Alone in the Dark 2

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Zenobi
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Joined: Tue Feb 02, 2021 10:18 pm

Alone in the Dark 2

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Next file from my old archive...
Introduction
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Sequels to great games are often impatiently waited for, but all too often
do they prove to be disappointing... It is far to be the case for Alone in
the Dark ][ from Infogrames... The French team at Infogrames outdid
itself this time! They learned a lesson from their previous Alone in the
Dark, and improved it... The story is different, although the theme is still
along the lines of H.P. Lovercraft's Call of Cthulu <sp>... The arcade side
of the game was enhanced, with many shootouts involving guns, shotguns and
Tommy Guns... The puzzle & riddle solving is as coarse as ever with several
mind buggling mysteries to uncover... While the graphics are similar, the
animation is greatly improved, and the characters are more involved in their
own roles, as they have their styles, traits and weapons... The musical
score is as interesting and appropriate as ever... But the storyline is
probably what has been worked upon the most... Now, the action closely
follows the clues gathered, thus giving it a rich meaning...
PTG is proud to present the Storyline and Introductory tutorial of this
French Release of Alone in the Dark ][...

Storyline
^^^^^^^^^
Hell's Kitchen Mansion, Somewhere on the coast of California, in the 20s.

Rather calm for the occasion, Stryker took a quick glance up and down the
alley before hoisting himself onto the wall, and sliping to the gravel-
covered path... His movement didn't attract the guard's attention, for
according to Stryker's tight schedule, he had just left to do his round in the
gardens... He pulled his 38 out of its leather sheath and headed at a rapid
pace toward the front entrance of the house, ever ready to open fire should
someone discover him... Upon reaching the house, out of breath, he sheated
his weapon and started a climb of the front porch, from which he reached a
second floor window cell... He pulled himself up on it and carefully moved
toward the window that he had been spying on for the last week... Bravely,
he jumped and barely caught grip on the targeted ledge... He finally hoisted
himself into the room as the window was, has he had previously observed, open..
"Finally! There she is!" he told himself as he inspected the inside of
the room, totally out of breath... He pulled an handkerchief to wipe the
heavy beads of sweat collecting on his forehead... " You're getting
too old for this, Mac!" he silently cursed... After his breathing had
considerably eased, he went to the bed where the little girl lay, huddled in
obvious terror... In the far corner of the room, the jumbo-sized arlequin
doll suddlenly stirred, animated by the ancient evil that had taken hold over
the mansion... Slowly, it stood up and tip-toed its way behind the intruder.
Stryker, sensing movement on his peripheral vision suddenly twirled... " Man,
you REALLY need to retire!" he cursed under his breath as he saw the big doll
lying harmlessly on the floor... The big guy turned around and gave the
little girl a temptative smile: "I'm here to take you home Girly! Everything
will be OK now!" The little girl, trusting this new hope of escape, replied
with a warm smile that melted the old P.I.'s heart... But he didn't notice
evil grin of the arlequin behind him, who, guided by the evil powers of the
priestess below, took a solid grip on his throat... Doubled with the life-
draining grip the doll had on his neck, the sudden emotion of surprise and
fear took a final toll on Stryker's aged heart, worn with the excesses of an
all but healthy lifestyle.... The doll suddlenly vaporized in a cloud of
bubbles of pure concentrated evil... And Stryker collapsed, drained of his
life... The prietess entered the room, satisfied with her handywork, and
instructed one of her goons to dispose of the body... And a few minutes later
Stryker's body was dropped off the cliff of Hell's Kitchen Mansion, giving
him the foaming waves below in guise of o sepulture...

Somewhere else in California, in some scrummy motel...

Stryker's telegram was clear: " Hell's Kitchen is doomed! Grace Saunders
has been kidnapped by One-Eyed Jack. Help me -Stop- "
"I don't like poeple looking for trouble with kids or a friend..." angry,
I banged my 38 against my chest :" it's payback time! "

Oh! A last detail... My name is Carnby, Edward Carnby...


Let the action begin...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The cab pulled up in front of the mansion's gate... I came out holding
my precious suitcase... The Cabby, who had heard all kind of terrible stories
about the place didn't wait for me to find the rest of the change I owed him,
and took off like the devil was chasing him...
I walked to the gate, and was greeted by a weird guard, armed with a tommy.
The guy was not only creepy, with the greenish hue of his skin, but there was
that awful smell about him... He grunted "Scram Mac!" and walked away...
Just as I planned, I simply dropped my suitcase and walked away from the gate.
After a few steps I sprinted, and behind me, felt the violent burst of the
dynamite clock-bomb detonating... I backtracked, and pulled my 38 as I
entered the grounds...
I proceeded past the mangled body of the guard when to my surprise he
started rising up with the obvious intent to "ice" me... Weary
to save my ammo, I gave him couple punches and a big head-butt, and I guess
that did make him finally give up that un-life he was so stubbornly
hanging-on to... His body melted into the ground, and at that point nothing
was surprising anymore... But behind remained the Thompson Machine Gun and
an extra round of ammo, and a mysterious vial of some thick liquid...
Intrigued, I remover the stopper, and took a taste... It was sour, and had
an acquired taste similar to vinegar and cheap wine... "Just like Irish Rose!
<g>"... I swallowed the whole content, and felt suddenly envigorated [ +10
points of Health ]...
Confident, I headed toward the house and soon reached a stone bench topped
by a stone anchor and flanked by two statues... There I was greated by the
shots of a Tommy... I took cover behind a statue, and took a few shots at the
goon until he melted away... I could see on each side of the house's porch,
big goons armed with big guns... Knowing that a direct confrontation would
end my investigation rather unpleasantky, I opted to rush past them... Oops,
the front door was locked, and I was getting majorly shot at... So I looked
for an exit to the right of the building... There stood a locked gate... But
I did learn something out of that run... The goons wouldn't leave their
respective posts on each side... That allowed me to dispatch them one at a
time by confronting them in their corners, under cover from the other's fire.
Once I was done with the entrance, my only option was to push the stone
bench, thus gaining access to a pathway through the gardens... As I advanced,
I felt observed by some uncanny presence... But that didn't stop me... What
did stop me was the "Hey You!" that rang from around the a corner... A tall
goon showed up, and I took care of him with the tommy... Behind him he left
a picture...

--> The Picture:
One-Eyed Jack holding hands with a big Girly, 2 wiseguys and a goon
dressed like a chef... All standing in front of a large statue of
some guy with an extended arm over a large pedestal...

Around another corner, a goon went "Hi Guy!" <I thought: Roland,here!>
<g>... I shot him and got a rope, a healing vial, and a round of ammo...
Behind him was a large ace of Diamonds painted on the floor... I then went
to explore the various trails branching of the path... The vines along the
way were creeping with life and un-life as snakes lurked, and occasionally
the vines would form an unearthy face with an evil grin... Somewhere, after
another encounter, I found a book:

--> "Crew of the valiant 3-mast The Flying Dutchman, that fell in Piracy
the Year of the Lord 1724, December the 25th"
"Nobody knows Jeremiah Johnson Tecker, but all fear Shorty Leg, born
at Cork. A rather vindictive 14 year old, he escaped from the Shack's irons
and fired two iron nails-filled cannons through the captain's cabin wall...
He lost a leg in the process but managed to survive it... He was given
assylum aboard the Jolly Rogers in 1717 by One-Eyed Jack, after two weeks
of aimless drifting at sea, on a raft... He had managed to de-salt the sea
water, and would knock out fishes with his wooden leg.
Hired as Ship's Doctor..."

At one spot, a grapple was lying on the ground... When I went to get
it, two birds, disturbed by a foe I couldn't see yet, took flight from the
nearby bushes... Then two goons ambushed me, coming from each end of that
strip of path... I managed to dispatch them with some difficulty... When I
was done, I discovered four pattern drawn on the floor... Each was an ace of
each of the four colors... Remembering my previous encounter with such
patterns, I stepped on the Ace of Diamonds [Don't step on the others
or you will sizzle and die!]... The ground gave under me and I fell in
what looked like a mine shaft... There, in a dead end, lay a coffer, and
beside it, some guy in ancient pirate garb came at me... After I shot him
he vaporized into bubbles... I found a fragment of anotenook as his only
remain... [The fragment will be re-united with the other half later on]...
Then I pushed the coffer, and in a dead end, an altar seemed to sprout from
below... Along with it came some hardly visible, shapeless monstruosity with
tentatcles that came from the opposite end. But not to worry: Lead took care
of it all the same. From its remains I picked an old pirate's sabre and
farther down the path a healing vial... There was another ladder going up,
but the trapdoor was locked, so I climbed out the way I came in...
I then resumed my exploration of the gardens... I found a healing vial on
yet another goon, and in a dead end, a round of Tommy-Gun ammo... Suddenly,
I was stopped by flailing branches... I shot them a couple times, but it
didn't seem to bother them much, so I pulled the sabre and trimmed the bushes.
Beyond those, I found the statue of the picture... And some pirate trying to
kick me with his wooden leg... I believe the lad was that Shorty-Leg I read
about... After I filled him with lead, he cursed me: "See ya in Hell!" I
picked up a journal page where he fell then turned to study the statue... I
could tell there was a door at its base, but couldn't open it... Suddenly,
an idea dawned on me: I joined the rope and the grapple... Then I threw the
grappling hook at the statue's arm, grabbed a hold of it and pulled... That
resulted in the opening of the door in the base...
Mid way in my descent in the tunnel below the statue I lost my grip and
tumbled onto a narrow wooden bridge, barely avoiding a plummeting
death... Although I didn't fall, I lost both my guns and ammo.
Not worrying about the loss, I inspected my surroundings... This was a large
damp cave with wierd human face-like patterns on the wall and a single pathway
broken up by a bridge and bordered by a steep drop. On the floor I gathered
a 5 cents coin, a machine handle, and a paper bag... As I crossed the bridge
I had to be most careful due to the precarious balance and lack of room for
acrobatic movement [Save your game before you attempt crossing]... The path
led to a locked door and next to it lay the body...
"Oh my god! NO!" It was Stryker, the man who had raised me like a son, and
taught me all I knew of this sordid buisness... My heart sank as I forced
myself to search in his pockets for a clue that might explain this
horrible discovery... I found the second half of the notebook, and a
pipe cleaning kit...
"They killed Stryker! They're gonna pay!!!"

--> The Private Investigator Notebook
"Carnby, if you read this, then I'm dead... The Saunders' Daughter got
abducted by One-Eyed Jack... Despite what the newspapers say, the guy's
an animal, a monster obsessed with Gambling and Death... Hell's Kitchen is
full of secret passages... I'm sure the solution to one of them lies within
the cards: remember our long poker games, ol'buddy... I also know that the
gang distills alcohol in the cave and loads it at high tide aboard a ship
from a cavern flanking the cliff... Carnby, kill that son of a bitch, and
rescue the little girl... I know you can do it... It is now time for the
student to surpass his master..."

I had to go on, no matter how much I hurt... I owed it to poor Stryker...
The locked door had me at a loss for a while, but then, I slipped the journal
page under the door and used the Pipe-Cleaning Kit on the lock... The key,
still in the lock, fell on the other side, and landed on the page... I just
had to pull both out, and unlock the door... I also decided to read that
journal page...

--> Journal Page
" By this pact signed between me, Sean "Music Man" O'Leary and Elisabeth
Jarret, representing the Dark Forces, I hereby purchase a debt of Immortality
revocable every 100 years... I swear eternal alliegence to my masters. If
this document is destroyed in my presence, or if I happen to "Die", may the
Gallion welcome me for two days..."
Written near the Coast of Haiti, December 25th, 1724

The room was for the storage of lots of kegs and boxes... As I reached
its center, I saw an overhanging keg and decided to stay clear from
the middle of the room... On the other side was a lever in front of a barrel.
As I pulled it, the overhanging keg swang violently across the room and
disapeared in the openingin the wall... A guard hiding behind the barrel came
up with a shotgun... Punching and kicking I quickly disposed of him...
From him I gathered a Shotgun, Healing Vial and a manuscript... Not wanting
to go through the opening ( it's a straight drop down the cliff ), I looked
for something else: On the grand-father clock I found a hole and used the
machine handle on it, thus uncovering a secret passage hidden behind a bunch
of chests... I then had a look at the manuscript:

--> The Manuscript
" Of uses of Pirating & the US,
From the Coastal Brothers
1711
Manuscript Mafamoros
"My iron grip will lead you until Hell turns to Ice!!!" Hurrays
welcomed the speech. Hanging by his feet from the great mast, the one-armed
man begged for mercy... One-Eyed Jack turned to him with his single eye and
said:" May the sun break your skin and the rain peel it off, trouble maker!"
Black Hat was ready. A shark's fin was relentlessly fending the otherwise
calm waters. "Please, not that! Nooo..." screamed One-Arm... Black Hat
threw his hat, and it cut the rope. The poor man was fast to sink in a pool
of blood. "Hurray for the Captain!" screamed the men.
Luis said "Wasn't the Captain a little harsh?" T.Bone, the new cook,
replied: "Do you want to follow in the tracks of One-Arm?", with a cruel smile.
"No senior, I beg of you, no!".
"Then, shut up and keep that in mind! To get the captain's attention one need
not try hard... And don't you miss that pityfull cook: his food wasn't worth
of pigs!"

As I went to the secret passage, I found a book on the floor:

--> "Crew of the valiant 3-mast the Flying Dutchman, that fell in piracy
in the year of the Lord 1724, December the 25th"
"My music is requiem". Sean O'Leary, born in Dublin planned a carrier
in the musical arts... he was thrown out of the country after killing three
guests who critisized his interpretation on Mozart's 3rd Concerto. Enrolled
in the 3rd Highlander Division, he lost a hand during the siege of Gibraltar.
He deserted and went to study accordeon under Sancho Fernandez, the mad
armorer... Hiding in the Isles-Under-the-Wind, where he lived off of shady
activities, he barely avoided getting lynched during the Red Night and went
to seek the protection of One-Eyed Jack. He soon became one of his
lieutenants during the Cao-Bang massacre in 1712.
Music Man, Musician...

I later found a healing vial and an elevator that led me up into the
foundations of the mansion... I came out in a rat-infested room and was
attacked my a pirate playing and accordeon: Music Man! After killing him,
I picked up his hook. From somewhere within the basement came noises that
I identified as gunshots, but I couldn't determine their exact origin... I
opened the door into a basement room, covered with alternatively black and
white tiles... Here I found a paddle, and had to decide between climbing up
the large staircase or opening another door. The door lead me to a shooting
range. Two goons turned to face me but using the element of surprise I
killed them. On a table I picked a box of ammo for the shotgun, with oddly
an ace of diamond drawn upon it... Against the wall were 4 paintings,
representing successively a Jack of Diamonds, a Queen of Clubs, a King of
Spades and an ace of Hearts... The targets consisted of 4 posts that
could each have an ace of each color as target... Firing on the aces would
make them shift to the next color... Next to the target was a locked door.
Remembering the words of my former mentor, and taking a hint from that
ace of diamond on the ammo box, I shot the targets so as to get all Aces of
Diamonds... The door opened to a small distillery and storage room. On a
shelf I found a Healing Vial and a bottle of Whisky, behind a barrel, a book
and yet another book behind the distillery equipment...

--> "Of the Years on the Pool Tables,
from the Honorable Senator Grant"
"Whenever I got a chance, between two sessions, I would practice... I
could do pretty nice shots, but far from that legendary 3 holes in 1... I
leave that to the amateurs of Mandarin, the chineese pool, who know nothing of
the true finesse of this art... It's hard enough to repeat a double hitter
as I did in a game with Elisha Countstack... Yet, a ruffian by the name of
De Witt proved me that 3 holes in 1 where possible repeatedly! From then
on I would train like a devil, shunning all other distractions, like alcohol
that dulls reflexes and skill. Seven days later, the damn devil beat $300
out of my pockets! I was so upset that I refused to preside over the Defense
commission... Pocketing my Gold, he told me, arrogant as ever: "Senator,
you would need more than a lifetime to beat me..." Later, I tried challenging
him, but de Witt had disappeared. Disgusted, I quit playing for 3 years
and took on gambling... I described that activity in my previous text called
"the loot of the one-armed bandit".

--> "Crew of the Valiant 3-Mast the Flying Dutchman, which fell in piracy
on the year of the Lord 1724, December the 25th"
"Originally from Inisfree, Tom Flaherty is now known as T.Bone. After
burning down the Donovan's Inn, he hanged around the Sea of China... In
Yen T'Ui, he associated himself with two sushi specialist with a passion for
gold...The three men were convicted for the ransac of the gambling house of
Madame Jojo... After escaping Macao's Penitentiary, they were hired by
One-Eyed Jack. Using a lot of intrigue and double crossing T.Bone eliminated
One-Arm, the Cook, and replaced him. He is quite skilled with his blowpipe
while his two henchmen are more of the `Slicing' type... Hired march the 24th
as cook...

Against a wall of the room, I noticed a slot machine... I tried my luck
with the 5 cents coin and won 2 coins... I then headed back to the shooting
range... To my surprise I ran into a drunk... He was dressed in underwear
and beside him lay a large bag... I would have left him deal with the bottle
but he pulled a gun and started shooting, so I disposed of him... In the
bag I found a santa costume... Backtracking, I got in the basement and
climbed the stairs up into the mansion... I enter a nice room, with
paintings on the wall... I noticed stairs leading up and 4 sets of doors...
The first lead to the front porch but was locked... As I was walking around,
a dwarf dressed like a cook and holding a meat cleaver, walked by... He
never bothered me, so I decided to leave him alone... I therefore opened the
second door, on the wall of the statue holding the trident [Stay clear of the
path the statue is facing, especially the dark tiles]... I found myself in
a little room with another door... I then opened the other door, and out came
a flurry of goons [about five of them] that I barely managed to dispatch
without loosing my skin in the process... The large room they came from had
a fireplace and beside it, a christmas tree with a pool ball on it, that I
kept for later use... I counted two more doors out of this room, one leading
to a seemingly empty bathroom and the other to the kitchen... In the kitchen
I found a bottle of poison on the floor and a bottle of wine on a sink [mix
both to obtain poisoned wine]... I also saw the chef... As I reached the
table, he came over and said: "Hey Friend, eat! Do you know that wine opens
doors?" and as I took the frying pan and the plate of eggs sunny-side up, he
opened a pantry and took out a blowgun... That's when I realized this was the
T.Bone I had been reading about... I had to kill him to stay alive... The
door out of this room leads straight into the path of the statue's trident,
so I stayed clear of it... Backtracking into the statue's room I found that
the door in front of it was locked... Examining the statue from the side, I
grabed a crown... At this point I simply decided to go investigate upstairs,
and come back later to try to get rid of that trident and open the locked
doors...
Up the stairs, I was greeted by a goon with 2 guns... After I was done
with him I counted 3 doors... One led to a seemingly empty bathroom...
I opened one into a pool table room...There, a goon that seemed
to fit the description of De Witt attacked him... On
his remains, I found a Sword-Walking Stick, and a gun... In the room, I also
located a little game box, in which I inserted the pool ball... As it slid
inside a hole, a bookshelf at the back of the room slid, revealing a door...
I went to check it out, but it was locked... I did however find half a scroll
and a book...[The scrool will be completed later on when the other half is
found]

--> "Crew of the valiant 3-Mast the Flying Dutchman which fell in piracy on
the year of the Lord 1724, December the 25th"
-1-
"Son of a baron and a maid, Frederick De Witt had a strict education...
After the sudden death of his teacher he opted to study alchemy... Good with
his fingers, he got into a private circle of gamblers where he ruined Redmond
Barry... An affair with the Marquise of "O" forced him into the Navy...
Soon after deserting, using his talent, he made a fortune in the Barbados
where he met One-Eyed Jack... De Witt became his spy and poison-maker...
Hired as Chimist in 1715."
-2-
"Mister Eye's real name is still unknown... Born in Nowanghor, deported
to Haiti, his early life is a collection of chaotic activities until he met
Elisabeth Jarret. Initiated to Voodoo, he became the Hounsi of the new
priestess after a coma of 14 days... His excellent sight made him, after the
December 25th attack, the lookout... With his two friends, the Look Boys,
he likes to entertain the crew with dances... His skill with a harpoon
make him a dangerous foe: the massacre of San Cristobal & the pillage of
of the Governer's Palace are good proof of that... All remember how he
crucified the Rector Joaro of La Cruz. Hired as Lookout December the 25th,
1724..."
-3-
"Ask me to describe you a man, I'll reply: Black Hat! Trouble child,
Allister Fein started his criminal career at age 8. To free his dad, he
dropped a teddy bear filled with black powder in front of the jails of
Killorney, killing nine persons in the process... Nostalgic, he kept the hat
of captain Dickson and had it `improved' with sharp metal blades... He
hitch-hicked his way to Trinidad by sea and there, he became a gun expert,
specialist in man-hunt, thus attracting One-Eyed Jack's attention. Hired
as Sniper..."
-4-
"Bubble Blade: Youngest of a family of armorers in Toledo, he became a
famous swordman under strick training... At the Prado, he assassinated the
Vice-King. Thanks to his great elasticity, he escaped Santa Sangre through
an impossibly small sewer exit... One-Eyed Jack hired him in Mexico after
taking him from his six mercenary companions. His claim of fame: the
King's Strike, which became a swashbuckler's legend during the duel against
Briggs... Hired as Second Lieutenant..."

Back in the halway, I opened the other door, entering in a large and rather
eccentric bedroom... Inside, various luxurious pieces of furniture,
voodoo masks on the wall, and alchemy glassware set a creepy atmosphere...
Next to the bed, as I went to pick the other half of a scroll I had acquired
earlier, two arms flailing swords attacked me... Against them, it seemed
that the Sword-Walking Stick was the solution... Once reconstructed:

--> The Scroll "Chess & Magic"
"If the white queen reaches the throne, then may the king grant her her
powers. May the amulet laying in the center of the sign open the door to
space... Such is the key to the royal gambit...
Note of the Translator:
From Gaelic, this poem would have helped Crawley to beat Tartakeover
the man who fed with gold the devil in the box..."

Taking a hint from the Scroll, I set the crown on the head of the bust of
a woman on a table... As a result, an amulet appeared on the floor on the
next room, an alchemist's study... Off of that study was yet another door
leading to a seemingly empty bathroom...

***************************

And now, you have to figure out where that door to space is, and
how to deal with the locked doors everywhere in the house... So you can
locate Jack, his evil concubine Elisabeth and their wicked henchmen, and
rescue the little girl... Will you honor your word to the memory of your
mentor, Stryker? It's all up to you...

***************************
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