Did you get a load of that first scene? Nine Inch Nails is jealous. Anyhoo, there you are, knife in hand, on a pier of sorts. Walk around here. This is a good area to figure out if you want the 3D or 2D Control Type. 3D is the default. With 3D you will use your controller in relation to your character (in other words, pushing up will always make you move forward). 2D will move you in relation to the camera. We went into our Options Menu and selected 2D. You may also change your Button Config in the menu, but we stayed with the default.

So, explore. Run by holding down Square. Check out the pink bunnies with jam all over their faces. They must have gorged themselves on something tasty, as they're not responding to you. No sir. Check out the various cages. Notice Heather's head turn when she wants you to check something. This is key to everything in the game. When you approach what she's looking at, hit "X". Not much going on in the cages. Time to leave the area. Head away from the Lakewood Amusement Park Sign toward the bench and look left. There's a door here, under a small Souvenir awning. Approach the door and hit "X".

Here you will be introduced to some new friends. Mr. Splitface Dog, Mr. Inside Out Gumby. If you want, take this time to learn how to kill. To practice, hit R2 to auto aim, then hit "X" to shoot or attack. Do what you can do, but realize, you'll die no matter what here. I got sick of it all and jumped off the ledge. Next scene you wake up. Bad nightmare. I guess. In this cutscene you will call your Dad and have a detective follow you to the bathroom, Douglas Carsomething.

Central Square Shopping Center

You will gain control of Heather again in the bathroom. Here is a good place to hit "Select" and check out what you have on you. In the Items menu, select the HOUSE KEY. Then examine it. It says "Daisy Villa Apt. #102". Good info some time, I'm sure. Now check out the Pendant. Examine it. There's a mysterious Red Jewel inside. Once again, good to know. You also have a knife on you. I think we may just need it at some point. Exit your submenus and you're back in the bathroom. Check out the mirror. On it is a Red Magic Symbol. Approach it and hit "X". You will be taken to the Save Menu. These symbols are save markers. Go ahead and save now.

Exit out of the bathroom by approaching the window and hitting "X".

You're in an alley. Run to the end of it and go through the door on your right. Inside, move forward, trying to open doors as you go. At the "T", turn right. Continue moving forward until you get to the set of double doors. Pass through. Move through the tiled hall until you see a doorway of the Boutique with the metal screen pulled down half way. Approach it and hit "X" to enter the Boutique. Inside there will be a cutscene.

Phew, thank goodness that's over...and you have a gun now. Not too shabby. Check the store out and collect the Ammo on the green bench. Move through the door behind the register. Through the door, move right and around the corner. Check out the Bulletin Board on your left. Examine it and you will have obtained the CENTRAL SQUARE SHOPPING CENTER MAP. YAY!

Go to your Map Menu and get familiar with the Map symbols. You are the green arrow. As you explore doors and areas, you'll see that you'll get a red squiggly line if the door can't be opened. You'll get a double arrow if you can pass through a door way. You'll get a straight red line on a door if it is locked and you don't have a way of opening it yet. Basically, as you explore areas, check the map to make sure that you have checked every door and you can also see where you have been and where you haven't been. Looking at the Map, North is always up. If we give N, S, E, W, directions, that is what they are based on.

From the bulletin board where you go the map, head out the "Exit" door on your right. Go up the stairs.

You are now on the Second Floor. Head West, trying doors. When the hallway angles up to the NW go through the first door on your right. It's a sort of storeroom. There will be a splithead dog in here. Use your Handgun on him. Then, grab the BEEF JERKY. BEEF JERKY is used to distract the splithead dogs.

Exit out of that room and continue NW up the hall and go into the next open door on your right. This is a SAVE ROOM (red magic symbol). Examine the wooden pallette past the Red Magic Symbol and you'll see that there is key underneath it that you can't reach. We need something to grab it with. There is also AMMO and HEALTH in this room. When you save here, you'll see that this is the 2nd Floor Storeroom.

Exit out of the storeroom and head SE and then South to the door with the "No Smoking" sign on it. This will lead to the middle of the Shopping Center.

Go forward and go into "Helen's Bakery". Enter and look around. You'll find some TONGS. Hmmm? I wonder if we can use the TONGS to get the key under the wooden palette. Backtrack to the 2nd Floor Storage Room and, standing in front of the palette, "use" your TONGS. You will automatically grab the key. "Examine" the key and you will find out that it is a key to "My Bestsellers," a bookstore a few stores down from the Bakery.

Let's head to "My Bestsellers." Run past the splithead dogs and such and go past the Bakery and hit "X" to enter the store.

Shakespeare Puzzle
Normal:
Look around the store and you'll find some AMMO and 5 Shakespeare Anthologies on the floor. Pick them all up. Then, turn to the place in the bookshelf where there is a opening for the books to go. Hit "X" to look at it. Now, go into your menu and "use" a book. You can now place the 5 books. Notice that the books have markings on them. Play around with the books until you get the markings to reveal a 4 digit number. The order is random in each game, so we can't tell you the order. If it looks like you only have a 3 digit number it's because the number "1" is fading into the binding of the book. This had us fooled for a while. The "1" is kinda hard to see. Anyway, go to the door with the keypad (Employees Only) behind the counter and enter your 4 digit code.

Easy:
There will only be two Shakespeare Anthologies on the floor, I and III. Place them in their appropriate positions and read the 4-digit code.

Hard:
Hard is tough if you don't know your basic Shakespeare. The order of the books is as follows: Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, or 4 1 5 2 3. Now, Hamlet "split blood for 2", so (4 X 2) 1 5 2 3. Romeo and Juliet "shed tears for 3), so (4 X 2) (1 X 3) 5 2 3 . The witches (MacBeth) disappear, so (4 X 2) (1 X 3) 5 2 (3 is removed). The other lines mean nothing, so the answer is 8 3 5 2.

Scary Shopping Center

Enter. You'll meet a spooky Tanya Harding-esque ghost. Her name is Claudia. She tells you something about Paradise and the Hand of God and your head will be messed with. Anyway, once this cut scene is over head South checking out doors and the such. Looking at your map, go to the SW and enter the Elevator.

A RADIO will drop. The radio starts making static when there are monsters around. Therefore, pay attention to the radio and when you hear static, be ready.

Exit the elevator. Scary cut scene. You are now on the 1st Floor in the SW area of the map.

There are some splithead dogs around. This is a good time to use some BEEF JERKY. Start exploring the hallway and checking doors. Head S and then W (along the South Hallway) and go into the door infront of you (It's a westernmost room). This is a SAVE ROOM. There is also some HEALTH in here.

Exit out of the SAVE ROOM and go North and through the double doors at the end of the hallway.

You are now back in the Western area of the map. In the hallway are some huge-armed monster guys. Just avoid them. Go into the NW section of the map and go North up the hallway and go into the room to the West (left) of the Girl's Bathroom. You will get some HEALTH and AMMO. On the wall, notice the "Warning" sign. Use "X" to read it and then turn off the lights using the switch next to the "Warning" sign. What's that? You will see a FLASHLIGHT beaming at you. Go over and grab it. Exit out.

Now, go into the Girl's Bathroom and you'll find some BLEACH. Grab it.

Go East down the hall and you'll come to a half-lowered door. Hit "X" to crawl under it. You are now in the North central area of the map.

Heading South go into the shop on your right with the half-lowered gate in front. It's a kind a clothing store. You will see a HANGER. Grab it. (if you can't grab it it's because you don't have the flashlight yet). Exit out of the room.

We now have to backtrack to the central main hallway that runs E and W. Go all the way to the West (near the "To Subway") and go into the North room. In here you will find a ladder that is halfway down. You can't reach it. That's what the HANGER is for. "Use" the HANGER when you get the ladder view from above. This will drop the ladder for you. Climb up.

We are now on the 2nd Floor West side. There are some escalators around.

Check out the static TV in the display window. Nothing much really. Go into the room to the left of the TV screen. There are some manequins in here and some half monster things. Avoid the monsters. There is some AMMO and HEALTH in here. Go through the next door in this room and you'll be in a hallway. Go South exploring the various doors.

There will be a locked door to the East and further South, across from the elevator, is a room you can go in. It's an old jewelry store. Grab the WALNUT. Examine the walnut and you'll hear something rattling inside. We need something to open it up with. Go through the double door. You are now in the Western hallway again. On the right is a TV screen with a red magic symbol. SAVE.

It's escalator time. Go up. You are now on the 3rd Floor.

Go through the first door on your right. It's a restaurant. There is a BBQ dog platter. Search it to find the COOKED KEY. There is also some HEALTH in the restaurant. Exit out.

To the East is a door with a Red Crescent symbol on it. It is locked. There's a riddle. We can't go through yet.

Explore the North hallway. Go into the Girl's Bathroom. There's nothing here. Odd.

Head back to the escalator and down. You are back on the second floor. Head back through the mannequin room to the hall and use your COOKED KEY on the eastern most locked door. Inside, pick up HEALTH and the STEEL PIPE by the steaming section of wall. The STEEL PIPE is a weapon. Exit out through the double doors.

You are now in the central area of the mall. Head east and pass through the double doors. Go into the back room and pick up the DETERGENT. Exit through the back door. You are now in the southern section of your map. Work your way south and go into the unlocked door by the fan. Move forward. You will encounter a swarm of moths. Try combining your BLEACH and DETERGENT at this point. You will be told this is pointless as the fans are working as a vent. OK. Good to know. Exit out and hit the switch next to the fan in this hall. Go back through the door and the fans are all off now. Now, combine the BLEACH and DETERGENT. You will get a cutscene. You're back in the outside hall. Turn the fan back on and go back into the moth hallway. The moths are all dead. Nice work.

We are now in the SE section of the second floor. Work your way around the southern hallway, checking out doors as you go. The door to the north of the stairwell is open. Inside there is AMMO and BEEF JERKY. Exit out and head north. Head east, then through the North door. Inside is a huge armed monster (aka an inside out Gumby). Beat him with your STEEL PIPE, or simply avoid him, and exit out the other door. You are now on the central east side of the map.

Hear that? That's not a good noise. Look around and you will find a super scary bladed monster coming at you. There are also some Splitface Dogs here. If you want to fight here, you can. We opted not to waste any AMMO or HEALTH and simply ran by and went through the unlocked north door. This is a Save Room. This is a Sports Shop...I guess. Approach the table and examine it. On the table is a Vice. Place your WALNUT in the vice and crack her open. Inside is a jewel. It is the MOONSTONE. Hmmm. A MOONstone. Remember that Crescent Door up on the third floor? It's time to head back there. Exit out and head out the west door. You're now back in the central area. Go back through the room where you acquired the STEEL PIPE (look out for monsters), work your way back the the escalators, go up and Use the MOONSTONE on the door. This unlocks the Crescent Door. Pass through.

You are now in the central area of the third floor. Run around and you'll notice a small walkway leading to the center. It leads to a ladder. Climb down the ladder. There will be a cutscene of you climbing down, then the ladder breaking. You're controller will begin to vibrate. Something is sneaking up on you. Feel that...uh oh, it's our first boss: Super Flappy Head Worm Man!!! SFHWM will emerge from any one of the six openings in the room. Really, he's easy enough to kill. When his Flappy Head is spread open, shoot the exposed mouth area. We're guessing it took 16 - 20 direct hits to his exposed head to kill him. Nice work.

After killing SFHWM, you will get a cutscene of a happy mall. If you look at your map you'll notice your markings from earlier are back. Interesting. Move under the half lowered metal door to the west. Head west and into the door at the very end, to the right. This was the room where the ladder was in scary mall world. Inside, collect the BEEF JERKY, AMMO, and HEALTH. There's also a Save in this room, which is now the Burger Shop. Exit out, then move through the double doors at the end of the hall, to the Subway. You'll get a cutscene. Mr. Detective Pants is back again. He wants to know what happened. Heather will remember something. And, of course, make the brilliant decision to take the Subway home...by herself. Now that you have the basics down, let's start playing the game.