: I wouldn't think it was possible to even come close to beating the game
: without this weapon. That's quite an accomplishment, Steve, if you really
: didn't know about this :)
There are two very tricky spots, one of which I could not survive on Deathwish. The first is Re-Con - we'll be getting there shortly, I presuem - in which ghosts are constantly nibbling away at what's left of your shields. It took me a lot of tries to get past this one, since you must face a room full of marines before exiting the level. The key was managing to get to the two switches and close myself self off from the ghosts before my shields were depleated. The second one is the final room of End Game. Believe it or not, I did manage to get through the rest of End Game without any shields whatsoever, which meant that my successful run didn't allow me to make any mistakes. Suffice it to say, I relied a lot on fast moves and the secondary trigger of the omega cannon, which could quickly clear any room. As far as I can tell, the final room of End Game is unplayable on anything above Ian's Major Damage if you don't have shields. We'll talk about my strategies for playing it on Major Damage (AO;s Normal) when we get there. How big is you can is a tough level on Deathwish if you don't have shields - but it's surprisingly doable if you're fast and determined, and that's even without using the secret room - more on that later.
