Dead Space 3 walkthrough, Part Nine: Investigate the Con Tower
With Necromorphs running rampant and time slipping away, it's ever more important for Isaac and his 'pals', if he'd call them that, to get away from the flotilla of ghost ships and down to Tau Volantis. His foray into the tram station has turned up another location on the Terra Nova, though, and darned if Isaac isn't the exploratory type. Let's hop off at the Con Tower and see what we can see.
The platform the tram pulls up to is littered with items. Grab the lot and check out the security panel in the back-left. Move the lights to the appointed spots on the interface to open the nearby door. There's another, but you'll need a Key Card to get through. Wonder where you'll find that? Easy answer - in the booth through the door you just opened. It's sitting on the console. Grab the Con Tower Key and the Conic Dispersal, as well as any other items, use the Bench if you wish, and check out that locked door. (There's also a recording to listen to, if you have the stomach.)
The Key unlocks an elevator. Step inside and Investigate the Con Tower will begin - as well as a hunt for a guy named Edwards, who appears to not enjoy the idea of company. When you leave the elevator, look ahead and you'll see two Necromorphs hanging from the ceiling. Stasis them for easy kills. Ahead and to the right is an item; to the left are a small set of stairs leading to a door. Look above for another Necromorph to kill.
Through the next door is a two-level room with a few different ways up to the Communication Den. You'll probably notice that the vents have blinking red explosives on them. Not a good sign, and blowing them up won't really do you any good. Collect everything from the containers here and approach the inviting 'Open' door. Get ready -
- as the door will shock Isaac and spark the explosives after a quick message. Use the message time to run downstairs and get ready for a flood of Necromorphs. The key to a less painful victory here is to use the numerous explosive canisters to fry the Necromorphs from a distance while you run around the upper and lower levels. Don't stay in one spot for too long or you'll get mobbed by two or three. Stasis when necessary, and take advantage of enemies that fight at a range - they're a bit less dangerous. Be extremely careful of getting hit by the vomit from the greenish Necromorphs, as it can slow you down and leave you vulnerable to the faster melee hitters. You'll have to beat roughly a little over ten Necromorphs before they stop coming. Then you just have to access the console on the top floor, by the door, to shut down the alert and open the way forward.
Go through the door. You'll come out in a comm. room, and if you're careful you'll notice the three Necromorphs attached to the ceiling. Take out the one on the left side of the central consoles, then target the ones on the left. You'll receive a warning about electricity, but it's for the next room over, where you'll find an electric barrier blocking the door forward. Easy to beat: just target the yellow control box above and to the left of the beam.
Open the door into the next room and a Necromorph will rush you. Kill it quickly, then turn around to face down the next two that will come through a vent in the previous room. Ahead you'll find another electrical barrier; this time the control box is on the right side of the hall. Beyond, yet another, with an electrical box beyond the edge of the catwalk and in plain sight. Loot the lockers in the last room and, uh, do as the daunting message on the floor asks.
Beyond is a platform where you can find several items, along with two stasis canisters and a service elevator. Put the canisters on the elevator and bring them down with you to the lower level. When you move down the aisle two Necromorphs will jump out of containment ahead, and one more will leap out to your left. Use one canister to freeze the Necromorphs in front of you while you slag the one beside you. Mop up what's left and steal any items on the floor. At the end is a room charmingly labelled 'Your Funeral'. You know what to do.
Kill the Necromorph that jumps out in the next room and keep going. In the next room Edwards will activate extreme gravity plating that will decimate you if you step on it. Loot the lockers and go down the ladder nearby to find a way to shut the panels down. Use the Bench at the bottom if necessary and keep going.
Proceed until you find another electrical trap. A Necromorph will jump out of a vent beside you, and three more will appear on the other side of the trap. One can jump over it; the other two will likely fry themselves. Focus on the immediate danger, check the locker once it has passed, and scan the walls past the trap and to your right for the control box. Past here is a ladder, and near it a secured room that requires a Torque Bar. Use one to plunder the room's riches, which include Tungsten, a Rotator Cuff Module, an Upgrade Circuit and a bunch of other stuff. Head back out and go down the ladder.
Another electrical trap at the bottom, and the control box is in a vent. Wait a few seconds and a Necromorph will burst through the vent, kill itself on the beam, and clear the way. Thanks, Necromorph! Keep going to find another wall container and the Engine Room.
Oh great, another room with rigged explosives. Scour the Engine Room for containers and lockers (and a S.C.A.F. Artifact on the bottom floor), move the explosive canisters to the edges of the room where they're easy to find, and try to use the elevator on the other side. More explosions and another wave of Necromorphs follow. Use the upper platforms to outpace the creatures, blowing them to pieces with canisters whenever you get a chance. There are less of them this time, so you shouldn't have as much trouble as long as you don't get cornered on the bottom floor.
Once the Necromorphs are dead, head to the bottom floor via the stairs. There's a bank of glowing blue circles here. You need to turn the switches so there are white sparks between all of the tiny junctions between the switches. Keep fiddling until you see a spark with each circle. Successfully doing this will deactivate the alarms and open the door.
Go up the elevator. You'll find Edwards' little control centre, and the only way to shut down the gravity trap is to stop the massive turbine, which you can do by hitting it with Stasis and removing the three canisters embedded in the blades with Kinesis. Check Edwards' desk for a Text Log and return to the elevator. You'll have to make the trip back to the gravity trap. You'll get ambushed twice along the way: once in the room with the Torque Bar door, and again in the room just before you reach the Bench. Hop in the elevator past the trap and ride it to the third floor of the tower.
At the top of the tower you'll learn the unhappy fate of Edwards. Check around the room for items and you'll also discover that the vents are again rigged to blow. Lord. Go up the elevator at the side of the room and you'll find his little supply depot - locked. The key is probably with his things on the second level. Go down the elevator to the second floor to find his dorm, including a bunch of random items, a Text Log and an Edwards Access Key. Grab it and return to the third floor.
Use the Key on the door on the second floor. Inside you'll find three Spare Parts Boxes, Medic Support and an Upgrade Circuit. Leave and Edwards will bestow his parting gift: the destruction of the remaining bombs. This will bring two Necromorphs out beside you. Kill them before going down the elevator. The remaining opposition is surprisingly light: only three Necromorphs. Take out the two vomit-hurlers before going after the tendril-waving ranged attack near Edwards' corpse.
Make your way back to the tram. You won't encounter much resistance until you hit the comm. room, where you'll be ambushed by four Necromorphs. Use the banks of computers to separate and demolish them - you don't want to be hit by any vomit. Past this point you should just run, as there are plenty of Necromorphs but not enough resistance to bother with. Dart down the stairs in the room where you first encountered explosives, go through the door and dash down the hall. The vast majority of the Necromorphs on your tail won't be fast enough to follow before you can hop in the elevator and leave the Com Tower behind for good. Ta, Edwards!
