27th July 2009 - Josh Joynes (GT: xXFreeekXx) brings us his first AAG Hints & Tips. In his first Hints & Tips, he gives us his achievement guide for the yet to be released Gears of War 2 Dark Corners Downloadable Content.
First off- as a note, if any of you are still undecided whether or not to purchase the Dark Corners DLC. I say it is VERY worth it. The all fronts collection (which contains 19 maps and the single player expansion) shouldn’t even be hesitated upon for 1600 points. 19 maps in a game like Halo 3 would cost you 5000 points, or even 19 songs in Guitar Hero/Rock Band would cost you 2800 points!
On to the achievement guide!!!
Highway to Hell (25g) - Complete the "Road to Ruin" deleted scene after choosing the Guns Blazing option.
Quite a simple achievement. Its standard Gears of war play, nothing specially needed. Just have to pass. By yourself on normal difficulty, this should take you a max of 15 minutes.
My Way or the Highway (25g) – Without being detected, complete the "Road to Ruin" deleted scene after choosing the stealth option.
The slightly harder choice for the deleted scene. It is much easier to get this achievement in single player, playing with the A.I, as they do not get noticed and they show you the direct path. The first set of enemies you encounter after you view some locusts killing an innocent civilian is where you should start being precautious (Climb over barriers instead of running through the middle). I have been caught twice in that area, when I was not even slightly close to the locust. When you reach a large open area with a bridge in the middle, quickly dash towards the right at the staircase going down. If you wait for the Brumak, you will be caught and you will have to restart the deleted scene. Once you meet the character from Gears 1 in the prison cell, you are free to kill as many locust enemies as you wish. Complete the rest of the scene to unlock the achievement. This should take you a max of 20 minutes.
Two for the Road (25g) – Complete the "Road to Ruin" deleted scene in co-op as either Marcus or Dom.
Simple, complete the scene in cooperative. The ‘Guns Blazing’ option is much quicker, but the stealth option is more fun. Either way, complete the entire scene for the achievement.
Be careful What You Wish For (10g) - Reach level 5 in multiplayer and complete waves 1-10 on the War Machine map in Horde.
Ahh, good old War Machine. It’s one of the best maps in Gears history, and it’s better than ever. The achievement is easily understandable on how to obtain. The easiest spot I found to hold off was the top area (where the Troika Turret was in Gears 1). Have a few players either side at the top of the staircases and the final person on the balcony. If you are by yourself, stick to the top of one staircase. Depending on what difficulty you play on, you will gain 1000, 1500, 2000 or 2500 XP respectively after all 10 waves.
Ride it All Night Long (10g) - Reach level 10 in multiplayer and complete waves 1-10 on the Highway map in Horde.
The area I found best to hold off in this potentially awesome map is the staircases leading up towards the Sniper Rifle/Torque Bows. After gaining a Shied, plant it next to a barrier to keep Mauler’s and such out while you kill them all. Your worst enemy is going to be Kantus’, with their Ink Grenades. The Torque Bow and the Sniper Rifle both spawn next to you, use it to take out the Kantus’ as quick as possible. At Wave 10, hold the shield so BloodMounts cannot take down the shield, there is one way in and one way out of your area, so keep yourself locked in as long as possible. 1000-2500XP gained.
No, But His Face Rings a Bell (15g) - Reach level 15 in multiplayer and complete waves 1-20 on the Sanctuary map in Horde.
This map is divided into 3 heights, like a gigantic 3 step staircase. You want to be holding off the very top area (which contains the Boomshot and Mulcher). Plant shields at the top of the staircases, next to the barriers. This map needs a lot of voice communication, as the distance from one side to the other is quite a large one. Use the centre of the above area to take out enemies in the centre of the map. Never go to the bottom level of the map, Enemies spawn at either sides and you have no way to get out. At the end of each round, it may be a good idea to get someone to grab the Torque Bow/Sniper Rifle which spawns at the midpoint on the 2nd (middle height) level. 2000-5000XP Gained.
Lost in Transition (20g) - Reach level 20 in multiplayer and complete waves 1-20 on the Way Station map in Horde.
This is where the Ranking requirement of the achievements starts to annoy. Level 20 isn’t an overnight rank to gain, it’s not much, but it is still certainly a lot if you are starting anywhere below level 10. This level follows the classic cliché ‘Height always wins’. This level is designed almost fortress-like, with an open area out the front, where all the enemies spawn, and then this fortress like structure is against one side, it has two staircases, a rather large cat-walk looking path, an indoor collection of torque bows, sniper rifles, grenades, and the Boomshot. You have everything you need to pwn ‘em all. Quite an unfairly made map for multiplayer in such games as Annex, but for Horde, it’s everyone’s Utopia. 2000-5000XP gained.
Like Father, Like Gun (30g) - Reach level 30 in multiplayer and complete waves 1-30 on the AllfathersGarden map in Horde.
Yet again, level 30 is still a lot of XP that’s needed (about 100 thousand), which is still, fairly annoying. Easiest point is to hold off the sides and upper level area, do not split up, Allfathers Garden is probably the longest map in the game, and so splitting up is the worst thing you could do. Grenades spawn at the sides; tag them along the centre pillars to kill some grubs. 3000-7500XP Gained.
Am I Only Dreaming? (40g)- Reach level 40 in multiplayer and complete waves 1-40 on the Memorial map in Horde.
My least favourite Dark Corners map. It’s built slightly in the same way as Way Station, there is an open area where enemies spawn, and you have a fortress-like structure with 2 staircases, all the power weapons and a balcony with cover. Quite simple, but takes a long time. Plant shields on the staircases and watch your backs using the drop view at the back of the ‘fortress’. Watch the staircases at the front, they have quite a few corners and some enemies can sneak past. 4000-10000XP Gained.
Blood on the Sand (50g) - Reach level 50 in multiplayer and complete waves 1-50 on the Nowhere map in Horde.
My favourite Dark Corners map. Funnily enough, this map has an area that looks like it was built for Horde. Even when you play a different gametype on this map, the area is shut off, and is only open in Horde. I speak of the centre building that has 2 staircases either side. Inside you will find a ‘U’ shaped bar which is large enough to provide cover for all 5 of you. There are only 3 entry points; 2 windows, one either side and the rather large door at the front of the building. Use smoke grenades at the front door when a large group of enemies can be seen coming. When they are stunned, all 5 of you have a perfect shot from behind the Bar to kill all the stunned enemies. When the dust storm starts up, make sure to keep close eye on the side windows, it’s very hard to see out of them, and an unexpected Bloodmount could ruin your wave win streak. 5000-12500XP Gained.
Is It Hot or Is That Just You? (25g)- Kill 25 BloodMounts with a Scorcher while playing Horde on a Dark Corners Map Pack map.
Much Easier said than done. Even on Casual difficulty, they take more than an entire canister of fuel form your scorcher to take down. I advise to melee the Bloodmount twice, or shoot off the Beast Rider upon the BloodMount first. Easiest map I believe to do this on is Way Station, use the upper area of the ‘fortress’ to battle it out with no worry of other enemies.
Afraid of the Dark (20g) - Play a multiplayer match on each of the 7 Dark Corners Map Pack maps.
Easiest achievement in the DLC. The matches don’t even need to be played in public, you can play one round private games if need be for this achievement.
Did Not Go Gentle (30g) - Win a multiplayer match on each of the 7 Dark Corners Map Pack maps (any mode).
A little harder if you are going for the achievement publicly, Make sure to choose the Dark Corners DLC Playlist in matchmaking, and tear them up! This achievement CAN be done in private matches, just like the ‘Afraid of the Dark’ achievement.
Hope this helps!
