MDK2 Level 2 Strategy Guide: Witness an Inferno!

Level Briefing: Max

The time has come for Max the cigar-smoking dog to step in and try to deal with the Pilot. Max needs to find out just what happened to Kurt (as far as Doc Hawkins knows, Kurt’s just outside the range of communication with the Jim Dandy). This is your first chance to take the reigns on Max and see ’first paw what it’s like to have six limbs. Go get ’em, boy!

• Enemies: Poopsies, Samsmites, Bottrock, Bifs, Coneheads.
• Boss: The Pilot
• New Weapons/Items: Uzi, Sentry Guns, (MORE TO COME).

Level 2 Strategy Contents:

• Area 1: Crashing the Party
• Area 2: The Green Pods
• Area 3: Poopsie’s Bunkers
• Area 4: Jetpacking to Victory
• Area 5: Jumping for an Audience
• Area 7: The Giant Ball

Area 1: Crashing the Party

• Max lands in a large room after the alien spacecraft crashes. Pick up the three Magnum handguns and get ’em ready.
• This room has three walls that you can shoot down to reveal hidden areas. Start with the one by the disabled spaceship; behind it is the exit you’ll ultimately be taking out of Area 1.
  • You can also shoot the walls sticking out at 90 angles to the left and right of the spaceship. Knock these walls down and proceed through the doors
• Get rid of the wall on the left and you’ll find a passageway guarded by a Sentry Gun. Dodge it and move on down the hallway, where you’ll find one more Sentry Gun.
• At the end of this hall is a room guarded by three Poopsie’s. Don’t blink—shoot ’em all and pick up the guns.
• The Conehead beyond the window is just there to taunt you. There’s nothing you can do to take him out, so save your ammo.
• Now move straight across to the wall on the other side of the room. Blow the wall away and continue down the Sentry-guarded hallway, taking out the Sentries as you travel.
• When you get to this room you’ll see a Car Battery and several weapons, guarded by a Bif. Take him out with your shotgun and then pick up the goodies.
  • Because Max doesn’t have a sniper mode like Kurt’s, you won’t be able to kill Bifs by shooting their eye. Instead you’ll have to use brute force—and you’ll get better results from your shotgun than a Magnum or Uzi.
• Now it’s time to head back to the door by the spaceship and get this level really rockin’! Open the door with green trim and you’ll immediately get hit by two Samsites that come scurrying out at you.
• Take out the alarms (the red flashing lights) as soon as you come upon them. If you’re quick enough, this stops the enemies from spawning on each side of the room.

Area 2: The Green Pods

• First pick up the Uzis that are laid out in front of you. Then shoot the glass away from the side areas.
• After you’ve destroyed the alarms and silenced the Poopsie’s that meet you here, bust the green ceiling pods on both sides of the room. The main door will open and you can take your leave.
  • Keep in mind that Sentry Guns cannot shoot backward, so if you just run past them you’ll be safe.
• After leaving the green pod room, you enter another hallway. Follow it around to the checkpoint and jump on it!
• After the checkpoint, another passageway angles downward to a dead-end. Shoot out this final wall and face your foes: plenty of Poopsie’s and Samsmites. Don’t stay to fight; just keep moving past them.
• Keep following this wide, straight corridor, taking out enemies whenever you must. Expect to see Poopsie’s and Samsmites.
• About halfway down the hallway you’ll find a pair of Uzis to replenish your dwindling armaments.
• As you move along the passage, keep shooting down the walls that get in your way. Just keep going and don’t worry about killing all the enemies. There’s no gain for doing so.
• At the end of the passageway is another door with green trim. Shoot it out and keep going!

Area 3: Poopsie’s Bunkers

• In the next hallways you’ll find another series of alarms and Sentry Guns. Go ahead and blow out the alarms, but it’s okay to just avoid the Sentries if you don’t want to be bothered with shooting them.
  • Dodge side-to-side among the Sentries as you move along the hallways, and you won’t have to worry about taking hits. Remember, Sentry Guns can only shoot forward.
• This large open room has three bunkers that contain pods generating Poopsie’s that you’ll have to deal with as you move about. Adding insult to injury, airborne units are swooping in and firing on you!
• As you move through this area you can gather up the many Uzis that are scattered around. Pick up all that you can and arm them so that you have a full arsenal.
• After you’re armed, move quickly to the three bunkers and take out each spawning pod. You’ll have to face the Poopsie’s already there and waiting, but with a four-fisted Uzi punch you won’t have much trouble.
• Here’s a new door with a checkpoint lying beyond. Move on through to Area 4, where you’ll be using your Jetpack.

Area 4: Jetpacking to Victory

• This room has three doors: the one you came in through, and two others. Before you do anything, pick up the Jetpack and get the hang of using it (see Max Maneuver 1.1).
• Max Maneuver 1.1: Jetpacking
  • It’s a good idea to practice flying around with the Jetpack. Becoming adept at using this device will serve you well as the game wears on. To use the Jetpack, jump and hold down the jump key.
  • The Jetpack’s Refueler will give you all the fuel you need to float around, so be sure to take advantage of this resource. Having a few extra ticks of fuel in your Jetpack later on can make some of your tasks quite a bit easier, so take the time to learn how to power up. The Refueler gives you up to 100 points of fuel just for getting close enough to it. Hovering under it is even more efficient.
• After you’ve had your fill of Jetpack practice and fooling with the Punch Walls (see Max Maneuver 1.2), jet up through the door in the ceiling. Immediately move to the side of the chamber, where you can idle without wasting fuel.
• Max Maneuver 1.2: Gambling with the Punch Walls
  • Punch Walls have a hole in them and a question mark above. To try a Punch Wall out, simply walk up to the hole with the question mark in front of it; you’ll find out really quickly whether you’re getting a punch or a treat! These Punch Walls offer a substantial but intriguing gamble: You have a 50% chance of either acquiring an item, or receiving a bone-crushing punch in the chops. If you’re willing to take the hits, you may get lucky and gather up lots of booty.
  • As an added temptation to take the gamble, you may get really lucky and find a Super item such as a Laser Gatling Gun or a Black Hole Bomb! Greg Zeschuk from Bioware tells us there’s roughly a 2% chance that you’ll get a Super item from a Punch Wall.
  • Whether you decide to use a Punch Wall depends entirely on how much Health you have. If you feel confident that you can absorb a hit or two, taking on a Punch Wall is probably worth the risk of getting slammed. Heck, even if you do take a punch, there's a chance that the item you acquire will be a Health power-up!
• These Punch Walls are pretty cool when they give you items for your inventory, but when you get punched, OUCH!
• In this first chamber you’ll find four Sentry Guns that you must work hard to eliminate. Get going! Move side-to-side and quickly take ’em out before they turn you into a roasted hot dog!
• Now that this chamber is clear, you have to Jetpack up and repeat the same feat in another room. In fact, you’ll have to do it three times, taking out Sentry Guns in each room.
  • You may have to jump down to the Refueler once or twice for a power-up in order to make it all the way to the exit at the top.
• At the top of these chambers you’ll have to take out the three Generators on their ledges. Then look to see which ledge the Refueler is on. Note that there are two big ol’ Bifs waiting on the platform above.
• There are two ways to whack these ugly giants: You can Jetpack up and strafe them on the move (which isn’t easy). Or you can jump up on the pad and use your shotgun (if you still have it) to hit them at close range.
• The Car Battery between the two Bifs can boost your Health while you’re entrenched in battle with them.
• There are three chambers above the Bifs, each with four Sentry Guns. Destroy this arsenal as you did in the chambers below.
• At the top of the Sentry chambers is another area with three platforms. Two of them are Punching Walls, and the third is the exit. Take the exit and head into the hallway.

Area 5: Jumping for an Audience

• This hallway is full of Sentries, and at times you’ll have to face three at once. Again, it’s best to run past them and then shoot them from behind, or just hurry past them and avoid them all together.
• At the end of the hallway you’ll come to a long, mesh-enshrouded outdoor passage. Pick up the AA battery and Uzis lying there and then boogie on down this corridor as fast as possible (see Max Manuever 1.3).
• Max Maneuver 1.3: Getting Through the Mesh Hallway
  • Along this route you’ll find plenty of annoying Bottrocks getting in your way, and at least one Bif. There are also plenty of power-ups scattered here, to pick up and aid you in your battles in Area 5. The best way to get through this hallway is to fight only when necessary. You can actually run through most of it without conflict, but it’ll take some fancy footwork. Bash the Bif, for sure, when you reach him (because his shots will track you). Then just hightail it to the end of the level where you’ll find a checkpoint.
• This Bif is worth killing because you don’t want him firing at your backside, but don’t waste ammo on the Poopsie’s along this corridor unless you absolutely have to.
• This room contains a bubble with a group of four Bottrocks who’ll mockingly cheer each of your successes. Your goal is to jump from pad to pad and make it to the Refueler hovering in the air.
• Jump at the Refueler, and you’ll earn some fuel for being near it. Then use your jetpack to hover near the Refueler and continue to recharge.
  • If you can get your head right underneath the Refueler, you can hover there for your recharge. The Refueler will power you up faster than your burn rate as you hover.
• Getting your head lodged underneath the Refueler will get you charged up without having to micromanage your Jetpack.
• Fly your refueled Jetpack up through these three new chambers and get to the fourth (and top) room. Don’t dilly-dally—move as fast as the Jetpack will take you.
• At the top of the chamber, there’s a checkpoint on one of the three ledges and Punch Walls on the other two. Take your chances with the Punch Walls if you want, but hitting the checkpoint is your first priority.
• In this hallway you’ll meet up with another series of Sentry Guns. Move along however you choose (running and gunning or dodging), and then enter Area 7.

Area 7: The Giant Ball

• This room features a big ball-shaped Generator with six nipples that fire on you; it also has a hard shell that you must shoot off. Before you jump down and have at it, arm all four hands with your best weapons (see Max Maneuver 1.4).
• Max Maneuver 1.4: Taking Out the Ball
  • The first priority for your anti-Generator firepower is to take out the six nipples that are firing upon you relentlessly. Once these are gone, you can work at blowing up the Generator’s shell. There’s a Refueler on the ground near the base of the Generator; use it to replenish your Jetpack so you can fly up to grab the Uzis at the top of the room. Taking out the Ball Generator is not particularly difficult, especially after you’ve zapped the shooting nipples. The key to this effort is to have enough firepower. That’s why you need those Uzis—so be sure you grab ’em.
• Shoot the nipples first. Then you can take your time busting the shell of the Ball Generator.
• The Ball Generator’s hard shielding is your next target. Keep firing!
• Use the Refueler at the bottom of the room to replenish your Jetpack. Then zoom up and grab the Uzis near the top.
• The Uzis at the top of the room are important for keeping your firepower up. It takes a lot of ammo to dispose of this boss.
• Once you’ve busted the Generator’s shell, there is only one spot left to shoot—the bright light in the middle. Pop that and the level is over.
• Alas—Shwang Shwing takes Max away and leads you to the next level, with the mad Dr. Fluke Hawkins!