~B
Superman: Shadow of Apokolips
F.A.Q./Walkthrough ver. 2.1
by japsyborg (psyborg@hotmail.com)
"Superman: Shadow of Apokolips"
For play on the Playstation 2 console by Sony
Produced by Infogrames
SECTIONS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. CONTROLS
A. ON-GROUND CONTROLS
B. FLIGHT CONTROLS
C. METERS/INFO
a. HEALTH
b. SUPERPOWERS
c. SUPER-HEARING
d. OBJECTIVES
D. MENUS
a. NEW GAME
b. LOAD GAME
c. SAVE GAME
d. OPTIONS
d1. DISPLAY SETUP
d2. AUDIO SETTINGS
d3. CHEAT OPTIONS
d4. VIBRATION
d5. SAVE OPTIONS
d6. LOAD OPTIONS
e. SPECIAL FEATURES
E. WALKTHROUGH
a. A DAY IN THE LIFE
b. OFFICER DOWN
c. FLOOD DAMAGE
d. INFILTRATION
e. INCURSION!
f. LIBERATION
g. STEEL FACTORY SHOWDOWN
h. MOUNTAIN STRIKE!
i. REACTOR MELTDOWN!
j. UPRISING!
k. GUILTY AS CHARGED
l. DUEL IN METROPOLIS
m. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
n. FACE OFF
F. REVISION HISTORY
G. LEGAL STUFF
1. INTRODUCTION
Hi, everyone. This being my first attempt at a F.A.Q. (a confession, not an
excuse), please forgive any problems you see initially, and if you have any
comments or suggestions, please feel free to e-mail me at psyborg@hotmail.com.
However, since it is a hotmail address, don't be surprised if your mail is
returned because my inbox is full.
Superman: Shadow of Apokolips (SSOA) is a newly-released third-person adventure
game, initially released for the Playstation 2 game system. This may seem
obvious, but the game puts you in Superman's shoes...er, boots, and gives you a
chance to help the Man of Steel battle several of his longtime villains,
including Metallo, Livewire, and Lex Luthor, all of whom are working, either
directly or indirectly, for Darkseid, the most evil being in the galaxy, or
something like that. The game is based on the popular cartoon series,
"Superman: The Animated Series" by Warner Bros. so there isn't anything
terrifyingly graphic or violent, though, naturally, combat is a part of it. If
you want a full review, check with the fun-loving folks at IGN.com. I may
include a review at the end of this F.A.Q. at some point in the future, but for
now, suffice it to say, it's worth a rent, at least. Parents who are trying to
avoid bloody games, like Resident Evil, slugfests like Mortal Kombat, and
generally bad things to show young children, like the Grand Theft Auto series,
may find this to be a good blend. The violence is all cartoon violence, there
is no blood, the object is to rescue, not kill, people, and you get to be
Superman on top of that. What more could you want, unless you have a daughter
who is more interested in Mary-Kate and Ashley?
2. CONTROLS
I found the controls to be reasonable, but I have heard a number of complaints
that they make your fingers play Twister, or something very similar to that. I
think the only complicated part is locking on to enemies, because you do it by
holding the L1 or R1 button, which by itself is no problem, but then you have
to move and fight at the same time. It eventually gets confusing...but not
very, so don't worry about it. The controls are as follows:
***In both types below, you can hit the Start button, which pauses your game,
but more importantly, shows you what your current objective is.
A. ON-GROUND
Left Analog Stick/Control Pad- Walk/Run *The further you move the control, the
faster Supes moves.
Right Analog Stick- Down, Left, and Right allows you to dodge in those
directions (based on the way Superman is facing, not the screen.) Up allows you
to "hover" as the instruction book calls it; I call it "flying straight up."
When in 1st person (L2), the right stick controls your telescopic vision.
X- Punch, Lift, Hold to set down gently, Double Tap to throw.
[]- Superspeed Dodge.
Triangle- Heat Vision, Double Tap for Heat Blast.
O- Super Breath, In 1st person, it turns on X-Ray Vision *Remember X-rays can't
penetrate lead, therefore X-Ray Vision doesn't allow you to see through lead.
L1/R1- Lock on to enemy *Without lock on, you auto target the closest
targetable object, as is illustrated by the little insignia shaped thingy.
L2- Tap it to center the camera behind you. Hold down for 1st person view *You
can use the left stick or control pad to look around, and you can use Heat and
X-Ray Visions, but no moving, punching, or burping is allowed. You're Superman;
don't burp anyway!
R2- This allows you to fly. Check the flight controls below for more
information. Double Tap to land.
X + []- Hold these two down for an extra-special move. On the ground, you spin
really fast, which throws off a bunch of enemies if you're surrounded. It could
probably also drill into the ground in some places; I'll have to get back to
you on that.
B. FLIGHT
Left Analog Stick/Control Pad- Up to descend, down to ascend, left and right to
bank in those directions.
Right Analog Stick- Up performs a loop. Down reverses direction. Left/Right
performs a roll in that direction. Looks pretty but is actually useless.
X- Same as above.
[]- Superspeed dodge.
Triangle- Heat, same as above.
O- Super Breath.
L1/R1- Same as above.
L2- Same as above.
R2- Flys you forward at a modest clip. If you're in no particular hurry, it's
fun just flying around like this. Douple Tap to land.
X + []- If you hold these until you hit the ground, you'll slam into it, and
knock down nearby enemies. It looks cool, but I haven't found it particularly
useful yet. It is better than spinning though, because it actually deals some
damage.
R2 + X + []- "Bullet Speed" a.k.a. flying really fast. You lose a lot of
maneuverability, but if you hit something, they are going to wake up with a
heck of a headache.
If you're unsure of the controls, just start the darn game, Beavis. The first
two whole levels are tutorials and go over this anyway!
C. METERS/INFO
Near the top corner, you see Superman's face with two little bars. These are
meters, Sparky, and they give you helpful information, like how close to dead
you really are.
a. HEALTH
The red one (on top, for you color-blinded people) is your health, and like so
many games before, it represents...gasp! Your health! It diminishes every time
you get hurt, and if it goes away, so does Superman, so don't let it, okay?
b. SUPERPOWERS
The yellow one underneath the Health bar is your Superpower meter. Every time
you use a superpower, like Heat Vision and Super Breath, it drains.
Fortunately, flight is apparently not a superpower, because it doesn't drain
your meter. This means you are free to let you spirits soar to your hearts
content!
For those of you who don't know, Superman draws his powers from the sun, which
means that if you hang around awhile and rest, both of the above meters
recharge. I don't know why they recharge when you're inside a building, but
it's a game, people. Be happy it recharges at all.
c. SUPER-HEARING (RADAR)
Now, if you look near the bottom corner, you see a circle, and it may have some
red, yellow, or green things in it. Infogrames actually calls that
Super-Hearing! Yeah, yeah, blah blah blah! Super-Hearing, my butt! It's a
RADAR! The top portion of the circle is what is in front of you, and the dots
of various color are people and things that you can "hear," even if they are
completely silent. Red dots are enemies, yellow dots are crates, boxes, and all
those other goodies, and the green dots are civilians, usually in trouble. If
these things are squarish-looking, they are on a level with your line of sight.
If they are an arrow pointing up or down, they are above or below you,
respectively.
d. OBJECTIVES
I want to reiterate here that if you press the Start button at any time during
play, the game pauses and you see a list of objectives. This is important. I
know some of you don't think this should be in there, because Superman wouldn't
need to check back and figure out what to do, but face it, Dude. You're not
Superman. If you were, you would have more important things to do than to play
a video game, even if it is about you. And if you ARE Superman, where the hell
were you on September 11, 2001, huh? (I had to plug that. Don't blame me. I
just had to.) Since you aren't Superman, you may eventually have to admit to
yourself that you've forgotten what's next on your "To-do" list. Press the
Start button, and don't tell anyone. If you still don't want to admit it to
yourself, turn off your PS2, unplug it, and sleep it off.
D. MENUS
I'm somewhat surprised that I even need to include something like this here. If
you don't know what happens when you select "New Game" or "Load Game," you
don't deserve to own a Playstation 2, let alone this game. In any case, the
menu options are pretty straightforward.
a. START NEW GAME
When you select this, a new game begins, Einstein! It goes first to the opening
movie, and then you get to start playing. Yippie skip.
b. CONTINUE GAME
Selecting this, takes you to a load screen. From here, you can do various
things, like load saved games or load saved games. Wow!
c. LEVEL ATTACK
This option lets you play any level you've already completed.
d. OPTIONS
This brings up the Options menu. I'm supposed to launch into an in-depth look
at what each item does. Well, for now, screw it. I said it before and I'll say
it again: if you really don't understand this part, turn off the game, go
outside, and try a game of dodgeball, you moron. Then you don't have to worry
about anything as complex as Options. If the ball hits you, you're out. Okay,
okay, options are as follows:
d1. DISPLAY SETUP
This allows you to move your screen around. Why would you do this? I've never
had to personally, so it may be that you need your eyes checked.
d2. AUDIO SETTINGS
Basically, this lets you adjust the volume to favor music, voices, or effects.
I keep them at the default level, because I don't need to be bothered with this
crap.
d3. CHEAT OPTIONS
You use this to cheat. I don't know why they put this in the options menu. It
doesn't even feel like cheating if they put a screen like this in there. If you
know anything about Superman, you shouldn't have any trouble figuring out what
to enter to get unlimited health or powers, or whatever. I guessed and found
four in a row. I don't like using cheats, but if you want them, I'm sure you
won't have any trouble figuring them out or looking on a website like this one,
once they get my e-mail.
d4. VIBRATION
This toggles the vibration in your controller on and off, Brainchild.
d5. SAVE OPTIONS
Why am I even bothering to write about this?
d6. LOAD OPTIONS
See d5.
e. SPECIAL FEATURES
As you progress through the game, these features will be unlocked. The first
time you play, the only options in here are credits, loading pictures(and you
only have one), and character descriptions of Superman/Clark Kent, Lois Lane,
Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White. I sincerely hope you know who they all are. If
not, see what I wrote above in the Options section. Later on, you can see
pictures, more character profiles, and a movie viewer showing you the movies
you've already seen.
E. WALKTHROUGH
You've started a new game, and you saw the introductory movie. Good job,
Spunky! You were born to play this game!
a. A DAY IN THE LIFE
Now you can see Supes standing on top of the Daily Planet building. As the
tutorial says, you can now practice moving around. I highly recommend it if
this is your first time playing. If it isn't, why are you reading this F.A.Q.
anyway? Just fool around for now, and get into it. Also, if you look at your Super-Hearing circle, you'll notice little dots are starting to
appear around it. That's a timer, and you'll want to know to keep an eye out
for it. After you're done with this part, any time you see that timer, that's
the time to be panicking and rushing your little tushie off, because if the
dots finish their circle and you're not done, you have failed, and you get to
try again! Personally, I would have not timed this little practice session. I
would have just made a line of text, saying, "Push START to continue," but I
guess that doesn't make any difference.
When the timer runs out, you see a short cut-scene. Apparently, some dickhead
decided to park his helicopter in the street for a second, and now there's a
truck hanging off the road. *Note: Just like in the cartoon, Metropolis City
Planners apparently think roads are safer a few hundred feet off the ground, so
if you're about to ask why the roads are up there, complain to them.
Anyway, see that yellow thingy in your Super-Hearing, er, I'm just going to
call it radar, okay? Well, fly toward that yellow dot, going above or around
buildings as needs be, until you see the truck. Now, I tried to get under the
truck to lift it by flying straight up. That DOES NOT work. Superman gots to
have leverage, Homey. Land next to the truck and press the X button. Now, a
little blue fart cloud shows up a little ways away. Put the truck there, as
punishment for driving off the road. By the way, those blue clouds show up
whenever you have civilians to rescue, so be on the lookout for them.
Now, that truck is safe, but the other one that overturned has caught fire. Get
over to it and blast it with your superbreath. Don't worry about your meters
yet; they haven't appeared so just pour it on. You may need to move around to
be in the right position; I had to be right in front of the bottom of the cab
for it to work.
Anyway, once the fire is out, it's time to finish off the helicopter. This may
get annoying after a couple of fly-bys but you'll get it eventually. You have
to fly into the helicopter at bullet speed until the helicopter meter runs out,
so fly around until you've got the copter in your sights, then pour on the
juice, making minor course corrections, and slam into it with all your might.
It also helps to lock onto it. If it turns toward you at all, so the blades are
in your way, try to stop before you hit them. They won't really hurt you, but
they will knock you backward, and you've got to do some button mashing on the X
if you don't want to slam into a building. Since your meters don't show up yet,
I'm pretty sure you're invulnerable, but you'll want the practice for later
when you need it. When the helicopter meter runs out, the pilot will land the
sucker and bail. He just stands there and lets you grab him, so after the popup
tutorial is gone, pick him up, and take him to his personal fart cloud in front
of the police station. That done, you've finished the first level.
b. OFFICER DOWN
Alright, you've made it to your first REAL level, NOT! It's another tutorial,
but this one teaches you all about combat. Just read the little popups that
tell you what you're supposed to do, and do it. First, you just punch the two
robots senseless, then two more show up which you use a "Super Punch" on.
Whatever. When I'm surrounded by bad guys, I don't take the time to lift one up
so I can punch him into last week. I just punch him, and that works fine.
You'll also learn various tricks like lifting boxes and throwing them, spinning
around to clear away a bunch of enemies when you're surrounded, "Super Slam"
which I find very useful, and grabbing a lead pipe to use as a bat.
Eventually, you'll see that the robots are using some Star Trek-looking device
to transport crates. The tutorial talks about X-ray vision, and you're supposed
to find them. I had a little trouble finding them at first, because I didn't
feel like walking around. Basically, watch the radar, and when the yellow thing
shows up, move toward it. When it's directly in front of you, then you can use
your X-ray vision to reveal that the robots are behind a wall. The wall,
however, appears to be made from shaving cream, because it crumbles down with a
couple of hits. I like using "Bullet Speed" on it, because at least that looks
good.
Okay, you destroy the robots and the weird device, which sinks INTO (not onto)
the floor! I don't know why; I don't want to know. Just continue pummeling
robots as you see them. You'll have to locate another paper wall with your
X-ray vision, and eventually, when you've defeated all of the robots in the
area, you finish the level. By the way, if you look at your objectives, at one
point it says you're supposed to pursue the Robot Leader. I don't know what
they're talking about; all the robots seemed the same to me.
c. FLOOD DAMAGE
After the movies, you'll be near the dam, and a bunch of civilians are running
around in a blind panic. There's also a bunch of robots there. Someone tells
you about the medical center, and you'll see it with the big blue cloud on the
roof. Supposedly, you have to work quickly to save everyone, but I didn't
notice a timer, so I took the time to fly around and look at everything. This
is one of my favorite levels so far, just because it's pretty to look at.
Basically, during the first part, you need to rescue all of those civilians by
taking them to the medical center. They will also run there on there own if
they can, but some of them are cut off, so to help those poor souls, you can
lift a billboard and use it as a bridge. A note appears telling you when you
can lift the billboard and when you can place it. There are also some people
locked inside little garage type buildings. Find them by x-raying, or use your
radar, and open the garage by punching, slamming, or whatever you want. I found
it a lot faster to lift the people up one at a time and fly them myself to the
medical center.
When those folks are safe, the three generators are shot down. (Actually, they
aren't damaged; they just disappear...) Remember what I said about rushing your
little tushie off if you see the timer? I was talking about now! If you're
quick, you'll barely have enough time, so rush this. During the cutscene, you
can see the three garages that have spare generators in them; two on one wall,
and one on the other. I go for the lone one first, as it is in perfect position
relative to the medical center, where I started. Forget about the guns; you
don't have time. Bullet speed toward the garage door and bring it down. As soon
as you're back on your feet, fly into the garage. Now destroy all of the robots
in the room, and do it as fast as possible. When they are ALL destroyed (and
not before), the civilian will come to his senses and run over to the console
to shut off the convenient force field surrounding the generator. Be next to
the generator before he does, lift it, and fly out of the garage. As soon as
the screen comes back, fly as straight as possible to one of the generator
spots in front of the dam. I always go for the furthest one first, but I don't
think it makes any difference. Land in front of it, and hold the X button to
place the generator. The lights on the platform will turn green if you are
successful. Now, if I had made that dam, I would have allowed it to run with
only one generator, but these guys apparantly don't allow for the possibility
of a breakdown, because all three have to be replaced before the timer runs
out, so back you go. Pick any of the other two doors, bullet speed, and repeat
as above. It's difficult, but it is possible to get all three in place if you
hurry. Also keep an eye out for pipes you can use in the garage for a bat, it
shaves a little bit of time off when you can destroy robots with one hit.
When you have replaced the generators, you can breathe a little easier, because
the hardest part is over, but don't rest too much, because the cable car is in
danger, and you don't have too much time to get to it either. Just fly to it at
bullet speed and you'll make it in time. Lift it up and fly it to the platform
which will be shown to you when you pick up the car.
After you set it down, your final objective for this level begins. There are
three pins in the dam. You have to fly to each one, and mash the X button as
fast as possible until Supes manages to push it all the way in, and weld it
down with his heat vision. I hate button mashing sequences. Especially when you
can only mash one button. It would be better if you could use two buttons, like
press the X and O buttons as fast as possible. With one button, it's too
difficult and the older I get, the harder it gets to pass those levels. Anyway,
just fly to each pin, mash the X button until Superman heat visions it, then
fly to the next one. When all three are done (before the timer runs out), this
level is in the bag.
d. INFILTRATION
This level has some stuff I like and some stuff I don't like. I always liked
the Metal Gear series because of the stealth, but I don't like it when screwing
up and getting spotted automatically fails. In Metal Gear, if the enemy sees
you, you may still sneak away, or knock out the one enemy before his friends
show up, but in games that only have a level or two of stealth, messing up
usually fails you. At least, that's what happened in Syphon Filter. And that's
what happens here. If you get spotted, you get to wait for the voice to call
for help, then wait for the alarm to finish, then wait for the Game Over
screen, and then wait for the entire level to load up before you can try again.
On the positive side, though, each time you enter a room, you can start there
if you mess up; you don't have to go to the beginning of the level.
So, Clark is now in Lexlabs, and he wants to stay hidden. You can't fly in this
level, but you can use SOME of your powers, if you are sneaky. When you first
gain control, use your telescopic vision (Hold L2 to enter first person, and
push up on the right stick). See that surveillance camera near the door. Fry it
with your heat vision. When you see smoke pouring out of it, you're good to go,
Sparky! Run into the door.
For the rest of this level, the pattern is pretty much the same; sneak past
scientists, do some weird room, then sneak past more scientists, then do
another weird room, etc. Just run behind the scientists' backs so they don't
see you. In this first room, run behind that big square-shaped computer thing,
and look past it. There is another surveillance camera for you to fry, but this
one takes a little more sneak and a little more moxy. Just move to the edge of
the big square computer thing until you can see the camera in 1st person. If
you go too far, and the camera sees you, you have to wait and start over. If
you're quick, you can do it when the camera is pointed away. Once the camera is
gone, look at the wall to the immediate right of that hallway with lasers in
it. There is a small control panel there. You can punch it or use your heat
vision. Either way, the effect is that the lasers start blinking on and off.
You can now head throught that hallway.
Getting hit by the lasers saps a fair amount of your health, but one thing I've
found to be useful is to stand in front of the lasers and turn so I'm facing
the wall. Then, I use the quick-dodge to move past it. Once you're past the
hallway, get your arm ready for another damned button-mashing sequence.
You enter a room with an industrial wind machine, which naturally starts as
soon as you enter. You have to mash the X button until you are at the stairs in
front of the fan. You'll know when you're done, because Clark runs down the
stairs automatically. Unfortunately, I can't help you much here. This is a
pretty long button-mashing sequence, so if you're not physically fit, you could
be crying by the time it's over.
Next room has some more scientists. Just look around, and you'll be able to see
which way to heat so you don't get spotted. The control panel is near the
hallway enrance again, but hight this time. Now you're in a room filled with
large mines. Don't let them touch you. It seems obvious that you need to use
you Super Breath, and that's about it. I can't help you here either. Just blow
in short bursts, see where the mines are, and blow again. Try to clear a path
to the door. Don't blow to long or one might hit a wall and rebound toward you.
The next room is another scientist room. In this room, I waited until the
closest scientist walked to the next computer. Then, I ran past the first
computer on the right and hid in the space between the two computers. Then,
when it was clear, I ran on the left side of the rest of the computers, but I
had to stop and let the last scientist get around the back of the computer
before I moved all the way up. If you don't understand me, just watch all of
the scientists' movements. This time, the control panel for the lasers is on
the left. Also, before you start going through the lasers, use your telescopic
vision and fry the camera above the door.
Finally, an easy room. There is a gas leak, as you can see. Three of the gases
are yellow (bad) and one is blue (not bad). If you look at the machine near the
blue gas, you can see a battery or generator or something that the other three
don't have. There are three in those crates that were to your right when you
first entered. Use your X-ray vision first, because there are mines in the
other crates. Pick up each cylinder, or whatever, and put them in the machines.
This is timed, but it's not difficult. When the gas leak is stopped, this level
is over.
e. INCURSION!
Okay, you're back in your Blue 'n reds! Time to kick some robot butt. The first
thing you'll want to do is just that. You might want to track down the one with
the big ol' machine gun thing. He's the robot leader apparently, and when you
wipe him out, he retreats and disappears. Now, you can finish off the rest of
the robots pretty easily. When all of those dudes are gone, the self-destruct
sequence is initiated...naturally.
This next part is a little more difficult, just because you're fighting two
battles at once. There are eight scientists, and if any of them are kidnapped,
you fail. At the same time, you'll start seeing robots with jetpacks and rocket
launchers, which take a chunk out of you health. The scientists are in pairs of
two. Make them your top priority. There will be one robot approaching the ones
right in front and above you. Destroy it quickly. Now begin eradicating the
robots on this catwalk, but my advice is that you get rid of any jetpack robots
first, as they pose the greatest danger. In a few minutes, two more scientists
will be in danger, so, again, get whichever robot is next to them immediately.
If you're quick enough, you can clear each catwalk before the next two
scientists are threatened.
Now six tanks show up. They're pretty formidable, but they're not too tough.
Try to fly behind them, and lift them. It's also fun to throw them into the
other tanks. You have to destroy them all, so just try not to be directly in
front of the cannons on top.
The clock is ticking now, buddy! Feel that adrenaline? Follow the flashing
yellow signal on your radar, and go through the door. In this area, go to
either side. Either way, the doors will start opening. Destroy the robots, and
another door will open. Then another, etc. Beware; some doors contain tanks.
Keep an eye on the radar, and when you see a big, flashing yellow dot, head to
it. There is a control panel. Destroy it, and the lasers guarding the switch
will disappear. Ignore the rest of the robots; just push the switch and head to
the other side to repeat it. When you've pushed both switches, the "key" will
appear. It's a big glowing ball...wtf??!?!?! Anyway, grab it, and head back out
the door into the main area. Now drop the key, and destroy all robot enemies as
fast as possible. When they're all destroyed, the force field surrounding the
keyhole will shut off. Grab the ball and put it in, Supes! And hurry. By now,
you probably don't have much time!
Alright! You've stopped the destruct. Now those robot jerks have blown some gas
pipes, so you're still timed. This part took me a freakin' half hour to figure
out what to do. The pipes are easy. See those spare pipes lying around. Grab
one, take it to a broken pipe, and replace it. There are four broken pipes. No
problem; just keep an eye out for the stupid jetpack robots. What I had trouble
with was the fans. I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do with them.
Well, see that white thing on the fan? I thought it was supposed to be there.
It's not. Hover over it, and slam down onto it. There are two fans, and if you
get those first, you're timer will slow down. Then you can go after the gas
pipes. Congratulations are in order! This level is over!
f. LIBERATION!
Quick! Lois is in danger. Actually, you can take your time. I didn't see any
harm in torturing some of those robots. Just keep an eye out for the two
jetpack robots. Also, the robot leader seems to be back. Next you'll go
automatically into the next room. First rescue the scientists by destroying all
the robots near them. There are several tanks, so be quick, be cunning, and be
strong. Use your bullet speed and Super Slam well.
Now, the shield generators are under attack. They have three tanks attacking
them, each. What works best for me is to grab them one by one and chuck off the
wall. That won't destroy them, but they won't be able to take any more pot
shots at the shields. If you do lose some, there are extras in the warehouses.
Follow the radar if you can't find them.
Finally, it's time to rescue the guard tower. Go to the tower and destroy the
flying tank things or whatever they are. As I approached them, I gave a couple
of Heat Blasts to weaken them; then I followed them up with a bunch of punches.
The tanks are more interested in the tower, but there are a couple of
footsoldiers attacking you, so don't relax just yet. When you've finished
wiping the floor with those robots and tanks, the robot leader calls for a
retreat, and you get to go to the next level.
g. STEEL FACTORY SHOWDOWN
This level is pretty straightforward. Not easy, but straightforward. Destroy
all robots and tanks. When they're destroyed, the robot leader shows up for a
boss fight. If you want to go after the other robots you can, but focus on the
leader. My advise is to keep moving. The other robots, especially the ones with
rocket launchers and the ones with white plasma guns, can really hurt you, but
the leader is the only one who really makes any difference. If you can keep
moving enough, the other robots may miss you, and the only one to worry about
is the leader. If you have any better suggestions, or if you find a better way
to do it, please let me know(psyborg@hotmail.com), and I'll add it onto the
F.A.Q. When his meter is depleted, he transports to another area, and comes
back for more with another meter! Do it again. Now he transports to the
smelting pot on the other side of the factory. Bullet speed over there, get him
in your target and heat blast him into the pot. If you take too long, you have
to defeat him TWICE again! So move it, pal! When he's in the pot, the level is
over.
h. MOUNTAIN STRIKE!
Wow! What a great movie! So, now that the level has started, Chicken-boy won't
say a word until he's safe, so you've got to deal with it. To complete your
first objective, you have to destroy the four gun turrets, and block the three
holes in the wall where lava is gushing in. There are also Inter-bots here.
Fortunately, you don't appear to be timed, so you can have fun. I dealt with
the lava last, as that doesn't pose an immediate threat. If you use heat vision
on the turrets, they'll start sparking and be inoperative for a while, so you
can deal with them at your leisure. Just don't stand there and let the other
guns blast you. As for the Inter-bots, I dusted them for fun, mostly because I
enjoyed using my Super Breath to blow them off the bridge and into the lava!
Once the guns and robots are history, find three boulders and place them into
the holes in the wall.
Now you have to use coolant barrels to stop the eruptions. First deal with the
new set of Interbots. Blow them into the lava again; I even got a nice
mini-cutscene of the last on sinking into the lava! Yay! There are also some
bots hiding among the coolant barrels, so be careful of them. Anyway, grab a
barrel, go to one of those little mini-volcanoes and lock onto it. Wait until
it finishes erupting, then throw the barrel in. You have to do it with all
three of the mini-volcanoes. You know you're successful when the text tells you
so.
Now you're heading to the center of the mountain. If you want to make defeating
the Interbots easier, use your powers. blow the mines toward the bots and use a
short burst of heat vision on them. Slam the ground around them, or maneuver
them over those fiery grilles on the floor. There are also several bats
available. There is also a control panel to destroy on the right wall. That
will take down another laser hallway. One last thing, when you're going postal
on those robots, keep an eye on them. When some of them are destroyed, they
start glowing red. That means they're about to self-destruct, and that takes a
nice chunk out of your health, so don't be dancing an Irish jig with them.
Next room, you have to deactivate all five laser grids. First things first.
Deal with all bots, tanks, etc. Basically all enemies. For the tanks, if you
put them in that huge gout of fire, that does a pretty good deal of damage.
There are some bats to use, too. Again, the best way to deal with them is to
keep moving. When you destroy all of them, a door opens with some more
Interbots and a control panel for a grid. Destroy them all, including the
panel, and another door opens, and another. The fifth panel is next to a laser
hallway, so get that one and go down the hall. If you've gotten all five
panels, the lasers will all be blinking on and off.
Once you're throught that hallway, you have to release the scientists.
Obviously, it's not going to help things if the scientists are all killed, so
get all of the enemies and turrets first, before you start going off, opening
the doors. There are bots inside with the scientists, so be aware.
Now, the scientists are going to start that portal thingy, but more of those
darn Interbots show up. THIS time, you want the timer to run out; that's how
long until the scientists get the portal open. To protect them, I found the
most effective attack was the Super Slam in the midst of all the robots
attacking a particular scientist. Keep moving, and use your radar. If you slam
the bridge while the robots are still running on it, it will usually knock them
into the lava. If, at any time, you find there are no more robots, go toward
the center, so wherever they show up, they won't be too far away. And move
quickly. When the timer runs out the portal is opened. It's not just a portal
into the center of teh mountain; it also leads into the next level!
i. REACTOR MELTDOWN!
Oh, great. Another one of those times when you just want to say, "Good job! Way
to plan ahead, everyone!" That reactor is going critical, and you have to
replace FOUR coolant crates before it blows its top. You don't have much time;
only in the neighborhood of five minutes, so move your cape! There are four
doors in the room, labelled one through four. Go into each one, fly quickly
past all of the obstacles, keeping an eye out for Interbots. If you feel the
urge to, you can destroy them, but make it quick. Try to dodge those flames,
too. When you get to the room at the end, filled with those silver crates, grab
one, and fly back out to the reactor in the starting area. On the way, it is
now very important to avoid the fire as much as possible, or the coolant will
explode and you've got to go back and get another one. When you get to the
reactor, find an open slot (use your radar if you need) and place the coolant
there. The door to the hallway you were in closes, so pick the next hallway.
Get all four in the reactor before the timer runs out. And don't be upset if it
takes you a couple of tries. I usually finish it with less than ten seconds.
Kanto's tank is tough. I'm not even sure how to help you right now. Just take
out his Interbots first, because they're a pain. Keep moving so he has a hard
time hitting you, and remember his missiles track you. The crates contain
mines, which you can blow at him. Also, if you can get directly behind him, he
has a hard time hitting you. Also, a good bullet speed into the tank is always
a good thing. Whew, I'm glad that's over!
j. UPRISING!
Ah! Stryker's Island. Home of the Escaped Convict. Start out by taking out the
Interbots. It's not part of your objectives, but trust me, you'll thank me, if
you don't lose too much health doing it. Now take out the convicts. They're
being human means one punch will knock them out. When they're all out cold, the
guards show up to put them back in custody.
Now the guards are in danger. What are these guys good for anyway? Go protect
them by taking out the Interbots closest to them first, then get the others,
including the tanks. Now escort the guards, and everytime bots show up, go
first to the ones closest to the guards, then get the rest. Soon, more convicts
come out to play, and it's time to play the police brutality game. Hit the
convicts, so they're dazed, then lift them up, lock onto one of the cells, and
tap the punch button to punch them into the cell. I wonder if anyone's
videotaping this...
More escorting. As always, deal with the direct threats first. Deal with
everything else after the closest ones to the guards are gone. Also, try to
keep the robots away from the guards, in general. More and more of them will
start self-destructing when destroyed. When all of them are destroyed, you've
finished the level.
k. GUILTY AS CHARGED
Bad news - Boss fight. Good news - She's a babe! Well, sort of. As "bright" as
Livewire can get, she's not very bright to fight in any room where there is
water easily accessible. During the first part of this fight, fly into the
center between all of the bridges. Now, look around for Livewire. When you spot
her, lock onto the nearest switch (those things sticking out of the water). Now
she'll take a couple of shots at you, so sidestep them, but hold onto that
lock. After the second shot, she usually run across the bridge toward you.
Immediately fry the switch with you heat vision, and she'll fall into the water
and lose some health. Repeat until her meter is out.
After you defeat her first meter, she recharges and the water pumps on the
ceiling turn on. It appears to me that you're supposed to avoid her charges and
blow her into the water jets, but I had a lot of trouble with this. I had
better locking onto her, and hitting her with heat blast so she fell. She
landed in the water at the bottom of the level and that worked fine. However,
if you have a better method, let me know and I'll put it in here (giving you
full credit, of course).
I guess having to recharge a second time really ticked her off, because it was
all I could do to fly around in circles avoiding her long enough to survey the
area. To finish her off, you have to really soak her, and the best way to do
that is to destroy the seven extinguisher interlocks, which are those glowing
red things at the top of the area. Get close to them, usually on one side or
the other, and hit it with a heat blast until you see extinguishant leaking
out. It usually takes to blasts to knock them loose. When they're all off, it's
lights out for Livewire.
l. DUEL IN METROPOLIS
Parasite? I never cared much for him. I always thought he was kind of a cheesy
character. Oh, well. His fight was easy for me, so I should at least be happy
about that. First of all, keep a constant eye on the truck. If it catches fire,
the timer will show up. Get over there and cool it off with your Super Breath.
Now, lock onto Parasite and bullet speed him a bunch of times. I just kept
doing that, and eventually, the level ended with a cutscene. Just make sure you
don't let him ram into you, and do lots of evasive maneuvers if he starts using
heat vision on you.
m. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Now you have to fight Metallo. Basically, this means that after playing through
the entire game, you get three boss fights in a row. I'll give those Infogrames
on thing: it's a different approach! Heat blasts and punches work well against
Metallo, but be careful. Sometimes, he'll ruch you with his Kryptonite attack.
If he hits you, you'll be dazed, and he'll give you a Super Punch, usually into
Lex's giant aquarium. Since you can't let Lex or Mercy come to harm, it would
probably be bad if the aquarium was to break completely, so try not to get hit.
When his meter is gone, you'll take the fight outside in the next level.
n. FACE OFF
There isn't a whole lot help to offer here. Use everything you can get your
hands on to finish off Metallo. There are a couple of big roller things you can
blow him into. Throw cars on him, hit him with bats, etc. Watch out for his
Kryptonite shots. When his meter runs out, there is a small cutscene, and he
loses what's left of his skin, but just continue plugging at him. Eventually,
when he's out again, he'll be placed at the end of a conveyer belt. Immediately
fly up and forward, until you auto lock onto the control panel, and zap it with
your heat vision. That's it. Game over, man! Game over!
F. REVISION HISTORY
1.1 - Written September 27, 2002 - This is my first attempt at writing an
F.A.Q. and I'm hoping I don't get blasted out of existence for my trouble.
Regardless, if you want to ask a question or have a comment or suggestion,
please send me an e-mail at psyborg@hotmail.com and write Superman: Shadow of
Apokolips, or SSOA in the the subject, so I know you're a real person, and not
some pornographic computer trying my patience.
1.2 - Written September 28, 2002 - Added walkthrough for levels 4 - 8.
2.1 - Written September 28, 2002 - Finished walkthrough. I may add an enemies
section, or something, but I'm not sure if it's necessary.
G. LEGAL STUFF
I hope I don't leave anything necessary out of this. Let's see. Superman and
all related characters and locations are the property of DC Comics, which I
BELIEVE are property of Warner Communications. In any case, they are not my
property. All of the game stuff is the property of Infogrames, and whoever owns
them, if anyone, so it's not mine either. This F.A.Q. IS my property, and if
you want to use it (in part or full), I want you to get my permission first. I
also don't want you linking to it, without my permission. Whether I give
permission or not, you are not allowed to reword any of it, nor are you allowed
to take it and say you wrote it. I doubt most people are as cynical as me,
anyway. Few people are as proud of their cynicism as I am. You are also not
allowed to sell this guide, because someone said so. So don't take, don't pass,
don't sell, and don't piss me off. Thanks.
