oldskool said:
While I'm thinking of it, it could really use a map upgrade. It's true to the small towns with really large areas of nothing between populated areas, but since I can't find a waypoint option and you can't zoom the map out it's nigh impossible to find your way to anything you aren't relatively nearby.
Get used to repeating to yourself things like "take the second right, then turn left on the big road, and then take that to the bridge" because if you try to bring up the map every time you'll just get more & more confused as it rotates as your character rotates so what used to be up & right is now to your left.
EDIT: It's sad because I absolutely love the game, the characters are top-notch, the funny bits are hilarious, the attention to detail is above-average, but the parts that suck really suck.
It's like a bowl of ice cream with little capsules of dog shit in it; the ice cream is great but every so often you crack open a dog shit pill and that shit starts spreading all over the ice cream...but the ice cream is so good you eat the shit-laden ice cream and you eat it as fast as you can so that you can get back to the delicious ice cream before it's all ruined.
I've beaten the game. You'll enjoy the game way more if you get a) the radio, which lets you teleport around the map, and b) the infinite ammo weapons. I use the infinite ammo machine gun myself most of the time, but the flamethrower is handy for wall-crawlers too.
A list of all the sidequests, BTW..
Some problems I seem people often have with the game is managing time. Some sidequests only work when it's raining, etc. Sleeping will allow you to jump ahead to the time you want or pretty close. For shorter spans of time, smoke a cigarette.
How to get the radio:
Clear mission 5, but mission 4 is a prerequisite for it.
Do mission 4 (find Woodman's weight in one of the rooms at the police station...I think it's in the kitchen...and return it to him), and then reload chapter 6 if you already beat it.
If you haven't grabbed the flower that appears when it's raining yet, you'll be able to get it along the way. You should see the mission icon at Woodman's house, and then talk to him twice and you should get it. Naturally you'll have to finish the mission to save the progress, but all you have to do is talk to people (skip the actual convos with start) to finish and save the mission.
On beating darts and getting the weapons bag:
No. 030 Top Rank
Available: 02-04, 06-09, 11-16, 18, 26
Host: Richard Dunn
Location: Swery 65'
Getting the high score is tricky, but here's what I did: you need to break 2017, but if you nail the bull's eye on the last shot, then it nets you 50x10 = 500 points!
So just focus on getting 1517 or better, and that means holding your breath sparingly. Try to line up your reticle over the bulleye, hold your breath and confirm it's lined up, and shoot quickly so that you could stop holding your breath. Every 3rd dart is a bonus opportunity, so go for the inner circle to get number on row x triple x 5, so unless it's a super low number like 2, it's almost always worth it (if 20 or almost 20 is available as a bonus, you can net almost 300 in one shot!).
If you get 1517 or higher before the last few shots...just fire 'em anywhere on the board until you're down to the last one, and make sure you have plenty of leeway on holding your breath for that last shot.
Now you got a weapons bag!
How to get the infinite ammo machine gun:
Directly from the link above:
Sidequest #14: Map to Psychic Spot A
Available: 06-09, 11-16, 18, 26
Host: Keith Ingram
Location: Milk Barn
Description: Buy the special map from Keith to start this quest. Then head to Cope's tunnel to the marker there, where you will be teleported to an area filled with other world abominations. Just keep entering the door and kill all abominations in each room till you get a teleport in the middle of the room
Reward: Unlimited ammo Submachine Gun on the table
Once you have the SMG (and naturally, you should quote Die Hard when you do--it's what York would do), you'll mostly be able to breeze through the game, but the wall-crawlers, who I believe appear in chapters 19 or 20, will give you problems. Shotguns work well against them, but the flamethrower will make them really easy to beat.
How to get the flamethrower:
#50: Ghost House Treasure
Available: 08, 09, 11-16, 18, 26
Host: Brian the Insomniac
Location: Brian's House
Description: Go to Brian's house downtown (near the police station), and unlock the entryway to the right of the barbed wire gate to proceed. Once inside, navigate the maze that is his backyard to claim your reward at the end.
Reward: Wesley Special ∞ (flamethrower with infinite ammo)
Check out the link above for the sidequests, and look for other goodies that are helpful too. The item bag is easier to get than the weapons bag and is *really, really* useful as well.
Also, if you like Twin Peaks, you *need* to get this game. It shamelessly rips it off in a lot of ways, but it's amazing all the same. If you like MST3K, I'd recommend you give it a shot, too. The cutscenes and voice acting are LOL hilarious most of the time. The game is loaded with much more
intentional humor than people give it credit for. It's amazing.
Plus people who watch the endurance run don't really realize it a lot of the time, but they're rushing through the game and not really drinking in the atmosphere and side missions, which are by far the most entertaining parts of the game.
All in all, It's been one of the most entertaining gaming experiences I've had in years. Once you have those goodies I posted about above, even the combat is pretty much a minor annoyance. Plus none of it is teeth-gratingly irritating (like, say, mining for minerals in Mass Effect 2, which is pretty much one of the worst things in any game ever, and needs to die in a fire).
