THE COMPLETE GUIDE FOR MASTERING ALIEN BREED 3D II
© Dan Saedén 1997-2001
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Author: Dan Saedén (dan@saeden.cjb.net)
Date: 1997 (Updated April 2001)
Version: 1.1
Distribution: Freely as long as unchanged and free of charge.
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Game Data
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Title: Alien Breed 3D II - The Killing Grounds
Developers: Team 17 (www.team17.com) / Ocean (www.ocean.co.uk/)
Platform: Amiga AGA (1200/4000/CD32)
Release Year: 1996
Type: First person shoot-em-up (Doom clone)
Difficulty: 5/5
My Rating: 4/5
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Introduction
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Alien Breed 3D II was a technological breakthrough on the Amiga computers.
The game showed us that the Amiga was indeed capable of real 3D games. But
it also gave us one of the most atmospherically games ever made, with a
creepy, well written story and good gameplay. It is also one of the most
difficult games ever created, which is also one of the biggest drawbacks.
This guide was written help players conquer the game. It contains general
tactics and information about all the weapons & enemies, plus a complete
walkthrough of all the stages! Note that lots of stuff in here may also be
helpful when playing the first Alien Breed 3D game.
Good Luck! (You'll need it...)
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Table of Contents
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1. General Tactics
2. The Weapons
3. The Enemies
4. Game Walkthrough
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1. General Tactics
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[Move A Lot]
The enemies will not be able to hit you if you run around the stage like a
lunatic! Hold down the run key (shift) as much as possible. It is important
that you master the "strafe" technique! Preferably use the "real" strafe
keys, i.e. "." and "/". You could also use the "force-strafe" technique
(right "Amiga"), but then you will have to keep up the finger work! Anyway,
the important thing is for you to take the corners, without loosing the
forward view, to always be prepared if an enemy should turn up and ruin you
day. It is possible if you use the "strafe" keys in the right way: e.g., to
take a 90° corner to the left in a small corridor. When turning press "left
arrow" and "/" at the same time, and you will slide around the corner like
never before! And the front-view was clear all the time! Remember: practice
makes perfect - don't give up!
[Configure the Controls]
You should setup the controls so that it fits you perfectly! I for example
don't like jumping with "0", so I use "/" instead, since I think you get
much better control in the air that way! Furthermore I use "Del" and "Help"
keys to look up or down! It is very personally how one likes the controls.
Experiment! The reward is perfect control over the game, and maximum
playability!
[Play From the Beginning]
If the ammo or energy should run out you can play a couple of stages behind
you again, or start from scratch again! Du will notice that you have gained
experience, and you will have fun when with ease playing stages you before
thought of as impossible. The result is more ammo and health on the later
stages!
[Learn By Heart]
You have to learn every stage by heart, where the enemies are hiding and how
many they are. One tip is to start every new stage with running and fooling
around as far as possible (i.e. until you die) the first times, to get a
picture of the stage before taking on the task of completing it. Make sure
you know were the "big and bad" enemies are, so that you don't get surprised
and loose control over the situation.
[The Map Is Useful]
Let the map be your eyes when you cannot see what's in front of you. The map
can also reveal secret rooms (ie walls that can be opened)! If you can't
find a way of opening such a room, it's probably not a bonus room, but a
room filled with horrible enemies that will open when you least expect it!
(never forget such a room!)
[Two Game Versions]
If you think the game is to hard on you, you can play the 2MB version! Ok,
it might not be quite as good looking as the 4MB, but it's easier; First of
all the cool lightning effects disappear and the floors turn into one color
and everything gets lighter. All this makes it easier to see what's in front
of you! The best thing though, is that the gray and the green robots are
exchanged with only one type of robot; the blue (and easy) robots! This will
make the game a lot easier! The red robots with the assault rifles are still
there though :( If you still can't complete a stage, then download AB3DII-Ed
from Aminet. With this you can edit your saved games, and for example give
yourself 10000(!) in health.
[Secure All Areas]
You have to make sure 100% that there are no enemies left behind! There is
nothing worse than a red rodent from behind when trying to fight a priest!
Avoid fighting against many enemies at once in a big open space. The best
thing is to fight one enemy in a small area where you are in full control
over the situation!
[Make Use Of Corners]
The enemies can't shoot you though walls! It may sound obvious, but it gives
us the best technique when slaughtering aliens: around corners! Use your
strafe-knowledge and take a peek around the corner, shoot and then get back
again! Make sure you are using the correct weapon, and be prepared to back
out if an alien should come to close! Use the same technique with doors that
are automatically closed! Often when you get hit by an enemy bullet you are
turned around a random number of degrees. It is important to quickly being
able to straighten up and continue fighting in such a situation!
[Difficulty Level]
The degree of difficulty seems infinite at the beginning, and is increasing
(hmmm... bigger than infinity :) until stage 8 where it lowers quite a bit,
and then increases again until stage 15, where it's *really* difficult. When
playing stage 15 you think that stage 3, which was very hard the first time,
is a piece of cake!
[Beware Of Doors]
When opening a door (or in any other way enter an unknown territory) you
should back out of it right away. Many aliens seem to hear you and are
standing there waiting for you! Back out quickly and be ready to squeeze the
trigger! If you come out of a teleporter you can, when entering it, turn so
that you come out of it at the best possible angle!
[Try the Jetpack]
The jetpack can take you to places never seen before. Experiment and use the
map to e.g. locate bonus rooms! When flying you should look up or down to
get a better view.
[The Real World]
For maximum effect play the game a dark autumn-night with the wind blowing
outside your window, in a completely black room. Turn down the brightness on
your 28-inch TV and turn up the volume. Enjoy! You will loose the grip on
the keyboard every time you bump in to an enemy! Spooky...
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2. The Weapons
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[Shotgun]
A very good weapon. Make sure you always have ammo for the shotgun, since
it's needed everywhere in the game. Use the fact that the bullets hit their
targets immediately, and that the weapon aims automatically. Good emergency
weapon, i.e. have it ready when you don't know what's in front of you.
[Plasma / Triple Plasma]
Quite slow, but very powerful! Most efficient in close up situations: it
smashes your opponent fast! Use the triple plasma in emergencies, when
hoards of enemies are attacking. This too is a weapon you should always have
ammunition for.
[Grenades]
Together with the rocket launcher this is the most powerful weapon. Try to
gather many aliens at one place then launch a grenade towards them for
maximum destruction :D Beware of the explosion though, it will hurt you too!
If you look up or down you can control the flight of the grenades in a
better way. E.g. look up and the grenade will fly further away.
[Assault Rifle]
Like the shotgun, only much faster. The best place to use the assault rifle
is in small and narrow corridors where enemies rush towards you.
[Blaster]
Weak and slow weapon. Fits best when you can hit the baddies and they cannot
hit you. Since you often have a lot of ammo for this gun it is recommended
to use it when you need to save your other ammo, or as a long distance
weapon when it's hard to get a clean hit!
[Rocket Launcher]
Powerful and fast! Goes in a straight line until it hits a wall or an enemy.
Use it on the big and bad enemies. Be careful so that you not launch a round
straight into the wall in front of you in a stressful situation...!
[Laser / Mega Laser]
Mmmm, you'll enjoy using this weapon. It kills most things in its way, and
it does it quickly too! Play "Eraser" and use the mega laser - nothing
survives! Unless the ammo runs out... Save up and only use in emergencies!
The laser bounces on walls, which makes it a tactics weapon, with which you
can perform funny things. Note: The mega laser is very fast, but not the
standard laser. This makes them two different weapons that are to be used
differently!
[Mines]
A powerful explosive with a delay. Best tactics: Run in front of a door with
hoards of enemies behind that is automatically opened when you pass, and put
a mine there. Hopefully you will kill every single baddie when they run out
the door chasing you! Beware of the explosion!
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3. The Enemies
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[Arnie the Alien]
Cute little rodent... or? Arnie's favorite things in life are to gnaw and to
howl! Give him a mine to gnaw and he will stop howling... hehe. Seriously,
Arnie howls when he sees you. If you can hear him, but not see him, turn
around quickly! Shoot him at long distances with the shotgun (one shot) or
with the assault rifle (two shots)! Don't let him come near you. Sometimes
he is impossible to hit when he is gnawing your leg...
[Triclaws]
This modest little creature can be a real pain in the ass. Use the shotgun
to blow him away. But even though the shotgun aims pretty good, he can be
really hard to hit. If he comes to close to you he will eat up your energy
quickly! He has got three mouths. Beware of leaving one of these behind you.
Eventually it will find you!
[Blue Robot]
There is not much to say about the blue aliens. Use as weak weapon as
possible (e.g. the blaster), to save up ammunition. Two shots from the
shotgun is enough to kill the sucker. Use the strafe-technique to avoid his
shots.
[Gray Robot]
These have shotguns and are very dangerous, as they can hurt you the moment
they see you! Kill them fast. Use a powerful weapon if needed.
[Green Robot]
Not as dangerous as the gray, but quick! They shoot plasma-shots, and many
at a time! Use e.g. the shotgun at a far distance, and avoid their shots by
strafing sideways, or by using a corner.
[Red Robot with Headlights]
Shit! This is not good... One of these can kill even the most skilled
player! If you see the corridor in front of you being lit up (not in the 2MB
version) I suggest you RUN. These robots have automatic weapons that will
hit you at once. And they shoot a lot too! If you use the strafe-technique
around a corner together with a weak weapon, it is almost impossible to
avoid being hit! A well-thrown grenade, or maybe a bazooka shot, and you
will come home for dinner alive! If you stand in front of them, or try to
strafe in front of them, you will be a red spot on the floor in a matter of
seconds!
[Blue Insect]
Like the blue aliens, only faster and they shoot more! At a very close
distance they can be really annoying, so make sure you shoot them before the
reach you! If you blow them full of lead they may some times have
difficulties shooting back at you!
[Yellow Insect]
Whoops! You will wet you pants the first time you get blown away by one of
these. They shoot very quick, and their shots take a great deal of your
energy, as well as they spin you around 5¼ turns :) Therefore you will have
to shoot them before they can manage to throw a couple of rounds at you.
Best put to death using a well-aimed bazooka shot!
[Red Insect]
Shoot plasma balls, and lots of em' if he sees you! Can only be found on two
stages: D & O (I suppose that's a good thing!).
["Floating ball of jelly with arms"]
This one shoots plasma balls at you, and you should do the same thing
against it. They will quickly float towards you, so be prepared for a close-
up fight with lot of strafing. Watch out when you can't see the one you
where just chasing... he might be just above you!
[Killer Bees]
Can take a great deal of damage! And they are quick too. Try to throw
grenades towards them (look up a bit) and get a rhythm. Plasma also works.
If you get the right rhythm, the bee cannot shoot back. Otherwise it will
shot cascades of plasma balls towards you that may be hard to avoid
(although strafing works mostly).
[Inca Priest]
Dangerous fellows... They can shoot directly at you with no visible bullet,
and the shot takes a tremendous amount on your life! Best way to avoid the
shots is to stand in a narrow corridor, with the priest outside in an open
area. He may then have difficulties aiming at you; he will hit the wall
instead. If he sees you he will shoot directly! Take him out with the rocket
launcher or with grenades if possible. Best though, is to avoid him
completely and take another way (although this is not possible most of the
times ;-( )
[Spider]
Like the yellow insects, but more aggressive and shoots cascades of powerful
shots at you! There are only three of them in the entire game, but that's
enough for me :) The first one is quite simple to take out, but the next two
are a bit more difficult! My technique was simply to run like hell and use
up all my mines, run some more, bazooka a little here and a little there,
waste all of my laser... In short: find out new things to do until they are
dead (or more likely: you are dead...)
[The Boss]
Not Springsteen, but the green mean bastard at the end of the game :-) He
will throw hoards of bazooka shots at you if he spots you! Read more about
how to defeat him in the walkthrough for the last stage.
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4. Game Walkthrough
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[Level A]
This level shouldn't be too hard to manage. A good practice stage before the
real stages. If you can't complete this one you should go back to Tetris,
level one ;-)
[Level B]
Now the degree of difficulty increases strikingly! I have heard of many not
making it beyond this stage. You must first take cover somewhere. Run to the
left at once, after killing the first robots. You should come to a room in
which you will find a robot and a rodent. Kill them (what else :) and wait
for the enemies or carefully go back to clean out the corridor. The next
problem is the red robot. He cannot go very far, so if you are a bit lucky
you can quickly strafe in front of him and then back out again to the
"entrance" where he cannot see you. If you stand in front of him he will
splatter you, so don't do so! You might want to use the map to orientate on
this stage. Remember that aliens like attacking from behind on stages
designed like this one, so be on you guard!
[Level C]
Beware of the green jelly blobs that lure behind the door! Open it and run
like hell. They will probably come after you, so back of and shoot when they
are approaching. Strafe to avoid their plasma balls. From the blue room
insects are pouring out! I think that it's best to stand in the corridor
before the room and blast every son of a bitch that comes out of it. When no
one else is coming you just walk into the room until you see some more, and
run back to your hideout! Then we have the priest left... You better avoid
him completely; Stand in the corridor, so he can't shoot you. When you see
him walking around the pedestal (he will stop attacking you), wait a bit and
then follow him. He can't see you, thus not shoot you, if you keep to the
opposite side of the pedestal. When you are at the back of it, jump up and
grab the key and RUN towards the exit! Note: Don't forget that there is a
hidden door, and behind it loads of goodies. It is to the right of the
little staircase inside the "maze".
[Level D]
The best technique is to try to gather every alien in a lump beneath your
ledge and give then a grenade to chew on :D It is almost impossible to not
getting hit by the fire from the robots. When Mr. Red appears you may either
stay upon the ledge and try to shoot him when he pops up in front of you (it
takes time. Watch out for his bullets - he shoots quite a few), or run into
the room and directly left (watch out for the teleporters), where a door has
opened. Grab the rocket launcher and blow him into small red slimy alien
parts, hehe :-)
[Level E]
Good, You made it here! Now things get harder. First of all, don't wait for
the red robots. Instead quickly jump over the ravine. Get rid of all the
trash and grab the first key. Now go stand next to the door that is furthest
away from the starting point, with the yellow insects behind. Open the door
and step aside. Be ready with the bazooka; fire if you should see an enemy.
You don't have any time to think, so don't stand still too long, or you'll
be barbecue! Don't waste your ammo, especially not on one of the triclaws,
which are also in the room. Repeat the "sidestepping" procedure until all
the three insects are dead. You'll now get the next key. In the next room
you will find a door that is automatically opened when you pass in front of
it. Behind are loads of enemies that pour out of it (I bet you'll find it
:). you should run in front of this door and place a mine outside. With a
little luck you'll kill all of the enemies in one big BAM! After this shoot
the yellow insects with the bazooka, and locate the switch. Just beside this
is a secret room filled with goodies! Pull the switch and seek cover in the
secret room. From here you can fairly simple kill the two priests with
grenades!
[Level F]
After the first teleporter run to the "room". Stay here and try to kill the
enemies; they will come to you! When finished go to the next teleporter, but
continue straight on, and then up the wall using the jetpack and you'll find
a nice place... In the labyrinth you should use the assault rifle. Learn to
orientate and use the map. There are two red ones that may cause trouble,
and an extra one in one of the rooms!
[Level G]
When you've shot the first robot his buddies come to the rescue, and they're
red of anger... Make sure you quickly run to the ventilator-systems (duck to
get through) and don't care about the buddies. Go and shoot the generators,
but don't get down in the lava - you won't get up again! You can then
relatively easy kill a lot of aliens from the tunnels. In the "last" room,
shoot the green jelly things before you open their doors when pulling the
switch! The last key is located on a ledge in the room closest to the switch
(fly up there).
[Level H]
Look out in to the freedom for one nano-second, and then await the enemies.
Kill them all from the "starting room". The bees have a lot of stamina - use
the grenades and try to paralyse them! If you are very short of ammo, you
could start the stage with running out and gathering as much as possible
from the middle of the yard and then return to the "home base". There is a
lot to pick up on the stage so search carefully!
[Level I]
Now things get a bit easier! Start off with walking straightforward as much
as possible - there are no enemies in the first part of the stage. There are
a lot of rodents here, so use the shotgun of assault rifle and make sure to
kill every sucker before advancing! Don't just walk in to a big room.
Instead stand at a distance and try to blow the enemies to hell, or let them
come to you! Carefully search for small and maybe hidden paths - there are
quite a few of them. E.g. at the end of the stage, where you are about to
jump over some walls, you can pull down a BIG wall, and in that way avoiding
confrontation with some real bad guys! This is a stage where you should try
to avoid as much as possible!
[Level J]
Take out the red robots with a grenade or the bazooka, otherwise you may get
in trouble. When you take the green key, a door very close by opens and a
red one gets out. Put a mine in front of the door before you quickly take
the key! In the "elevator room", kill the insect with a bazooka shot (aim
carefully). In the same place there is a "jelly thing", that seems to be
stuck behind an elevator. Either you will have to wait him out, which may
take a while, or just ignore him! With a little luck he won't see you! In
the second part of the stage the plasma gun is preferred. Don't forget the
hidden room with the medipac. Also don't forget the water - that's a sight
you won't see everyday!
[Level K]
This is one of the hardest levels in the game! The stage is too symmetrical,
and thus it's very hard finding your way around it! I suggest that you draw
a map with all the rooms, keys and the way of doing everything to assist
you. Be careful: as soon as you take a key new doors open and enemies ooze
out! Be extra careful when you teleport somewhere. The green key in the oval
in the middle can be tricky the first time; run around the big square in the
middle once and the key will appear! The three priests you kill with a lot
of bazooka shots. You should stay and await the enemies in most rooms after
taking a key. You will loose a lot of energy on this stage, but don't give
up; you can complete it with a bit of practice, and some luck on top of it!
Just make sure you always know where all the bad guys are!
[Level L]
This is a battle arena! Start with collecting the ammunition and medipacs
(of course), and then go and try to shoots as many slimy aliens as possible
from your ledge. Beware of bullets from far far away. When you think you've
mashed enough enemies, jump down and run around shooting everything that's
moving. Now go for the tough bit :) Place yourself on one of the platforms
that are right next to the big one in the middle. You should now be halfway
up compared to the one in the middle. Up there are two red robots and one
spider(!). They can hardly ever see you where you are standing right now!
Quickly jump up into the slime. If you think you see an enemy right in front
of you, fire a bazooka and something towards it! With any luck you'll hit
the sucker. Time for a quick retreat! Stay down until the shots fired at you
have all passed and then repeat the procedure again until all three are
dead. Never stay in the slime! You'll get badly hurt either by the enemies,
or by the slime! The exit is in a tunnel in the middle of the slime. It will
not open until all enemies are dead.
[Level M]
You can avoid large part of this stage by doing it in this way: Star with
going into the slime, straight ahead to the right (yes, I know, it stinks!
:). Here are two important things; a teleporter and a key. The key might be
hard to find: when walking around, look up for a tunnel into the wall above
you. When you've got the green key, teleport back and go into one of the
tunnels right after the slime. You'll get a yellow key. Now head back to the
start position and go straight ahead to the left. Here are two doors with
yellow insects behind, that opens by pressure sensitive buttons in the
floor. If you sneak right next to the left wall all the time you can avoid
opening these doors! Take the red key, and walk back to the room before the
slime. Here is the "exclamation mark key" to the right. Now you can open the
door that is straight to the right from the start position. Beware of the
priest! Never bother going to the left from the start, there are only
trouble in there. BTW: Charge up the jetpack before you exit the level;
you'll need it soon!
[Level N]
Pretty tough stage, but there is a way of cheating: if you have a fully
charged jetpack you can avoid big parts of the stage! In the "silo" you
should fly up to the to ledges. Otherwise you would have had to activate the
elevator in the silo, and that requires more rooms to visit. With a little
training I don't think this stage should cause any trouble. You should do
the stage this way (in order to "cheat"): Start with cleaning out the
enemies that are rushing from the tunnel in front of you. The go down into
the silo. Kill the baddies and teleport up again. Now fly to the higher
ledge of the two in the silo. Take everything. Go down into the silo again
and take everything here as well. Now fly up to the lower of the ledges, and
once again grab all that you see. Now go straight ahead from the start,
destroy the communication-center, and wander on the next level!
[Level O]
A very hard stage! Just like in the first Alien Breed 3D, stage 15 is almost
impossible to conquer. But just almost. You can do it if you put you heart
to it! There are four directions to choose from the starting point. You
should play the parts in this order:
1. ("Two Spiders") No tactics here, just run and waste all of your power-
weapons. You will loose a lot of energy here, and most often die. That's why
you should take this one first!
2. ("Two killer bees") The bees are a bit tricky. Run around a lot like a
lunatic until they are both down at your level, otherwise they will hurt you
a lot. Try to concentrate on one at a time, and paralyse him. With one dead
there should not be to much fuzz about destroying the other one.
3. ("Two killer insects") In this room you'll bump in to two red insects,
like the one at stage four. This means that they are really quick and they
shoot a lot. Run to the left or right and in to a teleporter. You'll appear
at the teleporter on the other side. Stay and wait until you see an insect,
fire a couple bullets and then quick into the teleporter again, otherwise
you'll get hurt. Repeat this until the two are blown away. Go down into the
slime and destroy the communication-center to get out of the unpleasant
place!
4. ("Lots'a rodents") This is the easy one of the four. To get to the ending
you will have to choose the right teleporter, otherwise you'll teleport to
the beginning again. This is the right way:
Forward -> Left -> Right
Forward -> Left -> Left
Forward
Forward -> Left
Forward -> Right
Forward -> Left
After each part you'll receive a key in the middle of the stage! After four
keys you are ready for the final stage!
[Level P]
The final stage! The shape is "square circular" :) Keep to the outer limits.
Try to get our green friend's attention, and make him follow you round &
round... Walk backwards, and always be one "square length" in front of him.
If you do the right thing, you will always be at a corner and you will see
him coming round the corner "over there". He will fire at you and you at
him. Use the bazooka and fire one or two times. Back around your corner and
run to the next one. Await him and repeat it all over again until he's space
garbage! Then you kill the four priests that like to hang around in the
middle of the stage. Use every single piece or heavy weaponry you've got,
after all, these are the last enemies you have to eliminate! When they are
gone, walk into the newly opened door. Congratulations! You have just
finished one of the hardest and most enjoyable games ever made for the
Amiga! Now, just lean back and enjoy the final words (If you can't keep up
the reading, don't worry, the text will loop when finished!).
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© Dan Saedén 1997-2001
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