Monday, November 29, 2010

Dead Rising 2 Guide


Chuck Greene is the man! Thanks to him and his fantastic game, I am now back into FAQ writing once again and I am absolutely having a blast with it.

Thank you, Chuck.

And I did a little something for Case Zero also:


Case West will be released sometimes down the line and I'll be sure to do something for that also!

By now, I definitely know my way around a zombie or two.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Most Amusing Email of the Week #1

I just got through checking through my email, which I only spend time doing about once every month lately, and came across this email. I love humorous emails and this one stood out to me, so I though I might share:

I just finished whupping up on Zues' treacherous ass thanks to you. I initially ended up on IGN because I had gotten stuck somewhere in the middle of the game, (it is my first time playing the God of War series, I never got around to it on the original PS2) and I came across the fantastic guide that you had put on there (written July 4, 2007). I can honestly say that I would have thrown my controller through my tv and lit the bluray of GOW collection on fire and laughed maniacally as i watched it burn.....if, I wouldn't have had this guide. But alas Berserker was there and he saved me a controller, a tv, a game disc and my sanity. Sony should really just pack your guide in with the gamedisc, forget the stupid manual, (c'mon, who doesn't know what the start button does?), or at least give a link to it.

- excerpt from email by Gordy


Thanks a lot, Gordy!

I'll post up other good emails if I get anymore.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Moving on from Resident Evil 5.

Just a few weeks ago, I was playing Resident Evil 5 like I have been in my free time for the past... year... and decided to take a small break from the game and play some others for a while. I watched a preview of another game and it reminded me just how much I've been addicted to RE5 over the year and have completely forgotten about other good games out there.

It's been quite a while since I've even written a guide seriously. The last guide that I actually worked really hard on was Resident Evil 5. I planned for that to be my last, but... you know the way that works. You never quit something that you love so much. It just doesn't work that way. :)

It's really time to move on from Resident Evil 5 and get to more important stuff out there though.

Stuff like...



Hitting zombies over the head with a chair...



Beating zombies over head with a sledgehammer and crushing their skulls into the ground...



Taking on the role of Chuck Green to cover the zombie outbreak in Sin City!



Chuck doesn't cover wars. He makes his own wars!

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero will be released on August 31, 2010 and the full game is scheduled for release on September 29, 2010. If you'll be picking up Dead Rising 2 and need help from GameFAQs, I'll see you there. ;)


Disclaimer: I never will quit playing Resident Evil 5 entirely any time soon, but I will take frequent breaks from the game and get to other games. It's FAR past time to move on from it.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Resident Evil 5 - Mercenaries Reunion Guide


Hey, you know I always keep my promises.


Who said the line up above? Fail, if you don't know! >=(

Chris Redfield mentioned that phrase to Claire in the closing cutscene to Resident Evil: Code Veronica. It sort of has meaning to this post too.

The Mercenaries Reunion minigame isn't exactly what hardcore RE5 Mercs players were hoping for. It completely reversed the main concept of RE5 Mercs. Instead of the focus being on building time while trying to maintain a full kill combo, the focus is now on keeping a full kill combo while trying to build time. The kill combo takes priority over EVERYTHING in a run on Mercenaries Reunion. Losing the combo is like dying basically to a player that wants to achieve the highest score.

I was very pumped to write a guide for Reunion when it was first announced. A few weeks after playing it, I noticed that there was very little interest in Mercenaries Reunion in the minds of hardcore players. Many of them were simply returning to normal Mercs. I have to admit that I thought there was going to be little demand for info for Mercs Reunion because of the little interest in it among hardcore players, but many RE5 fans are still playing it.

I said I was going to write a guide for Mercs Reunion and I stuck with my word, so here it is:



I basically opened up the original Mercs guide on my laptop and started editing it for Reunion (I use previous guides as templates a bunch). It's FAR from just a cut and paste job though.

Pretty much every little detail of Mercenaries Reunion was all figured by myself with the help of other Mercs players. There is no official guide to give us weapon stats or the full combo bonus system so all that had to figured from scratch. Some of it is off but a good majority of it should be close to the actual info.

If you haven't yet, bet sure to check out the Biohazard Mercenaries site. You'll find a bunch more info about RE5 Mercs and RE5 Mercenaries Reunion. I like to recommend the site to all of my readers since it really is the best source of English information that a player will find for both modes. Make sure you tell them Berserker sent you! :)

I'm most likely going to spend the rest of this year updating the Mercs Reunion guide and redoing some of my old RE5 Mercs guide. Writing for the game is really more fun than playing it to me at this point. Ever since the end of last year, I've basically been playing it to write anyway.

This may very well be a good stopping point in FAQ writing for me. I don't like to mention the term "Retiring" or "Quitting" or whatever so I wouldn't ever say that because I wouldn't stick with it most likely. Once we get a new Resident Evil game, that will probably change my current mood, but as for now, I don't really have the motivation to write outside of Resident Evil 5. If I ever do stop though, I can look back on Resident Evil 5 and say to myself:

That's the best time I ever had writing for a game!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Resident Evil 5: Lost in Nightmares and Desperate Escape Guides


This guide has been up for a while actually. I first posted it a few weeks after Lost in Nightmares was released. To me, Lost in Nightmares is the best part of RE5 overall. It really takes a player back to the horror experience that RE5 used to be while maintaining the newer action gameplay. I'd love to see Resident Evil 6 take this type of approach.



I just posted this guide about a week ago. In a way this one is rushed, kind of like Lost in Nightmares. Desperate Escape feels too much like more of the main game of RE5 overall to me. It does have some good tense moments like the final battle, but overall, it feels like a Mercs game... it even has exploding bosses! xD


Now there is only one thing left that I need to do...

Just one more thing...



A God of War III guide!




No...

A Mercenaries Reunion guide of course!

Visit the Biohazard Mercenaries site and view the strategy board to see what I have done on this guide so far. I'm going to try to be as detailed as my original Mercs guide.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Lost In Nightmares - Score Star Location List

There are 18 Score Stars hidden throughout the Lost in Nightmares side story and finding them all will help boost your overall point total at the end of the side story and give you the following trophy/achievement:

--> Wish upon a Star

Destroy all 18 of the Score stars found throughout "Lost in Nightmares


The following is a list of all 18 score stars found in Lost in Nightmares along with pics!

Score Star 1

Location: Spencer Estate
Points: 500

Move down either set of steps along the side of the main stairway and step in front of the barred gate. Turn around and look up to find this score star attached to the backside of the ceiling lantern below the main stairway.



Score Star 2

Location: Spencer Estate
Points: 500

Move up the stairs and step onto the second floor of the Spencer Estate while still in the main hall then find the entrance doors to the mansion then look directly above them. This score star is lying in the middle wall alcove right above the entrance doors. The middle chandelier may block the view of it if you stand in the middle of the second floor.



Score Star 3

Location: Spencer Estate
Points: 500


While on the second floor of the main hall of the Spencer Estate, move toward the side without the gap in the walkway then look back toward the chandelier hanging on the middle of the ceiling. This score star is attached to the top portion of the backside of the chandelier.



Score Star 4

Location: Spencer Estate
Points: 500

Move down the hallway past the door on the side of the second floor with no gap. This score star is lying on top of the cabinet in front of the door at the end of the hall. The cabinet has some plates lying on top of it as well.



Score Star 5

Location: Spencer Estate
Points: 500

While in the Dining Room, look up on the southwest corner of the second floor to see this on the wall. It's on the second floor portion to the left of the clock.



Score Star 6

Location: Spencer Estate
Points: 500

Look behind the chimes inside the grandfather clock in the Dining Room to find this score star hanging inside the clock.



Score Star 7

Location: Spencer Estate
Points: 500

Past the Dining Room, enter the restroom below the staircase. This score star is hanging above the urinal in the restroom.



Score Star 8

Location: Spencer Estate
Points: 500

This score star is lying inside of a small cage with a white sheet draped over it in the storage room where the heat sensitive paper is found. It's lying next to a crate.



Score Star 9

Location: Spencer Estate
Points: 500

This is hanging on the ceiling of the corridor with the barred gate that the characters will pass by on the way to the storage room. This can be seen much better after a character pulls the lever inside of the corridor to stop the ceiling spikes. It's on the ceiling of the left corridor that the player will pass by before getting to the lever.



Score Star 10

Location: Spencer Estate
Points: 1000

After or shortly before a character steps into the room with the spiked ceiling trap, this will be hanging on top of the south wall above the wall safe. This can be shot before or while the spiked ceiling lowers. It MUST be shot before the spiked ceiling lowers too much - run and flip the switch without shooting it first and it can't be shot.



Score Star 11

Location: Prison
Points: 500

After the characters drop off the edge of the wooden ledge right after using the crank and moving below the mansion, look to the left and look above the shelves to see this score star hanging on the wall above the shelves.



Score Star 12

Location: Prison
Points: 500

After moving below the stairs to the cell area of the Prison, this will be on the floor of the fifth cell to the right. A dead test subject is inside of the cell and is lying on the floor with its hand over the score star.



Score Star 13

Location: Prison
Points: 500

After rounding the left corner of the cell area, a Guardian of Insanity will walk by on a ledge up above. Walk ahead just a bit then turn and look up to see this hanging on the second floor wall above the cells.



Score Star 14

Location: Prison
Points: 500

Before moving up the first set of stairs in the cell area, look inside of the closed cell below the stairs. This score star will be hanging on the left wall inside of the cell.



Score Star 15

Location: Prison
Points: 500

After moving up the stairs, your characters will likely fight a Guardian of Insanity. This score star is attached to the wall of the first cell to the right after stepping away from the stairs.



Score Star 16

Location: Prison
Points: 500

After moving down the stairs from the second floor cell area with the first Guardian of Insanity, this will be lying on the bottom shelf of a set of shelves near a dead test subject. Basically when you move down the stairs, take the left path and it will be on the lowest shelf.



Score Star 17

Location: Prison
Points: 500

In the area with the water, move along the left path and collect the silver crest from the chest off to the left. Keep moving down that path and look along the barred alcoves along the left wall. This score star is inside the sixth barred alcove in the group of alcove past the chest - second alcove from the back. This alcove is right below a staircase.



Score Star 18

Location: Spencer Estate (Library)
Points: 500

After the maze portion and before the fight with Wesker, once the characters move up both sets of stairs, grab an M92F handgun from a dead body then return to the front of the hall near the staircase to see this score star hanging on the top portion of the back wall. To save some time in retrieving it, a player can aim upward and knife slash it.




Extra Score Stars

These extra score stars are found in breakable objects or by performing the listed task:

Small Score Star

Location: Found in breakable objects.
Points: 300

Medium Score Star

Location: Found in breakable objects.
Points: 500

Large Score Star

Location: Kill a Guardian of Insanity and it will drop this.
Points: 2000

The Guardian's eye on the back side of the growth along its right arm is its weak point. Shoot the eye on its back to make it kneel then hit it with a melee attack for extra damage. All gunfire to any portion of the body will damage the Guardian, but these shots will make it spew acid from its arm that can damage a character from close range.

Extra Large Score Star

Location: Knock out Wesker during the battle with him.
Points: 3000

During the fight with Wesker, counter either of his dash attacks by entering the button sequence that appears on the screen then run up to him and hit him with a melee attack as the button prompt appears while near him. He will automatically perform a dash toward one of the characters eventually.

He can also be forced into performing a dash attack by shooting at him so that he dodges your handgun bullets three times - he will dash toward the attacking character afterward and that is when a player can dodge then run up and hit him. The shots have to be from long range!

Dodging a forced dash = normal melee attack prompt afterward
Dodging a normal dash (that Wesker does himself) = tag team melee attack prompt afteward.

On co-op play, both players can run up to Wesker after one player dodges then both players can activate the melee attack simultaneously.

On single play, DO NOT allow the AI partner to pick up an M92F handgun before the fight with Wesker. The partner will constantly shoot at Wesker and screw up your chances for forcing Wesker into a dash attack.

You'll get the Kung Fu Fighting trophy/achievement for gaining this score star.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Guide


Well, I said I would get this guide done before the DLC for Resident Evil 5 got here... Two days left! Haha.

In a way, this is not the type of guide that I envisioned. This guide is rushed and I'm not really happy with it. I should have started on it in December rather than the beginning of January. There's really so many other things that I'd like to add to this (S-rank tips, youtube videos, etc). I don't know if I'll ever get around to it though.

If you're familiar with my Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles guide on GameFAQs then you'll probably notice that my guide for Darkside Chronicles follows the exact same template. I usually change them up, but I felt having these two similar to each other would be for the best.

Big thanks to the readers that emailed me in December asking about a Darkside Chronicles guide and an extra special thanks to thesilentman226 from IGN. All of you were a great motivation and I probably wouldn't have even started this without your support.

----

Future Projects

Anyway, now that I've finally had a break from Resident Evil 5... it's about time to plummet into it once again! I'm going to take a lighter approach to Mercs this time though. I got WAY too involved in the competitive side last year. I'll be more constructive this time and limit my time between playing and writing.

Like I mention in the RE:DSC guide above, there are a few future projects that I am planning for Resident Evil 5:

1) Lost in Nightmares guide
2) Desperate Escape guide
3) Mercenaries Reunion guide
4) Full Revision of the existing RE5 Mercs guide of mine (possible rewrite)

I'm not going to rush through all of this either, so it's probably not going to be posted up very quickly.

---

REmotivated

Aside from all the above, it really felt good to actually write again. I spent the latter half of last year simply playing RE5 in my free time. It felt good to actually write for a game again. Feels like it's been so long.

After all, this DSC guide is just a warm-up to what else will come later this year. I've found my motivation to write and be constructive in my free time again and that motivation is really strong!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Not yet.

Forget that last post where I said, I would probably stop writing with RE5. Not yet.

One more, at least...




I received a few emails about writing a guide for Darkside Chronicles throughout December. I didn't really care too much for the game back then. With Umbrella Chronicles, I took a break from the game and came back and then wrote a very enjoyable guide for it. The same effect seems to be happening with Darkside Chronicles.

I'm up to chapter 4 in Memories of a Lost City right now and I'm getting it done rather quickly for just having started on it a few days ago. It's going to be in the same style as Umbrella Chronicles was.

I received some motivation from a friend. Thanks silentman! :)

It pleases me greatly that I now actually want to write for Darkside Chronicles since I planned to from when it was announced... just lost the motivation, but I've found it once again and it's really strong now!


Memories of a Lost City (RE2) FINISHED
[X] Chapter 1
[X] Chapter 2
[X] Chapter 3
[X] Chapter 4
[X] Chapter 5
[X] Chapter 6
[X] Chapter 7
[X] Chapter 8

Game of Oblivion (RE:CVX) FINISHED
[X] Chapter 1
[X] Chapter 2
[X] Chapter 3
[X] Chapter 4
[X] Chapter 5
[X] Chapter 6
[X] Chapter 7

Operation Javier INCOMPLETE
[X] Chapter 1
[X] Chapter 2
[X] Chapter 3 - FINISHED 1/22
[X] Chapter 4 - FINISHED 1/24
[X] Chapter 5 - FINISHED 1/25
[X] Chapter 6 - FINISHED 1/26
[X] Chapter 7 - FINISHED 1/26

I'll release it when I'm done with all chapters and have all files located in those chapters. There's still some that I'm unsure of...

Extra Tasks
[ ] Good Intro
[X] Write out a Basics section - FINISHED 1/26
[ ] Add Normal mode files to all chapters
[ ] Add Hard mode files to all chapters
[ ] Confirm most of the files
[ ] File Checklist section
[ ] Weapon section?
[ ] Characters section?
[ ] Proofread Berserker, PROOFREAD! (the most important step in FAQ writing)

Proofing and File Additions checklist (for me)

Memories of a Lost City (RE2) COMPLETE
[X] Chapter 1 - FINISHED 1/29
[X] Chapter 2 - FINISHED 1/30
[X] Chapter 3 - FINISHED 1/30
[X] Chapter 4 - FINISHED 1/31
[X] Chapter 5 - FINISHED 1/31
[X] Chapter 6 - FINISHED 2/1
[X] Chapter 7 - FINISHED 2/1
[X] Chapter 8 - FINISHED 2/2

Game of Oblivion (RE:CVX) INCOMPLETE
[] Chapter 1
[] Chapter 2
[] Chapter 3
[] Chapter 4
[] Chapter 5
[] Chapter 6
[] Chapter 7

Operation Javier INCOMPLETE
[X] Chapter 1 - FINISHED 1/27
[ ] Chapter 2
[ ] Chapter 3
[ ] Chapter 4
[ ] Chapter 5
[ ] Chapter 6
[ ] Chapter 7

(Might release before all of ^these are finished)

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Where have you been, Berserker!?

I've been playing as STARS Chris. I've been trying to prove that you don't need a Wesker partner to gain 900K on various stages. I've been playing Mercsident Evil 5 too long... WAY too long. That's where I've been.

I've NEVER had a game take up my time as much as Resident Evil 5 has. Usually I spend about 3 months with a game and then I'm done with it. Once I declare the guide finished, I'm done. One of the main reasons why I write is to make a game last longer for myself. With Resident Evil 5, I didn't even need to do that. The Mercs minigame is so very addicting. It's amazing the amount of replay value that RE5 Mercs has through the competency brought on by it's leaderboards.


Resident Evil 5 was supposed to be my last FAQ...


That's the way that I had it planned. I was going to stop after I was done. In a way, that may still very well be true, since I haven't felt motivated enough to move on to another guide or game at this point. I was planning to do something for Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles, but haven't felt motivated enough to start.

I have made SO MANY good friends because of RE5. I'm not going to list them all here because they know who they are. It's been such a good experience. Someone needs to cue the "Somewhere I Belong" Linkin Park song right now. Wait...



There we go! xD

I want to find something, I've wanted all along... Somewhere I belong!

I've never felt so close to a community as I have with RE5. It's just been... awesome! :)

As for now, I continue to post over at the Biohazard Mercenaries site:

http://www.biohazardmercenaries.com/forum

If you check the strategy forum, I'm basically listing information that I plan to include in a new Mercs and Resident Evil 5 guide come next year. Yeah, I'll be updating the main guide and the Mercs guide for Resident Evil 5 Alternative Edition/Gold Edition. At this point, the Mercs guide is out of date. It's very basic right now. ;)

If you haven't yet, then visit my youtube page also. I've posted up several of my RE5 Mercs runs there.

I probably won't update everything as fast as I wrote the original RE5 guide. I don't know. Resident Evil 5 may very well be the last guide that I ever do, but at least I can say it's the most enjoyable guide that I've ever done. I don't want to go out with whimper. I don't want to go out with a bang.

I just want to leave a strong mark among the community of my favorite series.