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Hmm, that's actually pretty interesting. Would you mind mentioning that stuff in the future? Given the number of ways it can game-over you, it'd be interesting to know the times when it looks like it should but doesn't.
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Oct 6, 2013 22:40
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Update 9 – Revelations   All right. I have to stay calm. No one can know I was here.  I'll leave this place the way I found it, starting with the alarm. We flick the switch.  We head through the door to the meeting area...  ...and then exit out the door.  We head back to the apartment complex.  Time to have a little chat with Sytenko.  I'd better be careful. This could get ugly. Shame they didn't give me a gun.    Just one or two questions, comrade Sytenko. Tell me about your meatshop, Sytenko. What about it? You don't sell much meat. I just inspected your cold-room. Unusual. ...Hung up on a meathook? Yeah, right. Like there's any good excuse for corpses in his cold-room.We follow him inside anyway.   Children? Odd. It's not unheard of, a serial killer having children. Still unexpected.    One of who? What's going on here?    The two children head back to their room.  Who eats your victims, Sytenko? No, you don't understand! They take the bodies away! Where? They don't tell me and I don't ask! When I arrive in the morning, they're gone. Every morning? No. They take them two or three times a month. The last time was 4 days ago. Who takes them? Verto's people, I suppose. Who's Verto? That doesn't concern you. Just explain those stiffs. Perhaps. Continue. A man said he and his friends, colleagues he called them, had kidnapped our daughter Vera. You saw her just now. He warned us not to contact the militia. He wanted money. Dollars. They must have known I had some western currency hidden in my cold-room. I obeyed them. But no Vera. They wanted more money! I sold my datcha and gave them the money. That was after two weeks! My wife, my poor Oksana, had a heart attack when she found the photos under the door. Polaroid photos of Vera... with men. They had drugged her and made her do... such unspeakable things. It killed my Oksana. They let Vera go then. Who are these people? The men wore masks. One had a KGB uniform! How could I go to the authorities? KGB uniform? Son of a bitch. You can't just get that at a costume store. Are KGB members involved in this depravity somehow? She's one of them! One morning as I was opening my shop, the phone rang. It was him, Verto. Their boss. A brute with an eye-patch. He told me to look in the cold-room. There were dead people hanging on my meathooks! Verto rang again and reminded me of the photos. It's been going on for months.     If Anatoli Sytenko was lying, he should win a medal for that performance. More likely he's telling the truth. I intend to get to the bottom of this disturbing business, and pay those bastards back for all the pain they caused the Sytenko family, and for all the people they've killed.  Now's my only chance to get inside that apartment.  Nothing our trusty lockpick can't handle.   One thing I learned in the GRU is how to keep a low profile while infiltrating enemy territory. Turning on the lights would probably be a bad idea. We head through the center door.  Looks like some sort of studio room.  We check the drawer below the TV.  Inspect the tapes  They are labeled with dates, covering the past year. I have a feeling that whatever's on these tapes is important.  Uh oh. Oh gently caress.   This game: kind of messed up.    I don't even know what to say. Oh no. They're here.    Hollywood? Hey, Hollywood! This character's been nosing around all evening! I've already told you: don't call me “Hollywood”. That's a codename reserved for use with certain people only, and I don't want everyone to know “Hollywood” is me! Just call me Verto, like you always did. You ever see this character before, Romeo? Now, put our guest to sleep...Tomorrow morning, he'll star in my next production.   In comes our new friend Verto.   You mentioned Hollywood. Only my friends here and comrade Golitsin knew that codename. Since Golitsin was liquidated, by the chekists probably, that makes you an interesting problem! What the hell is this guy talking about? Golitsin, killed by the KGB? The American newspaper cutting you had in your pocket would appear to connect you with the late comrade Golitsin. The KGB seems to enjoy killing its ex-employees! drat it. Why did I hold on to that thing? Your lockpick will be returned to you in the morning. Har har! Nice and pointy! You will be starring in our next film, comrade. A documentary. It will take the form of an interview. I shall ask questions while our two twins here will encourage you to remember the answers. Romeo tells me you may even have a lovely female co-star! My turn for stick the piggy... Hey! That's not fair! You sticked the last one! Calm down, you two. We mustn't ruin the movie for our guest! And now, a couple of snapshots for the album. Say cheese! 
red mammoth fucked around with this message at 00:39 on Oct 8, 2013 |
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Oct 7, 2013 23:02
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 Jesus. This game got real dark real loving fast.
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Oct 7, 2013 23:49
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Holy poo poo.
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Oct 8, 2013 00:22
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Holy Christ! What the hell is going on?!
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Oct 8, 2013 00:36
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Fixed a couple of the images. Including this one: I accidentally left it out.
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Oct 8, 2013 00:47
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I'm suddenly very glad I never progressed further than to Golitsin's office back when I played this on my brother's Amiga. gently caress, this is some grim as hell poo poo!
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Oct 8, 2013 01:39
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Wow, really didn't see such a dark twist coming. The crazy guy in the apartment and canned communist phrases made me think this was some kind of parody of Russian life in the 90s or something.
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Oct 8, 2013 01:52
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It feels like the main character is an idiot, surely the discovery of a serial killer or organised crime killer is worth calling it. And yeah, wow, that got dark in a hurry.
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Oct 8, 2013 02:21
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Go eat a hamburger with your KGB mafia serial killer rape snuff film, you oaf. 
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Oct 8, 2013 02:48
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Cthulhu Dreams posted:It feels like the main character is an idiot, surely the discovery of a serial killer or organised crime killer is worth calling it. Who would you call in to, exactly? If the murderers have an in with the KGB, telling the wrong person (or the right person, even) could earn you a quick recall to headquarters and a bullet in the head, followed by your body being shipped to Siberia and being shot again for not working hard enough (to take the "Soviet Russia" scenario to its (il)logical conclusion).
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Oct 8, 2013 04:03
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Well, that was a twist. I have to say, calling the character who makes horrible torture-rape-murder pornography Hollywood has got to be deliberate symbolism.
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Oct 8, 2013 05:20
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Holy poo poo. You expect dark, but not this dark. About how far through the game are we?
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Oct 8, 2013 06:33
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StrixNebulosa posted:About how far through the game are we? Not very, I hope. This story has captured my interest more than any Kings Quest did! I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of the game is this one assignment and us cleaning house in the KGB, but I really, really hope that this is the first mission of several, ideally all of about this length and with as much effort put into them.
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Oct 8, 2013 13:36
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Wow, I've been following this LP with interest and poo poo definitely just took a turn for the worst. I'm interested to see how our protagonist gets out of this one. Also, this looks like the perfect example of a game I wouldn't enjoy playing but would definitely enjoy watching, great for LPing. So thanks Red!
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Oct 8, 2013 14:32
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StrixNebulosa posted:Holy poo poo. First chapter of four. It's a fairly long game, though you can get through it pretty quick if you know what you're doing.
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Oct 8, 2013 14:39
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Update 9b - Bonus Sytenko You'll have to to pay for your crimes, Sytenko! Just western currency, understand! I have only rubles! Too bad, Sytenko. It's Lefortovo for you. I'll kill myself! Good idea. I might even help. Conversation continues as normal from there. You can confront Sytenko early on about his meatshop after you talk to Ryumin, but that causes problems. Tell me about your meatshop, Sytenko. You don't sell much meat. Doesn't matter what option you choose.  Doesn't matter what option you pick here, either. You need your head examined. Good night!Sweat breaks out on Sytenko's forehead. He glares at you murderously before slamming the door in your face. When you try to talk to him again, he won't answer the door. Even if you've been to the coldroom. Which makes the game unwinnable. Romeo Romeo's dialogue here will change depending on whether you went into the beer bar, and whether you talked to him there.  If you go into the coldroom without switching off the diode:  Uh-oh. Let's check the door.    There's no escaping once the door is shut.
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Oct 9, 2013 01:06
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Well, uh. This certainly took an unexpected turn. I'm very interested to see what's next - notably, how we're going to put those sick bastards in their place.
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Oct 9, 2013 02:05
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Wow. Just read the whole thing and it certainly goes from being kind of comical to brutal in no time at all. Very interested to keep watching.
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Oct 9, 2013 21:12
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Update 10 – Movie Star (MT32) Well, this is just great. If I'm not out of here by tomorrow morning, I'll be starring in Verto's next motion picture. I see Verto put up a Lenin poster in his snuff room. He may be a psychopath, but at least he's a patriot.  Odd. Looks like they took everything except my rubles.Let's take a look around the room. Inspect the table  Intriguing. Guess he's listening for any escape plans.We take the bug. This one isn't of western origin, unlike the bug in Golitsin's office. Inspect the door A solid-looking door. It's locked. Locked. Not a surprise. We try knocking. Nobody answers No use. We try listening at the door. The murmur of voices talking softly. Well, I guess there's nothing to do but wait. 9:28 PM The door opens...   This must be my female co-star. Hopefully I can get her out of here before filming starts.We show her the bug.  Whatever it is, I don't want to touch it.Inspect the young woman Attractive in a vulgar western way. She sniffs a great deal. Welcome to the club. Oh, shut up. Should make a great movie. Christ! Locked up with a drunk! What's your name? Who are you? I want out. What are you doing here? How should I know? Well, I can't blame her for being suspicious of strangers. How did you get here? I don't remember. Too much vodka! You were at a bar or club, I suppose. I was looking for someone and ended up here. What's it to you? Just interested. Why were you supposed to meet him? I didn't say it was a man, Rita. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but her questions, the bug... I think I see what's happening here.  Is she even trying anymore? Codename? She must be the girl Sytenko mentioned. The one who worked for him, before telling Verto about his stash of American dollars. No codenames. Just business.The door opens... A denim-clad individual is pushed into the room. The newcomer resembles the man you noticed from Golitsin's window.    Let her go. Hey, Verto! They're going to kill me!Oleg opens the door for her.   I don't trust this guy. He was spying on me earlier today, and I'll even bet he was the one who killed Golitsin. Plus, he might be working for Verto. American? Why so far from home? A long story. You know her? Sure. Rita's just a kid who feeds off cocaine Verto gives her. What's your name? What a smartass. Josef Stalin. Just do what I say, mother! Go with the twins to Andryusha's for the night. Oleg and Gleb, be here at 8. I'll be needing you. Romeo has to go and get ready for the trip. I'll stay here with Rita. I'll see you tomorrow! Sounds like Rita and Verto are going to be alone in the apartment. Inspect the man in denim  Looks and behaves like a westerner. His American accent is almost too strong to be credible. I don't really trust the guy, but I might need his help to get out of here alive.We show him the bug. Showtime, eh? Hard to gauge his reaction. Pity I don't have any playing cards. Forget it, Ivan. I'm not talking to you or your gangster friends. Looks like he's as suspicious of me as I am of him. We put our ear to the door.   You said you'd give me a generous dose if I went in there. So let me have it, Verto. Please! I already told you, it didn't come through tonight! Some thief stole the coke from the club toilet. Wait till tomorrow. Oh no, Verto. I can't. I'll go crazy! Well, you're gonna have to. Now, shut up. Stolen coke? I might know something about that. If I could get Verto out of there and Rita alone for a few minutes, then I could use that to my advantage. If I can get the American to trust me, he could help me come up with a plan. Wait a minute. The bug...   A miniature listening device. Someone's broken it. Now Verto can't listen in on our conversation.We give the destroyed bug to the American. So you squashed their bug! You must be on the side of the angels! Mission accomplished. Say, I never noticed that buzzer before. The electronic buzzer and some wiring are encased in a plastic box with a flip-open lid.  Any ideas? And you? If I remember correctly, Sytenko's meatshop had an alarm system with similar wiring. Could be the cold-room in the meatshop. Right, the cannibal's favorite! I'm sure glad I turned the alarm back on after I left the cold-room. Otherwise, I'd be screwed. Do it. Verto stars shouting... Hell! Somebody's in the cold-room. I'm going to check. You stay here and don't do anything stupid. I'll be back in five minutes.  We decide to call Rita.
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Oct 9, 2013 23:31
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This game took a pretty dark turn and now I'm way invested in seeing how things turn out  Also I would not be averse to seeing more interesting facts about the late Soviet Union! Where I live we're practically neighbors with Russia, so getting to hear about the regular life in this big ol evil empire on the other side of the border is really engrossing.
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Oct 10, 2013 04:27
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This guy gives me the feeling he's CIA for some reason.
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Oct 10, 2013 09:25
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Man. Do you actually have to be that careful in the conversation? Do you have to turn the alarm back on, and flush the coke? King's Quest has nothing on this.
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Oct 10, 2013 13:47
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ObMeiste posted:This game took a pretty dark turn and now I'm way invested in seeing how things turn out What would you like to know about? Politics, deficits, rare videotapes (possibly with the Maltese Falcon)? Dreggon posted:Man. Do you actually have to be that careful in the conversation? Do you have to turn the alarm back on, and flush the coke?
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Oct 10, 2013 13:55
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Unforgiving or not, I kind of like how 'Kruglov' has to actually act like a spy. Keep his cover, turn the alarm back on to avoid suspicion, hide bodies, keep the cops out of it, sweep for bugs...it's cool. Presented in this form, I'm really starting to get invested in the mystery and I'm eager to see where this goes.
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Oct 10, 2013 14:30
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StrixNebulosa posted:Holy poo poo. Russian Nineties were downright brutal. 
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Oct 10, 2013 15:03
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These are some interesting times we have landed ourselves in. I have to admit, from the first case we were on I was just expecting bleak bureaucracy, not this!
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Oct 10, 2013 17:13
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Xander77 posted:Finland? No, that's "literally" neighbors. Some other nearby Scandinavian country? They might have meant Alaska.  I have to agree, this is bleak as all hell but I really am interested to see where it goes next.
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Oct 10, 2013 17:25
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Xander77 posted:Finland? No, that's "literally" neighbors. Some other nearby Scandinavian country? Because most Eastern European countries that bordered the USSR had no need to wonder what life in the evil empire is like, at they had the fortune of sharing a place amongst the builders of communism. Sorry, yeah it's Norway so practically might have been wrong term, but we only share a small border! So yeah I'd love to just hear what sort of an average day might be like for the regular Moscow citizen at this time; what sort of things there might be to get up to, how easy it would be to get ahold of goods (Western and otherwise), and what sort of fears the people had.
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Oct 10, 2013 19:20
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Night10194 posted:Unforgiving or not, I kind of like how 'Kruglov' has to actually act like a spy. Keep his cover, turn the alarm back on to avoid suspicion, hide bodies, keep the cops out of it, sweep for bugs...it's cool. Presented in this form, I'm really starting to get invested in the mystery and I'm eager to see where this goes. This is basically why I love the game. It's unforgiving, but it's unforgiving in a very appropriate way.
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Oct 10, 2013 19:44
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Update 10b - Bonus My name's Maksim Rukov. Were you at the bar or the club, or what? I was looking for someone and ended up here. Who were you looking for? Someone called Hollywood. Why were you supposed to meet him? I'm investigating a murder. Which murder? What led you to the club? That's where I was supposed to meet Hollywood. Who are you? Militia? KGB? I know you're a plant, Rita! I'm KGB and you're in trouble. I don't know what you mean!Rita hammers on the door. Hey! I need to go to the toilet! The rest of the story is too horrible. Your mutilated body soon hangs from a meathook in Sytenko's cold-room. Maybe you shouldn't have said so much to Rita.  It buzzes when your American accent slips. If you don't destroy the bug, and the American trips the alarm, this happens: Your cell-mate flips open the box-cover and works on the wiring.  You two amuse me! Really!You wait out the remainder of the night. The morning turns out to be a painful experience and your last. By the way, remember that alarm in the meatshop? If you forgot to turn it back on...  drat! Something's not connected somewhere. It won't work!You wait out the remainder of the night. The morning turns out to be a painful experience and your last. Hope you didn't overwrite that save!
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Oct 11, 2013 03:23
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Night10194 posted:Unforgiving or not, I kind of like how 'Kruglov' has to actually act like a spy. Keep his cover, turn the alarm back on to avoid suspicion, hide bodies, keep the cops out of it, sweep for bugs...it's cool. Presented in this form, I'm really starting to get invested in the mystery and I'm eager to see where this goes. But he vomited all over a room full of corpses. He wasn't subtle at all!
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Oct 11, 2013 03:31
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Zaodai posted:But he vomited all over a room full of corpses. He wasn't subtle at all! Well the corpses are pretty icky already, puke wouldn't change a lot.
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Oct 11, 2013 09:34
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Given that the correct path has them mentioning the cocaine they couldn't give Rita, what happens if you don't flush the cocaine down the toilet? Or does it not let you skip that.
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Oct 11, 2013 11:24
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Keldulas posted:Given that the correct path has them mentioning the cocaine they couldn't give Rita, what happens if you don't flush the cocaine down the toilet? Or does it not let you skip that.
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Oct 11, 2013 14:32
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Ephemeron posted:If you don't flush the cocaine, Verto will give it to Rita. When you subsequently trigger the buzzer and try to knock on the door, Rita will just keep laughing uncontrollably until Verto comes back. Then you end up on the meathook. Correct. However, if you take the cocaine and hide it somewhere before you get captured, he won't find it and won't give it to Rita.
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Oct 11, 2013 14:43
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Update 11 – Hollywood's Code Let us out, Rita. Escape with me. She's completely delusional. I almost feel bad for her. Problem is, he doesn't need your cocaine habit. He doesn't mind it. And anyway, it's not your problem. I can get you away from Verto. He's cut off your coke supply. I know where the coke is. What do you mean? Now we're getting somewhere. Let me out and I'll explain. I'm the one who took it! Prove it. I took it from the toilet trashcan. Open the door and I'll show you! Okay, but no tricks! Does she really think I'm doing this out of the kindness of my heart?  Let's take a look at our options here.   Probably not a good idea to tell her I flushed it down the toilet. Drop the gun, Rita. Stop wasting time, moron. Just tell me where the coke is. I'll show you. No. Tell me where it is. She's smarter than I thought. I hid the coke in the bar office. Good. Get back in the cell! Move!We attack her.  You slam into her the gun flies in the air as Rita is thrown backwards. She falls heavily. Her head colliding with the table. The girl lies unbreathing on the floor. The American chuckles. He holds the gun.   I've got a few things to do here. Could I have that gun? I may just need the gun myself. See you round. Bastard. If it wasn't for me, he'd still be trapped in there. Let's check on Rita. It looked like she took a pretty hard fall.  Another death on my hands. Looks like the table did most of the work, though.Let's look around the room.  My stuff should be around here somewhere. Maybe in that cupboard...  Wow. I sure was carrying a lot of junk. Looks like there's some new stuff, too. Inspect the Polaroid photos  Most show Soviet soldiers posing together. They seem to have been taken in Afghanistan. Some of them feature KGB troops. Why would he have these? Maybe he served in Afghanistan.Inspect the American passport  It contains the American's photo. Nathaniel Greenberg, 35, journalist. He seemed like a spy to me. I doubt that's even his real name.Inspect the piece of white paper  A small rectangle of perfectly blank paper. If there's anything to see, you can't see it! Could be hiding a secret code. Could just be a blank piece of paper. I don't have enough to go on, so I'll check the studio room again.  We check the cupboard.  Inspect the camera  A recent western model with an integrated flash. There are 4 photos left in the camera.We find a polaroid photo on the sideboard to the right. Inspect the Polaroid photo It's a photo of you in the cell. It's one of the photos he took of me earlier. Say, looks like there's something on top of the TV. I never noticed it before. Looks like it's a folder.Inspect the folder  The words “assurance policy” are printed by hand on the front. Very well, comrade. You find two black and white photos. Assurance policy? Odd.Inspect the photos  Your parents! One photo shows them and Vanya getting into a car. The next shows the car blowing up. One side of the second photo has been cut off. Son of a bitch. I... I have to stay calm. I've got to get out of here before that bastard comes back.  I'm too late![/i] We slip back into the apartment.  I've got to find someplace to hide! I know...We hide next to the door.  The door opens, and Verto enters carrying a silenced pistol.  Here goes nothing.   I only have a short amount of time before he wakes up. I'll take a look at his things.Inspect the snapshot It's a shot of you in the cell.Inspect the revolver  A revolver with a silencer.Inspect the blue paper  A small rectangle of perfectly blank paper. If there's anything to see, you can't see it! Another one. That can't be a coincidence. It must be some sort of secret code, maybe written in invisible ink. Now what could Verto have used to read the message? Well, maybe that camera. Some cameras can pick up hidden messages, and I don't see any fancy equipment just lying around here. Inspect the blue paper photo On the photo of the piece of paper, you see some letters: EIGAAG6PLDGPRInspect the white paper photo On the photo of the piece of paper, you see some letters: LNNRDU13MAOAAK Hmm.
red mammoth fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Oct 12, 2013 |
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Oct 12, 2013 00:28
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I'm very excited and surprised that you're taking on this game, red mammoth. From what I remember, it is very difficult and a pretty long haul as well (especially if you're showing us all the conversations). I was never able to finish it, so I'm really looking forward to the rest of the story. This is the point where poo poo gets real. I love how unsettling it is--first you're just a normal KGB guy with a meanie boss, then suddenly there's corpses on meathooks and snuff videos. If you can, you should show off the weird animations for the character portraits. Some are pretty okay, but other are just disgusting, pulsating terrors. They fit the mood of the game pretty well, though.
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Oct 12, 2013 00:47
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I have a hunch this may show up in the Game Overs, but can you just shoot him in the head while he's out cold?
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Oct 12, 2013 00:48
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 22:12 |
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gbuchold posted:I have a hunch this may show up in the Game Overs, but can you just shoot him in the head while he's out cold? Sure, it's possible. You'll see in a bonus update.
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Oct 12, 2013 01:42
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