Hardline Walkthrough

In this game, I can almost
guarantee you will need invulnerability cheats, so here they are.
You must edit a file in the hardline directory called "hardline.cfg".
Use MS Word, Notepad, or some other text editor to make the changes.
Add the line "CHEATING IS SOMETIMES USEFUL BUT FOR HOW LONG ???"
at the end of the file. This enables cheats. I had to enter it again
once during the game, suggesting that it has a limit to how many times
you can use it before the game erases it! During the game, press one
of the following keys to enable to cheat:

This
is a mainly a first person shooter, at times "on rails".
It has simple adventure elements in the form of simple inventory management
and occasional choices of actions you can perform. The game is completely
FMV and reminded me of Urban Runner with less emphasis on adventure
aspects. The game is set in the near future, in a society where the
world is divided into Rebels and Sectoids. The Sectoids worship a
mysterious god called "The Deck". You play Ted Irvin, a
man drawn into the conflict unwillingly. The game is heavily dependent
on FMV cutscenes, which further the story well. This is the main reason
for playing this game. This is a shooter with a very developed story.
Another reason to play this is for the campy performances of the Sectoids.
The voice acting is average at best and the actions of the characters
when they get shot are hilarious! There is much unintended humor in
this game. Unfortunately, the game needs a VESA 2.0 videocard (which
many are not these days) so I was forced to play this on low resolution
(320×200 256 colors). With the right card, you can play this on 640×480
16bit colors. Despite this, the graphics were fair for FMV (they may
be excellent on the higher settings, I can’t say). The music had a
great effect on conveying atmosphere and is some of the best I have
heard in any computer game. A couple of quibbles people may have-it
only has 5 save slots and requires Disk 1 to begin. Would I play this
game again? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes, in a strange way. I enjoyed the
story and even the shooting for the first 10 minutes. This shooting
puts Doom to shame, and after shooting the same 5 guys 50 times, I
advise the cheats to progress the game. There are a couple of clever
ideas (for example the derivation of "The Deck").

Start
After watching the opening video, you start at the Sectoid HQ.

Sectoid HQ
Walk to the door and inside.

Inside
Walk to the right door. Check the woman’s body. Take the gun. Shoot
the goons that appear. Take the key and clip from their bodies. Use
the key with the door opposite. Enter this large warehouse area ad
observe a Sectoid meeting. You get spotted and have to shoot your
way out. When all Sectoids are dead, pick up the grenade launcher.
Turn around and make your way back outside, shooting Sectoids as they
arrive.

Outside
You arrive outside to see the Sectoids blow up your chopper and only
place you cal home. At this stage, you have an extended battle. Be
careful with the grenade launchers particularly, and the trucks with
mines. After finally defeating them all, you are taken by surprise
and knocked out and taken to the their HQ.

Rebel Headquarters
When you come to, grab the gun. Your captors turn out not to be Sectoids.
These rebels, led by Morgan, offer you a room and gun. They tell you
that the Sectoids worship a figure called the Deck and are led by
Yssel. You go to sleep and dream of disturbing scenes. You are woken
to the sound of gunfire. More shooting of Sectoids! Exit twice. The
door is locked. Turn left, go down the corridor, shooting any Sectoids.
Pick up the explosives. Turn around. Use an explosive to blow open
the door. Enter the room. Shoot all the Sectoids that appear. Use
the other explosive to blow the next door. Go through the door and
take the left exit. The way is blocked by gas. Try the key-locked
door-no good. Exit right and then go straight. Pick up the gas mask.
Return to the gas blocked doorway. Use the gas mask. Interestingly,
the Sectoids don’t need to wear gas masks! Shoot them all. At the
end of the corridor, go right, shooting as you go. Pick up the walkie-talkie.
Turn around. Put the mask on and return to a narrow passage. Go through
back to the room with the keypad lock. Exit right. Take the exit straight
ahead to a room with table and chairs.

Office Room
Walk over to the table. Open the top drawer. Take the access card.
Take the flashlight from the second drawer. The third is empty. Pick
up the note on the table. You contact the Rebels as dictated in the
letter using the walkie-talkie. You are given a code to the keypad
door. Return to the room with the keypad lock. Enter the code. Exit
into a dark passageway. Use the flashlight to go down the corridor
shooting all Sectoids that appear. It leads to some stairs leading
down to more Sectoids. Go through the door at the bottom of the stairs.
A woman sneaks up behind you. DO NOT SHOOT HER-she’s a Rebel. She
helps you kick down the grate leading to a ladder up to the surface
and capture again! Some lucky hero you are! You are taken to Detroit
Sectoid HQ.

Detroit Sectoid HQ
You are placed in a cell. Morgan comes to see you revealing himself
as a traitor. The leader raves on for a few minutes. You experience
a dream sequence with a cyberpunk feel. At this stage you are prompted
to insert CD 2. A pistol lies out of reach. You use a "jedi"-like
power to get it and release yourself. Walk out of the cell, shooting
all the Sectoids that turn up. Take the left exit. Shoot the guard.
Use your powers to open the door. After the firefight, go out through
the door. Shoot all enemies and then pick up your rifle. Turn around
and walk out. Turn left, go forward, and shoot all guards. Go over
to a box on the wall-no code. Turn around and exit out and then left.
Follow the passage to the dead end. Blow up the barrels. Go forward
and kill all the Sectoids. At this point you will be on a "rail"
again. Use the same management skills you’ve demonstrated earlier-shoot
every Sectoid! Turn right at the junction. Shoot again. Try to get
the box but you can’t open it. Exit left. You startle a Sectoid who
blinds you with a flash grenade. Shoot him and check his body to get
a key and a "blinding disk launcher". Return to the box
in the next room. Use the key to open the chest. Inside you find the
code to the button lock you couldn’t open earlier. Retrace your steps
to the room with the button lock. Use the code paper with the lock
and the door slides open. After another firefight, go left. Continue
down the corridor shooting Sectoids and take the grappling hook from
the box. Turn around and return to the room. Turn left to find it
is blocked by lasers. Turn around and go left. In the next room, continue
straight. You are rejoined by the woman at this time. Keep following
the path until you reach a skylight window. Use the grappling hook
to get out. Once again, all roads lead to the Deck. More fanatic overacting
as a Sectoid is sacrificed. Shoot all the Sectoids and then the bald
leader, who can throw three grenades at once! After wiping him out,
a truck crashes into the building bringing in yet more Sectoids. Shoot
them and go over to the truck. You make your escape and introduce
each other. She tells you to drive to Forras, the Rebel hideout.

Forras
This "nice place" looks like a ghetto. Catherine tells you
to get some sleep. She tells you that every one of her family was
killed. You have more dreams…or visions? You are awoken to the
sounds of a Sectoid invasion. This gives you more opportunity to use
your head (or mind). The way is blocked with acid so turn around and
take out some more Sectoids. Go forward twice and pick up the metal
soles. Return to the acid. Use them to cross the acid. You meet more
goons on the other side. Go forward, doing away with any Sectoids
you cross. A robot blocks the doorway. Close the vault door. Press
the button to open a door at right. Shoot the Sectoid and take the
Onslaught Master (!). The doorway is blocked by fire. Return to the
vault door. Open it and use the Onslaught Master to knock out the
robot guard. Go in, shooting all Sectoids. Go left. After the Sectoids
are gone, take the steel letters. Return to the room with the doorway
blocked by fire. Notice the grooves for letters on the wall? Use your
letters on "JOE". Another door opens. Go in. Follow the
corridor, shooting all Sectoids. In the room, get the fire extinguisher.
Return to the fire-blocked doorway. Use the fire extinguisher to put
out the fire and then go through the doorway. Go down another laneway
out into the rain. More fighting ensues. Walk on, slowly making your
way to a parking lot as you are challenged by more Sectoids. Eventually,
you collapse at a dead end. A figure appears offering you the opportunity
to join the Deck (Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, anyone?). Another
dream sequence follows and Ted gets up. Walk down the alley and over
to the building. He finds the others dead. Go in and go through the
door on the left to a room with a TV and some urchin children. Pick
up the gun. The kids give you a Sidekick Gun. An older child tells
you to kneel and predict a violent future of danger and that you’ll
need to consider the past to understand (amazing powers of deduction!).
He gives you a golden leaf. Catherine and Lars show up then. In thinking
of his past, Ted has the brainwave of going to Chicago. They decide
to go.

Chicago
You are taken to see Lars’ friend, Kodo, who owns a brain scanner.
A scan reveals Ted has some kind of device in his brain. A very brief
vision is seen. One of the visions is of Lars taking Catherine away-could
he be a traitor? Catherine helps you when you come to. One thing leads
to another and then to the obligatory sex scene (notice they put it
in this far in the game to keep people playing?!?). Kodo returns later,
telling you that two million brain cells have been replaced a microchip
from IOD Electronics. Without further ado, the heroes go to IOD.

IOD Electronics
Don’t you love Kodo’s hat? I also like the way they drive straight
up to front entrance and of the company and even go through it! Ever
heard of covert operations, guys? Ted uses his mind powers to open
the door. Surprisingly, Lars insists on Kate being with him. The team
splits up. Take the left door. In the next room, get the steel key.
Turn around and exit. Take the left door. Get another steel key from
the box. Exit and take the left door. Use the steel keys on either
side of the doors. Turn the keys and the doors open. Go in to the
computer in the next room. Take some tape and use it to collect a
thumbprint from the computer screen. Who exactly puts their thumb
on the screen, I do not know… Return to the door locked with
a fingerprint scanner. Use the thumbprint tape on the scanner. The
door opens. At this juncture, the army turns up for some reason. Get
the file on Ted at right. He finds out he was in a coma. Just then,
Sectoids turn up. Lars meets with Morgan, who uses a mind power on
him to control him. Suddenly, a helicopter crashes in to the room
and it’s back to Sectoid extermination. Continue along, killing all
Sectoids you encounter. You end up in a dead end room. Turn around
and go left-they keep coming! Go ahead, turn around, and go left.
You are contacted by Kodo but lose the transmission. After a firefight,
take the elevator to the lobby when the Sectoids come out of the woodwork
,literally. Go over to Kodo’s body at the information booth. Take
a note from his body. Exit outside and you make your way away from
the complex, shooting Sectoids as you go. You head over to a truck,
only to see your vision come to light-Lars leads Catherine away in
a helicopter. You go to Gurnan Labs-a link to your brain surgeon listed
in your file.

Gurnan Labs
You enter the complex by using your mind to open the door. Access
the terminal at right to open a door. More flashes of memories follow.
You access another computer terminal. You are prompted to insert CD
3. Select historical records. Your listing documents the death of
your family in a car accident in 1995. Five years later, electronic
circuits were used to replace brain tissue in your brain. Ted leaves
the complex into a waiting army of Sectoids. You kill everyone except
Lars with your mind. You have to rescue Catherine and destroy Yssel.
Suddenly, two helicopters attack-use your psychic powers to defeat
them. More Sectoids turn up. After you’ve managed to eliminate half
the world’s population of Sectoids, Morgan arrives on the scene. Lars
foolishly turns his back after stunning Morgan and take a bullet.
He kills Morgan, then collapses. He asks that you wipe out the Sect
and save Catherine, then dies. You get in the helicopter and make
your way to the building where Catherine is being held prisoner. More
rail shooting after which you crash your helicopter into the top of
a building, just escaping being burned to a crisp. Worse comes to
worst as Yssel turns up. After a very difficult fight where you defeat
Yssel with your psychic powers, access the cell block where Kate is
held hostage. You save her and then examine the Gurnan equipment-the
computer in the middle holds the files. More revelations: the Deck
is a misreading. It is actually, 0-ECK, the file number of your brother,
Mark! You find he’s not dead after all. IOD installed more chips into
him such that he’s now 93% steel and synthetic material. He exists
at Site 9 under the subway. You decide to find him, leaving Catherine
to wait.

Subway
Enter the stairwell, shooting all the Sectoids that attack you. Go
down. At the bottom, go in the door. Make your way down, going through
doors as you reach them. At the platform, go down the end, shooting
Sectoids as you go. Enter a passage behind the train. Follow the passage
around, through a door, and down a tunnel. Go through a door and down
another tunnel. Pick up the light and use it in the dark. More flashes.
Suddenly, an old man (Obi-Wan Kenobi?) appears out of nowhere to give
sagely advice. The only missing is some advice to "use the force"!
After another flashback, you come to on the floor. Exit the room,
going straight ahead. A door opens to the outside and is it the sea?
Walk over to the glass. More flashes come and suddenly you are in
a corridor. Walk ahead and you wake up again. What’s real and what’s
a dream? Go through an electronic door and then through another. You
are finally in the Deck’s domain. You talk with "Mark" but
he is different, twisted. Brother must fight brother-it’s only 7%
fratricide anyway! After defeating the Deck, you return to the surface
and the dawn of a new day. Catherine is waiting for you…
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