BUCK ROGERS 2: MATRIX CUBED

INTRODUCTION

This walkthru of BUCK ROGERS 2: MATRIX CUBED is divided into two parts. Part one, "Official History,"is hints only; part two, "Secret History," contains explicit answers. This walkthru also assumes the player has played the first game: no game mechanic details are given unless they are different from the first game.

Most missions can be done in any order; however, ALL missions should be completed before going to Jupiter as you will not be able to come back after the game ends to complete them.

A player character should have the following skills at the highest possible level for they are critical for certain missions:

Computer Programming
Library Search
Fast Talk
Jetpack

The following skills are needed for certain missions, but level 25 or above seems to be sufficient:

Pilot Fixed-Wing
Life Suspension

PART ONE: OFFICIAL HISTORY

CALORIS

There are two objectives in the opening scenario. The first is to rescue Lord Berkeley from an assassination attempt. The attempt will not happen until you arrive at the coronation room. The first priority is to get Lord Berkeley out of the line of fire. The second objective is to find out about Dr. Romney and attempt to rescue him. Chancellor de Sade is not to be trusted.

CERES BASE

This mission is basically a training mission for people who started with a new team. Kill the guards in the room at the west end of the corridor and use their uniforms as disguises. You can now explore freely. Locate the laser and the crystal at the northwest corner of the maze. Use the crystal on the laser and use the laser to blast the RAM warship. Use the demolitions you found in the armory on the laser and get out of the base fast!

VENUS

The only mission is the Lowlander village at the southeast portion of the map. Planetary survival is useful here. Searching the village only provides hints as to what to expect in the mines. The only critical task is finding the entrance to the mine.

The mine scenario requires that your group be captured and stripped of all weapons and armor. You must rescue Llorok with your bare hands before the Venusians become friendly.

Once Llorok is rescued you get back all your equipment and can go to the labs for the next step. Leander is the scientist you are looking for and the control to turn off the gravity field is due east as he tells you, but prepare for a fight. Once Leander is freed, you must clear the lab of Purge invaders. This includes both the ground level and the underground level. Find and fight all the fixed encounters. Once that is done, Mercurians will invade the lab. You do not have to clear the lab of them, but the XPs are useful. All you have to do is escape but there will be several battles along the way.

LOSANGELORG

There are several missions in this area. Some cannot be done until another event triggers the mission, but all the missions are listed here.

WARRENS

The Warrens are located in the northeast corner of the sprawls. Chade is not here, but to find where he has gone you need to end the gang wars and install Loa-Loa as the leader. This mission is fairly simple. Explore everywhere, help Loa-Loa (but don't let the other gangs know of your support for her), and you will eventually find clues to the whereabouts of Chade. Isha is a RAM agent so do not believe what she tells you. There will be several opportunities to kill her and all involve a big battle. There is MAJOR loot in this mission.

KRUN STATION

This is a simple optional mission. The station is located on the edge of the sprawls due east of the spaceport.

STOLEN WALLET

This is an optional mission. It will occur somewhere on the northern edge of the sprawls as the team explores it.

RATWURST DEN

This is another optional mission that will occur as the team explores the sprawls. It is located somewhere near the building nborthwest of the spaceport.

HISTORIC MUSEUM

Chade is here but you cannot find this place until you complete the Warrens mission. Explore the museum and note what rooms contain what exhibits. You will need to find those rooms again once you find Chade. Chade is located in the north end of the museum and will test your characters by leading them around to various rooms. When Chade is killed you will discover he is really the daughter and Chade was actually a robot. Go through the secret door at the back of the room where you found Chade to rescue the real Chade. The computer exhibit contains the clue as to which steps to step on to get past the mines. The real Chade is hidden in the east end but you must first find her room in the west end and get the papers hidden in the bed. There will be one big final battle before you can leave the museum.

TOWER ISLE

When you reach Carrin's apartment on the 54th floor you will be directed to the 13th floor. This is a trap and also optional. Carrin is actually on the 85th floor. All the other floors contain nothing of interest.

PURGE HQ

This is a straightforward mission. It does not matter which entrance you use. You will trigger the alarm early on from either entrance. Explore every room and fight all the fixed battles. You'll finally get to rescue Dr. Romney here. He's on the first floor. On the second floor at the south end of the maze is the final battle. This is a tough two-part battle. This is also one of the missions where Library Search and Computer Programming skills are critical and must be at the highest level.

Go through the computer menus and activate the virus program to kill off the Sooth program. You will not be able to retrieve any data until that happens. Dr. Romney will automatically rejoin your party when you leave afterwards. By the way, there is nothing special about the bolt guns the Purge scientists are testing, but there is one nice Lunarian weapon IF someone has a good Repair Weapon skill.

LUNA

This mission has two parts and segues into the next mission, so do not do the second part without training and resupplying the party. Go to the data bank and do Library Search until you find the information needed to properly search the malefactors' places; otherwise, you will not find the incriminating data that you are looking for. A high Library Search skill is needed. Once the criminals have been caught, you can enter the Tsai Weapons labs. Do not attack the Lunarian police!

The Tsai labs mission is fairly simple: locate the launch bay and stop the Purge leader from escaping. There are two things the team should do before the final battle. In the southwest corner are the parts needed to repair the hummer. Just north of that room is the broken hummer. Having this item will make the optional battles with the caniferns much easier. You do not want to waste ammo fighting these monsters. In the southeast corner are controls to kill all the carniferns and the controls to hinder the Purge leader's escape. This will make the final battle easier. The space dock is due north of the controls. The final battle there is also a two-part battle.

Upon completion, you will be escorted immediately off Luna and then forced to abandon ship. You will be picked up by Killer Kane. Accept his offer. NEO will give it to you anyway and Kane's help makes it easier.

RAM DEIMOS BASE/PRISON

This mission is complicated only in that only one route through the several mazes of the base will get you to the right place. Use the shaft to get out of the prison maze. Then, use the elevators to get to _primary_ recreation level. Use the shaft at the northeast corner of that level to get to the Weapons level. Get the key from the sleeping officer. The weapons room is in the southeast corner and the bomb goes in one corner of the room. A very high Fast Talk is needed on the Weapons level.

You will be captured immediately after planting the bomb and sent to prison. First, you have to get out of the cell. Buck Rogers will suggest a method once you have wandered around long enough. The method is to climb up. Have the best fighter make the climb. Climb skill is not needed but reduces the number of attempts needed to succeed; however, the solo battle at the top requires a good fighter to win.

On the next level the exit is in the northeast corner, BUT you will need to recruit a prison gang to help you escape. All encounters here are random. Wander around and avoid all fights until you can recruit a Desert Runner gang. There are other gangs but the Desert Runners give you the best chance to fight the two battles needed to escape to the next level. First, you have to kill the sentry robot with your bare hands. Then, you have to defeat the guards on the next level, also with your bare hands.

The first step after defeating the guards is to locate your weapons. They are in a nearby room due south of where you entered this level. (NOTE: There is a time limit, so go there quickly!) Next, you need to rescue the Stormrider in the western half of the maze. Then, you need to disable the security computer at the south end of the maze. A VERY high Computer Programming skill is needed to rescue Scot.dos. If you fail the game goes on but it is nice to succeed. Given the way the characters are now transferred to the next game, your success or failure probably will carry over to the next game. You can ignore the reference to a RAM spy inside the NEO base. Just finding the reference is sufficient. You do not have to search further but should concentrate on saving Scot.dos. There will be a tough final battle before you can leave.

NEO BASE

This mission involves a lot of running back and forth. First search the level you entered on for a strange device. Take it up to the administrator but explore the base as you head for the administration level. You will not be able to go everywhere but note the barred places. You will be able to enter them eventually and speed will sometimes be of the essence. After showing the device to the administrator you will be sent to the research director who will send you to Dr. Hampshire. Now, go to Zachary Cebert's room. There will be a battle. Check the men's room on the same floor afterwards. Fast Talk and the password will make one of the battles later on easier. Now, report back to the administrator. This will trigger the RAM attack. The battle for the station consists of several battles and escorting NEO civilians from the dance hall to air lock 1. Where to go will be obvious.

LIVING SHIP

The living ship has been taken over by pirates. You can clear the pirates or negotiate peace between them and the Stormriders. Peace is preferred. Fast Talk is needed here. You will need to repair the ship as well. Treat Stun is needed at a high level to do this. You will not fully succeed but should be able to repair enough of the damage to safely complete the trip.

IMPORTANT: You will need a stunner to complete this mission. Fortunately, you will be given one just before it's needed.

Check out the cargo holds. Random loot can be found in them; otherwise, the mission is simply a matter of exploring every room. You get one chance to repair the autodoc, and it is worthwhile to redo that action if you fail the first time.

STORMRIDER BASE

Your mission is to fight off a Foundation attack. The attack is triggered by your visit to Dr. Makali. It is a good idea to resupply at the student store in the northwest corner of the base before visiting the doctor. The labs are in the southwest corner. Once the attack starts, you will be directed to the various areas under attack. The last attack will be in Dr. Makali's lab.

GENETIC FOUNDATION

You will be captured immediately upon arrival but will also escape immediately. The first order of business is to recover your equipment. It's stored one level down from the level where you are held. Use the secret chute through the kitchen area. On the level where you are held is the security robot control room. Avoid that room until you have regained your weapons. You cannot win the fight without your weapons; however, it should be the first place your party visits once they recovers their weapons. You then need to shut down the main and secondary general security controls. The main controls are two levels down from where the party was imprisoned. The entrance to the secondary controls is locate on the level where your weapons were located; these cannot be deactivated until you shut down the main security room.

Now you can move more or less freely throughout the base. Locate the grubs and revive them. If Life Suspension fails, there is Life Suspension revival equipment on the bottom-most level that can revive the grubs. Put the revived grubs in the incubators and your mission is complete. You can now leave the base.

MINING RIG

This is the final mission. Basically, it is a series of battles culminating in a three-part final battle. Explore the rig and locate the catch nets and the autodoc. After each RAM attack, there should be random loot in the nets. That's your only supply of ammo during this mission. You will be told when an attack occurs. Meet the first attack on the landing area and hunt down stragglers in the rest of the ship. You will be told when all attackers have been killed. Report to the rigmaster and Dr. Makali between attacks. There are two breaks from the attacks. The first is to look for bombs. They will be found in the power pods. Failure to disarm or find the bombs actually shortens the mission. The second is to try to drive the living ship away. Failure here will leangthen the mission. Jetpack and Pilot Fix Wing Aircraft skills are needed here. After the final battle, Buck Rogers and Wilma Deering will arrive and the game ends rather abruptly. To prepare for the next game, you should UNREADY all items and save before meeting Rogers and Deering.

PART TWO: SECRET HISTORY

The coordinates are usually for the door leading to the room except for a few cases where being in exactly the right spot is neeccessary. Sometimes the door is just the entrance to a series of rooms that eventually lead to the right place. The level your characters first enter the maze is level 0. Higher levels are 1, 2, etc. Lower levels are -1, -2, etc.

CALORIS

Your first meet Dr. Romney at 4,2. The coronation room is at 3,13.

CERES BASE

The armory is at 13,6. The laser control is at 5,5. The laser is at 5,2. Needed information is at 4,10.

VENUS

The mine entrance is at the building at 11,5.

The party will be captured at 10,3. Llorak can be rescued at 13,1.

The control to turn off the gravity field is at 12,3. The elevator to the lower level is at 14,12. You need to find the Venusian scientists at 0,3 to finish the lab mission after killing the Purge invaders.

LOSANGELORG

WARRENS

Loa-Loa is located at 4,4. You will eventually have to rescue her at 3,0. Isha is located at 13,0. At 4,8 is key information as to who actually has Chade. At 7,12 you will eventually find Gargoyle. If you cannot get the key to rescue Chade, take him back to Loa-Loa at 4,4. At 15,15 is the entrance to Chade's prison. He has escaped but left behind a gadget you need to locate him.

HISTORIC MUSEUM

Chade is at 8,6. The daughter is at 2,6. Once you discover who the real Chade is, the papers are at 0,1 and the real Chade is hiding at 13,2.

PURGE HQ

Romney is in the prison at 0,2. The elevator to the next floor is at 0,1. The lunarian weapon is at 10,5. The final battle is triggered at 11,5. You have to finish off the Sooth program at 12,15.

LUNA

The hummer repair parts are at 2,13. The hummer is at 2,9. The controls to kill the carniferns and close the space dock doors are at 11,10. The space dock is at 12,8.

RAM DEIMOS BASE/PRISON

Use the shaft at 11,4, then the elevator at 4,4. Go to the shaft at 9,0. The sleeping officer is at 9,8. The control room is at 11,11. The escape from the lower prison level is at 14,0. In the upper level the party's equipment is at 15,7. The Stormrider is at 2,10. The security computers are at 7,13. The final battle is at 9,14.

NEO BASE

The strange device is at 9,1. The password for the RAM spy is Elroy. Zachary can be caught at 2,5.

LIVING SHIP

You start out at 6,3. Exit at 9,10. This takes you to 8,10 of level 1. The exit at 5,0 leads to level 2 and the crews' quarters. The exit at 12,9 leads to the propulsion area. In the crews' quarters the exit at 3,8 leads to the bridge. Explore each level before leaving.

STORMRIDER BASE

Dr. Makali is at 7,3. The student store is at 4,2.

GENETIC FOUNDATION

The kitchen is at 11,11. The robot controls are at 8,10. The party's equipment is at 12,6. The main security room is at 6,9. The entrance to the secondary security controls is at 8,0. The grubs are at 1,5 and revival equipment is at 6,7. The incubators are at 11,0. You exit the base at the lowest level using the central elevators.

MINING RIG

The autodoc is at 10,9. The rigmaster is at 15,7. Dr. Makali can be found at 9,8. The catch nets are at 0,7.