.

After the ride down, enter the room where the two thugs executed the technician and use the control panel to activate another decontamination chamber. Get in and prepare for the dispassionate female voice to announce a thirty-second countdown. Step back into the corner of the chamber and shoot the booby-trap through the window. Proceed through the remaining door, head for the elevator marked SURFACE STORAGE, get in and press the button, and enjoy the ride topside but do not stand on the grate.

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5. Backstabbing Bastard, Part 3: A Bit Closer to Heaven

Max finds himself on the roof of a five-level parking garage and a black van tries to run him over. He is double-crossed by a former colleague named B.B (looks like the same guy who shot Alex at the beginning of this caper). Smoke the two goons as they come running or shoot the gray barrel by the dumpster as one of them passes. Two more thugs in overcoats approach from the opposite corner. Head in their direction toward the sign PARK and a goon appears at the bottom of the ramp.

As you run down the ramp, another thug appears from the right. Take his dual Ingrams and dive for cover to the left of the crates. Eliminate two more goons in the parking area beyond the gate. As you step through the gate of Level 5 of the garage (moving clockwise), the black van screeches in the far corner and a thug rushes up. Use the cover of the concrete support columns to cap the other one standing behind the parked white sedan. As you near the PARK sign next to the car, shoot the goon running out from behind the yellow guardrail ahead and to the left, then dive sideways to the left and wax his pal along the right wall.

Ahead is the ramp down to Level 4 and the idling van. Racing down with guns blazing is not advisable. A thug crouched behind the vehicle opens fire, the van backs up as gunmen inside let loose with automatic weapons, a hapless motorist coming from the other direction gets caught in the hail and crashes into the wall, and the van speeds off. So duck around the corner and watch. After the fiery explosion, shoot the lone thug running up the ramp. Grab the supplies on the crates behind the yellow guardrail, then head down the ramp and peek around the corner — the black van again.

When you step out, it speeds off to the right and two goons (the one on the right has a grenade) position themselves beyond the next gate on either side. Pick them off. When you venture into the Level 4 parking area, steer clear of the white sedan on the right. A barrage of gunfire from the van sends it into flames and another goon comes running from behind the far concrete column. No problem. A fourth goon is waiting to the left of the brown sedan. Take your pick. Grab the goodies from the back of the parked white van. As you approach the gates to the next ramp, a pair of thugs appear down and to the left. A bit more challenging. As you head down the ramp to Level 3, a thug steps out at the bottom.

At the bottom, clockwise, a goon with a lot of firepower waits behind the locked gate and the black van at the far end screeches away. Do some fancy footwork, shoot the lock, briefly stick your head in the parking area, and the van peals off to the left in a hail of bullets. Was that a black Mercedes in front? The short route through this floor has been fenced off and beyond is a thug with a shotgun. Simply run sideways along the fence firing at him.

If you dive, the rounds hit the sawhorse. Run around the other fence behind you and take the fallen goon's Ingrams and ammo. Around the next corner is a thug with three more on the way. Dive toward the concrete column with Ingrams blazing, then use the column and the green van as cover to finish off the others.

The next corner reveals a thug by the parked SUV and another beyond, so do not head to the alcove for the first aid cabinet yet. Dive for the cover of the first concrete column and cap them both. Just when you think it is safe, three more goons come a-hollerin'. Shoot it out right then and there or run back around the corner and mow 'em down one at a time. If you need painkillers, you know where to find them. Continue clockwise, check out the supply closet, listen to the news bulletin on the radio, and grab more goodies. A goon at the top of the ramp leading down to Level 2 parking makes his move as you approach, and another at the bottom runs up to help.

Run down to the bottom of the ramp and watch the fireworks. Two thugs shoot from a distance as the black van, on fire, turns and runs over them, then crashes and overturns at the far end of the garage. There are still a few live ones. As you head into the parking area, a goon by the burning van at the far end starts to shoot and another advances from the right. You pick the place and time. They follow you back up the ramp onto Level 3 parking.

Around the corner a goon is hiding behind the white sedan parked on the right they all look like '65 Chevy Novas from the front. Run to the cover of the column, sneak up to the next one, and waste him. Take a few more steps and two more join the fray, one from the left near the lavender sedan and the other from the right. They too follow. If you run to the other white sedan and peek around the concrete column, you see another thug near the yellow guardrail opposite the entrance to the ramp down to Level 1 parking. He's been ordered to remain at his position.

Run down to and around the back of the smoldering black van, open the back door of the silver van, and take whatever you need. Run straight past the near lavender sedan and buttonhook left around the back of the concrete column by the alcove. The goon at the far end sees you, but chances of him scoring a hit at that distance are slim. Load the sniper rifle, crouch and step into the narrow opening between the column and the wall, zoom the scope and let her rip.

As you reach the bottom of the ramp to Level 1, catch a glimpse of the mysterious black car speeding off at the far end of the garage. do not linger -- you have attracted the attention of three goons but only one follows. Take out the energetic one on the ramp, then return, crouch behind the stacked barrels, dive backward, and nail number two on the left before he knows what hit him. The third goon standing behind the concrete column beyond the portion of the closed gate seems oblivious. Run into the alcove behind the yellow guardrail, get out the sniper rifle (a well-placed shot with the Desert Eagle or Colt works) and pop him between the eyes.

Before going through the gate, detonate the gray barrel in front of the brown sedan. The route beyond has been fenced, so you have only one way to go. Move out into the parking area and witness two vehicles crash head-on to the right. B.B. is comin' for ya. In the meantime, the gate closes behind you and a thug by the front of the lavender sedan tosses a grenade. Duck behind the column and stacked dumpsters, then immediately run out and cap him by diving for the back of the sedan — you are gonna need the cover because another dude with some new heavy artillery appears from around the right corner. Dive over the trunk and waste him before he has a chance to pull the trigger, then take his Jackhammer.

The garage door. the attendant is nowhere to be seen and you do not have your credit cards. Go in the office and get a can of soda. As you pass the burning vehicles and approach the brown sedan, a trio of goons arrive one after the other from around the left corner ahead. As soon as the first one appears, dive back and forth between the cover of the concrete column and the back of the green van. Take their stuff and as you walk past the front of the van, B.B. who is down at the far end by the white sedan flings a grenade that falls short, then starts shooting. Take cover by taking a few steps back.

You can take B.B. out from here with three rounds from the M79 by standing in the parking space to the right of the brown sedan. the brown sedan is to your left, the green van is straight ahead and the concrete column is ahead and to your right. But it is risky — you are firing grenades no more than a foot over the hood of the van and if one hits the hood, it is curtains.

The sniper rifle also works from the same spot. If you line up the shot so that all you see is his head through the scope, he keeps shooting but nothing hits you. If you kill B.B. you do not get to hear him out. If you decide you want to hear what he has to say, run over to alcove, then head up along the wall. When you reach the crates, he talks. Heard enough of his taunts? Run after him and keep your finger on the Jackhammer trigger. He throws a grenade or two, but they are easy to dodge. Want to hear more? Let him go and he reappears behind you. Once he is down, the pay phone rings. Answer it.

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6. In the Land of the Blind, Part 3: A Bit Closer to Heaven

Max has narrowly escaped another double-cross and finds himself outside in the courtyard of Brooklyn's venerable Asgard Building. Head diagonally across the courtyard and go down the cellar steps. Shoot the laser booby-trap and prepare for a masked goon to enter from the right in front of the barred door. Take out two more goons as you make your way through the stone passageway, then head up the stairs, go through the door, and take a few steps to the right.

Notice the laser scanning the chamber ahead. it is best to ignore the thug up on the balcony, so run straight ahead, go through the door on the right with the active keypad and enter the surveillance room. Take out the two goons who barge through the door on the left, then activate the main surveillance monitor and discover the truth about Alfred Woden. Continue out into the hallway and prepare for a thug at the other end. Enter the door of the lighted center hallway and dive under a Molotov cocktail being served your way, flame the baddie and then another who joins the party.

Shaken but not stirred, proceed into the first floor elevator lobby and smoke the thug coming down the stairs on the right. Cap another at the second stair landing and prepare for a third who tosses a grenade from the elevator beyond (3). Head for the stairs to the third floor elevator lobby, avoid the grenade bouncing down as you approach, then eliminate the scumbag who follows.

Head on up and go through the double doors to the left. Lob a grenade over the cubicle partition to the left to detonate the booby-trap. Beyond, a goon lurks behind the short partition and pushes it over as you approach. (there is a first aid cabinet to the right where you entered this room.) Listen to the radio report, shoot the booby-traps to the left, and collect the M79 and ammo in the last cubicle. Head back, jump over the low booby-trap, and go through the door marked EXIT. Get the jump on a pair of thugs coming down the hall and head through the last door on the left.

Watch the videotape in Woden's first office, read the Aesir blueprints and watch the TV report in the next, then take the ammo from the tall cabinet behind the desk in the last. As you open the door with the active keypad, a goon fires from across a balcony. He chases Max all the way back into the cubicles, but pity he does not venture to the end of the corridor and trip the booby-trap. Two more thugs are waiting on the balcony directly below. Return the hospitality and offer each of them the cocktail du Molotov, then open the door marked EXIT and offer hot lead to a third running up the stairs.

Crouch by the railing overlooking the stairwell, shoot the booby-trap, remain crouched and wait for the next two unsuspecting slobs to run up the stairs. Run down and through the open door, hang a left at the end of the hall and get the Colt Commando by the bench in the balcony to the left. Return to the stair landing and open the far door.

Around the corner to the left, two idiots somehow get themselves blown up. When you step onto the balcony, a third approaches from the far end. If you decide to dive in, stay against the wall — a trigger-happy fourth is on the floor below. Crouch along the wall or run and take the Colt, then continue running counter-clockwise around the balcony (picking up two more Colts from the idiots) and out the same door. Head down the stairs and wax that guy on the main floor.

The opposite door with the active keypad leads to the basement stairs and two bored goons are down on the second landing discussing their favorite films. If you want to listen in, you can duke it out with them in the small room at the bottom of the stairs. Or, with a well-timed and well-placed grenade, you can take them out where they stand along with the booby-trap. The choices are almost infinite.

Run through the basement door and dive for the cover of the crates on the left while firing at the killer suit down the passageway, then shoot-dodge back and forth until he's down. Shoot the booby-traps from a safe distance, then stand in the corner by the locked barred door and shoot the remaining ones. Head through the door on the left.

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7. Byzantine Power Game, Part 3: A Bit Closer to Heaven

Max learns more about Nicole Horne and finds himself on a small platform at one end of a cavernous file storage room beneath the Asgard Building. A lone killer suit approaches out of sight from the aisle to the right and two more, joined at the hip, from the left. Immediately move down the stairs to the cover of the right concrete column and surprise him when he gets near, then play peek-a-boo with the other two. Read the notes on the table, then trip the laser rigged booby-traps. Watch the left row of massive file cabinets topple domino-style, then take out two masked thugs who appear up on the right side of the catwalk.

The door at the other end remains locked, so use the toppled file cabinets to get to the ramp leading to the catwalk. As you reach the top, another thug appears on the far side and runs around to meet you. Continue around and dive through the door to cap yet another waiting at the top of the stairs with a grenade. Before ascending the next stairs, get painkillers from the first aid cabinet to the right of the door marked EXIT.

Go up the stairs, head for the library door beyond the vending machine, and prepare to battle at least three agile well-trained masked thugs. When you enter, two slide down ropes from the second story balcony and a third comes running down the aisle straight ahead. Depending how fast you take them all out, the one on the far rope runs around and arms up to three booby-traps — the charge at the end destroys the stairs and one in the middle of the room knocks over a massive fluted pillar you can use as a ramp to reach the balcony. To get the action over quickly, immediately shoot the near thug as he descends the rope, dive and shoot the one on foot, then attack the third. Lots of possibilities here.

When the dust settles, make your way to the balcony and go through the door over the one through which you entered the library. As you head down the hallway, two killer suits emerge one at a time from the far door on the left. Shoot them right through the glass. there are painkillers and a sniper rifle at the end of the dim hallway.

Open the door to the press room and peek around the corner — an unsuspecting killer suit emerges from the open double doors to the right and walks along the wall opposite the podium. Smoke him from a distance, ditto for his buddy who comes running out, and get the sniper rifle and ammo on the far chest of drawers.

Go through the next set of double doors (opposite the vending machine) into the rotunda and an unsuspecting well- dressed thug strolls toward you from the right. Surprise him then duck for cover behind the wide support wall — his pal across the balcony starts firing with a sniper rifle. If you do not pursue, he'll come to you from the other direction. Get his rifle, grab the Colt Commando ammo in the far corner, continue clockwise around to the place where you entered, and a gunman on the balcony one floor below starts firing. Walk counterclockwise and stand behind the second fluted column, then inch your way a bit more until he sees you and begins firing again.

Head through the next door marked EXIT, then stop, turn to the right, and let your eyes adjust to the darkness of the staircase. The moment you enter, two masked goons break through the far left skylight and drop down one at a time on a single rope, firing. Dive down to the landing and shoot 'em in the ass as they descend. (Berettas work fine.) Continue down the stairs and go through the door with the active keypad (a locked gate is to your left).

Midway down the hall and to the left is the balcony with the corpse you created a short time ago with the sniper rifle — another thug waits to toss a couple of grenades. At the end of hall is a locked door and as you approach, a goon on the other side opens it — he waits a few moments before coming through. Suggested strategy is as follows. Run down and give the finger to the guy across on the balcony so he hurls his grenades, then run back out of harm's way. After the blasts, dive back and forth along the railing as necessary to bring him down. Then venture to the other end of the hall, wait for the goon to come through the door, and waste him.

Hang a left down the short hallway, open — do not go through — the EXIT door to the rotunda and quickly step to the right to avoid a hail of bullets. Step back and wait for the assailant to burst through the door. There are two more gunmen firing. One across the balcony at 9 o'clock and the other one floor up at 12 o'clock.

Backtrack to the railing from which you flipped off the grenade-tossing thug and locate the guy one floor up across the rotunda, he is too far away to do any damage. Take him out with the sniper rifle then head on up to his position, moving clockwise around the balcony, and spot the clueless goon partially hidden behind a column on the floor below (you are positioned almost on top of the guy who just went down). Stand, do not crouch, zoom in and send a slug though his shoulder into his spine. After Max's hectic airborne antics, there is nothing more satisfying than the patience and precision of the marksman. do not forget the Colt Commando before you head back down to the middle floor.

Run around the balcony and grab all the guns and ammo, then proceed to the EXIT door and continue down the dark stairwell. At the bottom, listen in on the two killer suits' conversation through the open door of the boardroom. Their backs are turned to the doorway, so pop the first from the hallway, then dive in for the other. Smash the laptop and shoot the overhead projector before you go.

When you head for the next door marked EXIT, which opens onto the rotunda's main floor, a suit orders his goon platoon to "Shoot to kill." You have no luxury of sniping them from a safe perch or even retreating through the door. Cock the Colt Commando.

After the cut scene, run along the wall to your left just past the columns, dive and take out the suit, then scurry back for the cover of the massive dark support leg and the fluted column. Relax for a moment and peek around the column — there is the silhouette of a thug on the other side of the rotunda, past the base of the fallen obelisk.

Peek around the left side of the support — there is another with Ingrams straight ahead in the shadows and he is as dangerous as a loose queen in a chess game. Take him out next by diving backward and shooting between the support legs. Once he is down, two masked goons swarm in from the lighted front door area. Dive left and take out the first, then dive ahead and to the right, for cover between the support legs, taking out the second. Spin around and dive sideways to the left and nail the guy who has run over here from behind the obelisk and wants to ambush you from behind. Take the main doors.

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8. Nothing To Lose, Part 3: A Bit Closer to Heaven

Frozen with cold revenge, Max stands in the lobby of the Aesir Building thinking of nothing but Nicole Horne. When you pass through a metal detector, three security guards rush in from the far left corridor. They are heavily armed and wearing flak jackets. Get out the M79, run through the right metal detector and straight ahead. Pulverize all three with one shot.

The next part is tricky, but if you follow these directions, you'll do fine. Head over to the end of the bank of elevators, turn right, and stand facing the farther column. Be careful not to step out into the large area to your left. Peek around the column and survey the far wall. three guards with M79s are perched on high catwalks, one centered near the top of the wall and two below him. Study the wall and make a mental note of the position of the uppermost guard. Turn around and, keeping to the left of the benches, make your way to the wall at the end of the corridor — stay out of the light.

Load the sniper rifle and slip around the pilaster that separates the corridor from the larger area, crouch, and when you turn around, keep your eyes on the floor, do not look up and make eye contact. Stay crouched and as quickly as you can, swing the sniper rifle up, zoom the scope to maximum, and take down the top guard. He sends one or two blasts your way, but the damage is nothing a couple of bottles of painkillers cannot fix. See through the scope, the girders block the view of the other two. Take them out also.

As you approach the other end of the building, two killer suits emerge from a sliding door in the far right corner. Play it safe and run back behind the bank of elevators where you can smoke them one at a time. As always, search their carcasses for supplies.

Go through the sliding door, turn right, and head for the non-functioning escalator. Shoot the booby-trap, then toss a grenade to the top landing to detonate two more. Run up the escalator, turn around, and wait for a guard to appear at the railing at the top. Another waits at the top of the second escalator, hidden by the column. Shoot the booby- trap higher up. When you reach the top, there is a third guard near the opposite wall, then a fourth appears with a grenade.

If you explore the open area ahead and beyond the bank of elevators (there is nothing down there but a nice view of the snowy street), you meet another guard as you return, but if you head directly for the next escalator he's nowhere to be seen. Strange. Instead of taking the next flight up, go through the sliding door leading to the lower catwalk where you sniped the two thugs earlier and wax the guard on a balcony to the left before he throws a grenade.

Return and shoot the booby-traps on the escalator, then run up, hook around to the left, and waste the killer suit at the end of the hallway. (To the left is the sliding door to the upper catwalk with M79 ammo. Go through the hallway to the right and a passageway rigged with moving lasers. As soon as you get past the third, a guard appears at the end. When you reach the end, another comes running from the right with a third not far behind.

Head for the elevators beyond the corrugated partition, and before you press the button, switch to the M79 if you want the next encounter short, sweet and messy. In the cut scene, Max chats with Mona Sax. A trio of killer suits interrupts their conversation. Spin around and disembowel all three. Call the elevator again.Get in and look up through the glass ceiling at the booby-trapped shaft. Shoot out the glass, press the button, then shoot each booby-trap as you ascend.

When the elevator door opens, two suits, left, are talking about their favorite movie special effects, the slo-mo action scenes called "bullet-time." Overhead, also to the left, two more are keeping guard on a balcony.

Switch back to the M79, step out of the elevator, put an end to their prattle, and dive for cover under the balcony or behind the pillar straight ahead. When everything's quiet, head for either sliding door at the opposite end of the room. The suit in the high tech control room is nearer the one on the left. Raid the first aid cabinet and walk over and activate the yellow button that gives you elevator access to the mainframe. Three more killer suits are waiting out in the other room. The wall between the sliding doors is made of glass. Dive out the door farthest from the yellow button console and split their skulls with the Jackhammer.\

An elevator under the balcony is now open. Get in and press the button. The beautiful view of the city is cut short by a helicopter's machine gun. Stand back in the left corner so you do not get hit and when the lift's left glass wall is shattered by the chopper's fire, climb through the opening onto the top of the next elevator. The glass top breaks depositing you inside, and you can now press the button.

The door opens to a narrow corridor separating the mainframe computer floor from the bank of elevators. Two suits are chatting at the end to the left. Rush them and immediately dive back to take out another who appears at the other end.

When two of the mainframe units (there are four in a circle) are destroyed, either by Max or the two suits firing from the other side of the floor (one is on the catwalk up and to the right and runs up and down the stairs at the far end), two security guards appear from the elevator. Keep the odds in your favor — peek around the left end of the partition and watch the suits. When the coast is momentarily clear, step out and shoot the vertical lighted panel of the exposed mainframe. Repeat the procedure from the right end, then dive back into the corridor and take out the guards. Five down, two to go.

Run to the cover of the farthest mainframe and notice the position of the guy on the catwalk. Get out the sniper rifle and when he disappears halfway down the stairs, take a step back and put one between his eyes (no scope) when he comes back into view. The last guy's heartbeats are numbered. When all four mainframe units are destroyed, Max gains access to the penthouse. The elevator opens by the two family-oriented thugs, so cap the guard inside, take his painkillers, then take the elevator.

When the door opens, head to the right and when you step out into the large room, two guards and a killer suit come down the open stairway above you. Duke it out under the stairs and before you head on up, be sure to jump onto the cantilevered window and check out the view of the city. As you go up the stairs, three more guards swarm out from both sides. If you are tired of all the fast-paced action, simply jump off about halfway up and retreat to the cover of the pillar by the elevator. A round or two from the M79 should take them all out when they reach the bottom. Run up the stairs again, head to the right on the balcony, then turn left, go through the sliding door, and notice the suit in his private digs, all smug and oblivious. Make your way to Horne's private office and activate her computer, then call the elevator.

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9. Pain and Suffering, Part 3: A Bit Closer to Heaven

For all his courage, skill, speed, luck and hell-bent determination, Max is in a tight spot in a room high in the Aesir Building. Everything happens fast, so do not lose your head. Pack the M-79 and run along the wall to your left toward the steel rail wall (it has bulletproof glass) to avoid the grenade, then dive back to the right and smoke two killer suits as they attempt to run behind the sculpture.

Switch to something more appropriate for close range and meet the other two as they run around the central pillar. Just when you think it is over, a blast door covering the entire outer window wall opens and the chopper starts tearing things up. Get directly behind the sculpture and crouch until the blast door closes. Finally, two more of Horne's gang come through the sliding doors farthest from the sculpture, but there is plenty of time to prepare for them.

Head through the sliding doors and as you round the turn, a bell signals a thug about to get off the elevator to the left. When he's no longer breathing, go through the sliding door to the right, into the reading room (Is that a first edition Dickens up there in the bookcase?) and out on the snowy corner terrace. What a magnificent view! Beyond the railing to the left is narrow catwalk. Jump over the railing, dash to the other end of the building, and jump to the safety of another terrace and through the sliding door. do not hesitate for a moment. the chopper is back.

Nicole's sculpture collection. a couple of Moores, perhaps a Brancusi, definitely a Giacometti. As you approach the sliding door in the corner, listen for the telltale ring of the elevator bell as Horne speaks on the intercom — a killer suit barges in shortly. Go through and as you head for the glass block stairway to the right, a goon announces your presence and sends a grenade clinking down the steps.

After dodging the grenade, walk up to the second landing amid the automatic weapons fire and note the bullet holes in the wall. Stand on the landing and maneuver into position to see the flaming Ingrams of the goon crouching in the offset hallway, then throw a grenade. If you are lucky, it will also take out the other goon (you can see him too) on the other side and a bit farther back. Once they are down, the elevator rings and another killer suit throws a grenade. Kill him when he comes down the stairs.

Walk on up to the north lounge and open the sliding door to the right. Three suits will come out one-by-one; there is plenty of time to pop them all. Walk into the skylight lounge and note the sliding door on the left. Two heavily armed thugs have barricaded themselves behind chairs at the near end of the east lounge. Run around the skylight counterclockwise (ignore the room on the right) and run past the door to get a glimpse of them, then when the door closes, stand by the wall facing in their direction, step back to activate the door and carom a grenade off the glass block wall. Or dive in sideways if Max wants excitement. Go into to next room (south lounge?) and listen to Horne give her boys a pep talk. As you approach, a suit comes through the door to the right and another waits to the right of the stairs beyond.

At the top of the stairs we hear Horne's voice again and a suit appears from around the corner to the right, then one from the left, then another and another from the long neo-Gothic hall. Stroll to the other end of the fancy hall and press the red button on the corner edge of the desk. Go through the door that opens and head up the long flight of stairs. Enjoy the calm before the storm. About a third of the way up, Nicole Horne opens the door at the top, fires, and throws a grenade. Scurry down to avoid the blast. do not waste ammo or energy.

As you go through the door at the top of the stairs, two things happen. First, you watch Max shoot at Horne on the roof as she dashes through a gate toward the helicopter trying to land in the howling winter night. Second, the do- or-die countdown begins. After the first cut scene, Max has exactly one minute to get to work uninterrupted. In the next cut scene, the chopper lands and the bitch gets in. Max now has one minute and ten seconds more to finish the job, which includes neutralizing four determined goons with major artillery who swarm out through the large locked glass sliding doors around to the left. Once Horne is airborne, all Max's efforts are down the drain. I do not even want to talk about it.

The swaying central tower on the roof has broken two of its four cable moorings. The two remaining will have to be shot, specifically the bolt that anchors them to the large steel booms at the corners of the building. When either cable is released, the goons swarm out. Use the whole first minute to relax, gather your nerve, and line up a shot with the M79. Turn around and jump up onto the low roof of the long structure behind you and stand at the edge, about halfway down. Aim for the middle of the sliding glass doors. As soon as the cut scene ends, the goons rush the door, so pull the trigger as it opens. The idea is to get them all at once; otherwise you have got trouble.

do not panic; there is plenty of time to spare. Jump down to the main roof and stand on the small platform in the corner by the steel boom. Load the sniper rifle and use the scope to sight the anchor bolt of the distant cable, then load the Colt Commando and fire at the anchor bolt of the near cable. Fire away at the base of the central tower, then sit back and watch Nicole Horne get what she deserves.

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