Resident Evil 4/Chapter 2-3

Cabin

Get any items you left in the cabin, then exit and search the grounds. Outside you'll find:

• Handgun Ammo, south side of cabin
• TMP Ammo, southwest edge of the area

In addition, the Merchant has moved to a spot south of the cabin and there is a typewriter to his left if you want to save your game. The Merchant now has the Punisher at its regular price in case you didn't get it as prize. Get "Two Routes" next to the typewriter; it presents a little dilemma for you. There are two ways you can go from here. One route, which turns out to be the Left or northern route, is guarded by a large number of villagers (called Ganados in the note). The other route, which is the Right or southern route is guarded by El Gigante. (This is not the same El Gigante you fought earlier but one very similar. So perhaps it's more correct to say Un Gigante, though it doesn't sound as scary.) If you take the Right path then you can run past El Gigante if you're fast, but you don't get the reward for defeating him this way.

Make your choice, then find the lever near the Merchant and move it in that direction. You can, if you want, do both directions. In fact you will need to do both if you want to get all the treasure that's available. If you do want to try for both, you might want to postpone doing the second one until you've done the final boss for this area. Go through whichever gate the lever opened.

Barrier Station (Left Path)

Choosing this means you must fight a large number of villagers. As you enter tell Ashley to wait while you deal with the first wave of enemies. You can shoot the wagon ahead make it explode and take out some of the enemies, making things a bit easier for you. Park Ashley in the container on the right when you get the chance.

Follow the passage as it winds to the right and get the barrel at the end. There is a ladder to the wall next to this; climb up and defeat the villagers that patrol the top. Remember this spot for later since it makes a good place to make a stand against multiple enemies.

The path ahead splits to form an enclosure. You can snipe some of the enemies here from a distance, but if several start coming for you at once then fall back to make a stand. There is a barrel here and another container if want to move Ashley a bit closer. Do not jump into the enclosure, but it's safe of jump into a small area on the right. Get two barrels and Shotgun Shells from this side area.

Dropping into the enclosure triggers a bit of excitement so you'll want to plan ahead a bit. Go to the far (east) side of the enclosure and knock down the ladder there, but leave the ladder on the near side standing and make note of where it is. Jump down near where you pushed the ladder and watch the cut scene where the Rosa sisters, female versions of Dr. Salvador, come out to get you. Quickly cross to the ladder you left up and climb up to the wall, running left past the other villagers that have appeared there. Make a stand at the start of path, but fall back toward the entrance if you need to. The Rosa sisters are tough to kill so don't try to take them on with a handgun; use the Shotgun if you have enough ammo.

Collect a Ruby from one of the sisters, the Camp Key, which you will need to go on, from the other. Drop down into the enclosed area again to get two barrels and use the key to open the door to the other half of the camp.

Go through but be careful not to go too far since there are more surprises waiting. Get the box that's sitting next to some sandbags and go through the door to the right of it. Get the barrel in this room. Now drop through the hatch into the cellar, grab the Hand Grenade and the barrel, then climb back up. Notice a boarded up window here as well; break through it and jump into the next passage. Get two barrels at the end, one of which will contain the Red Gem, an Elegant Mask attachment.

Go back to the main path and continue. When you go through a barbwire fence will start pouring out of a tunnel to the left. Fire your shot gun once or twice to bunch them up at the entrance, then throw a hand grenade to take out as many as you can. Then use your shotgun or TMP to defeat anyone left. If the flow gets too heavy then use the barbwire fence, then the other fortifications, then the door you just unlocked, and so on, as choke points.

When the enemies are gone, call Ashley and go back through the barbwire fence; there is yet another container for Ashley but it shouldn't be needed. Get the barrel on the right, then go into a small area on the left where the villagers came. Get two more barrels here and go through the red door to exit the area.

Ravine (Right Path)

Choosing this means you must fight, or at least escape from, El Gigante. Near the start you pass under a boulder on a ledge on the right and just after is a cutscene where El Gigante drops down into the passage behind you and starts coming for you. (The point of view can be a bit confusing here since the scene shows you facing the way you came but doesn't show you turning. A clue is that the boulder appears on the left during the scene.)

Ashley really wants you to shoot the boulder you just went under, so do it. It will slow down the monster a bit; you now have to decide whether to turn and fight or just try to escape.

If you're going to try to escape, which is probably the best if you're low on ammo, then run away from El Gigante until you reach a door, and shoot the chains off. The TMP does this the fastest but a handgun or the Shotgun may work as well. Run through the central part of the passage and of the two shacks there, get the Old Key from the ground inside the second one. Exit and if El Gigante has caught up to you then toss a Flash Grenade to slow him down again. Continue to the next door and shoot the chains off the same way. You should be home free now since you just need to make it to the final door, use the Old Key to unlock it and escape.

If you're going to turn and fight then the battle is, of course, very similar to the one with the other El Gigante. There are some differences though and they affect what tactics you should use. First, you're in a confined area now, so dodging the monster's attacks is not going to be easy here. In this case the monster doesn't mess around with boulders and tree trunks, instead he almost always just grabs you, and he's pretty quick at it so it's more difficult to avoid than before. The dog that came to help before has now gone home to lick its wounds and won't be joining you again.

Start by running to the door with the chains, but instead of going through leave Ashley there and turn to see what El Gigante is doing; you should keep the fight contained in this first area if you can. If he's far enough away you might try to get in a shot with the Rifle. When he gets close toss a Flash Grenade at him; this will stun him for a few seconds while you fire at him. The weapon of choice is still the TMP, especially if you're up to date with its tune-ups. Watch for the monster to react to the pain and, as with the other battle, jump on top and attack with your knife. If you've been conserving TMP ammo and Flash Grenades then just repeat two more times. Be wary when the creature is in its death throes; either back up, or press the dodge buttons on the screen to get out of the way when he falls, otherwise he'll end up killing you after all by landing on top of you.

As with the other El Gigante battle you can buy your way out by using a Rocket Launcher. Be sure to bring Ashley through the first section of the passage, make the boulder drop as before so you have time to aim the rocket, then point and shoot.

If you defeat the monster then get the 15000 PTAS drop. With no monster to worry about you can take your time opening the chained doors, so just kick them until they open. You can also collect the other items in the ravine which would be lost otherwise. This includes the items in the two shacks; these work like the ones in the other battle in that most of their contents disappear if El Gigante gets to them first.

The items to find in the first shack are:

• TMP Ammo
• Handgun Ammo
• Spinel
• 1000 PTAS
• Incendiary Grenade

The items to find in the second shack are:

• Old Key
• Spinel x2
• Handgun Ammo x3
• 1000 PTAS x2

You can also find a box and some Handgun Ammo near the shacks. Finally, look for a bucket hanging over the shacks and shoot the sparkling object to get the Purple Gem, an attachment for the Elegant Mask.

Gondola

You are now in a safe area, the rain is now gone but it’s still nighttime. The Merchant is at the end of a path leading from the south (the exit from the right route). Get the barrel next to him.

To the southeast is a small building. Get Handgun Ammo from the trashcans on the right side, then go inside, get Rifle Ammo from the locker and pick up “Village’s Last Defense”. It's by Mendez and it says he's planning to ambush you, but you'll need to defeat him before you can go on. There a typewriter here if you want to save, probably a good idea if you haven't since the cabin.

Start heading north and and examine the large green doors as you pass by; it’s operated with a retinal eye scanner.

Move up the slope to the aerial lift system and get the barrel in the right corner. Before boarding one of the lifts, check the cliff face on the left for villagers and take them out with your rifle; the scope is handy here. When you get on one of the lifts there will be more villagers riding in the opposite direction ready to throw things at you. Use your rifle to get them first, but switch to handgun or TMP if they start getting too close.

When you disembark, get Handgun Ammo and a Flash Grenade from the lockers in the control room. Go down the first flight of stairs to a bridge leading to some caves. You can bypass this if you want but there is a treasure there.

If you decide to go for it, then leave Ashley at the bridge and start fighting the villagers inside. There are two just inside around a corner and one of them has dynamite. You don't get much chance to aim to you might want to use the TMP or Shotgun to explode the bomb before it can be thrown. Climb the ladder to find one more villager, then open the chest in the back to get the Yellow Catseye, the final gem for the Beerstein.

Get back to the bridge, collect Ashley, and continue to the bottom of the stairs. Follow the path to find the Merchant again. There are Shotgun Shells along with Handgun and TMP Ammo next to him. Use the typewriter to save since there's another tough battle coming. Continue through the next gate.

Torture Shed

Follow the path to a building and a cutscene starts. You tell Ashley to hide while check out what's inside. Though you're pretty careful going forward, Mendez still gets the drop on you and he's not in a forgiving mood. He picks you up, throws you across the room, and ties the metal handles of the door into a knot so you're trapped inside. Now you must press the button combo shown on the screen as when you escaped from the boulders and if you do it right then you dodge his next attack. You spot a barrel of gas and kick it over so that the contents spill on the floor around him. You then shoot, igniting the liquid and causing the barrel to explode. The coat Mendez is wearing burns away so you can see his body, and it's not a pretty sight. Extra limbs grow from his back and his torso is stretched so that only his backbone connects his legs and chest. But at least the damage he's taken from the explosion gives you a fighting chance to defeat him.

Boss: Bitores Mendez

There are two parts to this battle; you must first separate Mendez's legs from the rest of his body and then you must fight his upper half. He can hit very hard, taking off around four units of your health.

In his first form he moves slowly so you can usually dodge his attacks. Incendiary Grenades do a lot of damage to him now so use them if you have them, but if you don't then it's still not that bad. There is a ladder at the back of the building and you can use it to reach an upper ledge. So you can either fight up there or remain on the ground.

If you're fighting on the ledge then Mendez can still reach you with his new limbs. Listen for a kind of stretching sound which tells you he's about to attack, and move as fast as you can to another section of the ledge when you hear it. While Mendez is busy clawing away at the spot you were, turn and fire at him. His weak spot is his spine so aim for that. Use TMP if you have the ammo, but the pistol will work as well if you're good at dodging the attacks.

Alternatively, stay on the floor to fight. Keep aiming for his spine, but watch for when he's stunned by the damage since this gives you a good chance to run past him to the other end of the building. Even if he isn't stunned, run past him when he gets to close and there's a good chance he won't be able to react in time to get you. The quick turn move you mastered in the fight with El Gigante will be a big help here. Though you're shooting from farther away when you're on the ground, you get a better angle and you may even get some Rifle shots in.

When Mendez's spine has reached its limit, if breaks and he leaves his legs behind. You might think this would slow him down, but he just uses his new limbs to swing from the rafters and gets around just fine. Again, you can climb up to the ledge or stay on the ground.

If you fight on the ledge then the important thing is to keep moving. There is a spot on one side which has partial protection because of a wall, but don't overuse it because Mendez will find you there eventually. Use the Shotgun or TMP when you're at a good range; use a handgun if ammo is an issue.

If you fight on the floor you have more room to dodge attacks and it's best to shoot from a distance if you can. If you can knock Mendez off the rafters then a well placed Hand Grenade will work wonders on him. You may get screen prompts to dodge attack, and if he grabs you then follow the directions on the screen to escape as with El Gigante.

When Mendez is defeated you can claim your reward. He drops 30000 PTAS and the key item False Eye. Search the building for items you didn't pick up durint the battle.

The items on the ground floor are:

• TMP Ammo
• Handgun Ammo
• Incendiary Grenade
• Shotgun Shells
• Green Herb

The items on the ledge are:

• Green Herb
• Red Herb
• Yellow Herb
• Handgun Ammo
• Hand Grenade

You can also shoot the red barrel to get a Spinel. (There doesn't seem to be a good way to lure Mendez close to this so you can use it during the battle.)

When you're done, jump out the gap in the wall to rejoin Ashley. The go back to the gate and exit.

Gondola

You may want to save at the Merchant. Go to the aerial lift and ride it back. We're on the home stretch for the island now so if there's anything you want to collect, like treasures or items that wouldn't fit in your attache case, then do it now. Otherwise use the False Eye to unlock the gate with the retinal scanner and go through.

Castle Entrance

Take the Handgun Ammo, then notice a group of villagers waiting for you up the path. Start toward them to start a cutscene where a truck starts up and starts to drive toward you, running over the villagers as he goes. You must shoot the driver to make it crash if you want to avoid the same fate. Use the Rifle for this unless you're low on ammo, in which case a handgun will work too. You can also toss a Flash Grenade if you have a spare. Back up as the truck crashes so it doesn't reach you.

The truck drops 5500 PTAS but villagers come out of it as you pass. A Hand Grenade will eliminate most of them for you if can spare it, or you can just keep running. Continue up the path and get the barrels in the overlook. Continue for a cutscene where all the villagers left come out of the gate and start to run after you. You head for the bridge in front of you, cross, and raise it before they can reach you. This ends the chapter and Part 2.