[Let's Play!] Deus Ex: RedSun2020 - So Not Worth the Cover

Stolls

Deus Ex. You've heard the name, you've played the game. Part FPS, part RPG. Someone just heard it and is reinstalling it right now. Though time has taken some of the shine from the game's looks, its sound and its very novelty, time can never take away the magic that it contains. People are still finding new tactics and hidden secrets, going on eight years now. It is far better than the sum of its parts, it is rightly heralded as one of the best games of all time, and it remains a staple of any self-respecting PC gamer's library.

We won't be playing this, however.

*record scratching* man what

You have likely noticed there is already a Let's Play on Deus Ex, a rather awesome one at that. Rather than taking another trip through familiar territory, we'll be taking a bit of a detour through mod country. Brace yourselves, ladies and gents, for the silly, strange and somewhat compelling...



RedSun2020 is a fanmade single-player campaign available here, a prequel of sorts to Deus Ex involving the fledgling research in nanotechnology that would eventually lead to the Denton brothers. Far away from and some time before the events of DX, a UNATCO agent-in-training by the name of Joseph is kidnapped by a Japanese research firm attempting to duplicate the Coalition's augmentation systems. Joseph escapes, with the aid of an anonymous UNATCO contact by the name of RedSun, and finds himself amidst a Yakuza war in downtown Tokyo. What follows is his attempts to escape from the city and evade his captors, and something something blah blah et cetera you probably won't be playing this for the story. Allow me to explain.

Frankly, the story is half done. Hell, the game is half done. There are some points which are never really explained or have to be figured out on your own, and a plot-related mission is impossible to finish due to a scripting error; fortunately, the game can be finished regardless. A fix is underway, but I wouldn't hold my breath. There are repeatable missions that shouldn't be, skillpoint triggers that can be endlessly exploited, and cutscenes which can be triggered early. Throw in a couple balance issues, some other scripting problems and dialog that could charitably be called lackluster and immature, and it's difficult to see why anybody would waste their time with this mod.

So let me tell you why I did.



First, the setpieces are excellently designed. In that classic Deus Ex style, there are often at least two or three alternate ways in or out of a given location, and enough hidden goodies and weapons to encourage exploration. The game is designed well enough to accomodate both stealth and combat builds, and with few exceptions spreads out the augmentations and equipment well enough. A bad story can't hide the awesomeness that is the core DX gameplay, and when you get right down to it all I wanted from the sequel was more of the same. RedSun hits a lot of the right notes in this respect.



Furthermore, a great deal of attention is paid to atmosphere: in Otemachi, bright lights and flashing signs decorate the streets and sidestreets, while trains roar past the nearby station and elevators crawl up towering skyscrapers; nearby, in an abandoned underground mall, gangsters patrol locked stores and darkened corridors, while monstrous beasts lurk in a pitch-black subbasement. On the other end of Tokyo, the Shinjuku district is in flames, with riot police barely able to keep the west side of the city under control; the east is an open shooting gallery between military, police and rival Yakuza. The music capably keeps up with the environment, with a combination of the original game's tracks and excellent original compositions by Steve Foxon (who also composed music for another Deus Ex mod, Zodiac.) For all the faults of the story, there are still great ideas here, and they do warrant notice.



An early encounter with a fellow UNATCO agent sets the tone. The Yakuza own the skies over Tokyo, or at least cover it with enough gunfire to make a direct flight out impossible, so if Joseph wants out of the city, he's going to have to put out some fires. It's not about who gets to be God from the Machine this time, it's not about which philosophy gets to rule the world, and it's not about why the orange button dispenses lemon-lime. It's clumsy, flawed and unlikely to be anywhere near as memorable as the original game. On the other hand, it's a huge, atmospheric and ultimately worthwhile romp through another corner of the Deus Ex engine.

And that, my friends, is why I'm doing this LP. So sit back, relax, grab a drink and let us begin!

Opening Notes

I will be playing through with the Shifter mod, which smoothes out a lot of rough edges with the game in general and goes a long way in making RedSun more fun. I'm using my own space for image hosting, so please let me know if any (or all) of the pics don't show up. I'll also be taking a few liberties with the dialog (and by 'a few' I mean 'a fucking lot') for the sake of coherency. I'm no master wordsmith, but it wouldn't take much skill to do better than what's here. So with that out of the way, let's get to it!

Waka Laka

Ooo...

Neat.

Stolls

Introduction
Track: RedSun Intro

Incident Report
Regarding Operation BD-441, "Blood Scarab" and subsequent incidents

Situation: Covert insertion and capture.



Location: UNATCO Survival Training Facility, near Quinhon, Vietnam



Objective: Capture UNATCO agent codenamed "Joseph" alive.



Summary: The recently-formed United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition maintains an edge in the field of scientific research and development, particularly in regards to nanotechnology. Intelligence indicates they have concluded human experimentation and have produced five viable candidates for nanite infusions.

UNATCO is proceeding with field testing for their nanite-based augmentations.



One subject, Joseph, has been training in a UNATCO survival school in Vietnam. He has received preliminary infusions and conditioning, but has not completely configured his subsystems. Furthermore, as part of the training regimen, his existing augmentations are currently offline.



We discovered a small window in the UNATCO patrols through which a single Dibbuk-class stealth helicopter may pass undetected. During this time, UNATCO air cover will be minimal.



At 04:30 hours, a small commando team was inserted into the training area near the subject's lodgings.



They successfully restrained and captured Joseph without being discovered, and exfiltrated without incident.



The subject was flown directly to Otemachi Labs in Tokyo, Japan.



We noticed sporadic gunfire from the ground near Shinjuku, but encountered no difficulties during the approach.



The subject was officially transferred to the custody of Dr. Miyazaki and Otemachi Labs at 15:27 hours. He was slated for dissection at 17:00 hours and isolated in a suspension tank.



Postmortem: Mission accomplished. UNATCO will not be aware of the agent's disappearance until the next scheduled Infolink transmission.



Incident Summary: Following the success of Operation Blood Scarab, Joseph was placed in suspension to prepare for the removal of his augmentations. As most of his systems were either unconfigured or already deactivated, we had only to disable his Infolink.

It is not known how the Infolink was reactivated, nor how the agent was revived.



"...seph. Joseph, can you hear me? This is UNATCO Ops, can you hear me?"

Ohhh... fuck, my head is killing me. The last thing I remember... well, I'd fallen asleep at the desk. Wasn't paying attention... I heard footsteps, and turned just in time to see the goon with the blackjack.

"Good, your vitals are stabilizing. I know you can't answer directly, so listen carefully. You're currently in a suspension tank in Otemachi Labs, in Tokyo. You were kidnapped from our Vietnam training facility; we're not sure how they found you or got in, but they were away before we even knew what happened."

The voice is calm, methodical. I can't make out his face; probably blurred on purpose, or maybe there's some interference in the signal.

My vision slowly returns, my eyes gradually refocus. Who the hell are these people? What do they want with me?

"There's some kind of power struggle in the area. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is trying to contain rival factions of Yakuza, and is using augmentation technology towards this end. This isn't the first time they've tried to steal from us, but this is the first time they've succeeded. They plan to kill and dissect you; you don't have much time."

No way... this can't be happening. Fuck me, this isn't happening!

"We have assets in the area. There will be a short security blackout, and our undercover agent will get the tube open, but he can't help you past that. We do have an insider who will contact you, however. Get to the first floor and contact Dr. Miyazaki, he can help you escape. He'll be in the south lab."

This is... this is insane. I... I'm just a trainee, I'm not ready for this! Oh god, what am I gonna do? What the fuck am I going to do?

"Although this transmission should be protected, I will be going under the alias of RedSun2020. I will not be able to transmit again until you reach the front entrance of Otemachi Labs. They've taken your weapons and your augmentations are still offline. Try to get a weapon from the guards, but avoid being spotted. Once you get out to the Otemachi district, we'll be able to pick you up and bring you home."

How the fuck are you so calm about this?!



"Good luck."

Yeah, 'good luck'. Ohhhhh, shit. Okay, stay calm, stay calm. Remember your training. C'mon, we can do this... we can... shit. Gotta get out of here. Gotta move, gotta move!

Italax

It's looking cool. Are you planning on doing any of the other Deus Ex mods? I really want someone to find that awesome mod I played once, with the talking car and cyanide bomb.

Stolls

Yeah, I was actually thinking of doing a runthrough of Burden of 80 Proof. Short, but sweet, with good writing and surprisingly tight scripting. The talking car mod sounds worth playing all on its own; I'll see if I can find it.

Escape to Where?
Tracks: Otemachi Labs; Ambient, Combat

In the game's debut mission, our hero makes his way through Otemachi labs, evading security and dealing with less-than-helpful scientists. His goal: the next floor up, where RedSun's contact awaits. Let's do this thing!

Nobody around. That's just a little bit convenient. But the door's locked. Gotta look for another way out.



A vent cover in the corner comes off with a little effort. Some idiot - or some anonymous well-wisher - left a crowbar in there. Well, it's better than nothing, though I never really got good at fighting.

I squeeze into the vent and blindly crawl a few feet before remembering I have a light augmentation. With barely a thought a small beam of light jets out and lights the shaft before me.



I never really thought about where the beam comes from. I guess now's not exactly the right time to think about that anyway. The vent empties out into a neighboring lab, with a pair of scientists typing quietly away at their computers.



Again, I'm not the fighting type; I mean, I know how to use a gun, but I was just starting survival training in Vietnam when this happened. My specialty was more in information retrieval; cracking, electrical bypasses, even the odd lock or two. Sheer luck that I was compatible with the nanite infusions; the doc said roughly one out of twenty people can tolerate the augmentations.

But anyway, waving the crowbar around enough keeps the scientists quiet. Fortunately, they hadn't yet removed the ICEpick implanted in my arm, so with a little effort I break into one of their computers and get a few passwords.



Not much of interest, unfortunately. Just some banter about which part of the United States is going to fall into the ocean next, and some chatter about a 'test'; some security officer sent a memo to everybody, telling them to keep their eyes open and hit the alarms if something looks amiss.



Like a guy crawling out of and back into a vent, I would imagine. Ah well. Both of them said they'd keep quiet, but it's not like I'll live long enough to get back to them if they were lying.



The vent dumps me out into a small office area, and this time I have enough space to compose myself before approaching one of the scientists.



Dr. Livingston catches on pretty quick that I don't belong here, but she doesn't look too alarmed otherwise. I'm gathering that the scientists here aren't too diligent as regards security. Or just don't feel like trying to stop me.

Livingston's got a prod nearby, but she doesn't even try to reach for it. All the better for me. She does mention that the elevators are on lockdown, and one Dr. Freeman can open the doors from his computer. Sounds like the sort of thing I should look into.



I poke around the offices, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. I pick up a couple medkits, biocells, and even a lockpick and a multitool. I also catch a couple snippets of text about a project 'Crimson Sun'; they hint that they were about to wipe my memory with some kind of electrolysis, or who knows what. There's also a reference to "Operation Blood Scarab", which apparently was my capture.



Two coworkers discussing a third. Also, a code to the control room, wherever that is. Man, being a superspy is easy as shit so far.

I spot a nearby book about Otemachi:

"Otemachi Labs is a weapons and technology research center for the Japanese Tokyo Government. They specialize in the creation of biological weapons. Since its founding in 2003, Otemachi Labs has been responsible for leaps and bounds in biological warfare, creating both destructive viruses and vaccines."

Interesting... Dr. Reyes back at UNATCO mentioned that our augmentation technology is based on some kind of viral hybrid organism, or something. It was a bit over my head, but this at least explains their interest in the subject.

"The facility is broken into two sectors. The primary sector is responsible for most of the company's research, and is visible to the public. The secondary sector engages in experimental and top-secret research; the primary sector has no knowledge of the secondary's activities, and many members of the former don't even know the latter exists."

Hmm.



Livingston said Freeman's office was upstairs.



Aw, shit. I was wondering where the guards were. All right, keep quiet... doesn't seem to have spotted me. Dig out the prod... just creep up on the guy and zap him, just like in training. Just like in training. Okay, c'mon, deep breaths, you can do this.



He sees me and goes for his gun, but I get to his neck just in time. Two good zaps and he drops like a sack of bricks with a weak groan. Without even thinking about it I help myself to his gun.

As I pass through the office, something catches my eye...



Are those... bodies? RedSun said they were researching augmentation technology, but I don't know what the hell this has to do with it. If I didn't know better, I'd swear they were clones or something.



All right, keep focused. Gotta find the control room, and Freeman's computer.



Lucky me. I start to step through, when...



Oh, fuck! I draw my gun right as he fires; he just grazes me, but I peg him right in the chest. Another shot to the head and he's down.



The door slides open and two more guards storm in, guns at the ready.



My reflexes don't fail me, which is doubly good since it takes my last bullet to put the last guard down. I search the bodies for ammo, finding two Lightweight Attack Munitions, and move on.

It suddenly catches up to me that I've never actually killed another person before. It doesn't seem to bother me as much as I thought it would.



I find that... unpleasant.

Moving right along. I find the control room. Ducking the camera over the door, I make my way to one of the control panels.



A fairly common, if effective, security network. Nowhere near unbreakable, but they work just fine provided you can keep intruders away from the controls. Or escapees, in my case.

I discreetly shut down as many cameras as I can before the ICEpick times out, taking note of where guards seem to be stationed. I spot what looks like an elevator door in the stasis pods room. Bingo!



Looks like Dr. Freeman is running the 'test' on me. Oversized crab things? Eh, whatever. His computer's easy enough to break into, and within seconds I override the elevator lockdown.



I pass by the balcony again, and take another look over the stasis chamber. All right, the door's open, let's get the hell out of here!



I hear a guard's voice call out to me as I make my way to the elevator. Damn it, one of the patrols saw me!



He makes a dash for the alarm. I tag him just before he can hit it, but I hear more guards down the hall. I think my secret's out.



Just past the office entrance, I hear footsteps and the sound of a rifle being cocked. Shit, this is it! All right, let's do it!



I prime a LAM and hurl it through the door, and it detonates before any of the guards can get out of the way; they're thrown aside like rag dolls.



A survivor comes at me with a rifle, but the blast crippled his aim. Still, it's hard to see through the smoke, so he and I exchange fire for a second before I manage to clip him twice and bring him down.



Phew! All right, let's get out of here and find Miyazaki.

-

Asides: If you're diligent in searching the area, and especially the vent shafts, you'll find all sorts of goodies. One in particular is literally a treasure trove of weapons and equipment. But first, we need a chair!

A pushcart will do in a pinch. Anyway, grab it, head into the vent near Livingston and make a left. Follow it until you come to a long corridor with a right turn near the end.



You'll know you're in the right place if you find a locked vent cover. There are enough picks around to get it open.



This leads into the back corner of an armory, with a single guard patrolling it. That door to his right doesn't open, so this is the only way in.



Some nice things here, but we have grander intentions. Dig the chair out of the vent...



...place it right here and hop up over the shelves.



Ta-da! Why is this worth the effort?



I wonder.



Living proof of a just and loving God that watches out for us all, and wants us to kill the bad guys with the best hardware money can buy.



Getting back over is easy; just reach in, pull the chair through and drop it at your feet to repeat the process. Attach a LAM to a wall if you need a boost to get on the chair, or simply grenade-ladder over the shelf again.



None of this is strictly necessary to escape, as there are only a handful of guards covering the elevators.



It is, however, gratifying.



Very, very gratifying.



Seriously, try the alt-fire on the plasma rifle (courtesy of Shifter) at least once. You might be surprised at the results :^:



In the control room, there's normally a hologrpahic projection of a JC Denton lookalike (more on that much later). Occasionally, the texture is squished and wrapped into the shape of a frying pan.

Don't look at me man, I just work here.

In the next issue, Joseph gets in touch with the enigmatic Dr. Miyazaki. There are also explosions, and we learn that Otemachi Labs has a shrink ray. Yeah.

Tim James

So is this the best, most-finished addon campaign for Deus Ex?

Mods?? I'm finally halfway through my backlog and now I have to think about MODS?!

Rizzi

Heh. Dr. Freeman.

Bill Cosby

Tim James wrote: »

So is this the best, most-finished addon campaign for Deus Ex?

Mods?? I'm finally halfway through my backlog and now I have to think about MODS?!

I've played both this and zodiac and I thought zodiac was better done since it has new weapons and I didn't run into any scripting errors in my playthrough.

Stolls

'Best' is a tricky word, though it's easily the largest. Zodiac is much more polished, but it's rather stingy with the augs and is basically an awkward crossover between Deus Ex, Ghost in the Shell, and Independence Day. Possibly a splash of Rainbow 6, too. Still, a good mod nontheless.

Zen Vulgarity

:^:

Stormwatcher

Yay, Stolls is back. Horray for Stolls!

Italax

Found that mod I kept talking about:

http://www.deusex-machina.com/cassandra-project/

Stolls

Cassandra Project, huh? Looks actually kinda badass. I'll give it a try sometime, thanks

Anyhoo, with security right on his heels, Joseph makes for the south lab to meet up with Dr. Miyazaki, who supposedly will help him escape. Raise your hand if you think if it's as simple as that. Yeah, me neither.

Getting out of Otemachi
Tracks: Otemachi Labs; Ambient, Combat

Second floor; the public area of Otemachi, if that book was accurate. Just gotta be inconspicuous. That's right guards, don't mind the guy in the trenchcoat, body armor and cheap sunglasses with the guns and stuff.

"Excuse me, sir!"

The elevator door closes behind me. I freeze, hearing approaching footsteps. "Yes?" I ask, turning to face a youngish guard coming from the stairway.



I don't think he saw me leaving the elevator. One look at him - his tag identifies him as Jeremy - tells me he has slightly more pressing issues on his mind. "Were you with the tour that just came through?"

General Carter taught me that a good 50% of infiltration, and spywork in general, was being able to improvise. I pounced on the opportunity. "Yeah," I said, "sorry, I got a little turned around. I, I mean, we were supposed to visit a Dr. Miyazaki. Do you know where I could find him?"

"Lost the rest of the tour, huh?" he smirks. "Well, I'm new here myself, talk to one of the scientists in the south office. I think Miyazaki should still be there."

"Thanks." I nod to him and start to leave.

"Hey, quick question," he stops me. "Offhand, you wouldn't know how much a 2000 BMW M5 costs, would you?"

I do a double take, looking at the guard strangely. It takes me a few seconds to realize he's talking about a car. "Sorry, what?"

Jeremy suddenly looks rather sheepish, scratching the back of his neck and looking at the floor. "I bumped one in the parking lot and left a dent in the rear fender, I think it belongs to my boss. Just a small dent, but he'll see it, I know it."

Were I not so preoccupied myself, I'd be inclined to laugh. "Ouch... yeah, they're not cheap," I bluff. I don't know thing zero about cars, but this poor sap better have good insurance. "Sorry man."

"Damn. All right, thanks anyway," he waves me off.



Well, that was a wholly worthwhile use of my time. Back to business.



RedSun uploaded the floorplans of floors two and three to my image vault. It's easy to forget I have a billion little computers crawling around in my body, helping me remember things like this. I recall the image of the second floor. All right, looks like the south lab's just through those doors over there. C'mon, doc, don't let me down!



A thunderous explosion rips through the complex; the door is blown outwards, and I instinctively throw up my arms to shield my face. A woman's body is thrown through the smoking hole, and alarms begin wailing.

Oh shit. Oh shit!



The south lab is a wreck. Bodies are everywhere; it's impossible to tell what was actually in the room before. I look up and see a group of thugs fleeing through a side door, one of them looks mechanically augmented.

Most of the bodies are unrecognizable. This wasn't a conventional bomb. I know I have seconds before security arrives to search the area, I know I should get moving... fuck me! Is anybody alive in here?!



A battered, broken scientist coughs up blood, feebly reaching up to me. Through the smoke and haze, through his broken glasses, he somehow recognizes me. "Joseph," he wheezes, "my office... there's a book..."

"Doctor!" I cry out, reaching down to help him. I know he's beyond help, but he's all I've got right now. "Hang on, we'll get you some help!"

Your mind doesn't work normally when you witness something traumatic. You might 'know' someone's beyond help, you might 'know' that you're a suspicious character in unfriendly territory, but that doesn't seem to affect what you actually do. He slaps away my hand, urging me to run. "Go!" he hisses, then curls over on his side, groaning loudly in pain. "Just go... you'll understand soon enough."



He stops moving, stops breathing. A datacube near his body survived the blast, but just barely. It mentions some kind of timed experiment, but of what, I have no clue. It does mention that Miyazaki's office is on the third floor, in section Kappa. No time like the present.



SWAT teams were summoned by the alarms. There goes my short-lived disguise. I take these two down, but I take a few hits to the body. Nothing serious, but enough to slow me down.



More are on the way, I gotta go. I throw a last look into the south lab. What on earth were they testing in here?



Floor three, Kappa. Gotta find his office, and that book. Can't count on shooting my way out of this, gotta keep moving, gotta stay quiet.



Deep breaths, man. C'mon, walk it off, it's not that bad. That wasn't a rib you felt pop, that was just... just something else. Just keep moving. Awwww, fuck! Damn it, I think those bastards broke something. Hurts like hell.



Guard's got his back to me. Can't count on him being another rookie with poor parking skills. I sneak up, zap the guy and drag him into a vacant office. I don't hear any shouts, so I think I'm okay.

Gotta start checking offices. This place isn't that big, it's gotta be here somewhere.



"Ah, sorry, wrong office. I'm looking for Miyazaki's."

She catches onto me quick. "Who the hell are you?"

I lie. "Special security. There's been an, uh, accident downstairs."

She seems to be buying it, a concerned look on her face. "I thought I felt the building shake. What happened? Felt like an explosion."

"We're still not sure." I'm not good enough to come up with more details on the fly. "Just stay here until we announce the all-clear."

The woman peers at me, vaguely suspicious, but silently complies and turns back to her computer. I move out and check the next office.



I think this is it, all the others look occupied.



I hit the lights and start tapping into his computer. Bingo! Miyazaki has a couple messages in his inbox:

From: YKugara (BOD)
Subj: TSPE Demonstration

Hello, Dr. Miyazaki. We would like to hold a demonstration of the TSPE experiment within a week. There are many interested buyers in public and private sectors; we know you had concerns about glitches in the software, you have until Friday to work out as many as you can. The better the demonstration, the more zeroes you can expect in your paycheck this month.
- Chairman Kugara, Board of Directors -

From: GFreeman
Subj: Re: Project Daybreak

Regrettably, there is little we can do at this time. Continue with your work on Crimson Sun, I will contact you in person regarding the status of Project Daybreak. If all goes well we should be able to finish both projects on schedule.
- Freeman

From: Feedback
Subj: Re: DNF

At this time we can't comment on the development or expected release date of Duke Nukem Forever.

Thank you for your inquiry,
3DRealms



Miyazaki has, or had, a few other things going on. The TSPE seems to be Otemachi's other big pet project, whatever that is.

In a corner of the room I find a cabinet with a book titled "Otemachi Lab Protocols." There's a bookmark in section 9, under emergency situations. Wonderful, so the building's sealed off until SWAT teams can sweep the area. That means the elevators are on lockdown, though a small note scribbled on the side of the page mentions that elevator access can be granted through control panels in the security room.

Fat lot of good that does me. The nanokey is marked for a file cabinet in F2 Alpha.



Might as well check it out. Something's wrong, though. Apart from those two troopers I haven't seen any increased security since the blast. What's going on?



A good hit with a tranq dart ensures the guard's eventual KO. He doesn't drop immediately - I didn't hit him dead-on - but he can barely get a shot off before slumping to the floor.



One of the scientists saw me take the guard down. I draw a pistol and he bolts.



The locked cabinet holds a datacube. Hey, now we're onto something; the code for the security room keypad and a login/password for the security system. All right, we'll do that.



I make my way over to the security room on the north end of the second floor; pistol at the ready, I punch in the keypad and swiftly dash inside.



I catch a couple of them by surprise, but the three other guards throw a lot of lead my way. The pistol rounds pelt my body armor and take a chunk out of my leg; I stagger as I return fire.



Eventually, I'm victorious. I'd be dead if not for the nanite infusions, and I'm not that far off anyway. A small, surgical release of morphine lets me keep moving, though my systems won't help me heal. Damn... it still hurts, but not enough to stop me, not yet.

I stagger over to a control panel and punch in the combo from F2 Alpha.



And I'm immediately glad I did. Several guards have taken up defensive positions around the north elevator, while the south looks conspiciously deserted. I unlock the south and make a break for it.



I pass through a workroom with two scientists who seem preoccupied. "Wasn't she on the table?" says one.

"Maybe she's under the crate again," the other suggests. "She said she was going to poke around more this time."

"Uh, excuse me," I try to interrupt.

The male scientist rolls his eyes. "If she's under there, I'm not checking."

Something moving on the table pulls me away from their conversation.



Wha... what the fuck?

This is not real. Otemachi does not have a fucking shrink ray.



One of the scientists finally notices me, seemingly unconcerned with the blood and the guns and all. "Watch where you're stepping, we sort of lost someone," she casually informs me.



No shit.

Otemachi does have a fucking shrink ray. Son of a bitch.



Okay, I don't have time for this. I make a dash - well, more like a speedy limp - for the elevator and spot a lone guard protecting it. He had his back to me until the door opened.



There's something very wrong here. Why's this one so lightly guarded?



Well, the area's quiet, so I stop and pop open a few medkits. Along with traditional first aid supplies, bandages and antiseptics, it includes a pool of single-use nanites that can directly heal flesh. Normally they use these in hospitals and through nanite dispersal machines, but since I'm augmented, I can use them on my own.

Good thing, too, since medicine is not one of my strong points. I slap on the bandages, apply the nanites and move on.



I take the elevator to the parking garage, and what I hope is an exit from the building.



Along the way I see one of the special security officers on the upper walkway, dead.



Shit, no wonder security was so light over here. The SWAT teams have their hands full dealing with these thugs. These aren't just ordinary gangsters; what's going on here?



The mech-aug passes on my left. I could've sworn he glanced back at me as he ran.



I step into the parking lot, eyes open for any hostiles.



Looks clear, and deserted. All right, gotta find some stairs. C'mon, Joseph, we're almost home! Just gotta get out of...



I hear it before I see it. Explosive charges, distant, then close, then closer. A string of blasts ripple throughout the complex, and the floor in front of me collapses. A bomb I didn't even notice blows up behind me, the blast hurling me down into the hole. I tuck and roll, broken concrete smashing and cutting my body as I tumble.



It's ten, maybe fifteen minutes before I can even move again. Smell comes first, the pervasive, choking cloud of smoke and ash and who knows what else. Taste is next; blood, in my mouth. I think I bit my tongue when I fell. Touch... everything aches, but nothing else seems broken. I hear screams, I see bodies. It hurts to move, to think, even to breathe.

Auuuugh... what... were they trying to bring the whole building down? Who the fuck are these people?!

Asides: There isn't much in the way of equipment and such around the lab, although you can find medkits, biocells and a few lockpicks and multitools if you're diligent. There are a couple locked file cabinets with pistol ammo and tranq darts, but nothing like the armory from the last update. There are, however, a few points of interest.

F3 Alpha has a couple guards patrolling the area. Take them out and look for the office to the northwest.



It's dark, and there's no lightswitch, so you'll need your light aug.



Poke around in back until you see the Hanh Inside server boxes (Hanh Court is one of the guys behind RedSun2020).



On the floor between two of them is a datacube with the keycode for the elevators, allowing you to bypass the lockdown and escape without having to fight your way into the security room. You can even do this without speaking to Miyazaki.

Additionally, both elevators lead up to the garage, and you'll see thugs killing guards and running away no matter which one you choose.



In one of the other F2 Alpha offices is an unusual experiment. Hit the button on the wall to reveal...



...this. Not entirely sure what the purpose of this test is.



Moving right along, in another F3 Kappa office is this fine young gentleman and his pet rat, DevilBunny.



He's convinced the rat can talk.



The rat's kind of an asshole, apparently.



We don't take kindly to being squeaked at by impudent rats, do we?



The gentleman and his lady friend are shuffled off this mortal coil. Buuuuut...



...DevilBunny is immortal.



And he has heavily-armed friends.

(These are actually the guards from the north elevator.)



And lastly, this fellow is kind enough to inform us that crates are being made obsolete, and will be replaced by pipes.

Indeed they will, good sir. Indeed they will.

Join us next time, when Joseph escapes from the ruined parking lot and bad guys with guns try to spoil his fun. There are also terrorists. Be there!

Stolls

Having escaped Otemachi Labs (for the moment), Joseph climbs out of the wreckage of the parking garage and searches for a way out of the ensuing TMG dragnet.

Undue Credit, Part 1
Tracks: NYC Streets (from DX)

I damn near hack up a lung as I slowly climb out of the hole. The garage is a wreck, smoke and fire are everywhere; I can hear a woman screaming in the distance.



I gotta get out of here before I suffocate. The upper walkways have collapsed, making a convenient ramp up to the actual ground floor; I keep forgetting the garage was below ground.



The door's shut, but some quick work with a multitool on the nearby panel forces it open. It grinds and nearly sticks in place, but it opens just wide enough for me to pass through.



A voice crackles to life in my ears. It's RedSun.

"Joseph, we're just getting word of the explosion at Otemachi. What happened? Did you do that?"

He sounds a bit peaked, but otherwise is as calm as before. "We've got a fix on your location, you're in Building #2 in the TMG complex. Security is sweeping the area. They've got the main exits to Otemachi-ku blocked; your only chance is through the tunnels under the complex. Another of our contacts, Hisano Deguchi, can help you escape. He's an electrician on duty near your position."

UNATCO's either very well connected or very good at improvising. All right, we'll do that. Where can I find this guy?

"Make your way to Building #1. You'll need access to security there in order to open the gates to Hiroo Plaza, near Tokyo Station. The plaza connects to main entrance to the complex, and there's a manhole near the escalators that leads into the service tunnels. You'll find Deguchi working there."

I'm on my way. Before I go, I help myself to the contents of this storeroom. Among other things, it contains a few boxes of pistol ammo, tranq darts, gas grenades and an assault gun with a fresh clip. I don't know a damn thing about handling automatic weapons, but no time like the present to learn.



Guard's got his back to me. Smart move. Clearly these guys are the TMG's best and brightest.



I drop him and help myself to his combat shotgun. This thing has way too much kick to be helpful to me right now, but you never know.



I duck back as a I spot another guard around the corner.



Piece of cake, but there are others nearby. I could make a bolt for the door, but RedSun said the courtyard outside is gated off. No sense heading out just yet.



I quietly head up the stairs, into a small office. My eyes light up at the sight of the blue canister. To the untrained eye it might look like some kind of chemical substance; to the would-be nanoaug this is what it's all about. I pick the lock on the door and examine the canister. The markings are in Japanese, but otherwise it looks identical to the aug canisters Dr. Reyes had shown me.

I tap into the computer. A general alert has been sounded by TMG security; apparently, the explosions were an attack by local Yakuza. Well, that complicates things, doesn't it? Another message is for a Mr. Yamamoto. My stomach turns; the poor guy's wife was caught under a car in the garage and TMG has to amputate her leg to get her out. That might've been her I heard screaming.

Fuck me.



Hmm, wonder if they have nanotech in here. A quick bypass with a multitool shuts down the beams.



These men... they're TMG military. Not the guards that patrol the complexes, but actual soldiers. They're unconscious, but alive, save the one on his back. They look like they're lined up for surgery, or recovering from it.



A message on the datacube from one Dr. Suetsugu. Snippets about 'trial augmentations' on volunteer TMG troopers and a new type of augmentation extracted from A.D.A.M., whatever that is. A room number and a keycode, 56 and 4777. Interesting.

I glance at the paper. Looks like there was an explosion near the Hibiya Park Towers this morning, and preliminary reports suggest it was an Osaka-based Yakuza group. There are a couple bits about the warring factions, and how TMG now has the towers cordoned off. Goddamn, this whole city's going up in flames.

The nanokey on the table is marked for Building #1. I'll definitely need that.



I hightail it up the stairs and find a small medical office. I could use the bot to install this augmentation, if only I could get inside...



Guards on the balcony. I quietly creep by.



This one's too close to a security panel for comfort. I zap him and he goes limp; I drag him out of sight, keeping an eye on the guards across the way.



Security may be tightened, but their networks are no better. I can't open the gate from here, but it does grant me access to medical. I shut off all the cameras I can and move on.



Finally! I sit down on the bed and give the medbot time to stitch me up properly. Flesh is healed and bones are knit in seconds. Matsu-Gravas really cornered the market with these guys.

I fumble with the canister a bit before attaching it to the medbot. Looks like there are a few differences between the TMG and UNATCO aug systems. Their cans don't seem to include both options for a given subsystem; this one has both silent running and environmental resistance. It's more than a little strange, but I shrug and make my choice. Stealth would be very useful right about now, so I opt for silent running.

I stand up and take a few practice steps around the room, mentally switching the aug on after a few seconds. The sound dampens somewhat, as complex internal microprocessers determine - and control - the necessary muscle movements for silence. Nifty.



All right, enough screwing around. Back to business. I pick the lock on this door and move on.



Another office area, mostly deserted. The lone worker here seems shellshocked, and mumbles to himself occasionally. He glances at me, but says nothing.



Nothing much here. I grab the weapon mod from the table and circle around back to the stairs.



Opposite the nanotech bay I spot a connecting passage to building #3. The lights flicker and I can smell smoke again. This building must have been hit as well.



There are large holes in the floor and broken bits of junk all over the place, but it beats risking the open courtyard. I have enough LAMs to take it out, but the less noise I make, the better.



I spot what looks like a door across the courtyard, connected by a walkway leading from this building.



I have to squint, but the sign marks it as building #1. Perfect.



This door should take me to the walkway.



Fuck!

It started firing as soon as I opened the door. I duck back and wait for it to spin down. It's behind a small recess, I don't know if I can hit it with a LAM and I don't think I'd get another chance.

Maybe if I can get closer...



It takes a suicidal diving roll, but I manage to get under the gun's line of fire as it turns its attention away from the door.



I circle around and try the passcode I found earlier: 4777. Ah-ha, success!



A small emergency killswitch on the side shuts the turret down. Bombs are fun, but I'll take subtlety where it's an option.



Some more supplies. Don't mind if I do.



The armory's been thoroughly emptied. Of course, I find this out after I pick the lock. Not much left but some more pistol and crossbow ammo, along with a biocell and a medkit.

The door on the left leads to that walkway to building #1.



Bot's got its back turned. Let's do it!



Shit, guard dogs! I hurriedly backpedal and dig out the crossbow.



A couple darts send the pups running, and they get about ten paces before dropping.



My kleptomania pays off, which is a nice way of saying "my habit of stealing things has finally found a practical application."

(You're playing RedSun2020, the mod that does not endorse the cool crime of stealing!)



I'm in! All right, now to find and shut down security so I can get the hell out of here.

Stolls

Undue Credit, Part 2

A datacube in the reception area has a password for the security system. Lucky me.

The guards on the other side of the fence talk shop. One of them seems a bit more technically inclined than the other, and tries futilely to explain why a scanner on the wrong frequency can't actually detect humans, and why that might be a bad thing.



"Central command seems to think it's one of the Yakuza clans. Our cameras spotted a few of the thugs near the garage before the explosion."

Another guard, unseen, shares a different opinion. "Some of the eggheads think an independent terrorist from abroad is responsible."

The first one shrugs, admitting his lack of knowledge. "Hell, for all we know it could be another accident in the labs, like the one a few weeks ago when that test subject escaped. What'd they call that one... Adam, was it?"

The name rings a bell; the datacube in the nanotech bay mentioned A.D.A.M. I guess I should have said whoever that is.

His partner is more dismissive. "Well, the labs wouldn't have two screwups in the same month."



Curious as this is, I've got things to do. The control panel's in the next room. I'm gonna have to take out these four schmucks to get to it.



Fortunately, I have the element of surprise. A well-placed gas grenade catches them all in the cloud, and the effects are instant.



The cloud stings my eyes and forces me to sneeze, but I keep steady long enough to tranq all four. Paralyzed by the gas, they can do nothing but claw at their eyes and scream as the tranquilizer puts them to sleep.



The nanites do a decent job at keeping the gas from incapacitating me, but my eyes are still watery and bloodshot. I blink through tears and work my way to the panel. With the login and passcode from reception, I gain access to the gate blocking the courtyard exit and force it open.

...something's not right. The plaza looks too quiet. I better grab some roof and see what's going on.



There's a ladder outside on the balcony that leads to the roof.



The wind whips at me, trying to knock me off the ladder. Not the brightest idea I've ever had, but this whole day's sort of been like that so far.



Ah-ha. A different looking thug than the ones before, and rather heavily armed. He's keeping a close eye on the courtyard.



Seriously, this guy has a fucking rocket launcher, and a sniper rifle. I don't know if he's with the Yakuza or not, but these guys aren't screwing around.



I drop him and take the launcher. Feeling a bit too much vertigo to climb back down the side of the building, so I open the side door and head back inside.



Damn, more of them! I instinctively grab the assault rifle and start spraying. I spend the whole damn clip killing these two, and half of the ammo was wasted fighting recoil. I am so not ready for prime time.

Combat shotguns and more sniper rifles; these guys were expecting trouble. I'll bet money they were waiting for me.



A ladder at the back of the room leads down to the front desk again.



The gate's open and the snipers are down. It's not gonna look any better than this.



All right... all right, Deguchi's working in the tunnels. Manhole's somewhere near those escalators, on the lower platform.



Damn it! They'll see me if I just run right down there.



Hmm, a small manhole along the side. Looks like it runs down to the platform.



Now we're getting somewhere. Just gotta dash across and get below ground...



Okay, they didn't see me. Let's go!



C'mon, Joseph, move your ass!



Made it! All right, now to find Deguchi.



He's gotta be down here somewhere. Only one door into the tunnel.



This looks promising. A couple of techs working on some electrical system. There's a third guy in the room with them, wearing a suit; looks a bit more important.



Nice to meet you, Hisano Deguchi.

"I'm with Santo Denki Services, we have maintenance contracts with the TMG for their electrical power. I was told to expect you."

I don't bother asking by who. "Will this route take me out of the TMG complex?"



Deguchi nods. "There are two ways out from here. There's a small room just down the hall with a ladder leading up to the loading docks. You'll still be inside the complex, and there are TMG forces guarding the area. You'll have to open the back gate from inside the guard shack, but that'll take you right to the streets of Otemachi-ku."

"And the other way?"



The electrical manager frowns, folding his hands together. "The other way is through a water pipe crawlspace. The area's guarded by spiderbots. They're not programmed to attack humans, but they will turn hostile if you so much as step on one of them and there's not a lot of room to maneuver. If you can make your way past them, you'll find a door to the sewer manager's office. That office puts you right next to the Otemachi entrance to Tokyo Station. I don't have the code to unlock the door, but you can give it a try if you want. You could probably crack it with a multitool."

"Do these tunnels go any farther?"

"Yes, through the sewers, but access is restricted to security personnel. They welded it shut just yesterday, after they found out the Kurokuma use those sewers to get around the city."

"The Kurokuma?"

Deguchi shakes his head. "Long story, and you have a flight to catch, as I understand it."

"Point taken," I admit. "I just wanna get out of here back to UNATCO."

"Very well. Follow me and I'll unlock the door."



One of the techs pulls me aside as Deguchi heads for the door. "Hey, I think the code to that office is 2344. I never did get to try it because of the bots, but it's worth a shot."

I work up a half-smile. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."



"I'll have to lock the door behind you after you pass through," says Deguchi. "The TMG shouldn't follow you past here. Good luck!"

"Thanks," I say. The door clangs shut behind me, the lock clicks into place. "I think I'm gonna need it."

Asides: There are a couple alternate routes up to and out of the courtyard, along with a few other odds and ends. The aug canister in Part 1 is static, but others throughout the game are randomized; the augs you get change every time you pick one up. You can effectively quicksave/quickload until you get whatever you like. Hotel Carone and (I think) Zodiac did this as well.

There are enough multitools in the garage to open the door leading to Building #2, but there is a cost-free alternative. This hole looks too small to crawl through, but you can just barely squeeze into it.



It dumps you off by a ladder and a body. The body has soy food and a lockpick, while the ladder leads to the courtyard on the floor below the military bot. You'll have to be careful due to the snipers in building #2, but it is a quicker way up.



As for getting out of the courtyard, to the left of the ladder leading to the sniper's nest is a catwalk leading around the building. You have to hug the wall to stay on, and you may need your light aug.



It leads you to an alcove overlooking the TMG front entrance. You get the XP bonus either way, and you do have to cross through building #1 to get to here, so it's largely personal preference as to which way you go.



You get a small XP bonus for going all the way to the gate leading to Tokyo Station, but you can't get in... yet.



You can also just fight the two mooks in front of the TMG building. You'll still have to take the manhole down to Deguchi's office.



This can be tricky if you didn't take out the snipers (who, you may have noticed, are using NSF outfits. This is probably just to diversify the number of models used for the Yakuza thugs).



Adventures in noclipping: If you ghost through the entrance, you'll find an open lobby with a secretary, a friendly security bot, and an NPC named Michael Hammer. Neither NPC has anything on them. There is also an elevator shaft connected to the lobby, but no elevator.



In building #3, there's a hole on a lower floor that supposedly leads back down to the garage. It's impossible to squeeze through, but it is possible to get stuck in it. Fortunately, you're not likely to fall into or even notice it unless you actively try.



RedSun has loads of Windows BSOD-themed haikus. Some are static...



...and some are hidden behind single-panel computer monitors. Use them to cause the crash. Collect them all! Or don't. M'eh.

In the next episode, Joseph finally gets to Otemachi-ku and mingles with the locals. His UNATCO contact is all too willing to fly him home, provided the would-be superagent help with one* little** favor***.

*more than one

**very large

***KILL ALL ELEVENS

Stolls

After one last hurdle, Joseph finally escapes out onto the streets of Tokyo. His contact is nearby, waiting to pick him up. Home free, right? Yeah, right.

You Can Always Go Downtown
Tracks: Otemachi-ku; Ambient, Combat, Conversation

RedSun's voice pipes up in my ears: "You're almost out of the complex. Once you're out, you'll need to find Steve Thompson, our contact. He'll give you your instructions and tell you where our birds can pick you up. You're in Otemachi-ku, a big business district in Tokyo. Steve's waiting for you at Oshiro coffee shop, get to him as soon as possible."

Will do. Okay, so my choices here are tiny robotic death machines, through that door, and more asshole guards up the ladder.



...I'm never flipping a coin to determine my next course of action again.



Deguchi was right though. The bots aren't hostile, although they do get underfoot. I have to keep low and wait until they stop moving before I can creep around them. Don't wanna risk setting them off.



Well, that was irritating. Now for the code...



Groovy. The manager's office is empty, so I help myself to its contents: a lockpick, a medkit, and a couple credit chits. A newspaper on the desk tells a rather worrying tale:

"Gang activity is on the rise in the Shinkuju district, with East Shinjuku almost completely inaccessible due to open fighting between rival Yakuza. Despite a supposed cease-fire between the Yamaguchi and the Kurokuma clans, a recent rash of shootings and bombings have claimed the lives of more than fifty this past week.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, still reeling from the accident at Otemachi Labs three weeks ago, has effectively been routed from the area. TMG and Shinjuku police forces are reportedly planning a campaign to retake the east side, but few details have been released at this time. "This leaves East Shinjuku to fend for itself," says one area resident, who has since fled to Otemachi-ku. "It seems the TMG can only control Otemachi and a few other areas. The Yakuza are simply out of control.""



Man, am I gonna be glad to get out of this mess.



A train roars by as I leave the office. Tokyo Station's closed off, not too many people around. I should ask around to find where this coffee shop's located.



This fellow points me in the right direction. "It's part of the Nanko building across the street from the electronics store. Take a right at the next intersection, you'll see it down the street."

Thanks, buddy.



A few people on the upper catwalks and a couple shoppers roaming around; the blast probably scared most people off.



I flinch a bit when this lady says her friend's a TMG guard. For her sake, I hope he's one of the guys I only knocked out - and that's if he wasn't caught in the blast.



I tilt back and glance up, stretching and unkinking a knot in my back. The reality of my situation catches up with me. I'm thousands of miles away from anything I've ever known as home. I don't speak the language. I'm not even a real agent, just a trainee, and plus I stick out like a sore thumb. I'm in the middle of a war zone and the Japanese government wants to cut me open.

UNATCO's got my back, but the way this is playing out, who knows if getting out of here is as simple as talking to this Steve guy.



I wander down the street towards the Nanko building, but this pet shop catches my attention. I poke my head in for a bit and ask the clerk a few questions.



Don't even know why I asked about the owner. Guess it just seemed a funny thing to see in the middle of a business district. I stop and give one of the cats a quick pet before moving on. I always did like cats.



One of the locals; guy likes his green tea, I guess.



Come to think of it, I'm freakin' starving here. I don't know how long it's been since I ate, but I could go for a quick snack.



Ramen and soybeans are all you have? Are you fucking kidding me?



The cook notices that I'm not dressed like his usual patrons and politely inquires, using clever euphemisms, whether I'm a spy of some sort. I pose a hypothetical question in return, and it turns out he's got the keycodes to a few places around here; says I look like I might need the supplies.

A few credits down and he throws me the codes for the sewer manager's office (which has a different code for street-side access), a local bookstore and a nearby hotel. Why not, right?



Notes: The codes are actually free, and the cook lets you choose, but only gives you one of them and you aren't allowed to ask again. Nothing Quicksave/Quickload can't fix. RedSun really encourages you to use the 'add note' feature.



All right, enough time wasted. Let's go meet Steve. That one guy said it's near the electronics shop down the street.



I had to pick German as a second language, didn't I? Fat lot of good that shit's gonna do me here.



Ah, here we go.

The guy walking out nods to me. He mentions something about the Yamaguchi clan planning something big for Otemachi. Swell.



"Hi, I'm looking for a gentleman named Steve Thompson, he's supposed to be waiting for me here."



She gestures to a man at the far end of the shop. "I believe that's him in the back, go right ahead."

I nod. "Thank you."



I hear two customers chatting away. The girl says something about Ken's pet shop being a front for the Yakuza. Extra swell.



Steve waves me over. He's dressed inconspicuously, for a white guy in the middle of a Japanese coffee shop anyway. He seems friendly enough, and we grab a drink and start talking business.

"Alive? Yes. Well? That's debatable."

Steve smiles. "It was incredible, to say the least. The Otemachi bombing is all over the news and the 'net. UNATCO oughta give you a nice little bonus for that one."

"I'm not the one that blew it up," I reply, trying to keep my voice down. No telling who's listening in. "Hell, I almost got killed in the blast. I did see a few thugs running out of the labs before the garage blew up. One of them was a mech-aug."

"Really?" The contact raises an eyebrow. "Some of the reports are saying it was some spy from abroad. Did you get any information from the labs during your escape?"

I did, actually, but the nonchalance of this guy's starting to get to me. "This wasn't a mission, I was kidnapped. I was trying to get my ass out of there!" I sigh, frustrated. "Look, where's my ride out of here?"

"Easy," he replies. "You'll be meeting up with an air force general at Tokyo Station. He'll take you by train down to Osaka for pickup."

"To Osaka? Why not here?"

"You been paying attention since you escaped?" Steve asks. "The only open area around here is near the Hibiya Park towers, and that's controlled by the TMG. We're not on good terms with them, as you have doubtlessly noticed by now. Most of the surrounding area is a shooting gallery for the Yakuza groups, and that's if we can get through the TMG no-fly zone undetected."

He tilts his head to one side, eyes me curiously. "Maybe you're not familiar with the area, with just how bad things are here. The Yakuza aren't like gangs back home. They're organized, they're dangerous, and recently some of them even have enough power to act like small governments. The Japanese government's been ineffective at containing them, and the public views the government as weak. Although the TMG still controls Otemachi, this area, they've lost a lot of ground in several major cities."

"You're telling me the Yakuza are *beating* the Japanese government? Seriously?"

"Not beating, I said they can't be contained. The Kurokuma recently took over the underground shopping plaza near the Hibiya towers. Most of the shops in Kabuki-cho are run by local Yakuza factions, or pay protection to them. Christ, UNATCO had to make arrangements with the Yamaguchi clan in Osaka for a landing site and a ride out of Tokyo."

If I hadn't just walked out of a public building that had been blown up, I'd say Steve was full of shit. The look on his face told me he was dead serious. "The TMG have locked down Tokyo Station because the Yamaguchis have taken it over, for the moment at least. They're letting us pass on the last train out of town. The rest are being rerouted elsewhere. UNATCO's got a plan to deal with this whole area, but we need you to do something first."

I drop my head to my hands and massage my temples. "What?"

"We're putting you in touch with a retired UNATCO operative in the area, a man by the name of Kaneko. I don't know the details, but he does, and he'll help you get into the station."



You have got to be kidding me. UNATCO's making deals with Asian gangs, Mr. Ex-UNATCO-Agent works the night bar at a fucking Benihana and he's my ticket out of here.

"This key'll get you in, the entrance is just up the street, take a right at the intersection and follow it around the corner. You'll see the signs. The place just closed and he'll be cleaning up the bar; shouldn't be any customers."

"All right, all right," I roll my eyes. "Jesus, what a day."



Wait, didn't you just say... fuck, nevermind. I'm going.

That TSPE thing was mentioned back in Otemachi, though... hmm.



The restaurant's easy enough to find, it's on the next block over.



I pop the gate open with the key Steve gave me. Damn it, I should be out of here right now, I should be just chilling on a chopper ride home. But nooooo...



UNATCO's gotta go "Hey, as long as you're in the region, would you mind dealing with that raging shitstorm that's been going on for the last decade or so? Kthxbye! ^^"

I hate my job. I haven't even started my job yet and I hate it.



The Benihana's all quiet. Tables are clean, wait staff's long gone. I work my way through and to the backyard, where the bar is located.



Wonder what they do when it rains. That looks like our guy.



Kaneko's a pretty easygoing fellow, but there's a bitter touch to his voice that suggests he's seen a lot of action. He slings me a complimentary beer, which puts him a few points higher in my book. "No time for chitchat," I say, "I'm here about the mission UNATCO arranged with you."

"UNATCO?" Kaneko looks puzzled. "Ohhh, right, your friend Steve told me. So UNATCO wants my help, huh?"

"He's not my friend. You didn't know about it?" I frown. "Okay, is there a mission or not? I have a train to catch."

"Settle, Joseph, I know why you're here. I haven't been in direct contact with UNATCO in years. The way Steve laid it out suggested this one's not on the books, if you follow. UNATCO owes me a favor, and it looks like that favor is the price of your train ticket."

This is just fucking beautiful, isn't it? "And here I thought UNATCO was eager to get their prototype superagent home."

"We've always done things differently in the East," Kaneko says dryly. He then smiles and adds, "C'mon, cheer up. You're about to do a good thing out here. I'm gonna help you get to Osaka, but you better believe it'll take some doing to get the Yamaguchi to open up the station for us."

I give a long, deep sigh. "Fine. What is it you want me to do?"

"The reason the Yamaguchis care at all about you, me, or any of this is the Kurokumas. As you've no doubt figured out by now, you're smack in the middle of a Yakuza war. There are a bunch of factions all throughout Japan, but those two are the big ones. The Yamaguchis are the largest, and control a big chunk of Osaka, along with most of the real estate in the southeast. The Kurokumas have a stranglehold on Tokyo, which at the very least puts them on parity with the Yamaguchis."

Suddenly it starts to make more sense. UNATCO never had many contacts in the far east, and probably couldn't exert any leverage, so it has to cut deals instead. Since the TMG kidnapped me in the first place, we have to deal with the Yakuza to let me out of the city, and the one controlling the safest way out gets to call the shots.

Kaneko hangs his head and clenches the edge of the bar, squeezing gently with one hand. "It sickens me to do this, but the Yamaguchis' goals and my own are linked. A while back I started looking into ways to undermine the Kurokuma in Tokyo. It started as a glorified neighborhood watch, but over time I was able to assemble a small network to spy on them. We've been... unsuccessful at anything more." He swallows. "I can put pressure on the Yamaguchis to let you ride out of here in exchange for crippling the Kurokuma leadership here."

"So, we gotta help one gang by taking out another... is that it?"

"We'll... I mean, UNATCO will deal with them eventually, I'm sure," says Kaneko. "But we're still doing the right thing here. The Kurokuma do need to be stopped. It's only a matter of time before they spread out and grab more territory. They alread have moles here; you might have seen Ken's pet shop down the street."



"Entertainment?"

Kaneko's expression darkens. "You don't want to know."

"I see. So what do I have to do?"

"The Kurokuma have many hideouts all over Tokyo, and they mostly use the sewers and old subway tunnels to get around. Their two core bases are below Kabuki-cho, however. The Kurokuma own most of the major businesses there and I'm sure some of them will lead you underground, where they're situated. We need to get you to Kabuki-cho, locate their leader, and take him out. Tonight."

I shrug. "Seems pretty straightforward. How do I get to Kabuki-cho?"

"The quickest way is the Aqua Bus express, it's a light hovercraft transportation system that they started building two years ago. The terminals are on the south end of Tokyo Station; two are in the station itself and we can't get there directly anymore, but at least one is still open. It's accessible through the Hibiya Park underground shopping plaza. Additionally, the TMG used to have a small supply area near the plaza; weapons, equipment, maybe even augs. I doubt the thugs have gotten to it yet. It might be worth a look."

"I'll keep my eyes open. Is the plaza close by?"

He folds his arms over his chest. "Yeah, but the gate's locked. Kurokuma moved into the plaza recently and the TMG sealed it off. You'll have to get access from a Japanese Rail security administrator. Fortunately, one of them's part of my network; I'll let him know to expect you. His office is connected to the Daiyo department store, you can get there through the upper walkway. You better hurry though, he's probably leaving the office soon."



All right, let's get this show on the road.

Stolls

"It's Arizona all over again!"

Gotta hurry, the JR admin guy's not gonna be there much longer.



The clerk calls back to him, but he's not answering. Guess the mic's broken.



She lets me into the back room to go speak with him myself.



What the... oh, shit!



Somebody cracked his skull and had the courtesy to leave the murder weapon. This is not good. Why would somebody wanna kill this poor guy? Unless they figured out he was working with Kaneko? All right, think, Joseph, think! Okay... okay, his login and password are on that datacube, maybe his computer has some clue.



Hmm. There's an email from a construction company. They were repairing something on the roof and had to leave an air duct open for a while. Some suspicious-looking character was poking around, had blood on his hands. He claimed he locked himself out of his shop - the electronics store below - and needed to use the vent to get back inside.

This email was maybe half an hour ago. I better go have a look.



Whoa!



In a snap, I pulled my pistol and took him down. Two to the chest and a headshot to finish him off.

I didn't even realize it, but I'm slowly getting better with pistols. Nothing like a little on-the-job training, huh?



The thug came from the roof. The killer wouldn't just wait around for the body to be discovered, so what was this guy waiting for?

Maybe for me.



The killer went through here.



Store's empty, but I hear something shuffling around in the back.



I hop the counter and head for the door.



I lead with the gun. The girl yelps in surprise and backs off, and it takes a second to recognize her. It's Kimiko from Ken's pet shop.



Looks like Ken was getting ready to skip town and wanted to bring Kimiko along. He definitely killed the JR officer and stole his key, and she says he's meeting somebody soon. When she didn't agree to join him, he locked her in here and threatened to kill her if she talked.

Clearly, Ken's not too good at thinking on his feet. If he's Kurokuma, why would he bolt unless somebody smoked him out?



Kimiko gives me the passcode for the pet store office and tells me to be careful. She goes for the cops, I go after Ken.



Dogs in every cage. They start barking as soon as they see me. Wonder why he'd keep them here?



They look a bit meaner than your average dog, and those jaws look sharp.



Ken's PC is telling. Looks like he's been dealing with TMG spies. They're meeting up at the warehouse across from the department store.



Gotta move, gotta move!



The spy was kind enough to provide the code. They might still be inside, better take this slow and quiet.



I sneak in and hear voices arguing. They sound a little too preoccupied to notice me, so I creep closer, peering around the box. I catch sight of who I can only assume is Ken; the weapon he's holding suggests he's ready for unexpected visitors.



It's right out of some by-the-numbers crime drama. "You got the stuff?" "Yeah, I got it. Where's the money?" "No, you don't get the money 'till I get the stuff."



I'm tempted to shout out "He's wearing a wire!"



And things take a turn for the interesting. I take back what I said about Ken, guy rigged up a warehouse cage to trap the two TMG soldiers. And now the gloves come off: these two boosted money from the TMG and were planning on fleeing to Osaka; hence, they needed the key from Ken. Ken, meanwhile, was about turn on the Kurokuma and hand the money from the TMG over to the Yamaguchi in exchange for a salaried position and a generous 401k plan. Or something. What? I just got here, I don't know this jackass.

Anyway, they're about to call each other on their respective plans when the crate I'm leaning against shifts, making a rather loud scraping noise.



Um... hi.



Ken hefts his shotgun and lets out a burst of shells. The shells fire far faster than any standard combat shotgun - not that I'm expert or anything - and it's but by the grace of his bad aim that my head isn't taken clean off. I fall back behind another crate and return fire. We trade shots for a few seconds before I finally cap him in the head.



"Don't shoot!" one of the soldiers shouts, backing away from me as best he can. "We're not with him!"

"No shit," I mutter, taking a look at the table. There's the key to the JR control room, and the login to open the gates. But somebody must've heard the shots, I better get moving. Just as I start to leave, TMG troopers arrive on scene, and I get a message from Kaneko over my Infolink:

"I just got word that Ken from the pet shop is dead, and that there was a firefight in a warehouse down the street. What the hell happened down there? Get back to the restaurant, we gotta talk."



Well, this is just fantastic. The Kurokuma's lead-off man for Otemachi is dead and it's a matter of minutes before somebody places me near the scene. Nevermind that he was bailing on the clan; somebody's going to know something's up. Shit.



Kaneko's confused and furious; more of the latter. No free drink this time.

"Look, lemme explain..."

"For the love of god please," he says flatly, "this should be very entertaining."

"I went to meet your pal at his office, but Ken got to him first and killed him for the key and code to the station gates. I checked the computer and found out somebody had fled the scene through the vents on the neighboring roof. I poked around and found Ken's girlfriend locked up in the back of the electronics store, then checked out the pet shop. Turns out Ken was meeting TMG guys in the warehouse and was trying to sell them the key."

I scratch the back of my neck, avoiding Kaneko's stare. "Ken heard me eavesdropping and pulled a gun on me. What the hell was I supposed to do?"



"I got the key and the code," I say, trying to reassure him. "What do I do?"

He takes a deep breath. "You can still get to the Aqua Bus terminal. TMG got pulled away from the JR office by the shootout in the warehouse. You can sneak in and unlock the gates to the plaza. You'll have to get past more Kurokuma thugs, but I think we've tipped our hand already. If you're quick, you can get there before the last bus leaves. The TMG plan to shut the system down soon so they can clear out the plaza, so if you're going, you gotta go right now."

"All right, I'm on it. See ya, Kaneko."



"I swear, things were so much simpler in my day," he sighs as I leave.

Yeah, I bet you went straight to telling a guy to bend over, didn't you?



I make my way back to the office, which is curiously deserted. The TMG soldiers outside are questioning the locals, but it's a simple matter to get back inside undetected.



The key opens up the JR admin's control station. One login and password later and the gates are unlocked and open.



I don't have much time before somebody figures out what I've done, but hopefully I'll be on the other end of Tokyo when they do.



I pass by the entrance to Tokyo Station proper, and gently rap my fist against the gate in protest. So close, yet so far.



I check my guns and head down. Let's blow this popsicle stand.

-

Asides: Otemachi-ku is where the game's lack of polish starts to show. You've got triggers that can fire early (you can trigger Ken's dialog in the NW part of the waterway tunnels), lines of dialog attributed to the wrong person (sometimes not even in the same room), and some rather puzzling dialog/story elements, along with more than a few spelling errors. Now most of what happened in these two chapters does make sense, given time - there are good story ideas here, despite their poor execution. You'll see as we go further. In any case...

Going through the Otemachi loading docks is simpler and easier than the water tunnels, though less rewarding. You gain small exp bonuses for searching the trailers, but you'll only find a couple boxes of pistol ammo, some flare darts, and a single biocell.



Avoid or take out the soldiers loitering around the back.



The button in the guardhouse opens the gate.



Ta-dah! Easy as pie.



Clearly, Ken is not keen on taking care of the pets. Poor kitties.



Stuffed suit near the coffee shop doesn't take kindly to an audience.



"Cyper" Geisha Girl actually leaves a note in your datavault about where to meet her later, having decided that the jerkface she's currently with isn't doing anything for her. You do actually get to Kabuki-cho later, so what the hell.



As long as we're here, let's go stealing. The bookstore, keycode 4949, has a multitool and a couple credit chits.



If you're computer savvy, this ATM has a fair chunk of change in it.



Never mind that there aren't many chances to spend credits in this game. Do it all for the credits, man. Do it for the credits.



The hotel is behind this unmarked door on the upper walkway, keycode 6558.



Worth looking into for a multitool and a couple lockpicks.



There's a secret near the ramen joint. Take a right and poke your head into the alley under the fan.



Look for a ladder and climb until you hit a small alcove.



Follow it around and he-hey! Tranq darts and assault rifle grenades. Can you dig it? Of course you can.



Secret area two: locked door where you find Kimiko in the video store.



This leads to the back of the bookstore, and a small elevator. Hop on it and use it.



A tasty XP bonus and more ammo await. But that's not all!



You may have noticed the elevators going up and down. Most of them are empty.



One is not.



This, if the NPC text is to be believed, is Philip Mead. As in 'President of the United States of America during the Deus Ex timeline' Philip Mead.



Do what comes naturally for a small XP penalty (courtesy of Shifter, which penalizes you for wantonly killing friendlies or neutral - though not for knocking them out).

This can also be done with a sniper rifle from the ground for that extra added Grassy Knoll touch, if you picked one up along the way.



Think twice about releasing the dogs. A paper mentions some stolen SPOTs, augmented pups that do a shitton of damage. Ken's been stealing them.



They're still only dogs, but they hit hard and can finish you in seconds.



The struggle is soon over.



Lastly, RedSun uses Smuggler's model for Ken, and so with Shifter Ken gets Smuggler's badass Jackhammer shotgun - a combat shotgun with an insanely high fire rate, but reduced damage per shot. At Master it can lay an adult Karkian out flat in the one-and-a-half seconds it takes to empty the clip.

Join us next time for a riotous shootout in a spooky underground mall. Also... well... okay, that's actually pretty much all there is to Hibiya. But it's still pretty cool. Stick around!

Stolls

My apologies for the delayed update. Alas, I am currently caught in a tug of war between The Witcher and Mass Effect, and by 'alas' I mean 'fuck yes'. With that in mind, Joseph gets into the spirit of things by exploring a place that is dangerous, but not lonely. Behold!

Going Shopping
Tracks: Hibiya Plaza; Ambient, Combat

So, to recap, I have to pass a closed-off shopping mall brimming with angry, heavily-armed gangsters so I can get to the last bus to Kabuki-cho, where I can happy get shot at by even more angry, heavily-armed gangsters. My day got off to a really bad start and it doesn't look like it's getting better anytime soon.



What the hell, let's do this thing.

Predictably, the gate's locked. I spot a Kurokuma thug patrolling in the shadows and immediately duck back. The lights seem to be off for most of the mall. Well, that just makes this all the more fun, doesn't it?



What really unsettles me is how eerily quiet everything is. I never was afraid of the dark, but silence is another thing. Just distant footsteps, the occasional cough, the whistling of air through ventilation ducts... no chatter, no noise, no nothing. I can almost hear my own heart start to beat a little louder.

I grab my crowbar and force open one of the vent covers. I'm sure they heard it, but right now I need some kind of noise. Anything.



The shaft carries me upward, to the upper level of the plaza. Fortunately for budding spies everywhere, the market for vent construction was cornered by a single company specializing in man-sized shafts and convenient ladder access. How they sold that one is way beyond me, but I'm not complaining.



The vent empties out next to two thugs. My eyes strain to adjust to the darkness, I can't see much beyond the emergency lighting. Much as I hate the silence, right now it and the darkness are my only friends here. Maybe I can take these two quietly, if I drop down real quick with Silent Running on...



Or maybe not.

Um... hi.



I whip out the pistol and go to work, but one of them clips me right in the gut with their sawed-off. If not for my armor, I would've been torn in half.

A couple pistol shots each drop them in their tracks before either can rack another shell.



I spend a few more medkits; nanites repair bruised and ruptured organs and coax bone back together. Ain't exactly a medbot, but it'll do in a pinch. Wish it could do something about the soreness, though.

Nobody below us. The gunfire surely carried in all directions, but the lighting should help me keep a low profile for now.



I creep along the upper walkway, trying to form some semblance of a game plan. If I can take out all the guards up top, I'll have a better vantage point to clear out the lower floor... no, wait, don't try to take everybody out, you're not fucking Superman, just get to the AquaBus terminal. But wait, there's the aug stash Kaneko mentioned, I'm gonna need upgrades if I'm going to survive. Damn it, too much to think about.



I throw a few tranq darts at this patrolling thug. It takes way too long for the juice to kick in and bring him down. Looks like they've got modded thugs keeping an eye on this area. Dr. Reyes mentioned black-market mechanical augmentation; it's usually simple stuff, boosted reflexes or enhanced vision, nothing truly superhuman.

Still, the lights are out and they're all whisper quiet. They're expecting trouble.



Lights and another gate. I rush to check it out, trying to keep low in case any nearby snipers get any funny ideas.



An elevator lobby to the Hibiya Towers. I recall the Towers are controlled by the TMG; right now that would be a slight improvement over my current problem. This gate isn't budging, however. I'll have to look elsewhere.



A couple stray darts from that thug I dropped. The tips are still sharp and the tranq agent wasn't discharged on impact, so I dig them out and continue.



I follow the north wall, heading east. More thugs milling around on the lower level, shotguns in hand. Maybe I can surprise them.



Ow, fuck!



Yeah, right back atcha, asshole!



I dig out the prod in time to zap a thug that comes running, saving me some ammo, but I can hear more bad guys on the way.

"Over here!" shouts one of them. "Some guy in a coat, take him down!"



As before, it takes a full clip from the assault rifle for me to bring down just one target. The gun shakes and jolts all over the place and I can barely keep it steady. I know, 'short controlled bursts' and all, but it's a little bit different when you're talking live targets.



Out of rifle ammo. I switch to the shotgun as two more come in from the back.



Ken's Jackhammer has a kick that makes the rifle feel like a cell phone on vibrate. Barely two seconds of trigger pulling empty the entire magazine at the thug, all but turning him into hamburger and practically throwing my arm out of its socket. I fumble with another drum clip as the next thug takes a crack at me. He scores a hit to my chest with his pistol, but my armor holds long enough for me to take him down.



Jesus, they just keep coming! Choke on a LAM, fuckers!



Minus two!



It's quiet again, though I can hear footsteps in the distance. The word is definitely out.

I didn't even realize it, but the battle pushed me to the west end of the mall. Nothing over here but the restrooms.



East it is, then. Gotta love having an integrated compass in your skull.



Two more thugs are guarding the entrance gate, one of them peering curiously into the darkness. He calls out in his native tongue, hearing my footsteps. With my only practical knowledge of Japanese derived from their crazy-ass cartoons, I can barely determine that he's asking if I'm okay; he doesn't immediately notice I'm not one of them.

He also doesn't see my drawn pistol, so I take my time and line up a good headshot.



No sweat.

That gate leads back to Otemachi, where I busted through the vent. I think I'm starting to get my bearings. If north is the towers, south is Otemachi and west is a dead-end, then east has to be the terminal.



I get moving. The mall's silent again. I just killed about ten people and took a few hits myself - my mind still hasn't caught up with that - but it's the silence that once again unsettles me. Those bastards could be anywhere, and who knows how many more are there.



I head east until I come to a set of stairs, with a small alcove off to the left. Those stairs should lead to the terminal.



But there's no telling what's waiting for me there. I need those augs. Against my better judgment, I decide to poke around the basement.

Stolls

For Lack of a Brass Lantern

>It is pitch black. I am likely to be eaten by a grue.

Seriously, this is a really bad idea. I mean, incredibly bad.



What the fuck?!

It... it doesn't see me. I'm shining the light right on it. What on earth is that thing?!



There's a TNT crate in the room with it, whatever it is. I'm not taking any chances. I bounce a grenade in and take cover.



Whatever it was, it's cat food now.

I think it was some kind of transgenic. I heard bits and pieces about them back at UNATCO, but I didn't know any actually existed outside of a lab, much less would be found wandering around a mall basement in Tokyo. Was Otemachi behind this, too?



What's over here?



Dead end, sort of. A Santo Denki Services pumping station. There's a door leading further in, but it's locked. Nothing I can do about it now.



Back into the darkness. Another of those things behind a fence. This one snorts at me; it heard me. Shit!



Fortunately, I have more grenades.



I spot a light in the distance, and turn off my own. I can hear two thugs talking; maybe I can get the drop on them.



The darkness works to my favor. They don't see me approach.



I quietly switch to standard darts and spring from hiding. One each to the head and they're on their backs. Piece of cake.



Not exactly comfortable down here, though. The next room is completely dark. I don't hear anything, no gangsters, no monsters; just my heart pounding again. Starting to get to me, my mind keeps wandering, flicking between different strains of thought. Tried to play Predator, bunch of bullshit that was. I'm just some jackass with a trenchcoat and a bunch of guns. Darkness with noise, I can deal. Darkness without... tricks on my eyes, tricks on my mind. I can't focus.

I swallow, shake my head. C'mon, Joseph, keep it together. You just fragged two big fucking things and you don't even know what they were. You wanted to be the badass superagent, right? Well let's do some badass superagent shit. Keep. It. Together.

In a desperate effort to chase darkness and silence back, I crack open a few flares.



Somebody spots the light and bursts from hiding. Damn, but it's unnerving when they do that. Fortunately, I heard him draw his gun and readied mine before he could do too much damage. Crafty, though; I didn't even hear him breathing.



He did enough to force me to burn through the rest of my medkits, though. This ain't good.



Company! I whirl around and return fire, muzzle flare giving brief, stop-motion glimpses of my attackers. A few rounds clip me as I stagger down into a hallway, blindly firing back.



I can hear more footsteps, more guns, at least three of them. The hall's too long and too well lit by flares to retreat, and there's no cover.



Fortunately, I'm not too far gone to remember that I've been collecting a lot of these things lately.



The three of them can't get away from the LAM in time, and down they go, but not without cost. At least three bullets hit their mark through the armor, and I can't feel my right arm. I'm out of medkits and bleeding badly. The pain... there is no pain. It should be excruciating, I shouldn't even be able to move, but I can't fucking feel a thing.



I see a light, I stagger... I limp towards the stairs. The only way out.



The room swims a bit... damn, my body feels heavy... light and heavy at the same time. I can't feel anything. My fingers are numb, and that's on the hand I can still use.



Sonova... this is it, this is what Kaneko mentioned, the TMG aug stash. Hah... isn't this just grand? I get shot to pieces and chew through my medkits, I'm about an inch from death and I finally find the stash. Go figure.



I have just enough strength to prime a grenade and drop it near the spiderbots guarding the stash.



And to think, demolitions was my weak point back at the academy.



Ho-ho! I haven't yet lost too much blood to know a treasure trove when I see one. Rifle grenades, regular grenades, ammo, a flamethrower... now we're talkin'.



And I just might live long enough to use it, too. The medbot happily puts me back together, and shoots me full of enough morphine to put a football team down. Or enough to make my life suck a little less, if you prefer the not-metaphor phrasing.

(Wait, is a metaphor the one with 'like' in it, or is that a simile? Damn it, I can never remember.)



Anyway, back on track. The TMG aug canisters have been down here a while, and are slightly dusty and corroded, but they're still intact and the contained nanites still conform to a few basic subsystems. I load up muscle augmentation, ballistic protection and aggressive defense; good, general-purpose augs that will undoubtedly be useful at some point.



Feeling more like a nano-augmented agent should, and properly patched up, I hightail it back upstairs.



The flares still burn, but there are no more targets.



I don't know if they're still hiding, or if I chased off the survivors, or what, but I'm not sticking around for the next dick with a shotgun to jump at me from the shadows.



Luck runs out and it's been pretty damn fickle so far.



Time to hit the terminal and catch a ride out of this hellhole.

Asides: All things considered, the Hibiya plaza is one of the creepiest levels in the game.

The music and lighting go a long way in selling the mood, and though the lack of light eventually gets annoying - the basement is very dangerous if you don't know about the karkians - it's one of the few areas that really nails the atmosphere. This is another spot where Shifter comes in handy, as flares last for about five-six minutes, a bit closer to what actual flares can do. They're no replacement for a flashlight, but they're very handy in marking tunnels you've been down before and drawing out hidden enemies before they can ambush you.

Kaneko mentions a third Yakuza group - the Kamikaze - during his schpiel earlier, and it's implied that they were the ones who attacked the Hibiya Towers and took over the plaza, not the Kurokuma. However, by the time you actually *get* to the plaza, the Kamikaze are nowhere to be seen. This may explain why the plaza thugs are all augmented, while normal Kurokuma thugs just wear leather jackets; it's likely they changed that part of the story later on, as Kaneko claims the Kamikaze were broken up and largely absorbed by the Kurokuma.

Although you get the skill point bonus (200) for finding the TMG stash, the objective stays in your datavault until a few maps later. The fences seem to be solid textures, and Deus Ex bad guys can't see through anything that can't be shot through; hence the "blind" karkians and such. With that out of the way, there are a couple visual oddities to note here:



Hibiya is literally a point of no return. Trying to head back prompts this error message. Note that the actual map of Otemachi-Ku is just labeled "21_OtemachiKu"; it is not known if this is merely a zone connection oversight or if a copy of Otemachi was intended specifically for if you return from Hibiya.



If you clip through the gate to the Tower elevator lobby, you can find a crowbar lying on the ground, a credit chit for 100 credits, and a datacube with nothing on it. Pointless? Yes. But you go and get it anyway because it's there, like the beer that's on Liberty Island after getting back from the NSF Warehouse.



Another Shifter bonus: investigate toilets and flush any marked as "unflushed" for a public hygiene awareness bonus of 2xp per toilet. As far as I know, it's randomly determined which toilets are and aren't flushed.

In the next update, Joseph tries to catch the quote-unquote last bus out to Kabuki-cho. Yes, the quote-unquote is for a reason, and yes, it's probably the reason you're thinking of. Because what would an RPG be without some bullshit runaround to kill time and help you get stronger just in time for the final confrontation?

Jblade35

You're doing a excellent job - I've played through this mod and I agree with pretty much all your points. Parts of it are shoddy but the atmosphere more than makes up for it (Deus Ex does spooky derelict locations much better than many other games) The only thing that bothers me about this and Zodiac is the lack of voice acting, which is understandable but does take some of the atmosphere away.

That Cassandra project wasn't finished unfortunately, and the version that is downloadable only contains a base map and a training section. It's still definitly worth playing however as a lot of effort was put into it. It's just a shame that it never materialised.

Meiz

Hey, there's still VCRs in the future!

Sorry. That and the battlebotz sign just screams "no".

Stolls

In this episode: The Yakuza rides spinnaz, also rockets. Or maybe just rockets. Anyway, Joseph has one last hurdle before the bus station, a hurdle of not-inconsiderable size. Observe:

Can't I Just Carjack Somebody?
Tracks: Ocean Lab (from DX)

Finally, lights. Good to know somebody paid their bills this month.



Whoaaaaa. Those TMG bots have the entrance bottled up and they'll probably shoot me as soon as they turn this way. I'm out of LAMs, and I don't know if rifle grenades will get the job done quick enough. I need a distraction.



I scurry across the hall, up the ramp to the overlook. Hel-lo, what have we here?



They're talking about something, but I can't hear them from here. I tiptoe down for a closer look. Er, listen.



"Somebody went ballistic in the plaza," says one, breathless. "Bodies fucking everywhere."

"We had over a dozen guys there!" says another. "Gotta be TMG special forces."

"The gate wasn't breached, and our man in the TMG would've warned us if they were moving in," the first replies. "Just keep your fucking eyes open and if something moves, shoot it."



The second quickly changes the subject. "Okay, by tomorrow we should have control over all four aqua bus terminals. We plan to bomb three of them and only use one."

"Which one are we leaving open?"

He shrugs. "No clue, but I take it we'll find out soon enough. TMG will take the place back eventually, so we're probably blowing this one. We'll have the bots shut down soon and we can have the place wired up in an hour."

So they can't get to the terminal itself yet, huh? I have formulated a cunning plan.



"Hi! I couldn't help but notice you guys were talking about me. Contrary to your friend's suspicions I am not, in fact, a TMG agent. I am instead an up-and-coming member of the United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition, and I'm simply trying to get back to the States before the people who captured me do so again. While my actions thus far may suggest otherwise, I don't really mean to intrude on your conflict with the other Yakuza clans, and so I apologize for the unfortunate and untimely deaths of your associates back in the mall. In summation, please excuse me while I pass through, and we can bring this whole matter to a satisfactory conclusion for all involved parties."



I get to "help" before they draw their guns and start firing. Didn't even get a chance to try out the British accent. Philistines.



The bot starts turning around. Right over here, big guy.



I duck around the corner with the five Yakuza in hot pursuit.



The first rocket should have been their clue that they had much, much bigger problems at hand.



I think the third or fourth rocket gets the point across, though.



Sission muccess!



I hop back over to where the Yakuza were holed up. They have a patchwork terminal wired into the TMG security network in this vacant room, and the datacube has the keycode to shut off the cameras and turrets protecting the station. I black out the bus entrance camera and head back to the bots.



The one on the lower level is noisily clanking around, looking for other targets. Just enough time to slip by it.



That was easy.



All right! Just gotta get to the bus and get out of here.



Laser tripwire blocking the entrance. Clearly the same people that put ladders inside vents also thought it'd be a good idea to put control panels outside the security they control.



Quick work with a multitool and bam, I'm in. It'll be nice to sit down and catch my breath for a while.



That's me! Wait, what the...



Where's the damn bus?!



Maybe she knows something.



Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!

I had to go screwing around in the goddamn basement, didn't I? I had to go for the augs and fight the Yakuza and the who-knows-whats with the giant teeth and get shot to pieces, didn't I? Damn it! Now what the hell am I supposed to do?!

"This section's closed down until the TMG can regain control of the plaza," she says with a sigh. "Guess I'm not going anywhere right now."

Yeah, you and me both, lady. "How about the other terminals?" I ask hopefully, noting the two other buses. "They still look open."

"There's one left; the one at Hibiya Park Towers will stay open a little longer. However, it's privately owned. Only residents can use it."



"You'd have to get inside the hotel itself. The only way to the terminal is through the elevators in the main lobby."

A shot's a shot. "All right, how can I get to the hotel?"

She gives me an odd look. "Forget it, it's impossible. The TMG have locked down the towers. If you're not a resident and you don't have a pass, you'll be shot on sight." A pause. "Why do you need to get to Kabuki-cho so badly, anyway? Who are you?"

She's not Yakuza or TMG, or else she'd be on the other side of those lasers and bots. I decide to level with her, adding a few embellishments of my own. "I'm helping out a resistance faction against the Kurokuma. One of our moles has information that'll help us dismantle their entertainment network in Kabuki-cho."

She inhales sharply, her eyes appraising me anew. Doubt quickly returns. "Why should I believe you?"

That's an easy one, though I stumble a bit at the start. "Well... well, you can wait for the TMG to tell you about the dozen or so thugs I had to kill just to get here, or you can hear it straight from me." I pull aside my coat, revealing my sidearm and the numerous bullet holes in my armor. "Take your pick."

She stares at me for a while, mulling over her options. Finally, she relents.



"From there, you'll need to find a way to enter the towers. I know someone who works with Santo Denki in that area, his name is Tsuyoshi. If you can find him and explain yourself, he might know a way in." She pulls out a nanokey and offers it to me. "This key should let you into the pumping station. I'm Miya, by the way. Tell him I'm okay, that should let him know to trust you."

"Thanks," I say. "Can I ask why you're helping me?"

She looks away, frowns. "My younger sister was kidnapped recently by the Yakuza in Kabuki-cho. I... I don't know if she's even still alive, but if she is..."

I nod. "I'll do what I can."



I'm about to leave when my stomach starts growling. Figures, I'm trying to catch a bus, I just *missed* a bus because I took a detour, and my stomach has to remind me I haven't eaten anything in a while.



Fuck it, why not. I jimmy the keypad and help myself to a can of soda and a pack of soy food. Not much, but it'll keep me going.



Back upstairs. Gotta wait for the bot to turn around...



Nice. Just stay low and quiet until it passes the exit, and...



Flawless victory.



Back through the Hibiya Plaza. Flies are starting to buzz around the bodies. I'm surprised the TMG didn't follow right in after me.



I quickly make my way back to the pumping station, on the north end of the basement. Miya's key pops the door open like a charm.



Onward and (hopefully) upward!

Asides: There aren't any side areas or secrets in the AquaBus terminal, though you can get the code for the store from the reception desk. A datacube under the counter has the login and password. The computer inside the shop mentions the TMG stash in the basement of the plaza, and you get 200xp for breaking into the store, along with a few supplies. Ghosting up to where the second military bot is perched reveals nothing of interest.

Next time, Joseph's struggle with public transportation goes into extra innings. And to think, if he'd just picked the speed aug, he could be there by now. Woe!

Jblade35

I never thought to lure the Yakuza into fighting the bots - I just charged in and shot the former, then tried to take out the latter with LAMs. I had to reload a few times to get that down (I also remember LAM climbing my way up onto that ledge with the other bot, kinda lame there's nothing up there)

Stolls

Yeah, I went out of my way to get people to fight each other in the original DX. Watching a massive three-way brawl between MJ12, UNATCO and the NYPD is too entertaining not to, especially when a well-timed scrambler grenade to a bot turns them all into mulch. I forgot about LAM climbing, though. I tended to run out of grenades before getting to the terminal.

The clock is ticking, as clocks are wont to do, and Joseph rushes yet again to catch the last bus to Kabuki-cho. For real this time. As always, just getting there is half the fun.

One Last Ticket
Tracks: Ocean Lab (waterways, from DX); Battery Park (Hibiya Towers, from DX)

Miya said these tunnels should take me to the hotel grounds. First I'll have to find her friend Tsuyoshi and see if he can help me get inside.



My IFF subsystems trigger a warning immediately. Hostile spiderbots.



Nothing a rifle grenade can't fix.



The tunnels, predictably, all look identical, but they're fairly straightforward to navigate.



They lead me to the central pumping station, with only the occasional spiderbot to get in the way.



Door's open and light's on. There's a lot of noise from the pumps and equipment, but I can hear someone humming to himself inside.



Plain-looking fellow in a jumpsuit. Let's talk.

He turns toward me as I enter, his suspicion clear in his voice. "You're not supposed to be in here," he curtly begins.

I cut him off. "You're Tsuyoshi, right? I just talked with Miya at the AquaBus terminal."

Tsuyoshi lightens up almost instantly, and gives me the courtesy of a second appraisal. "Really? So you know Miya? Is she okay?"

I nod. "Yeah, she's fine. The Kurokuma tried to grab the terminal, and she's little shaken up about the fighting, but she's safe."

"That's good to hear," he says. "So why are you here? You're American, right?"

"UNATCO agent," I answer. "I'm here to help deal with the Yakuza. Long story."



"Sounds like a suicide mission to me. If they're making you go through this shit I can't imagine what they want you in Kabuki-cho for. Security around the towers is tight."

"Yeah, Miya mentioned that. Don't worry, I just need to know the safest way to get inside."

He smirks for a moment, dropping his eyes to one side before looking back up at me. "Well, all right then." He jerks his thumb towards the back door. "The ladder over there leads to the upper grounds of the tower, not far from the main entrance. You won't get far if you just go straight through the front door, they're protected by lasers triggered to the alarms. Your only real option is a manhole on the other side of the building."



"Sounds fun. Anything else?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if they're monitoring the elevators with turrets and security bots. With all the fighting and bombings that have been going on, TMG isn't taking any chances. You'll have to shut down security to get to the elevators. You can do that from the second floor computer room, if you can avoid the guards."

"Thanks for the warning," I say with a half-smile. "And for the help. Wish me luck."

"Before you go," he interrupts, "did Miya tell you about her sister, Tomoko?"

"Yeah, she said her sister was kidnapped in Kabuki-cho. I told her I'd try to find her."

Tsuyoshi lets out a long sigh and looks away. "Thank you. The truth is, we don't know what happened to her, but we hear about so many kidnappings, and forced workers in the entertainment district... it's hard not to jump to conclusions. Miya hardly left her apartment for a week when we found out she was missing."

"I'm sorry," I say quietly. "Are you and Miya... seeing each other?"

"Yes, I've been seeing her for a few months now in secret. She used to come to the plaza twice a week to meet me until the Kurokuma took it over. I haven't been able to see her since then."

"Why in secret?"

He chuckles, bitterly. "She's married to a TMG officer. She doesn't agree with their policies as of late, and their marriage has gone downhill since then. We're trying to save up enough money to escape to the countryside..."

He trails off. I think I've asked too much. "Sorry... didn't mean to pry."

"It's all right," he shakes his head. "It's good to tell somebody, we don't have many people we can trust these days."



"Well... I'll keep my eyes open for Tomoko. Thanks again."

Tsuyoshi bids me fairwell as I head for the ladder.



All right, this leads topside. I'll have to circle around the building, avoid the guards, and find the manhole. Easy peasy, right?



The ladder takes me up to a small pile of storage crates, ringed with razor wire. The wind quietly drifts through the courtyard, carrying a chilling breeze that makes me glad I still have my coat. The warmest welcome I've had all night.



Soldiers patrol the perimeter. I see a high-powered rifle slung to the nearest guard's back, and he's cradling a submachine gun.



Angry as I am over my kidnapping, I'm not going to kill guys just doing their job if I can help it. Besides, the bigger mess I make, the easier I make things for the Yakuza.



Snipers on the roof...



...and lasers at the main entrance, just like Tsuyoshi said. Time to stay low and quiet.



I drop down into the lower grounds and hug the wall. The large windows throw a lot of light out, but hopefully nobody'll be in the mood to look too closely.



It's easy enough to get to the west side of the building.



Ah-ha. The manhole has a crude nanolock holding it shut, and I don't have the key.



A single lockpick gets the job done, however. I hop in and pull the cover shut behind me, climbing quickly down the ladder.



Let's see where this goes.



This is promising. The General Affairs Manager is out for the evening, but a short search through his office turns up a datacube with a login/password for the basement security system. A small door to my left leads into the building proper, but a well-positioned turret makes me think twice. I'll need to find a control panel.



That ladder led further down, maybe there's another way in.



A couple stray dogs are milling about in the darkness. I feed the pups a couple tranquilizers and move on.



Another ladder, but this one leads back to the upper grounds. No luck here, though I do find a small datacube with maintenance notes on it. Looks like they haven't tied laser triggers to the security system yet and are powering them locally through electric panels. There's one in the General Affairs Manager's office, which I can get to once I shut down the guns.



The tunnel's dark, dank and hard to navigate, but I do eventually find my way to some kind of basement window. Getting warmer.



A well-hidden ladder leads up near the window.



Here's our security panel. The code from the office lets me shut down the guns and cameras. The gate here's locked; I could pick it easily, but I can see that it leads into the same hallway I can get to from the office, so I'll save the lockpick for now.



I use a multitool to kill power to the lasers blocking the door into the hotel. That should be the last obstacle.



Supoib.

Asides: Not much on the way to the Towers, apart from a couple side areas in the waterways (through the third door by Tsuyoshi) and the tower basement (in a small alcove next to the dogs); small XP bonuses and supplies for each. There is a noteworthy quirk with the dialog, however. Although Miya mentions her sister in the terminal, she doesn't name her. Tsuyoshi is the first to, and Joseph wonders if it's the same person Deguchi back at the TMG complex mentioned; Deguchi, however, doesn't mention her at all. It's likely the writer - I use the term loosely - meant Kaneko instead, as he *does* know Tomoko; more on that later.

The soldiers on the grounds are indeed armed with sniper rifles and assault guns. The 'snipers' on the rooftop carry, of all things, rocket launchers. Fortunately, the roof is kind of awkward to navigate and it's possible to watch one inadvertently leap to their doom trying to take you down. While anybody with a sniper rifle is bad news, it's not too hard to just shoot your way into the tower, massacre everyone and get to the station. It's worth doing at least once, it's amazingly therapeutic. Also it's a worthy use for the gobs of rifle grenades the game gives you.

Next time: Joseph infiltrates the hotel, makes a suicide jump, and apparently looks like a piano player. Yeah. Stick around!

Stolls

Nobody Here But Us Guests, Part 1

I slip through the door undetected into a busy office room. I can hear some poor tech support lady arguing with a customer over the phone, while some data entry drones in suits relentlessly punch away at their keyboards. The greenhouse in the center of the room seems out of place, and doubly so considering both its doors are guarded.



One worker shares his thoughts.



This guy doesn't seem to notice or care that I don't really belong here, and remarks that someone dropped a datacube on the inside. He mentions the piano player upstairs might know something about it, and also questions why they would post guards around the thing.



Eh, whatever. I'm finally here, time to grab the bus and get a move on.



Oh, come the fuck on!

The secretary is unperturbed by my girlish scream of rage (I can't scream convincingly, sue me) and calmly explains that they closed off the AquaBus elevator early due to all the fighting. The right-hand banks are gated off and guarded by robot sentries until tomorrow morning. The buses are automated, so there is still one scheduled to leave soon, but Tsuyoshi was right. I'm gonna have to cut through security somehow to get to it.



You're breaking my balls, Tokyo.



I'm torn between continuing with my foolish crusade to triumph over the AquaBus and just camping out here until morning, then catching a taxi and getting as far away from this godforsaken city as possible.

Might as well get a snack or something. I wander over to the bar.



Huh. Come to think of it, didn't stuffed suit #7 say the piano man knew something about the greenhouse? I'm stuck here anyway, might as well check it out.



Yeah, get in line, buddy.



One of the other residents flags me down for a song request, mistakenly believing I'm the piano player, whom he regularly saddles with his issues. I couldn't be less interested in this idiot's problems right now, so I quickly and almost politely make up an excuse to leave.



Piano man's nowhere to be found, so I leave the bar. The other side of the hotel has a small art exhibition, nice and quiet.



Here's our guy.

"You get used to the strange crowd," he says. "Always the same people, and half of them can't even pronounce my name. They just call me the piano man, and that's if they remember my face in the first place."

"Yeah, a couple of them thought I was you," I roll my eyes.

Sing Us A Song chuckles. "I suppose there's a resemblance, if you were blind. Anyway, what can I do for you, Mr...?"

"Joseph," I answer. "I hear you know something about the greenhouse downstairs."

"Ohhh yeah, that. One of the guards left his wallet at the bar last night after the show. I returned it to him, but while looking for the license I found the codes to the greenhouse doors." He throws me a guarded look before I can even think about suspecting him of anything. "Don't worry, I didn't touch the chits or his cards or anything. The note practically fell out when I picked up the wallet in the first place."

"Uh huh. Mind if I take a gander? I'm a bit curious about what's in the greenhouse."

"Who am I to dissuade a heavily armed stranger from poking around behind locked doors?" Piano man chuckles again. "Might want to do a better job of hiding your guns, but the fact that you haven't started shooting yet tells me you're not Yakuza. That and you being American."

I'm a bit taken aback, but I try not to let it show. "Thanks, I think."

He shows me the codes, and I make a literal mental note in my datavault.

"Be careful," he warns, some gravity seeping into his voice. "I'm pretty sure the TMG are down there."



That is strange. "Thanks for the warning. Good luck with your show."



Security's on the second floor, but heading straight up into the locked door and the active camera seems like a bad idea right now.



All right, now I just need to get these jamokes away from the doors. Time for a little trickery!

I tell the first guard a little girl is at the counter upstairs, lost and crying her eyes out.



That was easy.

His partner's a bit more stubborn. "You think I'm gonna fall for that?" he scoffs.

"Well, your buddy at the other door did. He ran off just now."



The best and the brightest, as always.



Hmm, so the office worker was right. This code could come in handy.



Shortly after the door opens, the pool slides back into the floor, revealing a stairway into a subbasement. The TMG sign suggests the piano man was spot on.



Fortunately, it is also being used as a storeroom. The boxes give me plenty of cover to zap my would-be ambushers one by one.



I hear a guard cough on the other side of these crates. Poor guy probably just wants a Halls or something.



YEAH CHOKE ON IT BITCH HAVE SOME PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO DAMAGE THE BRONCHIAL PATHWAYS IT'S LIKE GIVING 'EM CIGARETTES OR SOMETHING



That was oddly satisfying, coupled with a prod zap. And it was relatively quiet. Plus, the key on the counter is marked for the elevator to the AquaBus. Go me!



The password I found on that datacube works for the console here.



I'm on the right track. This controls the gate for the bank of elevators leading to the terminal, but it does nothing about the bot or the turret. I leave it alone for now, and instead deactivate the camera and unlock the door to the second floor, as well as the security for an adjoining storeroom.



The other greenhouse door leads to the storeroom. I quickly circle around and check it out.



Aw, shit! Damn it, that turret's hard-coded to blast anything that gets too close, must be some kinda failsafe.



In retrospect, perhaps low-yield explosives weren't the right answer considering my attempts at stealth and tact so far, but you can't argue with results.



However, it's well worth the effort. Lock and load!

Stolls

Nobody Here But Us Guests, Part 2
Tracks: Aquabus (cutscene)

All sorts of great TMG hardware, including augmentation supplies. When I'm done with the cool crime of stealing, I have a nifty new stealth pistol, a handful of mods for my guns, upgraded ballistic protection, an extra shot for silent running once I find a medbot, tons of ammo and a couple EMP grenades. This on top of assorted lesser supplies and a repairbot in the room.

I dance a celebratory jig and move on.



With the second floor wide open and the camera off, I easily sneak up and inside.



Guard investigating a broken window. Nice of him to open the door for me.



I repay his charity with a prod to the base of the neck, then drag him off to the nearest dark corner. One of his patrolling buddies gets the same treatment. Nothing personal guys, you're just kind of in the way.



I pass through a small breakroom. Some chatty manager says her user ID and password a little too loud over the phone. The rest of the conversation's in Japanese, but I wasn't really that interested in the first place.



Her tag labels her as Miyamura. Yeah, yeah, I'm going.



Just out of curiosity, I try her login on her own computer. Nothing but spam email and uninteresting office memos.



More computer support personnel. I try my best to look important and natural, and they don't pay me much attention.



I slip in long enough to catch another user ID and password. One of these damn things has to let me into the elevator security system.



A button on the counter opens up a small supply room.



UNATCO Agent Joseph: In ur base, takin ur stuff.



That last login is for Dr. Suetsugu. Computer Administrator, eh? Sounds promising. And there's a terminal in his office.



Score! The master terminal lets me reprogram the turret and control the gates. I discreetly give it orders to fire on the bot, whose armor is no match for the heavier turret rounds. The bot soon crumples, twitches and lies still. Then explodes.



The noise I'm making finally starts to turn heads, as a couple guests in the lobby throw confused looks at the now-open gate. I'm surprised the alarm hasn't been sounded yet; I've got maybe minutes before more people with guns show up.



No time to be discreet now. I'm almost there!



Some quick work with a panel in the closet overrides the elevator door...



...and the key from the TMG basement opens the panel. I eagerly pound it and the Hibiya Park Towers disappear behind closed doors.



At fucking last.



The terminal's empty. No guards, no staff, no other passengers. Just what I was hoping for. A nice, quiet ride to catch my breath and relax a bit.



Got some guns, got some augs, I'm all set for a proper night on the town. Put up with a lot of shit just to get this far, but what the hell. If I have to bump off some bad guys to earn my ticket home, so be it. I'm getting the hang of this spy stuff. Slowly, but I'm getting there.



I hop in the bus and get comfy. Minutes later, it slowly departs from the terminal, drifting out onto the water. I never really had time to figure out what kind of agent I'd be; never really got to think of myself as an agent, to be honest. "Just an interested party, sir," over the phone turned out to be a UNATCO recruiter. Hell of an opportunity.



The terminal I just left erupts in flames, shockwave from a bomb throwing ripples out across the water. The bus rocks, but remains on its course. Fuck me, the Yakuza were in the tower the whole time! Or maybe they were right behind me? Maybe they planted the bombs a while ago. Who knows?

I can't do anything. I can't do a goddamn thing.



A bomb rips through the opposite terminal. Jesus H. Christ. This is the sort of thing I joined the Coalition to stop. It is, isn't it? Did I even think about stuff like this? Killing the bad guys, saving the good guys, all that macho hero bullshit? Did I ever really think about this?



The third bomb goes off. I remember overhearing the Kurokuma talking about blowing up three of them. I know which terminal that was. Miya was in that terminal.

I collapse on the seat. I'm not ready for this.



Anybody but me.

The bus speeds calmly away from the smoking wreckage of the terminals, taking off at incredible speeds down the tunnel. It carries me without pause towards Kabuki-cho, towards my target.

Anybody but me.

Asides:

There are a handful of technical goofs and red herrings in the towers. One of the people in the lounge has a password for the second floor computers, but they do nothing. There's a datacube on the phone behind Miyamura which also has her oh-so-important login, though you need to kill/KO her to get it. Suetsugu's login is the only useful one for the second floor; it's unclear whether this is intentional or not. The login for the receptionist's computer is near the open bank of elevators, and there is an option to deactivate the laser beams (typoed as 'beems'), but this option doesn't work. The turret in the basement blasts anything it can, even the repair bot if it wanders close enough; for some reason, on older rigs the game will start to chug if you destroy the turret (this is fixed by leaving the storeroom).

Additionally, one of the two techs in the security room mentions tweaking some file in the DeusEx\RedSun directory. He then asks you if you did this; answering the affirmative nets you a 100 credit bonus. You can repeat the conversation tree, but in a rare moment of non-broken scripting, the tech catches on if you try to collect the cash twice.

You might have also noticed at the end that Joseph is missing Paul's manly goatee, among other things. This isn't the last time cutscenes will be at odds with the game, sadly. My guess is either they were originally intending to use JC's model for Joseph and forgot to change the cutscenes, or that they were just lazy. Or it's some kind of zen thing. I dunno, I just play the damn thing.

In any case, here are a couple of the niftier secrets:

In the computer room supply closet, the medical crate blocks a small vent shaft. Vents, as you should know by now, lead to good and important things, and should be taken whenever possible.



Assuming you deactivated security beforehand. You're pretty much toast if you don't have explosives and don't react quickly otherwise.



And now for the more important and entertaining secret. You may have noticed this interesting blue thingy in the TMG basement. Hit the button on the right wall to make it accessible from the other basement.



Check the datacube for a login and password, and use it on any of the computers upstairs.



You can also simply hack the computers. Click the Banzai option and head upstairs.



One of the elevators has opened. Head on in.



Poof! We're on the roof.



Tracer Tong's character model invites us to take a suicide leap off the roof. Who are we to argue?



Lookit all them pretty lights. They're about to get a whole lot bigger and closer.



"I can't take life anymore!"



"If I don't survive, tell my wife hello!"



"Nevermind, I'll tell her myself."

Surviving the suicide jump = 1500 bonus XP. Well worth doing. You can do it again for another bonus 1500, and the hole will close back up, and so on forth.

Next stop, West Shinjuku. When we return, Joseph vents his frustrations on local fauna and witnesses a surprisingly competent police reprisal to the Yakuza. Coming soon to a Let's Play thread near you!

Stolls

My apologies for the lengthy delay. I was not counting on the finale of The Witcher to be so completely badass. Incidentally, the news that it is getting what amounts to the biggest patch in PC RPG history is literally AMDAC levels of awesome. In any case, with Otemachi safely behind him, Joseph finds himself dropped into the middle of West Shinjuku's AquaBus station, its obvious exits sealed and nobody else around.

Lights Are Off, Nobody's Home
Tracks: Hibiya Plaza; Ambient, Combat

I had a good twenty minutes or so to relax and catch my breath. I spent maybe five of them doing that, and fifteen tapping my toes and glancing nervously out the window.

I know the whole 'reluctant good guy' thing is about as cliche as the 'rookie tasked with the really goddamn important mission right off the bat' thing, but I'm seriously just making this shit up as I go. I don't care if you're geared up to the nines with state-of-the-art hardware, I don't care if you can fucking turn invisible and leap from the tallest building and are backed by the combined might and technological prowess of the entire industrialized world. Watching three bombs go off just inches behind you is going to rattle you and there is not a goddamn thing you can do about it.



Arriving at a dark, silent bus station doesn't do much to help my nerves, either. This place is as dead as it gets.



A burst of static cuts through my ears, followed by Kaneko's voice. I'm just grateful for the noise, let alone direction.

"Joseph, it's Kaneko. I managed to hack into the TMG network. They're definitely tracking you; they probably bugged you at Otemachi."

Thought they wanted to cut me open. What good would a tracking device do? Or was it just a contingency plan?

"The bad news is Shinjuku's a war zone right now. The word's out about the Hibiya Towers blast, and both the TMG and local police have launched a full-scale operation to take back Shinjuku. They want to clamp down on this shit right away, so you're basically in the middle of a shooting gallery. The good news, if you can call it that, is that I can track you as well. I'm pulling up a friendly near Kabuki-cho to help you out, he'll contact you soon."



"Whatever you do, keep your head down. Shinjuku police have bigger fish to fry and should leave you alone, but TMG troopers may recognize you. Let them deal with the Yakuza, just get out of the terminal and wait for the contact."



Better than nothing, I guess. I don't fancy waiting around in this joint anyway. Too quiet... only thing I can hear is a cleaner bot rolling around, and it's too dark to see exactly where it is.



So much for the easy way out. The main doors are blocked, I'll have to improvise. Again.

I can hear gunshots on the other side of the doors; shotguns, rifles, SMGs, even the odd explosion. A man screams out in pain, clearly dying. Out of the frying pan...



C'mon, think! There's gotta be other ways out of here.



Y'know, if I just had my banking card, I could withdraw my tax return and probably fucking buy my way out of Tokyo. How hard could it be, right? Just pass the bad guys a check, tell them to write the biggest number they can think of on it and just get the hell out of dodge.



Oh, for fuck's sake, Joseph, will you toughen up just a little bit? Jesus, you whine like a little bitch. Get focused, there's... oh hey, what's this?

Hopping the counter pays off. The key leads to a storage room, which I gleefully loot for its meager contents: a multitool, a medkit and a couple biocells.



And on the upper balcony is another key, along with a code.



A cleaner bot hatch, huh? Odd thing for a kid to be messing with in a major transport hub.



Code panel's by the vending machines.



The hatch lifts up. What've we got here?



Lord knows vents haven't let me down yet.



I suck in the gut and squeeze into the vents. C'mon, girdle, hold together!



A couple twists and turns and hey, whadaya know! Dumps me right out on the side street. Ain't that nice?

I climb out, stand up and dust myself off. I can hear gunfire around the corner. Looks like the fun's just getting started.

Asides: You may notice some slight differences in quality between these screens and previous updates. I'm testing different ways to quickly resize and change the formats of multiple screenshots; Imagicon proves useful regarding formats, but shrinking them directly to 800x600 somehow makes them use more space per pic than usual. Still testing to find a happy medium without making the page take forever to load, and any recommendations for good (ideally free) programs would be helpful.

Anyway,

although there aren't any real secrets in the terminal, there are three ways out in total. The most obvious lies through the aforementioned storage room.



Again, the nanokey is on the counter in the main hall. Ignore the computers, there isn't anything interesting on them.



Like I said, not much of interest. The hatch is locked, but can be easily picked or destroyed.



The hatch leads down into sewers, which connect to the Shinjuku streets.



Depending on which way you go, you may have to contend with environmental hazards...



...baby karkians...



...and/or a rather irate adult karkian. The steam can be shut off by fairly well-hidden valves, and the babies aren't too difficult, but don't ever - I mean ever - underestimate how quickly an adult karkian can cut you down to size. While not doing as much raw damage as, say, a direct hit from a LAM or the Dragon's Tooth, they can still dismember a limb in one shot and go straight for the head with the next.



Persevere, however, and the exit is yours. There's even a branch that's fairly obstacle free, though it's easy to get turned around.



If you're not up for that, there's always the simplest solution: climb out a window.



Either engage your super-jumpey legs or, if you don't have them, build a tower of junk and climb onto the lift near the main entrance.



It'll take some practice, but it's very doable.



Pound the button and it carries you up to a conveniently pickable window lock. You can also just blow it up from a distance if you have rockets or rifle grenades handy.



Freedom! Horrible horrible freedom!

In the next update, Joseph weaves in and out of raging gunfights across West Shinjuku, venting his ever-building aggression on any thug stupid enough to not shoot at him first. Also, foreshadowing!

Stolls

Mere seconds after getting out of the terminal, Joseph is greeted by the sounds of gunfire and explosions. The streets of Shinjuku are now literally a war zone, and Joseph finds aid from an unlikely source.

Welcome to West Shinjuku
Tracks: NYC Streets (from DX)

All right, I'm out. Let's see what's going on out here.



Holy shit! Major shoot-out between the cops and the Yakuza. Swear to god it just keeps getting better and better.



Bullets start flying and the three onlookers get a running start. Yeah, that'd be my first inclination too.



The police line holds. One of the Yakuza runs out of the building right into open crossfire and promptly gets cut to pieces.



And a squad of riot cops storm the building. Good, looks like they have this under control. Kaneko was right, I better be careful out here. Speaking of which, how's this guy going to find me out here?



Huh. That was quick.



He spills a little more on what's been going on. Bad as things are here, they've gotta be even worse on the east side. Fortunately, Kabuki-cho sits between them, so I don't have to venture over there. Yet, at least. Way this is shaping up I'll be surprised if I don't end up on the moon or something.



Anyway, the cop says he's just passing along a note from the docks manager on the south end of Shinjuku. On the note is the code to the dock gates and an invitation.



The cop was kind enough to include a map of Shinjuku. The docks are about four blocks away, and only Kaneko or the TMG would know exactly where to find me, so I might as well see what he has to say.



Mistaking me for your average man on the street, this cop urges me to go home. Yeah, I'm working on that, buddy. I've been working on that all fucking night.



Only a couple other people out on the street. None of them look in the mood to talk.



More gunfire down the block. I can see another police line. Against my better judgment, I move in for a closer look.



Riot cops and beat cops draw their weapons and open fire. They're not pulling any punches.



I draw my sidearm and help out. All right, so they're a step removed from the assholes that brought me here in the first place, but they're still cops. Can't just sit and watch this shit happen.



This wave of bad guys is down. They're dressed differently than the Kurokuma thugs I dealt with earlier. Maybe they're Yamaguchi?



Back on track to the docks. The streets are pretty quiet around here, all the doors locked tight.



And even more carnage on the next block. One of the officers took a hit to the leg and is clearly walking with a limp, the other's trying to help him. Guess they're not expecting an ambulance anytime soon.



Shit, company! Watch the windows!



More action around the corner, a pair of cops taking on three Yakuza. I step in to even the odds.



With the cops safe, I keep moving before they can ask about the heavily-armed gaijin in their midst.

I can see east Shinjuku across the river. Too far to see any of the fighting, but I can almost hear an odd explosion or two. Jesus, there's no getting awwy from it, is there?



A couple thugs are milling around near the docks.



Slowly but surely I'm getting better at handling rifles. My hands still shake a bit with a sniper rifle, but I keep it steady long enough to score a headshot on his pal by the other gate.



I punch in the keycode and the gate springs open.



The docks are deserted, save for a single boat and a fellow on the office balcony. I head up the stairs to introduce myself.



Hmm... blueprints for a large building. The text is in Japanese, but it sort of looks like a bank.



And here's the man himself. Yosuke is part of Kaneko's resistance network; he was expecting somebody taller, but he knows the score. The bit about the TMG and the Kurokuma working together is new, and surprising considering it may have been the Kurokuma that blew up Otemachi Labs. Somebody has some explaining to do.

"Kaneko was planning to have you infiltrate the Kurokuma bases in Kabuki-cho," Yosuke explains. "We need info on their connection with the TMG, and we still have a good shot at their leader. The incidents in Otemachi and just now in Hibiya forced us to scuttle the original plan, but we have another option, and we don't have anyone nearly as capable as you to pull it off."



"That could almost be perceived as sarcasm," he says wryly.

"I've had a really long day," I shoot back.



"You'll be watched almost as soon as you enter Kabuki-cho. Tomoko works at both places, but I'm not sure where she'll be this time of night. Check both if you can. They've jacked up the cover on the Disco, and the restaurant's exclusive, so you may have to grease a few palms to get in."

Great, so I gotta come up with my own bribe money, too. Fan-fucking-tastic. "What am I getting out of this again?"

"Our gratitude and respect?" Yosuke offers.



"I'll see what I can do," he nods. "Here's an entertainment pass, it'll let you into Kabuki-cho. If you need money, talk to Yochan. Look for a building on the bottom floor of the main strip with a red neon light, it's a small art gallery. He should have a job for you."

Lovely. At least the resistance here covered some of the bases, which is more than I can say for Kaneko. Thanks Yosuke, see ya later.



"Ever get the impression that some things are just never meant to be?" he ponders aloud.

"Every minute of the last twenty-four hours," I mutter as I turn towards the door.



I leave the docks and head back north, catching sight of Kabuki-cho along the way.



Okay... just gotta get into these bases, get whatever dirt on the TMG I can, whack the Kurokuma bosses and call it a day. Then Kaneko gets the Yamaguchis to play ball and let UNATCO's birds pick me up.



And then, when I have properly rested and recouperated, I will lead a crack team of UNATCO commandos into the heart of this city and personally sodomize every one of these Yakuza fucks with a GEP gun loaded with white phosphorous rockets.



Every last one.



White motherfucking phosporous.

Asides: There are a few apparent inconsistencies with the dialog here, though some of it can be forgiven in light of what happens later. Either Yosuke or Joseph should have known/remembered that Joseph was heading to the Kurokuma bases all along; the bits I added are mostly conjecture, suggesting they had a different means of doing so before everything went competely nuts. Incidentally, Yosuke's note is placed directly in your datavault, along with the keycode; it's easy to miss.

On a technical note, police, surprisingly, will turn on you if you fire a weapon too often in their sight. I'm not sure if this is good scripting or just strange NPC ally functions at work, but it's a nice touch all the same. On the other hand, you can also waltz straight into Kabuki-cho without actually getting the entertainment pass. The guards won't open the gate if you haven't talked to Yosuke yet, but the zone transition extends just in front of the gate; you can walk up, ignore the guards and trigger it even if it's closed. Hooray for intelligent level design!

Anyway, you can poke around in the dock office bathroom for a few small items and the Shifter-aided chance to flush an unflushed toilet for 2xp, but apart from that there aren't any real side areas in west Shinjuku.

Save for one...

You may have noticed the police station on the map, in the northeastern part of the district. The cops outside are friendly, but the cops inside aren't. I'll go into greater detail as to what's in here in the next update.



Suffice it to say, we have options, and that chopper is one of them. 8-)

Next time, we casually wedge in a heist subquest and steal as much booze as is humanly possible, then go on a drunken homicidal rampage. Not for the lulz, not for the fun - just because it's there.

Stolls

And this is what happens when you don't stick to a schedule. You look up and realize "oh, has it really been a month already? I really should get back to that thing. Yeah, it wasn't that funny or interesting, but goddamnit you finish what you start don't make me get the belt you son of a bitch." Then the nice old lady who just wanted two rolls of quarters for a twenty looks at you funny and you decide some things are best said aloud outside the confines of work.

In any case, I apologize for the delay. Gaming be a harsh mistress. We return now to Kabuki-cho, and to the next guy that's gonna send us into the middle of a warzone so we can get on with our business.

Sidequesting to Fame and Financial Excess
Tracks: Underworld Tavern revisited (from DX)

Finally. Fuckin' finally made it to Kabuki-cho. Might as well see the sights before I get back to work, might not get to relax for a while.



Hmm. For a Yakuza stronghold, the place doesn't feel too dangerous. There's a big, gaping hole in the side of one building, but it looks like it happened some time ago. Certainly wasn't enough to disrupt business around here. Still, I better stay on my toes.



I stop by a fountain overlook and stretch, feeling a few joints pop and crack. Don't get lazy Joseph, we got a long night still ahead of us.



Bad karaoke catches my attention, and then quickly repulses me from the room. Nobody looked like they had anything important to say anyway.



A quick stop along the east side of the strip fetches some enlightening dialog.



Japanese food? In Japan, no less? Get out.



Now we're getting somewhere. I dig the scenery, the bar's well stocked... let's mingle.



...man what



MAN WHAT



So, yeah. Crazy bunch of kooks believe aliens are going to save a handful of humans and the rest of us are fucked, and want me to join them. The Left Behind idiots would be proud. Fuck you people, I need a drink.



And I was going to wreck that one girl. Jesus.



Not much happening upstairs. One girl lets me bum a smoke off her, another thinks she's seen me somewhere before. Remembering what I've been implicated in thus far - multiple bombings, shootings and the like - I promptly slink back into the crowd, stealing someone else's drink as I go.



Well, there's the Aquagrill. Guards are out front with a list of names, and I highly doubt I'm on it. Could probably shoot my way in, but I'd like to avoid that for as long as I can.



I see the neon lighting; this must be what Yosuke was talking about.



And the disco entrance is right down the street. Same situation, guards with a list.



The guard subtly hints that it'd take about a thousand credits to get past them.

I kind of have that much already, but what the hell, I haven't stolen enough to be considered grand larceny yet.

All right, let's go see what this Yochan fellow has to say.



Could be businessmen, could be armed guards. Certainly look ready for trouble. The dealer himself acknowledges me as I enter the small gallery.



"He said you might have a job for me," I say coolly. "Nothing too elaborate I hope, I'm a little busy tonight."

He raises a hand to silence me. "I already know, Joseph. You're trying to get out of Shinjuku, and..." he stops, catching me glance at his two companions. "Nevermind them, we're all on the same page here. I know there are people in high places waiting for you when you get out of here."

I crook an eyebrow. He stares back evenly. "It's all about who you know."



"Right to the point, good. I hate small talk. You want out of Japan, I want in. Specifically to places I am not allowed, if you follow."

"I don't," I answer, though I have a hunch.

It proves correct as he explains. "I want in Yokotani Bank, in East Shinjuku. There's a solid gold buddha statue inside that would complement my collection quite nicely."

I give an annoyed sigh and turn to leave. "I don't have time for this..."



That works like I think he intended. I stop in my tracks, turn around and face him again, and there's a trace of smugness on his face. Motherfucker. "Fine, I'm listening."

He reaches towards one of his guards, who produces a manilla folder from inside his coat. The folder is passed to me, and I flip through the contents: satellite images of East Shinjuku and detailed blueprints of the bank, along with tactical recommendations for getting in and out. At least he's not halfassing the intel.

"The statue's in a vault on the third floor," Yochan continues. "You can override the timer with the right code, or with multitools, but you'll still need the right combo for the proper storage chamber. And you still have to deal with security somehow. You can try flashing your badge, if you've got one, but I'd recommend a stealthy approach. These documents should give you enough to go on."



"I'll have the guards open the gate to East Shinjuku for you, if you like, but you'll have to get past the fighting on the streets. If you don't mind backtracking, you could probably also borrow a boat from Yosuke to bypass the worst of it, but how you do this is your business."



'Without killing anybody,' he says. Sure, break into a bank in the middle of a goddamn Yakuza war, steal a statue, but don't get blood on the carpets. I suppose it's a testament to just how bad things are here that I'd even think of doing this.



Well, I'm not going anywhere else without his help. Fuck the boat, I'll take my chances on the street.



That's... comforting. Thanks, boys.



I can hear the gunshots as I step outside. A bitter wind sweeps into the courtyard and cuts through my armor.

Feelin' proud already.

Asides: Kabuki-cho is surprisingly lifeless. There are people everywhere, but only a handful have anything to say, or are doing anything more interesting than milling around or dancing. And by that I mean most of them have no dialog at all. Aside from that, you can indeed rack up well over the necessary 1000 credits to bribe your way into the Grill or Disco (one or the other; both are points of no return, and you'll find Tomoko in both... somehow).

You can force your way into the Grill with multitools; the Disco door is indestructable, however, and there is no panel to bypass. Yochan's men and the Disco/Grill guards are mortal, but Yochan himself can't be killed.

There isn't much of interest on the upper levels of Kabuki-cho.



In fact, almost nothing beyond more booze and a bunch of NPCs that say nothing.



This room deadends in a mirror. Why? Who the hell knows.



And in other amusing oversights, on the east side of the strip is this... thing...



Dancing girls are in two of the windows, but the third is filled by static NPCs. You can see this sometimes in Deus Ex if you fully upgrade the thermal vision aug; for instance, when rescuing the Silhouette hostages in the catacombs.



Hooker here looks suspiciously like that one girl from Otemachi-ku that said she'd meet Joseph here, and even made a point of leaving a note in the datavault about it. There are a bunch of girls here that look like that, however; this one's the only one that says anything, apart from the cultists.



Inside the gutted building. I can only surmise that this place was blown up in a Yakuza attack. Or the designers just got lazy.



Up one of the many winding staircases is a copy of Sun Tzu's "The Art of War". This, of course, made its appearance in Deus Ex as well.



In the same room, you can climb out the window and up onto the rooftops.



Sadly, there's not much up here.

In the next episode, we explore the numerous ways to get across town, and let the bad guys thin each other out for a change. Malfunctioning robots and quirky NPC ally statuses await!

Stolls

And now, as promised, a drunken homicidal rampage. Foppish British accent sold separately*.

Leaving Kabuki-cho (in ruins)

I couldn't take it anymore. The constant sidequests, stuff blowing up all around me, the absence of beloved Wiggles... it's just too much for one man to take.



I stopped to lighten my load in an empty room. I had a single mission in mind now, to get as totally fucking wasted as was humanly possible.

...but first, let's Jenga this shit up a little.



That's more like it.



Back to work. There are no shortage of bars around here, and I can only hold so much booze at once, so I knew I'd have to make return trips. I found another spare room and started setting the stuff down.



Whoops... okay, that didn't work as well as planned. Who knew dropping glass bottles to the problem would cause this tragedy? Not I. Certainly not I.



After about 23 or so failures I started getting the hang of gently setting down the bottles. Okay, let's go grab some more.



Ladies and gentlemen, I am the last call.

(Does that even mean anything? Seriously, what the hell?)



Now we're getting somewhere, but I can still down all that without the aid of a funnel. We gotta think bigger. I need enough alcohol to kill a soccer team.



This'll do nicely.



Jen-ga! Jen-ga! Jen-ga!



I don't know if it counts as Jenga when I'm adding stuff to the pile instead of taking stuff from the bottom, but that's hardly important right now.



More. More! MOOOOOOOOOOORE!



To dare to dream of a pile of booze so high it could touch the ceiling... madness, surely. But it was not impossible to build it here. It was impossible to build it anywhere else.



LET THE CONSUMPTION BEGIN

(Note my health in the upper left corner)



BEHOLD THE MYSTICAL HEALING POWERS OF INTOXICATION

WHAT

WHAT IS THIS STRANGE AND UNFAMILIAR SENSATION



So, I sauntered out into the street, thoroughly inebriated and deprived of my precious sense of balance, but not yet sated. Indeed, my thirst for alcoholic beverages was only matched by my willingness to do things of questionable legality, and indeed heterosexuality,



if you know what I mean,



to acquire them. I sauntered up to the tender of a local dispensary and drunkenly beseeched him for a bottle of his finest rum, and though he paid me little heed, he did eventually comply.



Deep within my drink I was only called back to my senses by the sight of OH MY WORD that gentleman is brandishing a weapon! Call the constabulary, at once!

Amusingly, he seems to look exactly like me, and indeed parroted my very movements, as if to mock me. Well, I'm not one to stand for such tomfoolery! I'll handle this hooligan myself! Have at you, villain!



Oh my lord, sir, you cannot get in the way! Although my vision is clearly swimming and I can barely stand I am still trying to uphold the law here and show this ruffian what for! Sir, you interrupt my aim, and now the villain flees! Damn your panic, sir, damn it all!



I pursue him out into the street, though the lighting and my failing eyes make him difficult to track. Yet more people spill out into the street to block and defy me, and we trade shots at a distance - though neither of us hit each other, regrettably scores of innocents are wounded in the crossfire.



Scores of innocents, blocking me from my adversary, obstructing me from doing my job, the nerve of them! The bloody nerve! It's as if they're trying to protect him, I was trying to stop this villain and they are obstructing me! I have no time for such gay revelry, people, you are keeping me from my quarry!



An innocent drops, and for a second my aim falters, I consider letting the villain go, consider it not worth the cost. But then a voice whispers into my ear, a youngish Yank with a slightly pinched voice, he whispers "Would you kindly resume firing," and yes, I am bolstered in my righteous cause again!



I will let no man, woman or child stand in the way of my justice! Stand aside or be cut down like the swine that you are! All of you! Swine! All of you!



...



Oooohhhh... god, what a night. My head is fuckin' killing me. Wait... why are all my guns empty? And what's with all the... aw, shit. Shit, damn it! Son of a bitch, it's Arizona all over again!

Asides: I totally did not record the foppish British accent part just for the hell of it, just to see how badly I could mangle it.

Totally did not.

I totally did. Now I'm just torn between posting it and not posting it. I fear this clip, for it may yet be my undoing.

Stolls

And we move on to East Shinjuku, which is promptly blowing right the hell up. Police, military and rival Yakuza groups happily rip the place to pieces while fighting each other, which provides just enough cover for an experimental superspy to get through alive. Observe:

Gang Warfare: Could it be a Good Thing?
Tracks: NYC Streets 2 (from DX)

"You are here. Your objective is way the hell over there. Start walking, tough guy."

Breakin' my balls, Tokyo. Okay, according to Yochan's documents, I can get in through the roof, the sewers, or the front entrance. I don't have a chopper and I'm not up to stealing one, so that leaves the other two. I'll see how it looks when I get closer.



Some commotion on the other end of the bridge. Shit, Kurokumas and Yamaguchis! Here we go!



They look too busy with each other to bother with me, but there's no room to slip by. I do still have that thermoptic camo from the towers, but I might need that for the bank.



They thin each other out a bit, and then I take the liberty of joining in.



A couple cops have set up a barricade further up the street, and help mop up. Shinjuku PD must be trying to retake the east side. Think they're gonna need all the help they can get.



More good guys in riot gear. This part of the neighborhood sounds pretty quiet.



Ah, no wonder. TMG military have set up a cordon to the east. The cops are leaving me alone, but the soldiers probably know who I am. I'll have to go around.



Not five steps in the other direction and an explosion rips a hole in the building around the corner. I round it to see more fighting spill out into the street, with a squad of riot cops trying to pin them down.



As before, the Yakuza aren't exactly paying attention to me, which gives me a nice window to blindside the Kurokuma thugs.



And the cops dust the other side, chasing the stragglers back into the building. Godspeed, boys.



Further east, an abandoned barricade, and some explosives damage. I can just see the bank a few blocks over.



Police are patrolling the area around this small shrine. But...



...so is the military. I'm starting to think it'd be a good idea to burn my camo, or just tranq them and run past.



Holy shit! Okay, hell with this, I'll have to go further south.



I catch sight of a small group of Yamaguchis covering a sidestreet.



The fewer of these pricks the cops have to deal with, the better.



Down by the docks, a riot squad is sweeping east. I start hearing gunfire before I can catch up.



Damn it, man down! I dig out my sidearm and try to help out, but they get in too close together for a clean shot.



I manage to drop one of them, and the cops finish the other two, but not before losing another man.



Okay, no military on this end of the district. I'm straight south of the shrine, and it looks like I have a clear shot at the bank.



The map doesn't show a clear way into the bank from this side, but it looks like there's a back entrance near the power station. Why someone would put that there is beyond me, but it's less crazy than Otemachi with their goddamn shrink ray, so let's do this.



There it is. Big sonuvabitch, innit?



More Yamaguchis, probably also casing the joint.



Sorry kids, I don't need the competition. Plus, you people are crazy, bomb-happy assholes.



A chopper breezes by, patrolling the streets. Luckily, I don't think it saw me.



A single civilian flees a shop being looted by the Kurokuma. I roll a gas grenade in there and take them down quietly with tranq darts. The last thing I need right now is more attention.



There's our back entrance. Almost there!



Whoa, get back! Damn, shoulda known it wasn't that easy.



Luckily, only a couple soldiers are watching the entrance. The second the guard looks away I get up under the balcony.



Piece of cake.



All right, clear. Straight shot into the building. Now... how am I gonna do this?

Asides: You'll find other scripted explosions and shoot-outs between police/TMG and the Yakuza throughout the district. The cops do indeed leave you alone unless they see you fighting with the military. Bots are friendly, but a glitchy one near the north barricade can sometimes turn on the riot cops.

There are, in total, four ways into the bank: the chopper, the power station, the sewers and the ramp. Unfortunately, you can't get back through Kabuki-cho without the buddha, so if you want to use the chopper you'll have to do that before entering East Shinjuku. These options will be illustrated in the next post.

Stolls

An Illustrated Guide to Breaking the Law

First, we have the sewers. Due north of the power station is Shinjuku Waterworks, and an entry point into the sewers.



Naturally, the military's guarding the utilities, so you're going to have to take them out. Watch for reinforcements patrolling the streets to the west.



And especially watch out for Kurokuma thugs with GEP guns from above.



It's not hard to coax the two sides to take shots at each other, though it's usually easier to just deal with both yourself.



Get the door open with your method of choice...



...and look for a stairway in the southwest corner of the lobby. It's pitch dark, so you'll need your light.



Head down into the basement. You can find a biocell here, but the only other thing of interest...



...is the hatch leading into the sewer.



There's a second way in that's quicker to get to, if not easier. Clear the square around the shrine.



Have a look inside; break down or unlock the door.



The buddha itself is too heavy to move.



But, target the base and use it, and it will slide over, revealing another hatch to the sewer.



There's nothing much down here besides water and lots of tubes.



Or pipes, if you prefer.



It's fairly linear and leads straight to this ladder on the south end, which leads straight up into the bank basement. Voila, you just bypassed state-of-the-art security and a crack team of armed guards. Well done.



If you're up for something more fun, reload back to Kabuki-cho (it's not that far back), talk to Yochan if you need to and head to West Shinjuku again.



We're going to get us a vehicle. First, the boat.



Head south to the docks office.



Yosuke's more than willing to part with the only boat in the harbor.



He opens the gate for you.



Hop in and it'll take you to East Shinjuku.



This isn't much of a shortcut, but it does give you a pretty clear shot towards the bank, and helps you bypass most of the fighting to the north. You still have to get into the bank somehow, but it's fun to do at least once.



Now for the real prize. There's a helicopter on the roof of the police station in West Shinjuku, fueled up and ready to go.



They're not just gonna hand it to you, and the doors further into the building are locked - Yochan was supposed to give you a nanokey, but due to a scripting error, he doesn't - so you're going to have to improvise.



Taze him, bro!



Let's make some noise!



Note the silly triangular shell. Anyway, cops should come running and force the door open.



Basically, your job here is to reenact that scene from Terminator.



Or just head straight to the roof, there's nothing really of interest beyond hostile cops.



Lockup is behind this door, which you can't open.



Floating cop: "Oh, you wanna piece of this? You wanna mess with the floating? Because most people can't do this, you know."

(This is only visible by ghosting through the door. This cop didn't try to attack me even after cancelling noclip.)



Like I said, nothing important here.



Let's take her for a spin!



We're dropped right on the roof of the bank. It's a clear shot to the vault, thought we still need to find codes to get inside. Still, a piece of cake, right?



Except the chopper apparently didn't follow me to the bank. Clearly, it objected morally to the dubious means by which I acquired it, to say nothing of my intentions.

Yeah. That's much more plausible than forgetting to work out the return trip. Or, say, using it to fucking escape the goddamn death city.

Oh well...



Last option: the power station. Check the elevator by the back entrance to the bank, near where I zapped those two soldiers.



Someone helpfully left a datacube in one of the offices with a login/password. Use it on one of the computers and you'll have the option to black out the bank.



This renders every guard in the bank automatically hostile to you (by default, you have the option of walking through the front door and pretending Shinjuku PD sent you), but it makes it far easier to sneak around. The lack of lighting makes it a bitch to explore apart from mission-critical areas, however.

Anyway, another way into the building can be found on the roof. Explore until you find a chunk of fence that can be broken.



Grab your tool and make with the smashey-smashey.



It's hard to see, but there are two very sturdy cables running from the power station to the bank. Hop down on them, crawl across and drop onto the ledge.



Follow the ledge to the west, then around to the south. You'll find a hatch leading into the bank, and transition to the next map. This feeds to an air vent that dumps you on the third floor stairwell.

Lastly, know that every guard in the bank will turn hostile once you set foot on the vault level. I'm not exactly sure where the trigger is located, but unless you blow the power beforehand the guards will be friendly even if you crawl out of the sewer to get into the building, right up to your entry to the vault itself.

Ace scripting, Redsun. Ace. :^:

Join us next time, when we finally get around to stealing priceless artifacts and tazering innocent bank guards... for democracy.

Stolls

Ever willing to deviate from a vague plan for dubious profit, or just because he saw something shiny, Joseph waltzes right into Yokotani Bank and tries to talk his way past the guards. Predictable results ensue.

Doing It All for the Shinies
Tracks: Yokotani Bank; Ambient, Combat, Conversation

Of all the bad ideas I've had - I mean pretty much ever - this has gotta be close to the top. "Hi, I'm from UNATCO. Mind if I walk around your bank totally unsupervised and armed to the teeth? Also, is your vault still open? I gotta grab something real quick. Hey, those cameras are just for show, right?"



The guard isn't as taken aback by my off-putting attire as you'd think, but he's not too impressed by my claim to fame.

"Shinjuku PD sent me over," I quickly make up, stumbling on the first 's'. Not sure if he caught it. "They thought you guys might need the help with the fighting."

"We haven't seen much activity in the bank," he replies. "I'm going to call in to make sure. Just a moment."

He speaks into his radio, calling to a control room to get in touch with Shinjuku police. I scan the lobby, looking for any visible cameras. Laser tripwires are covering the entrance, probably set to ignore only the guards. Or... something. I don't really know how laser tripwires work.



"Just what were you sent to do, anyway?" he asks.

Having trouble filling in the blanks. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. Shit, I think he's calling me on it. He reaches for his radio.



I didn't even think about it. I was only half-aware that it happened. Was that from training, or was that just me panicking and zapping the guy because I didn't know what else to do?

Fuck! Son of a bitch! Okay, okay, think. You've crept around heavily-guarded bases before, this can't be too different, right? Okay, deep breaths, Joseph, deep breaths. Let's disable those lasers and get past before anybody else figures out what happened. No place to put the body, no time, just go.

Got a couple EM grenades. That should do the trick.



Damn it! Two problems, louder than I thought it would be, and I was in the blast radius. Something burned right through me; wasn't all that painful, but I definitely feel drained. Gotta be more careful. It's all right, I can still pull this off. Just gotta move quickly.

I pass through the disabled lasers. I hear a faint 'click', and the sound of footsteps.



Oh, come on!



Thugs are one thing, but I'm not about to start blasting bank guards. I roll out a gas grenade and fall back, using Ballistic Protection to me of the sting out of their pistols.



I wind up wading through my own tear gas to take them down, and I'm positive one of them puts a hairline fracture in a rib somewhere, but I manage to tag them all with tranquilizer darts.



Oh-kay, that could've gone better.

I'm still blinking away tears from the gas. No way the other guards didn't hear that. I don't hear an alarm; must've set off some kind of pressure plate, or hell, maybe they just saw me in a hidden camera or something. Okay, we go with plan B: improvise.



Guard across the lobby. I manage to get around the corner before he turns in my direction.



Maintenance room, might be good cover to get my bearings.

I hear one of the guards talking into his radio. It's in Japanese, but I'm pretty sure I heard 'gunshots' and 'intruder.' Swell.



All right. They're bound to sweep the building as soon as they figure out what happened. I need to move fast. I check the room; not much in here, just a biocell and a medkit, but that hatch leads into the basement...



...where I find a few more supplies, including lockpicks. Those, I'm going to need.



I dig out the map. Yochan's notes state there are two vaults; a larger area for bulk storage and a smaller, high-security vault. The latter is likely where the buddha statue will be found. The vault needs two combos, one for the outer door and another for each individual box. The president will have a copy of the outer door key, and one of the bankers on the second floor will have the box combo for the buddha.



It strikes me that I should've studied this stuff before waltzing into the bank and taking out five guards, but I can feel like an idiot later.

I mean, I feel like an idiot now, but I probably still will afterwards. Anyway, the president's office is in the other corner of the first floor.



Nice and easy. They've got their backs to me, and by now I know a thing or two about keeping quiet.



Here we are. A single lockpick gets the door open without a sound, and I duck in before a patrolling guard passes by.



What it's all about, when you get right down to it: the comfiest chair in the building.

Now if anybody's going to be meticulous in keeping bank information locked up tight, it's the president, right? I'll have to search the office caref...



...or, not. Huh. Okay, advantage me.



All right, to the second floor. I work my way up the stairwell quietly, peering around corners for guards. This place is awfully quiet considering the fight in the lobby. Maybe the fighting around the bank itself is drawing their attention away? Who knows. Anyway, the box code's with one Tsuyoshi Okubo.



Damn, no names on the map. Gotta do this the hard way. Now anybody that's going to have combos for a solid gold buddha would have to have a corner office, right?

That's not a rhetorical question. I seriously don't know if corner offices denote more important people, but the size of them suggests that's the case.



I duck back behind a corner. Damn it, there's a guard looking right at the stairwell! If I so much as step out, he'll see me and call for help. And who knows how many more are on the floor.



Fortunately, thermoptic camo and some Silent Running get me past this particular obstacle without any trouble.



Just enough juice in the suit to get me to the center balcony. I duck down, hiding from the guard across the way, and keep moving.



I get behind the guard; he throws a look over his shoulder, but fortunately doesn't spot me as I slink back into the shadows. This one's not Okubo's. To the next corner.

(For reference, this is the guard I was staring at from the stairwell, right in the crosshairs.)



Fortunately, the floor's only lightly patrolled, maybe a half-dozen guards all told. It's not like the bank would have a small army on duty in the dead of the night. Then again, they did leave one half of a combo lock sitting out on a desk, so maybe they do things differently in this corner of the world.

Ogawa, huh? Getting warmer, I think. To the next corner.



This guard was in the way. He heard me as I went for the takedown with the prod, but didn't move quick enough. Single zap to the base of the skull and he's down for the night.



I duck and weave between smaller offices, checking nameplates as I go, until I finally get to Okubo's office.



I carefully use my light to scan the office, though it doesn't take more than a cursory search to produce the code:

"I've talked to Miyamoto about a different security setup, but until we get everything settled with Otemachi Labs' people we'll have to keep doing this. Your number is 6674. As a reminder, number entry is left to right, top to bottom, and the reset code is 1111."



Otemachi? Not too surprising, they probably deal with a lot of top-dollar clients here. Wonder what still needs to be set up.

A patrolling guard forces me to duck into Masashi Yagi's office, and while I wait for him to pass I tap the computer.



'Inquiring about the TSPE'? Something about that rings a bell... something...

The guard passes. I make a move for the stairs.



Clear shot up to the vault floor. Damn, where did I hear about that TSPE thing before? Where...



Wait, right. Otemachi Labs... that's where this thing, whatever it is, comes from. What does the bank have to do with it? And what the hell is it?



No guards on the vault level. Not yet, anyway. No... there's something more to this. Yokotani's involved somehow with Otemachi Labs.



Whatever it is, it's probably not small enough for the smaller vault, it has to be in bulk somewhere. I'm checking it out. Whatever's being put together here, I'm onto a very big piece.



I get the vault door open with a multitool and head in.



Place is kept pretty chilly, and I shiver a bit as I squeeze by the forklift. I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that thing is here, whatever it is.



Gate ahead's locked from this side, but I can see... something, across the way. Certainly doesn't look like just another crate.



Gotta get closer. I open one of the side cages.



The map shows a vent shaft connecting these things, and sure enough it's a simple matter to get through one.



Relatively speaking, anyway. I gotta lay off the candy bars and beer.



Bingo. That's gotta be the TSPE. The fuck does this thing do, anyway? And why would Otemachi let even one of them out of their sight, if there's more than one?

Gate's locked up tight, I can't get any closer.



Well, speculation doesn't do me much good now. But someone in Otemachi has moneyed interests elsewhere. I'll have to keep my eyes open for more info about this thing.



Back to the smaller vault. I don't have much time.

Asides: The bank was originally a stand-alone demo for Redsun, and was playable while the bank was open, complete with customers, bankers and other staff. Presumably one could persuade (or "persuade") management to let you into the vault, and the device in storage had some use as well. Several plot elements were cut, and awkwardly, late in production; we'll see more hints of the TSPE thing as we go.

Tactically speaking, the front entrance is rigged as such that even if you disable the beams, walking through the gates will trigger the alarm and force every guard in the level to turn hostile. You can LAMladder your way up the neighboring walls, or over the individual walls between the beams, or just jump over them with a high enough Speed Enhancement aug. Note that active LAMs placed on the left-hand wall will detect the guards inside the booth and trigger almost immediately; they must be disarmed as soon as you plant them.

If you blow the power at the electric company, the place will be running on emergency power, and the lasers will be deactivated. However, as discussed before, all guards turn hostile if you do so. And for some reason, attempting to hack Tadao Ozawa's computer on the second floor causes the game to crash. Poking through the game's text reveals a couple things:

Individual banker logins/passwords:
*Tadao Ozawa - TOzawa - Crate
*Nobuo Okubo - NOkubo - ThreeStooges
*Masashi Yagi - MYagi - Ramen
*Tsuyoshi Okubo - TOkubo - Shadowcat
*Junichiro Ebuchi - JEbuchi - grendal
*Takehisa Ogawa - TOgawa - Hamasaki
*Makiko Azuma - MAzuma - Damian
*Heihachiro Hashimoto - HHashimoto - SecularMemory
*Nobuo Fukushi - NFukushi - retaehc

Text from Ozawa's inbox:

"Good to hear that everything is going well with the TSPE. We have plans to introduce another project. This one should be a little less... odd. It will be part of the company’s security force but at the moment we're working out bugs. We'll keep you updated on what happens with it.

-Gordon

>The TSPE has worked out nicely. Needless to say we've had some
>complaints about the noise on the third floor and it's certainly
>confused many of the employees but outside of that it's worked out
>fine. Perhaps in the near future we can find a good use for this.
>
>-Tadao Ozawa"

"Shinjuku PD just called me and said that we're going to have to evacuate the building for the next week due to a imminent gang war. I don't know how much I trust them though, the last time they said something like this was gonna happen it was just a mail bomb.

-Masashi"

So, Ozawa was in on the deal between Otemachi and the bank. What that deal was, exactly, remains unclear.

Edit: And there goes my host. Super. Site's moving their data center, or so they say, supposedly it'll be back no later than Sunday at 8am. We shall see.

Stolls

And with some further ado, we end this little detour and return to the plot, getting the precious credits we didn't really need.

Money Money Money Mon-ey... Mon-ey!

The president's code opens the vault without a fuss. C'mon buddha, you and me are going for a walk.



A sophisticated, if imperfect, locking mechanism. Not really meant for more than a handful of very exclusive clients, or so I would imagine. First button spins the chamber, the next three spin the tumblers.



6674 does the trick.



I take the small elevator up to the alcove. Cha-ching! One buddha statue, one suit of body armor, two medkits and a key to a floor grate on the ground level, which - according to Yochan - should provide me with an escape route.

All right, let's get the hell out of here.



...breakin' my balls, Tokyo, breakin' my balls.



I chuck out a gas grenade, but I realize about a second too late that they're wearing masks. Fat lot of good that did me.



Fortunately, the gas provides at least some cover, and allows me to tranq the SWAT team without getting ground into hamburger.



Man, I'm running out of ways to sarcastically state the obvious to mask the fact that I have no fucking idea what I'm doing anymore.

(Run-on sentences are for real men.)



Fortunately for me, there's a medbot rolling around the now-open guard quarters, which both patches me up and lets me install that Silent Running upgrade I've been lugging around for a while. Yeah, this would've come in handy ten minutes ago.



All right, that exit grate's wired up to all but vaporize any living pests that try to get through it, or so the diagram reads.



There's a switch in the basement that controls it. I quickly make my way downstairs, giving due caution for patrolling guards.



Seriously, why are they still *patrolling*? Why haven't they called in more riot goons or something? Codes out in the open, no general alarm... this stuff is clown shoes, goddamn.



Which, in hindsight, is probably why I'm not dead yet, considering how badly I fucked up just getting inside.

Anyway, I hightail it to the basement, and to the generator room.



The switch should be somewhere around here...



I give it a yank, and in the distance a loud alarm starts ringing.

Oh, come on. Now the alarm sounds?!



All right, don't get cocky. You're not yet bulletproof. Let's just keep moving, and try not to think about what we just did here. Okay? Okay.



The exit grate's right over here, just across the lobby by the stairs. Let's go!



And here come the good guys, sadly. Damn it!



A well-aimed pistol shot wings me as I make a dash for the grate, key ring at the ready. It occurs to me for a second that I'm basically fucked if this doesn't work.



The grate pops open smoothly, and I slide right in. I can hear the crackling of some kind of energy field below me; I'm guessing that's what would've fried me, not that I have a clue what the hell it is.

Not pulling the switch leads to near-instant tragedy should you pick this escape route.

I can hear guards running every which way above ground. Friggin' finally, though a bit too late to stop me now.



The shaft leads to an outlet, which I gladly take, nearly diving out the hole.



I land rather clumsily in the water below the bank, and quickly swim for the nearby ladder.



Phew! Wasn't so bad, was it?

Says the man dripping from head to toe, sore all over and eyes still stinging from his own god-for-damned tear gas.



Well, let's get back to Kabuki-cho before I can attract any more attention.



The gate pops open easily from this side, and slams shut behind me as I pass through. Back on the streets of East Shinjuku; I can still hear gunfire in the distance.



The square around the shrine is still patrolled by police and military. I wait for a nice, big blind spot and dash past the barricade, around the corner.



Compared to the walk to the bank, the way back is mostly clear; just bodies, rubble and a couple cops who haven't yet been informed of my latest doings.

I think back to the TSPE. I can't say for sure, but something about it seemed familiar... I could've sworn I saw something like it back at Otemachi Labs.



"Go! Just go... you'll understand soon enough."



Miyazaki was in the middle of some kind of experiment, or a demonstration, or something.



From: YKugara (BOD)
Subj: TSPE Demonstration

Hello, Dr. Miyazaki. We would like to hold a demonstration of the TSPE experiment within a week. There are many interested buyers in public and private sectors; we know you had concerns about glitches in the software, you have until Friday to work out as many as you can. The better the demonstration, the more zeroes you can expect in your paycheck this month.
- Chairman Kugara, Board of Directors -

I don't know. Feels like I'm getting off base here, but there has to be more to this than just warring Yakuza gangs and stolen nanotech. Or maybe that in itself is more complicated than I thought.



"Pay up, bitch!" the first guard cheerily exclaims, smirking at the other. To me, he adds, "Go on in, he's expecting you."

Least somebody was betting on me. Frankly, I wouldn't have.



Back in Kabuki-cho, plus one buddha. I'm half expecting scores of police, Yakuza, or both to come out of the shadows and take me down.



I haven't given it much thought yet, but I've no doubt stepped on a few toes by now. And really, when you stir up a hornet's nest, you only have two options: run like hell or gas the whole fucking thing.

And if running's not an option, well... think I'm gonna need a lot more gas.



Back to Yochan's gallery. He better have his checkbook ready.



You and half the city, pally.

"Pleasure doing business with you," he says, passing me a credit chit for two large.

I try valiantly to think up a cutting, cynical retort that implies I'm an inch away from gutting him, but he seems to know that I'm still just an undertrained rookie being run ragged. I manage a weak "Sure, whatever," and leave the gallery quietly.



Galaxy Disco's the next door down, might as well check it out first.



And half of my take from the bank heist goes straight to this goon's account.



All right Tomoko, you better be in here. I'm not bribing the dicks in front of the Aqua Grill, too.

Asides: You can pretty easily figure out the combos to the vault boxes, as you'll see which tumblers open on which button. Exact combos and contents behind the spoiler:

2752 - Assault rifle, three 7.62mm clips, two 9mm clips
3487 - GEP gun
4748 - HazMat suit, two gas grenades
5533 - Thermoptic camo
6674 - Buddha statue, two medkits, body armor and the grate nanokey
7265 - Sniper rifle, laser mod, two 30.06 clips
8326 - 1000 credits, roof hatch nanokey

The bank is huge, but there's nothing of critical importance above floor three. Still, you can find a few items and oddities if you're diligent, and possibly other escape routes. Observe:

The fourth floor has two largely vacant sublevels for Kusa Online and Hydroplane Visions. It's neither clear nor important what either company does, or what they're doing in a bank.



Kusa's being renovated, so it's mostly empty apart from server boxes and a couple people working the late shift.



Our friend Devilbunny (from Otemachi Labs) makes a return. Andrew tolerates him less than his previous owner, who we left in a smoking crater back in Otemachi.



And the other human occupant explains why the office is so empty. Sort of.



There's also a janitor milling about, not that this is in any way interesting.



You can hear the president of Hydroplane getting biz-ay in his office. Forget lockpicks, just grab a crowbar and break the damn thing open if you're so curious.



...

I'm just going to grab the zyme and booze from your office and get the hell out of here.



Functional break room that is literally copy-pasted to the room next door, arbitrarily doubling the size of the break room.



Next stop, floor five and the food court.



The case against: two janitors having the dumbest argument imaginable.



The case for: a repairbot, and...



...a datacube that opens storage on both the 5th and 3rd floors.



Incidentally, drop down through the vent in Mitsuko's office and you might bump into these two fine upstanding citizens in storage. If you're playing with Shifter, they'll show up as blue under the crosshair for some reason, but other than that bear no distinguishing characteristics whatsoever.



While we're on the 5th floor, you can in fact escape from the roof despite the chopper not being there. Grab the key from the vault box coded 8326 and, when you're ready, head for the roof. Predictably, a SWAT team will try to stop you.



A storeroom on the south end of the floor doubles as rooftop access.



Keep your eyes open for any loitering troopers and head for the northwest corner of the roof.



Pop the hatch with your key ring...



...and make a suicide jump in pretty much any direction.

(If you look close, you can make out the very blurry figures of the soldiers that were patrolling the elevator by the power station. You can also look west and see Yakuza thugs. Hooray for static skyboxes!)



You'll transition to East Shinjuku and land safely in the water below. Success!



Of course, you could just blast your way out and make for the main entrance.



Three or so riot cops stand in your way.



Of course, they're probably not facing you when you get there, so do what comes naturally.



And out we go!

In the next episode, Joseph helps a druggie get her medicine, helps an underpaid waitress get revenge, and helps an old friend get reacquainted with its insatiable bloodlust. You might have better things to do, but it won't take that long to read, so be there!

Stolls

While it's never clearly explained how credit transactions are handled in the world of Deus Ex, Joseph enters the Disco with a wallet figuratively lighter, if not literally. His purpose is clear: find some girl to point him in the direction of the bad guys, then kill the bad guys. The pointing is important somehow.

So Not Worth the Cover
Tracks: Galaxy Disco; Ambient, Combat, Conversation

The front of the beast. Or, a front. All right, c'mon Tomoko, where are you?



I poke around the upper lounge, making a few mental notes. I try not to stare at the thugs, all with conspicuous lumps right where a concealed holster would be. Exits at 3 and 6 o'clock, locked doors at 9 and 12. Not too many patrons here, and it suddenly strikes me Tomoko's never been described to me. I can only guess that she'll find me, somehow.



I grab a bottle from the bartender and try to loosen up, but I can feel at least one set of eyes watching me. Doesn't look like Tomoko's up here. Better stay moving.



The east stairway leads to a lower dance floor, a little busier than the lounge.



Trying to be discreet, I mention the name Tomoko to one of the girls. Can't help but notice the nearest guard's eyes roll my way at the name, but the girl just shrugs, telling me to relax. She looks about half in the bag anyway.

That beer scratched a long-building itch, and I'm tempted to grab another, but I should try to stay sharp.



A girl in the corner beckons to me, discreetly. One eye on the nearest guard, I wander over.

"I have been waiting for you," she says in a low voice through the window.

"Tomoko?" I ask.

She half-smiles, nodding. "News travels fast in Tokyo. A foreigner in a trenchcoat and sunglasses was seen fleeing the TMG building just before it was blown up. A witness described the same man loitering around Hibiya Park just before the Aqua Bus terminals were destroyed. And guess who was just seen near Yokotani just before a reported break-in?" She pauses deliberately. "Spare me the trouble of asking."

"I'm just trying to get home," I say truthfully. "Things... well, they keep getting in the way."



"I'm not in the business yet, exactly."

"I see. I figured UNATCO types would be one of the few to dress like that to a nightclub, or wear sunglasses at night."

That goddamn song dances through my head, and I have to work to tune it out again. Damn it, the pills were supposed to help with that. "You're not wrong. But let's talk business."



It takes a second to catch the mistake. "Bleh, sorry, Kurokuma. Been a long night. Anyway, Kaneko said there were two hideouts beneath the city that need to be taken out, and that the leader's going to be down there tonight."

She nods. "I met Kaneko last month when he was here on business. I mostly get word to him through Yosuke and Yochan, tonight's the first time I've heard back. I have to admit, I didn't believe it when he said UNATCO was going to help. Ever since I was..." she stops, swallowing hard. A shadow crosses her eyes. "Since I... started here, I've been trying to get information out to somebody, anybody, but it's hard to trust anyone. Even the other workers..."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Poor girl's undoubtedly been through a lot. Even now there's doubt in her voice, so I dig out a name and give it a try. "If it helps, I ran into your sister Miya at the Aqua Bus terminals."

That seals it. Her mouth falls open for a second, her eyes wide. "You saw Miya? Is she okay? What happened?"

"Yeah, she's okay," I assure her, not really sure myself. "She was at the Hibiya terminal when it was locked down, she's safe. She helped me get into the tower and out of Otemachi, her and Tsuyoshi."

Slowly her face regains its composure, and she works up a small, cool smile. "That's just like her... to do that. Thank you."

I smile back, but before long I'm reminded of the guards. I throw a look left and right to make sure we're not being listened to, then try to get back on topic. "Yosuke said your group had a plan?"



"Toshihiro was supposed to be here tonight, but he heard that his agent in Otemachi was killed, and was planning to betray him."

I rub the back of my neck, unsure whether I should say aloud what happened to Ken. "Huh. Anyway, who's Toshihiro?"

She blinks at me, then tilts her head in surprise. "You really are new at this. He runs the Kurokuma, and is pretty much the most feared person in Tokyo. I was hoping to get some information out of him, and relay to Kaneko where he'd be, but the agent's death and the attacks across the city have made him especially worried. He left earlier with a handful of bodyguards."

"And so went plan A," I say with a groan. "You thought you could get close to him?"

"Until tonight," she answers. "I don't think he'll listen to me or anybody now, not in the state he's in."



She smiles again, more fully this time. "I was hoping you'd say so. I do have another plan."

Friggin' finally. All right lady, what've you got?



"I can't go into more detail, we're drawing enough attention as it is. Follow the vent and you'll find a way in."

She passes me a nanokey, and like that, she walks off.



Can't wait to see this brilliant plan come to fruition.

The men's room is easy enough to find, just south of the upper lounge.



Guard lurking around in the john. I duck into a stall to "wait", which is actually convenient since it's sort of been a while. Funny the things you forget to do when you're being shot at and running out of exploding buildings.



Equally funny are the things people leave on the floor of the bathroom.



I hear the guard leave and all but spring for the air vent, the eternal nemesis of otherwise airtight security.



Halfway in, I come across a locked grate. Tomoko's key gets it open with zero fuss.



Y'know, it's easy to take for granted just how uncomfortable these things are until you have to squeeze into them yourself. The UNATCO training course has a whole section explicitly for this sort of thing; I remember that tin can Navarre was always nagging me about not being seen.



Yeah, easy for you to say bitch, you have a fucking cloak generator. I'd find stealth pretty goddamn easy if I could turn invisible too, but no, I gotta do it the hard way.

God, she was annoying. I hope someone figures out her killphrase.



Anyhow, the vent leads straight to a small meeting room. Nobody's around, thankfully.



And somebody forgot to take their notes with them. The code and nanokey apparently go to a storage room, which I hope connects to the manager's office somehow.



I punch the button on the wall and quietly slip through the doors, waiting for the guards to look the other way before rejoining the lounge.



I spot another datacube just behind the bar, and a brief lapse in attention by the bartender...



...produces results. This one also goes to the storeroom.



I try the key on this door, but no go. With a shrug, I hop the counter again before somebody spots me.

I don't see how they couldn't - I mean, again, I'm not invisible or anything - but clearly nobody is bothered by some white guy in dark clothes climbing all over the place checking out their stuff. These Yakuza idiots aren't so bad after all.

(This door contains only pistol ammo and medkits; the key is in the storage room.)



I remember the door on the north end of the lounge, and whadaya know, the nanokey from the meeting room opens it. Exquisite.



I slip in and shut the door behind me. All right... let's do some looting!



The codes work like codes are supposed to. Place is a regular treasure trove of weapons, ammo, mods and other supplies. I happy grab some assault rifle and shotgun ammo, a few grenades, and even a fresh suppressor, which finds a new home on the tip of my sniper rifle.

In the adjoining storeroom I find a few other nice things, including medical supplies, biocells, a medbot and upgrade canisters. Before I can dance a celebratory jig, however, I catch sight of...



...this little doohickey.

What in the hell? Some kind of... I dunno, some prototype energy sword?



Nah, that's solid steel, all right. Someone wrote the word 'Wiggles' on the hilt of the blade. Crudely, I might add.



But it's nice, it's light, and it's ridiculously sharp. Or I assume it is, what with the glowing and all. Beats the hell out of the crowbar I've been lugging around, that's for damn sure. I'll try not to think too hard about what this was doing locked up in some Yakuza nightclub. C'mon sword, let's go do some damage.



Guys, come on, you gotta stop leaving this shit around. It's like you want foreign devils to be sneaking around wrecking up your shit. Haven't you people ever heard of Robert Goulet?



One of the assorted keys I've picked up gets the next door open, which takes me to a clean, thoroughly empty office.



"There you are," calls Tomoko, her voice startling me.

"All right, I'm here. How do we do this?"

"Toshihiro is paranoid," says Tomoko. "He always has been, but tonight has made him more so. He left through a hidden passage in this room, and he was acting like someone was coming after him. I think he's expecting you, though I heard him mention the name 'Adam' a few times."

Somebody knowing that I was headed their way? There's a shocker. Something about 'Adam' rings a bell, but I can't place it yet.

"I was hoping to get close so I could relay his position to Kaneko," she explains. "There was a quake years back that collapsed a section of the city, and he's set up some kind of bunker down in the ruins. He was going to be someplace easier to get to before this happened, but now he's retreated to the bunker, and you'll have to fight your way in."

"Sounds pretty straightforward."

"Not quite. An old subway line runs between here, the Aqua Grill, and back to Otemachi. The two Kurokuma hideouts connect to it, and there's a passage at the east end that leads to the old city. The passage is sealed, and you'll need to get information from both hideouts to get through." She hands me an old, beat-up map of the subway tunnels, cropped and marked with the location of the hideouts. "I wasn't able to get to the city, but I did manage to scout a bit underground. Here, you'll need this."

"Thanks." No sweat, I was going to have to clear them out anyway. "And how do I get down there?"



"His password is... DragonballZ. You're shitting me."

She rolls her eyes. "I'm afraid not. Don't ask how I know. Anyway, that should open the passage."



And it does. Before I go, I turn and ask, "Yosuke mentioned that he thought the Kurokuma were working with the TMG. You know anything about this?"

"Not from what I've witnessed, but I've been stuck in Kabuki-cho. We do have an option, however. Kaneko told me about your communications device, your infolink. If you give me your operating frequency, I'll be able to keep in touch with you through the office computer. The Kurokuma have set up a small intranet in the underground, if you can hack into it I can decrypt the data from here and I'll see what I turn up."

Not bad, not bad at all. Thanks, Tomoko. Wish me luck.

Asides: Not pictured are a few spoken oddities, specifically a bartender whom Joseph inexplicably asks about a hidden elevator. You can bribe this bartender for more info and, according to the dialog, a copy of the key Tomoko gives for the restroom air vent. However, it's bugged; the bartender doesn't actually give the key. Also, there is no elevator. Noclipping also reveals that a dupe Tomoko NPC is simply placed in the office at the start of the level, even before speaking with her on the lower level.

The Disco's a one-way trip; the door at the top of the central staircase does not open. It's a pretty small area, so there aren't too many secrets, but even the stuff that works kind of suggests that the people making this level didn't really test it a lot.

This nice young lady forgot a little something somewhere, which was picked up by security and put in lost and found.



Or it was a zyme vial confiscated by the guards and put in storage, take your pick. Anyway, she's got a key to the storerooms, but not to storage itself; you'll need to get that from the meeting room on the west end of the Disco.



However, the key isn't necessary. Hers is the zyme vial on the window next to the west-hand door.



Your reward for helping her be a good little druggie is a lockpick and 200 credits. Also, she is apparently addressing the wall as she rewards you. Lights are on, but nobody was ever home, were they kiddo?



If for some reason storage doesn't contain enough DTS for all your slashing and stabbing needs, you can get one out on the main floor.



Note the false panel on the wall, marked by this character. You may also notice the lockpicks left oh-so-conveniently right at the foot of the panel. Wait for guards to clear away (or cloak, if you somehow have that ability already) and pick the lock.



Do wait for the guards. They can't be killed, and are retardedly accurate with their guns.



Climb the ladder and pop open the vent to find...



One Wiggles V.0.5b, ready and waiting. Note the guards going apeshit below. Death soon followed the taking of this screenshot.



Visible as you descend from the bathrooms. Yeah, I don't know what to make of this either.

Tune in next time, wherein we prepare for a not-drunken killing spree, courtesy of our favorite blue glowy sword of unending doom and Completely Silent Feet, which go crazy well together. We also defy the laws of physics without the aid of noclip, and blow up bombs with the awesome power of our mind.