04. Hotel - Silent Hill's Grand Hotel

We've finally landed in Silent Hill. At the end of the street ahead of you is a broken down fire truck and a Smog in an alley. Go down that alley, climb down and under the truck, and snatch the FIRE AXE. This doesn't hold a candle to the knife for regular combat, but it's perfect for hacking down boarded up doors. Go across the street to the Grand Hotel and do just that to get inside.

Go down the first hallway to your right for a HEALTH DRINK. Go into the foyer after Joshua now. He'll escape through some rubble and up the stairs. Check the reception desk for a letter, the GRAND HOTEL MAP, and a memo. Jump across the elevator shaft and look to your right for a MAINTENANCE KEY. We need to rewire the hotel to get the elevator to run, so head back outside.

There will likely be a Smog or two on the way outside. I recommend killing the one outside since we need breathing room to rewire this place. Use your key to open the gate to your right outside. There's a HEALTH DRINK back here and a panel with wires.

Rewiring the Hotel

• Check the clipboard behind you on the dumpster to see a note about a game and the number XXI. Now check out the power box. Use the left analog stick to pick a wire, A to put it in place, and X to test the power. The XXI in the note is actually the pattern in which the wires should be connected.

  Pretend the wires (connected at the top) are numbered 1-5 from left to right, and so are the connectors at the bottom. Match them up in this order:

  Wire 1 (yellow) to Connector 2
  Wire 2 (white) to Connector 1
  Wire 3 (red) to Connector 4
  Wire 4 (blue) to Connector 3
  Wire 5 (green) to Connector 5

  Press X when you've got it to bring the power back. (Thanks to syn6661, Bob, and an anonymous e-mailer for pointing out the memo on the dumpster.)

Go back in, call the elevator, and hop in. Get the AMMUNITION inside and hit the only working floor button. A new type of monster will attack on the way up. These are Needlers, and they are going to tear the sides off the elevator and reach in to attack with their claws. Equip a weapon and attack through the holes. The knife is great for this not only because it is fast, but because of its heavy attack. It's a forward jab, so Alex can stab neatly through the hole and right into the Needler's face. Try not to stand too close to the elevator's sides or you may just end up stabbing the elevator and missing the Needler. All you need to do to dodge an attack is duck. Climb up out of the elevator when it stops.

Check out the painting of the woman to cut it open and reveal a locked door. Examine the door for a PHOTO, but go left and duck under the wall to see a save point. Head towards the hall and Alex will automatically start talking with the woman in 301. We have to find three of her memories before she will help us. There's a message on the wall in 303 and a letter in 304. Go through the hole in the wall in the middle of this hall to emerge in 307. Room 308 holds another letter detailing the subplot of this area, as well as another message written on the wall. Go to the east end of the hall and look towards room 309 to see some boards for you to hack away. Climb up the rubble here to the fourth floor.

Enter 406 by way of the hole in the wall. A letter is in here and Swarms will attack once you try to enter the hall. There's a memo on the little table on the left side of the center of the hall out here. You should be hearing white noise as well; there's a nurse in 402 waiting for you. Look through the hole in the wall in front of room 403 for the last cryptic, bloody message. Enter 402 to find a bookshelf that needs pushing. Duck in to room 404 and enter the bathroom to find the first of the three memories we promised to help find, the ALCHEMILLA POSTCARD.

We've reached a bit of a dead end, so let's backtrack. Out in the hall, notice the spiders moving towards the east. Also take note of the strange red glow... Approach the hall for a scene. We are introduced to Pyramid Head, heretofore known as the Bogeyman. ("Pyramid Head" was the name James Sunderland gave him in Silent Hill 2. James is not here, so I will stick with the Homecoming name.) He clearly sees us but does not seem to give a damn. Swarms will break open room 405 and attack. Get them out of the way and head through.

Go in and through 407 using the hole in the wall. Follow the Bogeyman by hacking away the boards blocking the way to the stairwell. On the fifth floor, the Needlers make their official appearance. With Needlers, it is vital that you wait for them to make the first move. They will chirp and raise one of their front claws. Dodge to one side and attack their blind spot. You can get in one or two combos before they turn around. Head-on attacks will only be blocked by their front legs, so don't bother. They still do damage, but not as much. The steel pipe is a good weapon against Needlers: do a light attack followed by a heavy one and Alex will do an upward swipe, hitting the Needler in the stomach and knocking it to the floor, ready for you to heavy attack it to death. The axe is not so good, as it is slow.

Jump across to the southern end of this hall to get a HEALTH DRINK. This is also a good spot to retreat to if you want to attempt a head shot on a Needler. I always thought it was too hard, but you might want to try it. Swarms are in 508 along with a letter. Hack away the boards in front of 505 and push the shelf away to gain access to 507. On the bed is the second memory, the LAKESIDE AMUSEMENT PARK POSTCARD. There's also a letter on the shelf here and a HEALTH DRINK in the bathroom. Look in 504 for a shelf you can push to reveal a CHILD'S DRAWING and PISTOL AMMUNITION on the bed.

Backtrack to the hall. Once you reach the center, a Needler will appear but it may not see you right away if your flashlight is off and you are quiet. Use this time to try shooting it if you want. You can't completely sneak past it since we need to go down to that end of the hall. Hack away the boards at 504 to get PISTOL AMMUNITION on the bed. Duck into 503 before more Needlers attack and climb down into 403. In the tub is the last memory, the TOLUCA LAKE POSTCARD. It's ultra mega backtrack time.

Needlers will attack, but you can run past them. Head to the east and go down the stairs. A nurse will attack you down here. Take her out and look for boards blocking the wall of the bathroom outside 408. Hack them away and look inside for the SERUM. Now jump down the hole in 406. Wind your way through the third floor rooms (mindful of Smogs) to get back to 301. The woman will give us the STRANGE KEY, which will open the mysterious room 306 behind the painting. Jump across the hole to be reunited with Josh.

Or not. In this new room, check one of the northwest tables for PISTOL AMMUNITION and a HEALTH DRINK. There's a save point to the southeast. Head towards the atrium (the big round room) to find it locked. Head back to see a peculiar sight. Inside the now-open atrium, we find Mayor Bartlett and our first boss fight.

Sepulcher

• Don't bother rushing up to Sepulcher to fight him. The trick to damaging him in this stage is to destroy the hanging flesh sacks surrounding him. Sepulcher will lash out with his long arms and slam them down to rain glass on you. Dodge in any direction to avoid the glass, but hide behind one of the bookshelves around Sepulcher to make him lash out and hurt himself. While he is reeling, run out and start slashing away at a flesh sack. Do this for each one until all are gone. If you are adventurous, you can hide behind the flesh sack instead of the bookshelf. This will cause Sepulcher to hit himself, but it's risky. He will also catch on to your game and have the flesh sacks raise up slightly to avoid getting hit. You can use any weapon for this stage since you can take cover when needed.

  Once all are gone, Sepulcher will drop to the floor. His only attacks now are lashing out with his long arms and grabbing you. Be prepared for a button prompt when this happens. Fighting back is easy as pie. Wait for Sepulcher to make a downward swipe; he will get his hand caught in the dirt floor. Slash his hand/arm and he will collapse. Slash his head until he gets back up. Rinse. Repeat. Don't attack until Sepulcher is stuck. Just be patient and dodge to the side when he raises his hand. When he's had enough and is collapsed, you will see the X button appear in the upper right. Alex will deliver the finishing blow. Even though the finisher is with the axe, you can use any weapon to kill this monster.

Alex's victory will be in vain, as he falls down a hole...