--------------------------------------------------------------------
TimeSplitters 2
In-depth FAQ
***Top Shot Platinum Strategy***
by: 'Kairi'
--------------------------------------------------------------------
*******************************
'Kairi'
e-mail: griever_fx AT ignmail DOT COM
Date - 11/07/02
Version - 1.0
*******************************
***Legal Disclaimer***
This FAQ will not be permitted anywhere else besides GameFAQs as of
right now. This may or may not change later in the future.
This FAQ is copyrighted 2002.
If you're a TS2 vet from the forums or have a recommendation from one of
them, I'll probably let you post it on your website. Mainly, I don't
want any other major site(s) to get it unless they give me free stuff.
For "real" gamers, I'll let them post it without much restrictions. I'm
doing this because I want more smaller websites, made from actual
players, to benefit from it. I made this FAQ for players of TS2, not
for the big websites that want it only to get more hits. (Of course I'm
not talking about www.gamefaqs.com, after all, I wouldn't be writing
this FAQ if it wasn't for this website and it's forums that have helped
me no other site will ever)
====================
I. Table of Contents:
====================
I. Table of Contents
II. Skill requirements
III. Map
IV. Start/spawn points
V. Strategy
VI. Aids (not the disease, okay)
VII. Firearms
VIII. Start Point Breakdown
VIII-A Brief Overview
IX. Time Problems
X. Final Comments
XI. Contact Info
XII. Thanks to
Please use the 'Find' command to jump straight to whatever you're
looking for. 'Ctrl + F' I tried to make this FAQ as user-friendly as
possible. For example, if you were looking for help with Start Point
Breakdowns, you would type "VIII" in the box after pressing 'Crtl + F'.
------------
Purpose of this FAQ: To aid in obtaining the platinum on the Arcade
League - Amateur - Beginner Series - Top Shot challenge in the game Time
Splitters 2. Known to be one of the most difficult platinums to
obtain(actually, many of the challenges are tough, don't get me wrong).
Why is it so tough to get?
It's difficult to obtain not because of the skill involved, but because
of the luck involved. In short, you need to be lucky for enemies to
spawn near you, so that you can kill them quickly. Seems like many of
these challenges pit you against random chance, while others make you
face the cheapness of bots/CPU.
Requirement for Platinum: To kill all other enemies in a time of 1:10
or under. Seeing that Gold is 3:00, we can see 1:10 is quite a feat to
achieve.
Goal: What I hope to accomplish is to inform you, on what most
alternatives are available for you to try and what not to try. The
strategy that worked for me, I will describe as I go along with the FAQ.
=======================
II. Skills requirements:
=======================
1) Knowledge of the Map
2) Start/Spawn Positions
3) Lightning quick relexes (obtained through practice, not here)
Not required, but extremely helpful:
4) Peripheral vision - you will be looking mainly at the radar, and only
glancing at the main screen when you are taking out targets(enemies).
========
III. Map:
========
First off, we need to know the map/area. If you don't already know the
area, then you'd better get to it. Here is a crude map in ASCII. (I
hope it comes out okay...)
No need to memorize or even know about the second floor. You won't go
up there at any time, plus it's a really small area. Also, I've left
out the boxes/crates since there are quite a few, but it's not really
that important to know where the box positions are. :) Note that I have
labeled the major areas with numbers (1), (2), and (3). Keep these in
mind when I make references to them.
======================
IV. Start/Spawn points:
======================
These are the points where you and the enemies will return to after
dying. It's important to know these because then you will have to hunt
them all down, and knowing the quickest way to get to them will save you
time.
O=========================================O
||A E |G| ||
|| | | ||
|| ||
|| | | ||
||===== |_| L ||
|| | | ||
||B | | ||
||= =============== I K ||
|| | D | ||
||C |_ ||
|| |H| M ||
||X ||
|| | | | ||
|| | F | | J ||
O=========================================O
(not to scale)
There are also 2 spawn points on the second floor, but if you have the
unlucky chance of starting up there, you'd better restart the challenge.
===========
V. Firearms:
===========
What to use, what to use. You need something that kills them(enemies)
as quick as possible. Nothing does that better than the mini-gun.
Accept no substitutions.
Mini-gun: Fires an unbelieveable amount of rounds in a short period of
time. All you need to do is point it at the "target", and tap the
primary fire button. You will be able to kill any of the 4 enemies on
this hangar challenge with just a tap of the mini-gun, with the
exception of Capt. Snow. He has a higher stamina, so you'll have to
hold the p. fire button down until he goes down. Keep this firearm
rolling by tapping the secondary fire button. Another plus is it's
amazing accuracy.
Location: Near start point B behind the box, and near start point I, in
front of the front wheel of the airplane.
Rocket/Missile Launcher: Unless you have 5 guys clustered together in
one room, which is unlikely, this weapon is useless. Don't bother with
it.
Flame Thrower: Takes too long to kill someone. Don't bother with this
either. If you are set on fire, the enemies will ignore you like you're
dead or not even there.
Soviet: You begin with this gun, but the primary fire is weak compared
to the mini-gun. Try to go for head shots if you can't get the mini.
The secondary fire is a more valuable asset. Try to bounce the grenade
on someone's chest, let it drop to at their feet, and shoot them with
the primary fire. The primary fire stuns them, so they can't do
anything but stagger there, and take the grenade. The grenade bounces,
so don't hestitate to bounce it off walls! And don't be afraid to toss
them everywhere you think enemies might be, because you'll soon be
getting the mini anyway, right? Right.
Shotgun: Always use secondary fire simply because it shoots twice
instead of once on the prim. fire. Aim for the head with this gun, but
don't spend too much(if any) time with it. You're main goal is for the
mini. The Shotgun can't drill 10+ bullets into a target on the other
side of the map like the mini can.
========
VI. Aids:
========
Don't bother getting any armor, shrink powerup, max damage powerup, or
health packs. You won't need them unless you take a grenade. But even
then, it's best to go on because every second is precious.
=============
VII. Strategy:
=============
Okay, now that you have the skills down and got to know the maps and
start points, what are you going to do? Sure, you COULD go out and try
to kill the closest enemy and then after that proceed to the next
closest. But chances are, you won't make it to Platinum. Why? Two
words: Capt. Snow.
Yes that's right, with enough practice you'll soon find that this guy
straight from MGS doesn't seem to want you to get Plat. Recognize his
face - he has a white ski mask. After you've killed all the other
enemies, he'll still have at least 3 (maybe more or less) lives left.
This is my strategy that I've decided to go on, and this strategy has
worked for me.
Why?
Why should you go for Capt. Snow... well first of all, he has the most
health out of all the other targets. He always goes for armor when he
has a chance(many times he gets the armor between the two wheels of the
plane, which will require you to hold the fire button down longer,
wasting time!). Plainly speaking, he is not created equal as the
other targets. He's "special" in his own unique way. For me, this
isn't "Top Shot". It should be called, "Take down Capt. Snow". And
that's the mentality you should take with you.
It would be different if all the targets would go down with a simple tap
of the fire button. That way, you could just use the simple strategy of
going after the closest target, but the developers had to throw in this
guy...
Many others may say, that since Capt. Snow has more health, and is smart
enough to go for the armor, and often times the shrink and the mini-gun,
he can be a good asset for kiling off the other targets. This may be
true, but he HAS to have the mini-gun to do any real benefit to
you(time-wise). Otherwise he'll just take too long. And if you plan on
leaving him alive to help you get rid of the rest, when exactly are you
going to take him out? That's right, when it's only down to you and
him, he'll probably still have 6 lives, and you WON'T have enough time
to dispose of him.
So the to make clear, the basic strategy is to kill Capt. Snow as your
primary objective. Your secondary objective is to kill any enemies on
your way TO Capt. Snow. If you're equipped with peripheral vision, you
will need this after you kill Snow once. The method is to wait
approximately one full second, and see where he ends up on the radar.
Before you know it, you're already heading there, eliminating anyone in
your way.
===========================
VIII. Start Point Breakdown:
===========================
Below I will list the Start points and their respective strengths and
weaknesses. I determine strengths and weakness on how close you are to
Capt. Snow, and if applicable, how many targets will be in the area when
you are first starting off. (I can lead you only when you are first
starting off, because after you start killing them(enemies), they will
randomly appear in a different start point each time, so it's luck after
that...)
Please refer to the start/spawn map below to know where and what start
points I'm talking about.
O=========================================O
||A E |G| ||
|| | | ||
|| ||
|| | | ||
||===== |_| L ||
|| | | ||
||B | | ||
||= =============== I K ||
|| | D | ||
||C |_ ||
|| |H| M ||
||X ||
|| | | | ||
|| | F | | J ||
O=========================================O
(not to scale)
Start point A:
Immediately fire two grenades(secondary fire) while running forward.
This kills the guy coming toward you from under the stairs(start point
E). The shrink won't help him there. :) Head right for the mini...
Now, two things can happen here. Either a guy with come towards you
from area 2/start point B, or he'll still be chillin' in that area 2.
Just in case, you'd better launch a grenade when you turn and head
right, or start firing and aiming for a headshot. If you don't take him
out, continue for the mini and launch a grenade in his direction. If
the grenade didn't kill him, get him with the mini!
Shoot as many grenades at you can between the two walls of area B, and
possibly in area 2, while heading for the mini. Once you have it, hit
the secondary fire(this won't be said anymore through out the FAQ, it
will be assumed), and then look at your radar, which you should be doing
90% of the time. Capt. Snow is definitely in this area 2, close to the
back sometimes, by the corner. Get him, and any other any targets in
your way. After he's gone and everyone else in the area is dead, stop
and wait for him to come up on radar. I try not to kill too many guys
in a row, because you can get lost as to where Snow might be on radar.
But as long as you keep tabs on the sequence of kills, then you're okay.
The good thing about this area/start point, is that after you kill Snow
here, he usually pops up again in this area (area 2). If not, it's up
to you to find him.
Start point B:
Go forward a bit, and turn left so you're looking into area 2. Two
things can happen here.
1) A target will be running away from you, toward the corner of the
room. You can launch a grenade in front of him(launch it at the wall
where he would be, since he will be running between the wall and the
boxes), and you will be able to kill him. You have to be quick though.
Then, proceed to the mini.
2) The other chance encounter, is you will see a target running towards
you. You will want to head for the mini, but facing the start point you
just came from (point B). So you're backtracking with your view towards
Start Point B. Launch a grenade or two at this point, because he'll be
coming after you. If you do it right, you'll hit him and he'll die. If
not, take him out with your mini.
After that, go in area 2, and maybe head towards area 1. Captain Snow
should be in the hangar and he should be heading towards area 2. If
not, go get him.
Start Point C:
You can either:
1)Leave area 2 and proceed to area 1. When you're doing this, launch a
few grenades directly above you on the second floor. You might take out
someone up there. Head for the mini.
or
2)Go straight to the hangar and take out Capt. Snow.
Start Point D:
There will be a target spawn at point F if you happen to start at point
D. He'll neglect you for now (although he'll try to shoot you a bit),
but he'll head on his way to spawn point C for some reason(I think there
is another target there). What you can do is, bounce a grenade off a
box in front of you. It should bounce off the box and come back in your
general direction, but at an angle. /\ The trajectory of the grenade
should look like that upside down V, where you shoot it at the box (the
box should be a bit to your right, so move keep moving left from when
you start until it is), and it should bounce back toward you but to the
right. The target will neglect you, and run past you and if you aim it
correctly, he should be hit by the grenade. If he runs too quickly, use
the prim. fire to stun him. Capt. Snow is in area 1, but you won't have
the mini- yet, so drop a few grenades when he is close to point B/about
to enter your area(2). After that, get the mini- and clear out the guys
in area 2. There should be a lot of them in there.
Start Point E:
If I end up on this start point, I usually restart. There are no
enemies in the currently area, and getting to the mini gun takes a
while. The shrink doesn't really help you out in any way, since these
guys can't shoot for beans. The Capt. Snow is out in the area 3,
airplane hangar taking care of some guys, but you'll meet up with him
before the mini-. So you'll have take him out with the Soviet if you
like this point for some reason.
Start Point F:
Probably the best starting point. If I were you, I would restart until
I got to this one. Look directly to your left, and at spawn point B.
Capt. Snow is there, so head that direction and shoot as many grenades
as possible. The other target(a girl) will spawn at point C will be
heading towards Capt. Snow/point B also, so when the grenade hits, it
kills both girl target as well at the Capt. Snow. If you can stay in
this area, the Capt. Snow might respawn here if you're lucky enough. A
very good spot because you can kill Snow within a few seconds of the
battle and that way he'll respawn much earlier in the challenge.
Start Point G:
A good starting point, because there is a chance to kill a lot of
enemies quickly. Head towards area 1 and you will see a target around
point A. When you first see him, shoot as many grenades as you possibly
can(aim up). You need to kill this guy. Make sure you don't pick up
the shotgun, but if you're following the path to the shotgun, then
you're pretty lined up to kill the target. Just don't pick it up,
because the Soviet will switch to the Shotgun if you have "New and Best"
selected in the options/preferences. After this, go for the mini gun
and get ready because there are quite a few guys in area 2 including
Capt. Snow. Head there and take them out.
Start Point H:
When I end up in this one, I usually head to area 2. Why? Well because
the mini-gun in the hangar is quite a bit away, and I can start killing
guys right away when you head in this area 2. You can kill them much
quicker because it's a tighter area, which means you can launch a few
grenades and kill at least two guys already. Two of them will be
fighting each other at around point X, and another will come from area
1/point B. That's 3 guys right there.
You also have another choice though. If you were to head out to the
hangar, you'll find Capt. Snow is the only one out there. Stand just a
bit outside the door way leading the the hangar, and aim up and launch
as many grenades as you can. You'll hit him as he's going for some
weapon.
Start Point I:
Probably the closest start point you could possibly be to get close
enough to the mini-gun, you can get this in about 3 seconds and start
killing right away. I personally don't really like this area 3,
however, since there is so much space. But if you're cool with big open
spaces, then go ahead and do it. There is a theory that if you stay in
the hangar, then all the targets will come to you, since area 1 and area
2 are connected to area 3(hangar), then you'll just have to play "defend
the hangar/airplane" and kill whoever comes through the openings, but I
don't particularly like this method, because somehow Capt. Snow is
always alive when it the time ticks down. I'd much prefer the hunt down
Capt. Snow method. But it's not my decision to tell you what you can or
cannot do. Choose whatever works best for you.
But I digress...
Capt. Snow is between area 1 and 2. He probably starts at point B. I
would probably go through area 2 if that was the only starting point,
but better yet I would restart.
Start point J:
Another bad start point in my opinion. If I end up here, I just
restart. You need to be killing enemies from the the get-go, and with
the Soviet, you can't really do it out in the hangar. Like I said
before, not all start points are created equal. Capt. Snow is in area
1 on the second floor. You'll see him if you head to area 2, just look
up. If head through area 2, there will be one guy standing in your way,
and another guy at spawn point X if someone else died already(probably
killed by Capt. Snow).
Start point K:
A target will be running towards you if you start at this point, and I
would try to shoot her in the head/body while passing through the wheels
and going for the mini-. A grenade is very tough to be effective here,
since the target can run away and the blast probably won't hit. So it's
just best to shoot with the primary fire of the Soviet. But I'll say it
again, starting out in the hangar isn't the best way for me to start
out, compared to the other start points. Capt. Snow is quite a ways
away, he starts somewhere in area 2(depending on which target he is
going after).
Start point L:
Capt. Snow is in area 1, and has the shrink on himself. You probably
won't have the mini- when you see him, since you'd have to go out of
your way to get one, and by the time you do, he'll probably be
elsewhere. Choose another start point.
Start point M:
There will be two guys with you when you start out in the hangar over
here. Capt. Snow is in area 2. I would go directly for him, while
trying to launch grenades in the direction of the two targets in the
hangar area. There is one guy that starts from point I, and he'll chase
after you. Don't worry about him, just head for the door on the left to
go to area 2. Just when you're about to enter/pass the door, aim a bit
up and to the right, and fire a grenade at the door. It should bounce
back and kill the guy that was chasing after you. You should use the
grenades like this every chance you get.
Start point X:
Capt. Snow is out in the hangar. You either go after him now, or go to
get the mini- gun near point B. He'll been in a firefight when you get
there, unless he kills the guy already. This starting point is pretty
far away from him, so I'd restart.
--------------------
VIII-A Brief review:
--------------------
I favor the area 2 over area 1 and 3. It's a tight small area because
of all the boxes, and the Soviet is best used here. The mini- works
everywhere, so there's no reason why it shouldn't do well in this area 2
either. Area 2 is one of the best starting points to take out Capt.
Snow's first life very quickly.
Reason: I'd rather be in this area 2 over area 1 mainly because of the
stairs in area 1. It messes up my flow when I have to move the aim
upwards just to tag the guy on second floor,and it also takes a while
for a target to come down from the stairs. However, if you were in area
2, the guy would be forced to come after you, and the best way for him
to do that is to jump from the second level to the first level. There
is a missing railing because of the crane moving that metal
block(whatever it is). This is the same block that if you were to ride,
it would count as 'surf time' in the player statistics screen. And I
prefer area 2 over area 3 because of the small area. If you prefer the
big area, then you could hang out there instead. But consider this, if
you were to cut the map in half, directly down the middle, which side
with have more start points? The left half with areas 1 and 2, or the
right half with just area 3(hangar)? (don't forget the 2 spawn points on
the second floor)
As you can see, it's the left half by far. So that way, you can
transverse between area 1 and 2 pretty quickly if need be, but area 2 as
your primary residence. Also note that the map is longer horizontally,
meaning if you were to go from point B to point K, it would take you
longer than going from point A to point X. Of course, all of this only
applies in the beginning of the match. Once you've killed Capt. Snow
once, you'll be all over the area where he'll be, no matter what.
Summing up, you want to start in points: F, G, D, or A. If you start in
any of these areas, you have a pretty good chance to get a nice time.
=================
IX. Time Problems:
=================
1) DYING - If you so happen to die, by your bouncing grenade or
whatever, restart because getting Plat is probably now out of your
reach. This happens a lot with the grenades in area 2 because it's
really a tight area, and when a targets start out here, they immediately
launch a grenade every which a way.
2) RESPAWNING - If you get lucky enough for someone to spawn in your
area, don't start shooting them right away. Just circle them for a
moment, and then shoot them. They are invulnerable for that brief
period of time when they are first "born", although they can still shoot
you.
3) AMMO - You don't have infinite ammo on this mini gun, and you
probably won't have another chance to get more ammo. If you run out of
mini-gun ammo, you probably should start over(unless you think you can
finish it, you should go ahead and try, don't give up so easily) because
you've wasted too much ammo already and need to re-adjust how long you
shoot. You should just barely tap the prim. fire button to be able to
kill most enemies, and for the white ski mask guy Capt. Snow, hold it
until he goes down. You should be able to get Plat without using all
your mini- gun ammo.
4) CAPT. SNOW - Not holding the aim on him until he goes down is
probably the most common time waster. Hear me now, and hear me forever,
hold the fire button down on him until you are for sure he died! And
don't forget to keep moving and searching out for Capt. Snow.
Take heed and try not to let these time problems happen to you.
There are 5 other guys besides you, each with 6 lives, which makes a
total of 30 lives. Let's pretend they're all monkeys that can't do
anything but run around. Since you have 70 seconds to kill 30 lives,
you have only 2.33 seconds to make each kill. Not much time to be
messin' around. Good thing is that they aren't monkeys, and some of
them will get into fights with each other.
Another tip: If you find Capt. Snow with a crowd, go after him first,
then take the crowd out. If you take out the crowd first, they'll
likely spawn somewhere away from you. Then when you finish Capt. Snow,
he'll probably spawn in an area that you're not in, and probably end up
fighting with the guys you just killed.
So this is how it goes. Kill Capt. Snow first, then go after the other
targets. Because after you kill Snow, you'll be busy disposing of the
other targets, while Capt. Snow has to go find you out again, because
there won't be any other targets to get in his way(because you're
dealing with all of them).
=================
X. Final comments:
=================
The strategy I've put together if from many restarts and hours upon days
of playing over this challenge. Every comment I make has some sort of
logic behind it, so as to back it up. If you can find a better
strategy, and back it up with some good reasons, let me know. There are
many ways to get Platinum on this challenge, and different methods may
help some other people in ways my strategy, in a rare chance, cannot.
If you follow my method and know all the spawn points and where Capt.
Snow is, and have immpecable aim, along with the help of peripheral
vision, you should be getting a time around 1:20-1:30. Be prepared to
restart many times. With practice you will be able to get it
eventually. Just don't lose hope.
================
XI. Contact Info:
================
Here is my e-mail address: griever_fx AT ignmail DOT COM
I don't check it that often; actually I check it once a month to tell
you the truth. Basically because I get tons of junk mail there, so it
can filter it out. If you really need to contact me, check the
forums(GCN mostly, since I owe the GCN version) because I go there quite
a while.
E-mail me if you:
1) See an error in my FAQ
2) Yhink I should add something else to complete my FAQ
3) See this FAQ on a website other than the ones listed below
4) Are asking permission to post this FAQ on your site
5) Have a strategy/method that you want to share(must have a good
reason why it's a good strategy, and plus don't make it too long-winded,
since I don't know how many people will have their own strategies, I
don't want this FAQ much longer than it already is)
Again, I don't check it often, so don't expect a reply the next day.
Websites that currently hold my FAQ:
-www.gamefaqs.com
FAQs I currently have made:
-'Money Guide FAQ' for Harvest Moon 3 GBC
-'Mini-Games FAQ' for Shenmue I DC
=========
XII. Thanks to:
=========
-Gamefaqs/CJayC
-All the help people have given me in the Gamefaq TS2 FORUMs especially
with the: Infiltration - Silent but Deadly Platinum challenge, Siberia -
Hard, and when I first came to the board, helping me figure out there
was an advanced custom controller menu. I couldn't have done it without
you guys, you know who you all are.
-All the people that need to be thanked but I forget at the moment...
This is the end of the FAQ. I hope you got something worthwhile from
it.
