http://users.bart.nl/~jamin POSTAL CHAPTER 1 GOING POSTAL - GENERAL STRATEGIES WHY YOU KILL Although Postal doesn't pretend to have a strong plot, you do have reasons for your decision to "go postal". But who really cares, anyway? Many intense games try to mask the real reason people play them: for entertainment and stress relief. You can't kill 400 people in real life, but you can boot up Postal and knock off as many as you want. Other games try to string you along with a lame excuse for a plot, but frankly, I think hiring scriptwriters to make a game "interesting" is a big waste of money - especially when the plot is just a thin veil for the real goal of most games: to kill everything in sight. Postal is not intended for small children or the weak of heart, so expect to see some things that may repulse you. But that's half the fun of playing the game! People scream when they are burned, corpses are blown into the sky, and bodies recoil as they are hit by shotgun shells. If this all sounds like something you want to do, then you've picked the right game and the right strategy guide to ensure your corpse isn't the one being blown into the air! HOW AND WHERE YOU KILL The best strategy tip is location, location, location. Take advantage of your environment by hiding behind anything that even remotely seems as if it will protect you from the onslaught of your enemies. Even heat-seeking missiles can be avoided if you fool them by quickly dashing behind a building. You'll find areas where the cover is too high for you to be shot, but you can toss grenades or Molotov cocktails at hostiles (watch out, though: anything you can do, they can do, too). When you are taking a beating, run to a safe area as fast as you can and catch your breath. When you are hiding behind an object, try to run out quickly; draw fire from nearby enemies and while they are reloading their weapons, unload onto them. Now, forget everything I've just told you. As you'll learn, not every strategy in Postal will work all the time. When some hostiles realise you are hiding from them, they'll simply come and find you. In these situations, get as close to them as you can and blast away. This method is particularly effective against hostiles who use lobbed weapons (grenades, Molotov cocktails, napalm), but it will work against most enemies - some of the time. Just stay far away from hostiles and turrets that are armed with rapid-fire missiles or flame-throwers. Not only can you use the environment to hide from hostiles, but you can also use it as a weapon against them. If you spy oil barrels near your foes, try to line up a rocket with them; one well-placed rocket will light up three or four people who otherwise might have killed you. You can use the weapons carried by certain enemies (napalm, in particular) against them. Try to line up a few enemies in front of a napalm-launching hostile and run right toward him, then watch as he lights up his buddies, and you run by unscathed. You can also play these tricks with hostiles who toss grenades, Molotov cocktails and even heatseekers; these are great to turn against your foes. The save-game mechanism is worth mentioning. The designers decided not to allow you to save at any point in a level, and I agree with this decision. If you could save at any moment, the game would become monotonous: kill someone, save; if you die, reload. To prevent an otherwise great game from being ruined, the designers allow you to save only from the beginning of a level. For this reason, it's extremely important always to play with an eye on how much health you have left. If you are getting low, you may want to alter your tactics or deviate from the course I recommend so you can get a health powerup elsewhere. It's extremely important to keep in mind which areas of the map you have already cleared out. Although enemies do roam, they tend to stay in a particular area, so you can be fairly sure that it's safe to return to areas you previously cleared if you need to take a break from the killing. Also, remember where you left ammunition stashes that you couldn't pick up earlier; when you begin to run low, use these stashes to recharge your supplies. It's also useful to know which areas of the map are safe because you can sometimes lead a stray hostile back into that area, away from the pack, and take him on one on one. POSTAL TIP BUILDINGS SUCK In my travels, I've learned that not everything I see can be trusted. Even though you might not see anyone in front of you, it doesn't mean no one's lurking inside a nearby building. Enemies can pop out of buildings en masse and start their onslaught really quickly, so I blast open some of the gas cans near building entrances when I walk by; anybody who tries to ambush me will be nothing but a bunch of ashes by the time they get near me. If there aren't any oil barrels in sight, I approach carefully, shotgun in hand. If someone does pop out, I blast him with the shotgun, quickly switch to my trusty Molotov cocktails and set a blazing fire for the first guy and any of his buddies who want to join him. You were given two feet and unlimited endurance; use them! There are very few times in the game when you shouldn't be running, so keep that Shift key held down. Run for cover, run away from fire, run toward grenadiers; run, run, run! Make generous use of your strafing (side-stepping) ability; it will allow you to run from building to building while you fire at your opponents: Back-pedalling is also a great way to let bullets fly while getting out of the line of fire. Make good use of the crosshairs that appear on people when you have them in your sights. This is especially important for the machine gun, because you might be able to target someone from a distance at which they can't spot you, and this will allow you to get in a few shots before they come after you. You can also line up the rocket launcher this way for an even more deadly punch. But don't rely completely on the crosshairs, especially with weapons like napalm and cocktails; they can damage people even through they aren't that close to the initial explosion. Fire is an extremely important part of the game, and it can be used to your advantage. Use your fire-generating weapons (cocktails, napalm, flame-thrower) and oil barrels to create huge conflagrations that will kill off quite a few hostiles at once. By the same token, be extremely careful of what you have done; once ignited, hostiles are extremely erratic and can run straight toward you and light you up as well. But if you can't avoid a flaming pedestrian, by all means use your new-found status as a human torch to your advantage: run toward anything living and set it on fire. Some locations, such as gas stations, have "forever flames". If you ignite the oil barrels around a gas pump, the pump continues to explode and burn for quite a while. If the fire burns out, simply restart it by firing at the pump. This is useful for setting up a secure position where your opponents can't get to you. The ability always to cause havoc is also a valuable tool. On level 4 (Parade of Disasters) particularly, the element of surprise is a valuable tool when, for example, you ignite an entire marching band with a cocktail. While the band members run around screaming, hide out and pick off hostiles with your machine gun. Remember, too, that all those flaming people are bound to ignite some other people. Try to control the chaos you've created so that it doesn't backfire on you. For the most part, though, chaos will only help you and disorient everyone else. It's also very important to be cautious. Take your time; when you kill one person, wait to see whether anyone nearby comes after you. By doing that, you'll be able to take on your opponents one on one, and that will give you much better odds (usually). People who hear gunshots will often run toward the source (you), so if you dispatch one foe, another may soon arrive. Don't run blindly from confrontation to confrontation; you'll end up with too many opponents around you, and they'll all want to give you a piece of their mind. Having completed a level, explore it completely to make sure you haven't missed any powerups (unless you've met the kill ratio and want to go on to the next level without risking your life any longer). Those powerups can be a big help in future battles. How and when to duck is, perhaps, the most important thing you'll learn in the game. Ducking becomes essential if you want to survive especially on the more difficult levels. If you time your ducking well, you can avoid the rockets (even heatseekers) that are fired at you; occasionally, these rockets will even hit another person - usually, a hostile that you would have had to deal with yourself. This strategy is especially useful on higher levels, in which multiple heatseekers might be fired at you all at once. If you time things correctly, you can get two heavy-weapons experts to fire at you at almost the same time; their rockets' paths will cross, and they will blow each other up! Lots of fun, and saves health and ammunition! In fact, spend a good bit of time practising your timing for ducking, before you attempt to use it when it really matters. Load level 1 on difficulty level 11 and clear out everyone except the guys who have rocket launchers. Then, while you duck, practice avoiding the rockets that are shot at you. If you master this skill, it will prevent you from being killed many times during the course of the game, so be sure you take the time to learn how to do it right. Though you should take your time, you should not fight fair. If you can get off a shot at an enemy, and his A1 isn't smart enough to make him change position, by all means - just stand there and fire. You should also use your machine gun to take out enemies who can't get to you, or who might not even be onscreen yet. Hostiles don't fight fair, and neither should you. Crossfire plays a big role in your survival. Make it your highest priority never to be sandwiched between multiple opponents. They will all take shots at you; this makes it extremely hard to get off your own shots, and it will most likely lead to your death. To avoid crossfire, never change into situations (except in the rare instances in which I tell you to); always remember where your enemies are, and never advance too deeply into an area that you haven't thoroughly explored. When you begin any level, it's important to take a second or two to become familiar with your environment. If you aren't in any immediate danger (which is usually the case, believe it or not), take a moment to find out where your enemies are hiding, and base your plan of attack on your visual reconnaissance. If you wait for a short while, a person or two may attack you first; this will allow you to pick them off without much risk. As you probably know from the many other games you've played, a great way to save yourself from damage is to play the angles. If you are well positioned behind an object, you may be able to get a few shots off at your opponents when they can't see you or can't hit you. This method works well with the machine gun, since it sprays its bullets in a fan pattern; some bullets may hit the object you are behind, but others will hit your enemies while you're still safe. Executing your victims: I know it's really entertaining to kill people who are begging for mercy (or for death), but it's not a wise tactic in the heat of combat. The few seconds it takes to line up your shot at the poor cretin could be the few seconds that a heavy-weapons expert needs to send a gas canister in your direction and burn you up. So let the poor, dying wretches crawl around until they knock themselves off. I mention compass directions quite a few times. If you don't correlate what I've written with the maps in this book, these directions may be a little confusing, depending on the perspective at which a particular level is played. Usually, the compass directions I give will be in relation to your computer screen: north is to the top of your screen, west is to the left, etc. These are fairly simple to understand, but not all the directions will be this simple. I'll explain what I mean by "slowly approaching" a particular area or enemy. I told you that you should run all the time - right? What I mean by "slowly" is not that you should actually walk gingerly, but that you should be extremely aware of what kind of situation you are entering. Run a few steps - stop - look - then run a few more. By doing this, you're already in run mode, so if you do get into a bad situation, you can double back quickly and get into a better position for a firefight. WHAT YOU KILL WITH Every weapon has its purposes, but you'll probably use a few particular ones most of the time. It's important to learn the strengths and weaknesses of each item in your armoury because then you'll know whether it's appropriate to let loose with a valuable heatseeker or to just spray the area with a deadly hail from the scatter gun. My favourites are the machine gun for its long range and unlimited ammunition and the scatter gun for the massive destruction it can inflict in an instant. All these weapons, except mines, can be used by computer-controlled opponents. So all of the tactics I describe will be used by the computer-controlled players, as well as by any real people you might battle. Be aware of this at all times, and watch out for all of these tricks! It's crucial to choose the correct weapon for the situation you are in. Throughout the level walk-throughs, I'll recommend weapons for certain situations, but you'll have to be able to make choices for yourself occasionally, too. Familiarise yourself with the strengths and weaknesses of each weapon, in particular, each one's range, speed/delay, effect, rate of fire, damage and whether you can move while firing it. It's important to know a weapon's range because if you misjudge the range, you might miss an opponent and give her the opportunity to close in on you when your weapon can't fire again. The machine gun is the most useful, since it is the standard weapon with the longest range. Rockets have a longer range, but they are much more difficult to target when used long range; plus, your supply of rockets is limited. The flame-thrower's extremely short range is its biggest drawback. Not only can you not hit distance hostiles with this weapon, but any hostiles that are ignited by the flame-thrower will be extremely close to you. This presents a threat because you might be ignited by a lit opponent; be careful. The speed of your weapon and any delay in activating it is crucial to survival because if a weapon takes too long to reach its destination, you might be damaged by the target you were trying to destroy. All the conventional weapons (machine gun, shotgun and scatter gun), as well as the flame thrower, fire almost instantaneously, so they are not at issue here; it's the other weapons you have to concern yourself with. Napalm and rockets are much slower moving and may take several seconds to reach their destination and explode. Molotov cocktails and napalm take a few seconds to ignite when they reach their destination; then, the fires they create continue to burn for up to 15 seconds, in some cases. A weapon's effect is another key in your decision when to use it. The machine gun does a little damage to its target, but usually won't stop foes from firing at you. The shotgun and scatter gun will do much more damage to your opponents and will also knock them back; thus, these weapons are especially effective to use against heavy-weapons experts. Any weapon that produces fire has the best effect of all, as anyone caught in range of ignition will be killed. The area of effect of napalm and Molotov cocktails is also worthwhile to keep in mind, as they are extremely effective against groups of enemies. A single napalm canister or cocktail can take out five or six opponents at the same time, but only if used correctly. Rate of fire will also help you determine the optimal weapon for each situation. The scatter gun and flame-thrower fire extremely fast, so be careful not to waste their ammunition on an opponent who's already dead. The shotgun is very slow to reload, so it's not useful against any opponents who have rapid-fire weapons -they'll damage you way too much before you get off an effective shot. Rockets are also very slow to reload; they are much better-suited to long-range fighting, but be sure to line up your shots well. How much damage each weapon can do to your opponents is valuable knowledge, since you'll know when a weapon is appropriate to use against a certain hostile. Turrets, in particular, can't be damaged by weaker weapons (like Molotovs, napalm or your machine gun), so the best bet is to use grenades or rockets against these mechanised units. By the same token, it isn't worth wasting a heatseeker on a grenadier, since he isn't going to take much damage before he goes down, anyway. The last piece of information that you should keep in mind about a weapon is whether you can use it while you are on the run. If you have to stop to launch a rocket or throw a grenade when 10 hostiles are after you, you might want to reconsider and use your scatter gun; it can fire while you back-pedal away from the opponents. The machine gun also allows you to fire while moving, and it doesn't make you pause at all, which makes it the best bet for any situation along these lines. Machine Gun You'll probably use this most, if for no other reason than it has unlimited firepower. When your back is to the wall and you're fresh out of ammo, you'll reach for the machine gun. But By no means is it a weapon of last resort. It does a fair amount of damage and has good long range, and its rapid rate of fire will keep many hostiles shaking while you riddle their bodies with bullets. The machine gun is fantastic; because it has a longer range than any other weapon (except for the rockets), you can use it to take pot-shots at opponents even before they're visible. This is an effective way to start out on any level; just start blasting away and see if you hit anyone. Shotgun Every game has one, and Postal is no exception,. Your medium-range, highly powerful shotgun can knock your target backwards quite a bit if you hit him with a hard shot to the torso. With a maximum of 100 shells at your disposal, you can take some pot-shots without watching where you're shooting, but you should always try to make very shot a great one; a well-placed shell can send even the strongest hostiles to their graves. The shotgun is very effective against most opponents, but it's particularly useful against heavy-weapons experts because it stops them loading their weapon and launching a rocket at you. It isn't very effective against enemies who are armed with scatter guns because you have to put yourself in range of their weapons if you want your shotgun blasts to injure them. Scatter gun This is the real reason to preserve all your precious shotgun shells. This ultra-powerful weapon uses the same ammunition, so you'll want to feed all of those bullets into this ammo-eater. Use short bursts to dispatch a single person extremely quickly, or just blast wildly into a crowd to knock out as many hostiles as you can in a short time. A great "feature" of this gun is that you can't hurt yourself with it (unless you fire it into an oil barrel next to you), so just hold down the trigger and annihilate some people. If you have ammo for it, you'll want to use this gun almost all the time. It can wipe out hordes of enemies in seconds, and if you use your ammunition efficiently, you'll be able to clear out great numbers of weapons with limited risk to yourself. Grenades Throw grenades off high ground into a group of adversaries, or carefully aim one at a group of oil barrels and start a chain reaction. That you can throw grenades over objects is extremely useful, so use this feature to your advantage. Judge the height of an object you're standing behind and try to toss grenades over it, but watch out for grenades that bounce back toward you! Grenades aren't quite as useful as Molotov cocktails (which I'll explain later), but they are handy for blowing up oil barrels from a distance. Also, once you understand how far the grenades can travel, you can use them very effectively because you'll know exactly where they're going to explode. Rockets Rockets are among the most effective weapons. Their extremely long range and deadly explosions make them very attractive for taking out groups of enemies, particularly if you need to hit them from far away. Aiming these suckers takes practice, but if you miss with the first rocket, just correct your aim; your second shot should reach its target. Firing volleys of rockets into groups of people (especially people near oil barrels) can really create mayhem, and creating may-hem is one of the best ways to knock off lots of hostiles very quickly. Heatseekers The heatseeker is a close cousin of the rocket but has much more finesse. Heatseekers are rare, so use them wisely. They are perfect to launch into a group of foes who are holed up in a gas station or some such place. Not only will the explosion take out one person, but it may also detonate several oil barrels and take out quite a few other adversaries along the way. But beyond just using them to blow things up, you can use heatseekers to rid yourself of a pesky, scatter-gun-armed opponent and any other annoying hostile. But remember, heatseekers don't avoid objects; take your time firing one and be sure that its path leads safely to its ultimate destination. Also remember that the heat of a fire can misdirect a heatseekers and cause it to head straight through the fire instead of at your original target. Molotov cocktails Toss one of these flaming packages over a wall at your opponents and watch them flame up. Cocktails have many uses, but I like to throw them toward foes I can see but not reach with conventional weaponry. Just toss a cocktail as close to them as you can get it, and watch the flames spread to their hideout and toast them - long before they can get anywhere near you. Molotovs are also very useful if you are in an alcove and have enemies running toward you. Throw one in their direction, and before they can veer away, they'll be crispy. This is the weapon I use most often (beyond the standard weaponry - shotgun, machine gun and scatter gun). It can inflict damage over a wide area and can kill anything it gets near; and it's fairly easy to find powerups that will increase your inventory of cocktails. Learn the distance at which your cocktails will explode so you'll be able to time your lobs perfectly. Once you understand the trajectory they'll take, try to bounce them off walls. Napalm launcher More than any other weapon, the napalm launcher can cause absolute chaos. Spray a few shots toward your foes, and watch a dozen of them turn a golden brown. Because of its erratic nature, however, napalm can easily hasten your own death, as well. Be very careful; never use the launcher in a small area because the napalm might ricochet and burn you, or the people you fry might light you as they're barbecued. Flamer This is perhaps the most powerful weapon. It's extremely fast, allows a large margin for error, and any living creature who's even grazed by its flame is doomed. But power comes at a price. This baby burns ammo (literally) extremely quickly. You can go through your ration of gas canisters in just seconds, so use the flamer in very short, controlled bursts. Since it takes only a single flame to burn a few enemies into nothingness, never hold down the trigger on this one. And since this is a close-range weapon, be extremely careful of the people you burn up; they can light you up on their way to the floor. Mines You can use three types of mines: proximity, timed and "bouncing Betty". All three types are best used in multiplayer games. They can be used in single-player mode, but I stayed away from them. Proximity mines are useful when you have peoplehot on your tail and you can't turn around to spray them with fire; just drop a proximity mine and watch as they run helplessly toward your deadly trap. Timed mines are great to drop off in a cluster of oil barrels. Make a quick dash toward your target, drop off the payload, and run for cover as the barrels fly high into the air, killing anyone stupid enough to get in the way. Bouncing Bettys (made famous by the movie "Blown Away") are similar to timed mines, but on detonation, they bounce into the air and let out a spray of damage in all directions and for a fair distance. Bettys are useful for damaging a group of enemies in a medium-size area, but be sure to get out of the way! Powerups Although they aren't weapons, powerups are worth mentioning. Most just increase your ammo or health, so pick them up whenever you see one. You can never waste powerups because if you have the maximum ammo, you can just leave the powerup there and return for it later. Through the course of the game, you'll find other weapons in this way, and you will also find backpacks that increase the amount of ammo you can hold. Sometimes, you'll see boxes of multiple powerups. Two special powerups are the Kevlar vest and back-pack. You'll spot these around levels occasionally; both provide you with a great advantage. The Kevlar vest allows you to take damage that doesn't come from fire or explosion, without losing any health points. The remaining strength of your vest is displayed next to your regular health statistics, so keep an eye on that number, as well. The backpack essentially doubles the amount of ammunition you can carry for all your weapons. This is extremely handy for weapons like the scatter gun and flame-thrower, which go through ammo super-fast. Be sure to snag the backpack as soon as you see it, and you can stock up on more ammo to blast your opponents. CHAPTER 2 LEVEL 1 HOME Home is where the heart - and the arsenal of weapons - is. You'll start the game outside your house in winter. Your initial locations is very good for defensive purposes, since any enemies who attack you will have to run through the door in your fence, and they'll be sitting ducks if you point your gun at the door and wait. Even though you can see some powerups behind the house, wait for enemies to approach first. Three opponents will approach: just blast them into next week as they run through the gate. Once you've despatched them, run behind your house, pick up the shotgun (and some ammunition), and be sure not to miss the health powerup that is obscured by the roof of your house. Once you've picked up that cache of powerups, run back to the front of your house and take note of two or three more gunmen who are waiting behind the police car and the truck parked outside. Slowly walk toward the gate, and as soon as any of those men react, run back quickly while madly firing your machine gun. Repeat this process until you've taken out the ones you can get a clear shot at. There's probably a police officer with a scatter gun behind his car; he'll be a bit trickier, but if you angle yourself correctly in the gateway, you'll get a shot at him when he tries to blast you. If you don't want to risk getting hit, throw a cocktail out through the gate, run out quickly to lure people toward you, and watch as they go up in flames. While you are in this area, be extremely careful of the heavy-weapons expert next to the truck outside your gate; he's armed with heatseeking missiles. While you are trying to take out the men armed with scatter guns, the heavy-weapons guy will make your job even more difficult by firing heatseekers into the fray. Avoid his deadly arsenal, and keep hoping that one of his shots will be misguided and that he'll end up killing himself or some of his friends. You can also use your ducking skills. If a heatseeker looks as if it has a bead on you, run toward a hostile, if you can. If you have to take some damage, so should he. Now heard east toward another house; there will be one or two more gunmen in the area. Shoot them from a distance with your machine gun, but get in close if they begin to damage you, then pick up a box of ammunition - très useful! As soon as you've taken all you can from this area, double back toward the west and head south. One or two stragglers from your earlier firefight may lurk in this area, but a few well-placed shotgun blasts will do them in. Head east - along the southern edge of the map - and use the trees and houses to your advantage to take out anyone you see. Your machine gun has greater range then the scatter guns most of your opponents are armed with, so fire it continuously; you might get lucky and score a few hits, though not endangering yourself. If you continue to head east, you'll probably run into a grenadier and another heatseeker-toting hostile. Get close to the grenadier and attack him at close range: a misfired heatseeker might also take him out in the process, After you kill the grenadier, the heavy-weapons expert will have to be despatched as quickly as possible; charge him while firing your machine gun, and he'll soon be knocked out. Don't forget to grab the group of powerups near the eastern border of the map; they'll come in very handy. When you poke your head out from the small alcove in the south-eastern area of the map, you'll see more gunmen, another guy with heatseekers and possibly, a grenadier throwing Molotovs. Get into a good position, then stir up a ruckus by tossing one or two of your own Molotovs onto the battlefield. Run out with your machine gun blasting, and head toward either the grenadier or that pesky guy with the heatseekers. After those two have been taken care, go back and take out any of the gunmen. Don't rush in like crazy, though, because you don't want to get caught in the crossfire. Keep your eyes open at all times. There's a lot of cover on this level, so use it to your advantage. Hide behind cars, houses, boats and trees while you line up your best shot with each new adversary. Move slowly so you don't have more than one or two people coming after you at once. For most of the level use your machine gun; the shotgun works very well if you get into close range with any combatants. THE BRIDGE This presents a new challenge: multiple, well-armed opponents who are all in a great position to shoot at you without compromising their security. Not only that, but the people on the bridge have the advantage because you are in a very small area, and they can throw grenades at you; you have nowhere to run. Before you attempt to cross the bridge, take out the nearby adversaries. As the level begins, quite a few people will start to run toward you - from the north as well as from behind the house, to the south. Hold them off as long as you are able to, until they outnumber you; then run to the far west and straight down behind the stone wall that's around the house. From here, you'll be able to take shots at your opponents in relative safety. Don't come out of there until you're sure that no one else will surprise you; in fact, before you come out from behind the wall, run south and pick up the powerups. Then head back behind the stone wall and walk behind the house where there is a lone SWAT team member who should be fairly easy to take out (but be careful of the civilians who'll bolt out of the house when you arrive; you might accidentally pepper them with bullets). Next, head to the other side of the stone wall around the house (the east side) and run along the outside of it; there are more powerups farther south. You may have to take car of the first few men on the bridge, but they aren't well-armed and don't have much cover, so don't worry. From here, continue to the far north of the screen, where you'll encounter one or two more opponents (one has a rocket launcher). There's a fair amount of cover around: use it wisely and these guys won't be much of a challenge. Even farther north is a missile turret. While dodging missiles, line up your shotgun, and the turret shouldn't be much of a challenge. There are more powerups in the area; grab 'em; you'll need 'em. Now it's time to head for the bridge. I'm sure you would like me to give you a rundown of exactly how to beat each person on the bridge, but I can't. The cruel folks at Running With Scissors were malicious when they designed the game. Every time you try to cross the bridge, it's like an entirely new battle. So many things can happen at once that any strategy I give you won't be worth much. Just use every ounce of strategy that you've learned from this guide and consider the bridge a test. If you can't beat the bridge, you might as well not go on anyway. POSTAL TIP THE BRIDGE This writer is a sap; I bet he cheated to get across the bridge! If he were a real man, he'd know that there is a definite way to get across. He does have one thing right, though; You will have to use everything you've learned from this guide to battle your way across. Start over the bridge by taking on adversaries near the front; they don't have much cover. They're easy targets, and once they've been killed, you can advance to their locations. The people on the bridge are using the cover they have to their advantage, so your best bet is to run out of hiding and then quickly turn back. This will draw your opponents' fire, and while they are reloading, you can quickly run out again and throw a cocktail or grenade, so when they run back to attack you, they'll get a warm surprise. Always remember to take on only one person at a time; never engage more than one, unless it's absolutely necessary; and never advance until you have killed everyone behind you. In this way, cross the bridge to the end, where you'll spot people hiding behind barricades. here, you can run in close and throw some grenades to scatter them, and during this chaos, pick some of them off with your machine gun. As you get off the bridge, keep in mind that you are still in a very small area, and there are gunmen on either side of the bridge; don't get caught in the crossfire! From here, the level becomes considerably easier; most of the spaces are wide open, although most of your opponents have decent cover (but nothing like the protection offered on the bridge). head off the bridge and clean up anyone in the immediate area with your machine gun, then head south. Some guys are camped out behind a truck; take care of them with cocktails. Farther south there are quite a few more opponents - pretty much one of every type. Run close to the grenadiers and heavy-weapons experts, and get them to aim their weapons in the wrong direction. Once you've wiped the floor with them, finish off all the others with your machine gun. Now head north along the cliff wall to the east side. You'll see a man hiding by the entrance to the mine (listen for the howling winds), right next to as mine cart; be careful, he has a great position. At very long range, try to take him out with rockets, or try to line up a heatseeker around the corner. Just don't take him on head-on, or you'll take a beating. When you've taken care of him, the rest of the enemies should be easy. Most of them will attack you one on one, so move slowly and engage them from a great distance. You can run under a number of buildings and sneak up on people from within, so use that to your advantage. Congratulations: you've completed the bridge level! It's one of the harder levels in the game, and you learned a lot of tactics and strategy that will be very useful later. from here, you'll head into the mine that the man was guarding. The skills you learned on the bridge will be valuable inside the mine, with its twisting corridors and small spaces. Let's get on with it! THE MINE INTERIOR For two main reasons, I consider this a much easier level than the bridge. First, as I've already mentioned, you learn a lot of skills on the bridge level that make this level much easier to complete. Second, this level gives you many more opportunities to take on people one on one. That said, prepare to die a lot on this level before you're able to complete it because even though you'll have the opportunity to take on one person at a time, it's difficult to perfect the art of drawing people away from their groups without distracting others. You'll start the level right outside the mine; to enter it, run over a small bridge. You can see a miner from where you're standing, so line him up with your machine gun and blast away; if you're fast, you'll be able to kill him before he gets close enough to damage you. A bit farther down this first tunnel, you'll see another miner. Try to shoot him from a good angle against the wall, and he shouldn't prove much of a problem. Now, wait a second here: farther down the hall, the miners might have friends who heard the gunfight, and they might be on their way. If you see anyone else running down the hall, stay where you are and try to pick them off from the maximum distance possible. Once they've been downed, you can continue through the tunnel, but do so gingerly. At the end of this first tunnel, you'll spy a group of people in a tunnel intersection. Here's where it gets tricky. Try to draw out these people only one at a time. If you have trouble doing it, quickly run in and throw a cocktail at them, or launch a missile or a heatseeker. that will break up the crowd and create havoc, and you'll be able to dash back and take pot-shots with your machine gun. The shotgun is also effective in areas like this because you can hit several people with one blast; plus, if you can't line up your shots well, the shotgun gives you a good margin of error, since its blast area is fairly large. Next, head north in the tunnel, and you'll see a few more miners. Some have grenades and some have cocktails, so you'll have to be careful. Getting in very close to your assailants works excellently here, because if you time it right, you'll quickly avoid their grenades, and since they threw the grenades so close to themselves, they'll be killed instead of you. You can also knock out their buddies with this method. I'll just restate what I've already said, though: be very careful of getting caught in confined areas; when a cocktail explodes, you'll probably be burned. You'll follow this tunnel farther as it wends it way north. There is usually someone at every corner to test your mettle, but this tunnel is fairly easy to get through if you play the angles correctly. Continue to the east, and you'll run into a few more curving tunnels and a few more people. Miners are everywhere (for obvious reasons), and since they are typically very difficult to kill, give them a wide berth. It's probably wise to always have your machine gun firing, even if you don't see anyone. If you're lucky, you'll hit them just as they get into range, and you may be able to draw out a single man from a group. Enemies with rocket launchers lurk around corners - as always; get as close as you can to finish them off. You should also run around them when they are about to launch. To complete the rest of this level, you have to be somewhat more devious. It's hard to clear out everything in one area without getting involved in a firefight with other people farther into the mine. If you've missed anyone from other parts of the mine (and you invariably will), he or she will sneak up behind you and put you in a bind. If you do see someone sneaking up, immediately dis-engage from the person you're fighting, and take care of the person behind you. Don't get trapped in a crossfire. As you continue the level, on the eastern edge of the mine, you'll wind through more corridors, most of which are inhabited by scatter-gun-armed men, miners and female gunners. Scatter guns are particularly deadly in these close quarters; if two or more hostiles get you in their sights, you'll have a tough time regaining your footing so you can fire at them. be aware of this and stay out of the crossfire. If you follow my directions, you'll finish the level facing three people who are holed up in a cavern in the south-east corner of the mine. Two female gunners and a heavy-weapons expert wait for you there. This is a particularly difficult situation, since you can't get in close to the rocketeer to attack him well, and if you get within range of the scatter gunners, you'll have three missiles bearing down on you. try to use your rockets in this situation. To knock out one or two of them, just try to get a clear shot down the windy tunnel from a distance. If you can do that, the others should be much easier to dispatch. If this method doesn't work for you, try to get in a well-placed Molotov cocktail or a grenade; it may knock all three of them out at the same time, but you'll probably have to take some damage. Most of this level is best played by simply following each tunnel to its end and defeating everyone in your path. Watch your back; people will sneak up behind you. Try not to get cornered. Aside from that, study the maps in this book and kill everyone one by one. Good luck! THE JUNKYARD On this level, fire is everywhere: there are dozens of oil barrels, napalm-shooting turrets, grenadiers who lob cocktails and quite a few assailants with heatseekers who make this a very difficult level to get through alive. And I haven't even mentioned the extremely close-range fighting you'll engage in and the multi-level battles near the end of the level. But it all starts very quietly near a gate that leads into the junkyard. Take a quick gander because it's the last peaceful moment you'll have for a while. Almost immediately, three to five SWAT team members will run out through the gate, and they're all armed with scatter guns. Just blast away at them with everything you have, and try not to move much, except to avoid their shots. The more you move, the greater the chance you'll attract their attention. If you sustain a lot of damage here, it's probably worthwhile to restart the level with full health. Once you've cleared out the initial group of five or six men and women, head north along the side of the fence. You may run into another gunman, but a lone gunman isn't much of a match for you anymore. Once you reach the north end of the fence, you'll see a heavy-weapons expert. Also note the grenadier in the junkyard; you'll have to steer clear of the grenades he'll lob at you. Take on the heavy-weapons expert first, and get close enough to do damage. One of the grenades that's lobbed toward you can take care of the weapons expert - if you time things right. After you've finished there, the easiest (and safest) way to dispose of the grenadier is to hide behind the rickety fence directly north of him and peek out occasionally. He'll throw a grenade at you, but it will bounce off the fence and land in the pile of barrels beside him. Nor just wait a minute or two until the fireworks start; they'll kill him and possibly some of the others nearby too. Head into the junkyard next, and you'll see a female gunner camping behind the burned-out hulk of a car. Head west along the top of the car, and she'll run in your direction. Arm your shotgun, make sure you are in run mode, and blast away at the oil barrels near the front of the car. As soon as one explodes, run backwards as fast as you can (you will get away unless you're really slow). The female gunner will be quickly done away with. Now slowly head into the junkyard's north side. I've said "be careful" many times before, but now I really man it. In the road that separates the two sides of the junkyard, there's a turret armed with napalm, and it will blast fire all over the place if you get even the slightest bit near it. You'll start hearing its shots as you walk through the north side. From where you are most of the flames will bounce back toward it, but some will get through, so watch out! Clear out the few others at the north side of the junkyard; when you've finished, we'll go to the south side. The safest way to get to the south side is to double back on your earlier path and head toward where you began the level, then head south from there. When you are near the junkyard's entrance, try to line up a missile to fire at the turret, but since it will also be firing at you (and you may be attacked by others), I recommend that you just avoid the turret's salvos for now and get rid of it last. Heading southward along the outer fence, you'll find holes through which you'' be able to take shots at people inside the junkyard. Use this safe technique to try to eliminate as many people inside as you can, and then head around the bottom of the yard to take on the rest of them in direct combat. This, unfortunately, will result in complete mayhem. There are several grenadiers (with napalm and Molotovs), men with heatseekers and a group of assorted gunners and gunmen who are out to get you. It's hard to draw anyone away from the pack, so I advise you to move slowly and quickly clear out as many as you can. If you get caught between several people, run toward one and get behind him; use him for a shield against missiles and other things. Plus, in this way, you'll more easily be able to take out one person at a time. Once you've cleared out this southern area, head east toward the construction site. there are dirt mounds at the far eastern edge of the site, and there are a few powerups in this area; try to grab them in a spare moment. use the fences and the crane for cover; after the battles you've been through already on this level, you'll have an easier time here North of the crane is an elevated area where three men (all armed with cocktails) are lurking. From a distance, try to shoot them from below, but you may face a hail of fire from the high ground. if you are taking a beating, run as fast as you can up the ladder on the west side of the cliffs, run along the cliffs to the east end while drawing fire, and run past the final man. The miner in the middle will throw his napalm toward you and the man near you, and if you time this correctly, the hostile will die, but you will be unharmed. Then run back toward the middle of the cliff, and take out the grenadier there from close range. Finish with a shotgun blast to the grenadier on the west side. Climb down the ladder, and the final enemy should be the turret that we've left until last. Head for the gates in front of the crane and slowly line up a rocket with the turret. One shot will do it, but be careful; the turret will launch at least one final blast of napalm before it goes down in flames. Congratulations; it's on to the trailer park! THUNDERBIRD TRAILER PARK The Thunderbird trailer park is a sharp change in motif from the previous level's design. There are fewer enclosed spaces, fewer problems with fire and fewer oil barrels. The trailer park is generally a more cut-and-dried level. You'll start in the north-east corner of the map with a few people nearby, but no immediate threats. One or two grenadiers will run toward you, but they'll start out far away, so just shoot at them with your machine gun; they shouldn't stand much of a chance. Now head toward the park gateway, which will be guarded by a female gunner. She's in a tough position to get a good angled shot at, so you may have to run at her head-on. Try not to distract her backup, who's next to a house a bit farther down the road. Try to toss a cocktail toward her; if you land it correctly, the spreading flames will ignite her. Otherwise, just attack her with your shotgun, which will make short work of the situation. Continue down the road and take out her backup man with your machine gun. As you walk near the fence, you'll see a man hiding behind an oil tank and a woman hiding farther down. Be careful here: they both have a great location advantage over you, so approach carefully. Try to use more cocktails to blow up the oil barrels that surround the tank; this should ignite both of your foes. If this doesn't work, head around the east side of the oil tank and take on the gunman alone, then take care of the female gunner. Now, several other gunmen may start out after you. If this happens, back-pedal up the road you came down, firing along the way. You should be able to take out one or two more men this way, but more may be on the way. Try to set yourself up in a good location, and fire shots at the approaching gunmen. Keep backing up if they gang up on you, but if you keep moving, you should be relatively safe. Once you've cleared them away, head back the way you came, and you'll notice a school bus. Behind it is a nasty man who's armed with a heatseeking rocket launcher. Also scattered in the area are quite a few more shotgun-and machine-gun-toting men; you'll need to keep an eye on them. Take out as many as you are able of the men who are hiding by the mobile home, lower down on the screen; your machine gun will be effective for drawing them out individually. Once you have cleared the immediate area of anyone who is hiding, it's time to take on the man with the heatseekers. Head around in front of the bus and try to get him to fire a shot. Get ready to run quickly around the bus to avoid that first shot, which will give you an idea of how the missiles will fly in future attempts. He's in a great location; it's extremely difficult to get a shot at him without taking damage. So you have two choices: Take a shot on the chin, because you'll get an opportunity to return a good shot. I recommend a Molotov, since if it gets anywhere close to him, it will kill him. Stand by the edge of the bus, strafe downward, let off some gunfire (or a cocktail or a rocket) and hope you can strafe back up before the rocket reaches you. The disadvantage here is that if you don't get a clean shot off, you may get hit and have to do it all over again. If you have a decent amount of health, though, it might be worth it to take the shot and call it a fair deal. You can combine this strategy with your ducking skills, but the cramped quarters will make it difficult. From here, continue south and finish off the few people left down there. From the bottom edge of the map, start to walk to the west; two more men will be hiding around the house and car. Since they don't have much room to manoeuvre, use grenades against them; they'll work well in this area, and if you throw them well, you'll corner one or both of them with a nice little package. Continue on your westward path, keeping as close to the bottom edge of the map as you can. Any hostiles who start after you should be alone, and with the cover you have from the bottom edge of the screen, you'll have no problems. I recommend the machine gun for this type of combat because you'll be given fair warning when they are approaching. As you get closer to the hedges at the edge of the park, you'll also see a gunner; take her out with your machine gun. Once you've cleared out this bottom part of the map, head back to the house in the middle of the bottom of the map. Go north from there, and you may run into some stragglers you missed earlier. Continue toward the gas station, but approach cautiously. Try to toss a cocktail toward the oil canisters; this will blow out the residents of the gas station as well as anyone in the vicinity. Head through the gas station with your machine gun blazing; you'll get some shots off at more opponents to the west. be careful of any undetonated oil barrels in the area. You may want to blow them up now so no one will detonate them when you're around. Now head slightly south from the gas station to the main road. You'll see four or five men waiting beyond the hedges at the end of the road. You have quite a few options here, but in my opinion, your best bet is to get below the hedges that border the road, near the exit. Try to lure out one or two of the men and toss grenades or cocktails over the hedges at the, but be careful not to have any bounce back toward you! When you've finished, you can more safely approach the edge of the trailer park and fire at any other men with the shotgun, which will quickly knock them out of commission. Before cleaning up the people you missed earlier, the last thing to do is to head back into the park, north along the main road. Several of the houses and trailers along the road contain three to five people, so be careful when you're near them. An easy way to take care of them is to throw a cocktail at the door and wait for them to exit screaming. This method works very well for any "container" objects you see in the game. You've completed the trailer park. It's time to hitch a train! THE TRAIN STATION This level is a great place to practice the tactics you've learned along the way. There are many places to hide, lots of places to angle your shots from and a ton of people to train your sights on. The 70-odd enemies you'll encounter on this level will be extremely hard to despatch, through; they're all armed with scatter guns, heatseeking missiles and napalm, and they'll do their best to gang up on you. On this level probably more than on any other, you must move carefully and methodically, and be sure to confront as few people as possible at a single time. This level's beginning is particularly difficult, as you start in a poor location with many, many enemies nearby. You will probably die in this area quite a few times before you get the hang of the strategies you'll need to use (or get lucky enough to survive) early on. Unlike most other levels, here, you should try to move as slowly as you can; if you move too quickly, your enemies may be able to target you. You'll start at the entrance to the train station, with no cover and quite a few hostiles nearby. Don't move. No one should attack you immediately, and you can get a good idea of your surroundings, if you start slowly. Once you've soaked in the environment, start moving west. This should draw out a female gunner who's hiding behind a brick wall to the south, and it might bring out some more people from the west. try to get yourself into the best position you can here; you'll be caught in a crossfire, and the better your position, the better off you'll be. If you can find a place where you're not being hit by any gunfire, consider that your base of operations, and try to take out one opponent at a time. If you can, make a beeline for the powerups in this area because they'll increase your chance of surviving the next few minutes. You might also find a better location, if the spot from which you started the fire-fight wasn't affording much defence. Once you've taken out the initial line of defence, take quick breath and continue heading west. Try to stay along the northern edge of the map; that way, you'll only have to watch out for enemies who approach from the front. It will also keep you away from most of the heavy guns lurking farther south in the main area of the station. This northern part of the map is littered with large rocks and trees, so use them wisely. Try to corner people in a space where they can't run or gang up on you; that way, you can take them out more easily. Try to take out people who tote weapons, as soon as you encounter them. Whenever they're going to launch a weapon, run up close, then run behind them. Again, though, be careful in tight areas: you might find grenades bouncing back at you, in spite of your attempts to avoid them. from here, you'll probably want to head all the way back across the northern part of the map, toward the east side. The same strategy applies in this part of the map: move slowly and carefully, don't get cornered, and watch out for anyone who has assault weapons. There are fewer people in this area, so your job should be simpler here. Unfortunately, clearing out this top portion of the map will barely put a dent in the number of hostiles you still have to get through; this is a big level. Don't get discouraged, though; keep reading, and you'll make it through alive! Now comes the hardest part of the level. To your south is the train station's parking lot. Most of your opponents on this level are camped out in and around this area, behind cars and other objects, and when they attack, they'll attack en masse. Perhaps the best mode of attack here is to dash into the area, draw out as few people as you can and engage them in the rocky areas to the north. This way, you'll avoid getting caught in the middle of a crowd, and you can peck away at their defences slowly. Just don't run into the fray here because you're massively out-numbered, and you'll be slaughtered if you don't proceed cautiously. Think of yourself as a commando; there's no other way to survive. Try to stick to the eastern portion of this central zone of the map; the western side has tougher defences, and if you finish off these opponents first, you'll face fewer problems later. Because of the massive number of people on this level, most of them will see you before you see them, so you'll have to be on your toes at all times. For that reason, most of the information in this chapter about where you'll find people probably won't apply a lot of the time; they'll end up leaving their start locations to come after you, anyway. POSTAL TIP WEAVING THE SERPENTINE Let's face it, the strategies you've learned up until now will get you only so far. From here on out, you'll need to learn more advanced tactics if you want to have any chance for survival. The enemies will use these same tactics, so your only hope is to fight fire with fire. The first thing I'll teach you is what I like to call "weaving the serpentine". As the name suggests, you'll be following a serpentine pattern to thoroughly cover all the ground in an area while being very careful to keep the pattern tight. If you don't understand what I mean, here's an example: starting from wherever you are, head east for about 10 "paces". From there, turn south, walk one pace and then turn west and go 10 paces in that direction. Walk south for one pace, turn east and walk 10 paces. You get the picture now. If you've ever been to an ice hockey game, it's similar to what the Zamboni does between periods - covers all the available ground without going over any area twice. What does this do for you? It allows you to cover all the points in an area, in the hope that if you get near a particular person, he'll be the only one who detects you and comes after you. If you use this serpentine pattern, you'll never go over the same area twice, and it will guarantee that you only draw out a single enemy at a time. Although this method isn't foolproof, it can be a big help. On a larger scale, this is how you should approach a level in general: try not to retrace your steps unless it's necessary, and keep in mind where you've been before, so you know where the safe havens are. From the eastern area of the parking lot, continue south and take out the few people who remain in this area. You'll reach the train cars that are carrying coal, and you should head west, sticking next to the train for safety. You'll see some people hiding out by boxes in the station, and since they are actually set up to defend themselves from attacks from the other side, they are quite vulnerable to your attacks from here. Keep heading westward alongside the train until you get o the main area of the station. You'll see one car of the train in the station; be careful of this because when you get close, you'll that this train car is actually a container for about 10 civilians. First try to take out the hostiles who are standing outside the train; to get rid of single enemies extremely quickly, the shotgun is handy. Continue west along the train and take out any enemies you spot. When you see several trucks parked in the parking lot, with a few more opponents standing behind a wall (you might recognise them from your earlier travels in the parking lot), attack them from this angle rather than from the front. Find good cover behind a box, and toss a few cocktails into the area to stir up trouble. Start blasting away with your machine gun, and you should be able to take out most of the people in this area without much of a fight. You would have had a hard time from the front of the wall, but coming in the back way uses their great defensive area against them, and they will have nowhere to run. I should point out there that one of the trucks in this area can actually be entered from the ramps in the back. Just climb inside, and you'll find a few nice little powerups that will help you greatly. Leave the truck and go toward to the west edge of the map. You are coming from some excellent cover, so if you run into any resistance, head back toward the main part of the station and draw out your opponents where you can get off easy shots at them. Past the end of the train, you'll reach the west side of the map. Head all the way south (take out any enemies in your way), then go east again toward the other end of the train. This southern portion of the map is similar to the northern, with rocky areas, but it also has a whole bunch of oil cans that you can use to your advantage and to stir up some trouble. The people in this area are well dug in, though, and they have excellent cover - especially some of the final opponents you'll run into. Essentially, the key to this southern area of the map is that once you've despatched one person, head to where he was and use his cover for your own advantage. The people down here are situated in such a way that it's difficult for them to hit one another with their assault weaponry. Therefore, if you use one of their camps, you'll have a greater chance of survival. The combatants in this area are armed with heavy weaponry, and they are in great locations to ambush you. Use the oil barrels in the area to your advantage; there are many of them in a small area, though, so be sure you don't get caught in a massive conflagration. When you've cleared out most of this space, you'll find a female gunner and a gunman who will provide what is probably the most difficult challenge in the far south-east corner - unless, of course, you have a few heatseeking missiles (you do have some, right?), in which case you can just hide out behind the rocks in front of them, make sure your heatseekers can reach their targets and let 'em rip. The train station is one of the hardest levels in the game, and now that you've completed it, you deserve a little break. Circle the map to be certain you haven't missed any powerups, and then it's on to the ostrich farm - a far more humorous (and probably, easier) level. THE FARM If not for the huge amount of weaponry your opponents are armed with on this level, I would call it a cakewalk. But beyond the heavy armour, most of the creatures on this level are ostriches, and they don't present any threat, aside from just getting in your way. You'll start in a pen, where a railroad car is being emptied of its cargo of ostriches. There will be 20 or so of these flightless birds in the neighbourhood, and just for laughs, it's worth throwing a cocktail into the train car and watching the poor things burn. While you're at it, you might as well blow up all the oil barrels that are strategically placed around the train car; of course, watch your own hide in this situation. The flames that engulf the area might kill one or two of your armed adversaries, so all this entertainment will save you a few shotgun shells later on, anyway. When you've done away with the birds, don't go away; several of your enemies will come straight to you. Remember what I mentioned earlier about this level: it's crawling with heavily armed people. A hostile who's armed with a scatter gun and an extremely nasty temperament will sneak up on you, so try to despatch any incoming hostiles with machine-gun fire from a distance, or lay down a wall of fire with some Molotovs to prevent them from getting too close for comfort. From here, go west toward the small end of the pen. You'll run into a few people out here; take car of them from a distance, since if they get close, they'll most likely be armed with something nasty. At the end of the pen there should be a heavy-weapons expert who's armed with a napalm launcher. Since you're in an extremely small area, the only way to take him out without risking your own hide is to get as close as you can and fire at will. When he's out of the way, you can take out a few gunmen in the area who are much less of a threat to you. Head out of the pen toward the gas station in the south-west corner of the map. There will be several nasty people here, including several scattergunners and a grenadier with cocktails. Stay behind any cover you can find, and when you can get a clear shot, us the shotgun; with it, you can knock them back for a second and perhaps take them out before they can shoot t you. Be careful of the oil barrels behind the gas pumps: they won't do you a whole lot of good because of their location, and they can set you on fire if you're not careful. Continue to head north, and you'll see another pen of ostriches and a small bridgehouse that has powerups inside. Take care of any hostiles in the area, mop up the ostriches (if you want to) and then head for the powerups. But wait a second: you might spot a big bunch of goodies farther north - tons of health, ammo and more! The $64,000 question is, how do you get up there? Head west under cover of the trees. Continue trying to go north, and you'll eventually find a secret passageway that will lead you into the little treasure-trove you saw from the ostrich pen. Now that you're fully loaded, you can go back out the way you came and continue on your journey. Head east past the ostrich pen, and you'll run into a few opponents who aren't much of a challenge. Just be sure not to get caught in an area where you don't have good visibility (this level has quite a few areas where it's difficult to see where you are). Keep heading eastward. You'll approach the railroad tracks the original train car arrived on. near here, you'll spot quite a few heavily armed opponents. Two men with rocket launchers will be standing on the tracks, so take them out first; otherwise, their heatseekers will take turns knocking you out. If you can, try to get them close to each other, and although a heatseeker may knock you out temporarily, it will take both of them out permanently. There should just be a few more heavily armed people in the area, but you can quite easily take them out from a distance. The farm is a fairly small level, and after the train station, it's a welcome break. With a nice cache of powerups in the north-western corner, you could start the next level with more health than you started this one - if you play your cards right. Just keep your eyes open for any approaching enemies, and try to take them out with your machine gun, before they get close enough to start blasting at you.