M07 Stage 7: A Taste For Blood
On board a sport fishing boat a drunken fisherman is talking to himself
about catching some fish, "Smokin' dang shark-fish." As his boat is
rocking in the waves he drops an explosive barrel over the stern of his
boat. While talking about what he'll buy with the reward, he fails to
notice a loose explosive rolling toward him... until it's too late.
Nearby some unfortunate divers are injured in the resulting explosions
and you are drawn to the scent of fresh blood in the water....
"Shark Vision" in this level is almost a NECESSITY, and it will SAVE YOUR
LIFE. Be sure to use it to it's full advantage.
Once the level begins, you will find yourself in a very small cove with
rows of mines chained to the ocean floor all over the place. Since it was
the blood that drew you to this area, your objective is to find a way
through the minefield, and kill the four divers who are hiding inside.
The most deadly thing in this area is accidentally hitting one of the
wrong type of mines. When you activate "Shark Vision" with the "TRIANGLE"
button, and look at the rows of mines, some of them will be surrounded by
a green glow. Hitting ANY of the mines that DO NOT GLOW will result in a
chain reaction explosion and INSTANT DEATH. One way or another, you will
have to get past the mines, and if you return from Open Ocean, they will
still be here. So, prepare to get your collectibles as you go, because
when you return for the Side Challenge later, you probably won't want to
stay around any longer than you need to.
On a side note, another neat feature of the "Shark Vision" in this level,
is that it seems to enhance the blood trail left by the divers, making
it easier to see. Easier to see, means easier to follow. Sort of...
Throughout the area, you will also find plenty to eat, seals, sharks and
smaller fish inhabit this area. Don't hesitate to backtrack to a "safe"
area and restore your health. You may survive detonating a "green" mine
but you will still take a medium amount of damage, so it's best to try
and keep your health at a maximum.
One final note, be very careful as you swim through this area until you
reach a safe area. Even changing direction with the "Left Analog Stick"
while trying to look around, will propel you forward, whether your press-
ing the "X" to swim or not. So when trying to line up a target, you can
very easily cause yourself to drift into a mine.
As the level begins, there will be a long row of mines on the South/South-
western direction. Swim east until you see some barrels on the bottom of
the cove. Now, if you turn on your "Shark Vision" and turn to the South
(your right), you should see a glowing mine near the surface. Progress
through this level will be made by blowing up the green mines to make a
path for you to swim through. There are three different approaches to
destroying a "safe" or green mine. You could throw an object at the chain
attached to the mine, you could throw an object directly at the mine it-
self, or you could swim into the chain near the bottom. (Actually, you
could also swim directly into the mine, but this causes extreme damage and
would not be advisable.) You will suffer less damage if you attack the
chain, and you will suffer more damage by directly attacking the mine. It
is not necessary to remove the mine to the South, but you could destroy it
for practice, if you choose to attack the chain, make sure you are aiming
at the correct chain, as hitting the wrong one is fatal.
After you practice on the mine, or not, swim up to the Northern wall. If
you stay real close to the North wall, you will be able to swim East and
pass a row of mines. Once your are past the mines, you should be able to
see a License Plate in the corner ahead and to your left. This one is not
that difficult to obtain. Turn right and you will see a large rock. You
want to swim past the rock on it's right side as you face it, but stay as
close as possible and you won't hit the chains or trigger any mines. Past
the rock you will come to a small open area, and see another rock ahead of
you. Carefully look to the East (left) and you will see that there are
some gaps in the chains. Ease yourself through the second gap (the one
further south) while heading Southeast. (The "N" for North on your sonar
should be at about the 8 o'clock position.) If you are lined up correctly,
you will be able to swim forward all the way to the wall in front of you.
You may have to make slight adjustments, but there should not be any mine
chains in your path. Once you reach the far wall, you can turn North
(left), and while staying against the wall swim to the Licence Plate 31/45
in the corner. (That wasn't too bad).
This next part is tricky, but it will save you the trouble of having to
blow up some mines. However, it will involve some very precise swimming.
Turn South, and prepare to follow the wall on the East (left). This is the
same wall that you just followed into the corner to get the License Plate.
Before you start swimming, look to your right and you will see a mine on a
very short chain. Begin counting with the next long chain that is closest
to you, on your right. As you swim carefully to the South, you should pass
4 chains. The last chain will be relatively close, but you will safely
pass between it and the wall. Now, you should notice that the seabed is
beginning to rise. Turn slightly to your right, and you should notice a
nice wide gap in the chains, almost like a path. This gap in the chains
should be obvious, but to be sure, the "North" indicator on your sonar
should be at about 5 o'clock. Slowly swim through the gap and slightly ad-
just your direction to the right, so that you can see the large rock. You
will see another gap in the chains that will allow you to swim toward the
left edge of the rock, so slowly head through, but be careful not to hit
any of the chains near the rock itself. Avoiding the chains on the rock,
carefully swim clockwise around the rock until you see a License Plate
glowing in the distance, among the chains. You will be facing almost
directly to the West.
If you do this next section carefully, you will reach a checkpoint, and
be past the hardest part of this area. While facing the Licence Plate to
the West, carefully aim in between the chains that are slightly to the
left of it. By tapping your swim button "X" just enough to give a little
forward speed, you can practically "glide" or coast through the chains.
The space is tight, but as long as you don't hold "X" you will fit through.
(Tapping the "X" prevents you from thrashing your tail widely back and
forth, which could set off the mines.) Successfully pass through the
chains, and you will reach the midlevel checkpoint. (If you die now, you
will just restart from here, instead of having to travel past all the
other mines.) Take a breath, you've earned it.
License Plate 32/45 lies very close to the chains, so swim parallel to the
line of chains and face up the slope, this way you're less likely to swim
into the chains and blow yourself up.
Before you make your path through the minefield to the South, turn to
the West and swim past the sunken ship. You will find Tin Can 1/4 on
a rock in the Southwest corner, near the surface of the water.
This area makes a relatively safe hunting area if you need to replenish
your health while you continue this level. Stay alert for th other sharks
because they will attack you, and for some reason they don't detonate the
mines, but if you're knocked into the wrong type - BOOM!
Now, you need to get past that minefield to the South. Luckily, there are
quite a few barrels on the sea floor below you. You do not have to destroy
all the mines, or any at all to get through. If you've practiced, you
could actually perform a Body Bomb move and jump right over the mines, but,
this isn't really practical because you'll probably want to come over to
this area to feed, if necessary. So, the best thing to do is grab yourself
a barrel, take aim, and knock out a mine. When you take a barrel, it will
only be replace if it actually detonates a mine. In other words, if you
keep missing, the barrels will not be replaced where you got them from. If
this happens, you need to try and recover one of the barrels you missed
with, or take a little damage and swim into the chain as close to the
bottom as possible. So, do you best not to miss too many times. Make
yourself as big of a path as you wish, or need, but don't hit the mine
on the extreme far left. That mine is not green and will result in a messy
end.
After creating a suitable path through the mines, you can prepare to get
the rest of the hidden items, and of course hunt down those elusive divers.
Grab another barrel, and swim South through the opening you made in the
minefield. Once past the mines, if you turn to your East (left), you will
see an airplane on the bottom, laying between two boats. Beyond the air-
plane will be 3 green mines toward the left (North) side. Carefully, de-
stroy all three of the mines. Near the chain of one of the mines, you will
see another barrel, but I usually just run back and forth through the mine-
field, since it's less likely I'd detonate another mine and injure myself.
Slowly swim over top of the ships in a Northeast direction. As soon as
you reach the far edge of the last ship, turn East and look down. On the
deck of the ship should be License Plate 33/45. Next, turn toward your
left, and while staying as close as possible to the ship, swim over the
outside edge of the hull and to the ocean floor. Now, turn toward the ship
and you can swim underneath and around the front edge to find Tin Can 2/4
hidden in this small area. Swim North, out from under the ship, and then
turn west staying between the hull of the ship (on your left) and the row
of mines (on your right). When you reach the end of the ship, on your
left side will be a smaller boat wedged between another ship and this one.
Swim to the top deck of this smaller boat to collect Tin Can 3/4, and if
you're careful you can keep swimming up between the ships (heading East
away from the mines) and turn right, to get to the South side of the ships
where you started from. Hopefully, you will be pretty close to where you
started to swim over the wrecked ships. The airplane should be to the
West, and if you look toward the South, you should see another "green" mine
floating in front of another boat. There should be a barrel below you,
take it, and destroy the mine. Turn to the East (left) and you will see an
area of sunlight shining through the water (Try to rememeber this area, it
will be important, later.) Swim toward the sunlight, but stay closer to
the boat on your left, so you don't hit the mines that are ahead on your
right. As you approach the Eastern wall, you should see glow between the
wall and the boat directly in front of you. Swim down into the gap formed
by the ship on your left, the front left edge of the boat that is in front
of you, and the East wall. You will see the Diamond Necklace
(3,000 points). This area is very tight, and can be easy to get stuck in.
Try to put yourself between the Necklace and the wall and face the West as
you grab the Necklace. This way you just have to swim up over the edge of
the ships to get out. Be careful of the mines that will now be on your
left side as you exit the gap. Head West and grab the barrel as you swim
by. Turn left at the first boat you come to, and in the distance you will
see two "green" mines. On the ocean floor, between these mines you will
find License Plate 34/45. If you look to your left as you approach the two
mines, you will see what's left of the end of a large ship. There is a
barrel in there that you can use to detonate the second mine, so that you
can safely get the License Plate.
Now, it's time to get ready to catch the divers, and end this level. But
there is a little prep work to do first. There are still about a dozen
mines to remove so that you can hunt the divers without getting blown up.
From the location of the last Licence Plate swim back toward the North, and
as you past the ship wreckage on your right, go in and grab the barrel.
Exit the end of the wreckage heading West and you should see another mine
on the far side of the boat that's on the right. Destroy the mine, and
go back for another barrel. Now, as you exit toward the West again swim
until you pass the debris that is directly in front of you. Turn South
(to your left) and you will see two more "green" mines in the distance.
Again, destroy one mine, get another barrel, and then destroy the second
mine. With the second mine destroyed, go back for another barrel, and
then return to the this location. With your new barrel in mouth, turn to
the West so that your lined up parallel to the ships that make up the
Southern edge. In the distance you should see the end of a large ship
ahead and to the right, and a wall back behind that ship. Cautiously
swim past the end of the ship, and then go between it and the wall. You
will see a row of mines, all "green." You need to remove enough mines
to allow you to enter the open side of the ship which is now on your right.
You will need enough room to swim in fast, and not have to weave in between
the chains. So keep grabbing barrels, and eliminating mines until you can
safely enter the opening in the side of this ship.
Time to start killing the divers. As you were traveling back and forth
clearing the mines, you may have noticed where some of the divers were
hiding by their green glowing outline. The problem is that you aren't able
to physically get to most of them where they are hiding. So, you have to
get them to come out of hiding, so that you can catch them. If you're near
the side of the ship opening, return back to the wreckage where you've been
getting your barrels, otherwise follow the directions below to complete
the diver hunt.
DIVER 1:
From inside the wreckage where you've been getting your barrels, swim to
the surface and look slightly to the right. You will see the glow of the
diver on the boat mast sticking out above the water. Charge Attack the
mast, and knock the diver back into the water. Now, attack and kill the
diver.
DIVER 2:
From the "barrel" boat, where you grab your barrels, swim West until you
see what looks like an old wooden tugboat, then turn slightly to your
right. You should see a large grey colored hull that has a round opening
in the end. Smash through this opening with a Charge Attack and get the
diver inside.
DIVER 3:
After killing Diver 2, exit the grey hull on the West end. Turn to the
South and approch the ship that is in front of you, then follow it's hull
to the Southeast. Directly ahead, you will run into a pile of metal debris
that is laying against the side of a ship. Through the metal, you may or
may not not see a diver. Further along this ship toward the East, is
another pile of metal scraps. Look in through both piles of debris until
you find the diver. When you find him, Charge Attack the debris. You will
not see any damage, but keep Charge attacking and eventually, the the diver
will scream and he will swim to the debris pile at the opposite end.
Follow the diver and again Charge Attack the debris until the diver screams
and flees again. The diver will now try to escape at the West end of the
shipwreck and you can then attack him.
DIVER 4:
With Diver 3 dead, turn to the North and you will see the bow end of a
large ship. On the other side of that ship there is a large crack at the
bow and at the stern. Swim around to the other side of the ship and look
inside the cracks to find the last diver. Once you've found him, you need
to scare him out like Diver 3. Repeatedly Charge Attack the opening where
he is hiding, and watch for him to try to swim away. As soon as he begins
to flee, you will need to swim around the ship to the side with the hole
in the hull (opposite side from where you are) and swim into the open hull.
You should find the diver trying to swim through hull to the opposite end
of the ship. Attack him before he can get to the safety of the end of the
ship. If you come around the ship too fast, or too slow you will miss your
chance to catch him, and have to try again. When you approach the opening
in the hull, try to see if the diver has come out of his hiding place. If
you don't wait until he is in the open area, the diver won't risk coming
out of safety, when he sees you. Also, when you attack the diver, pull him
to the outside of the ship, that way if he gets loose before you kill him,
he won't be able to make it back to the ends of the ship where you can't
attack him. In case you haven't reallized it yet, this is the area where
you were supposed to remove enough mines so that you could safely and
quickly swim into the opening of the hull. If necessary, recheck the area,
and remove any mines that may still be in your way.
After all the hard work of navigating through the mines, and killing those
divers, you get to see a cut scene of a careless shark bump into a few
mines and trigger an explosion. As some of the wreckage is displaced, a
new opening in the wall is revealed. So, it's time to leave.
You need to head back to the area where the sunshine was shining through
the water, and where you found the Diamond Necklace. Turn Southeast and
follow the wall, as you swim out from behind the ship, where you killed
Diver 4. When you get to the next ship, turn to your left so that the red
main objective indicator is at the 12 o'clock position, and continue for-
ward until you see the boat hull where you were taking the barrel from. As
you approach the "barrel" boat hull, turn a little more left and swim past
it. As you pass the hull, turn right and swim in between the two boats in
front of you. You should now see the golden patch of sunshine beaming into
the water. Swim past the bow of the right boat, over top of the wooden
ship that is on it's side, and down to the floor of ocean. Do not try to
enter the cave, yet. Turn right and swim under the overhanging rock ledge.
Continue into the alcove ahead and to the left (Southeast), and you will
see Tin Can 4/4 laying on the sand underneath of another ship. Collect
the last Tin Can and turn to your right. Now, swim up and inside the hull
of the overturned ship to find License Plate 35/45 at the far end. With
the last of the hidden items collected, swim back out of the ship, turn
left, and head for the cave. Charge Attack the wooden beams blocking the
exit and this level is complete.
A reporter is seen interviewing Mayor Vaughn. Vaughn explains that the
recent Shark Attack reports have been greatly exaggerated and that there
is no cause for concern. He expects this to be the best 4th of July
celebration ever, and doesn't see any reason to change his plans...
Level Summary: You should now have 35/45 License Plates, 4/4 Tin Cans
from this stage (unlocks 4th of 6 movie clips), and a
Diamond Necklace (3,000 points).
Open Ocean Notes: Side Challenge 19: GET MR. STRIPES is found at this loc-
cation, by traveling to Misty Ridge at the Southeast
island found in Open Ocean: East. All unfound items are
in their original Story Mission locations.
Game Completion: All Items Found and Level completed you'll earn: 5.6 %
With Side Challenge completed you'll earn: 6.6 %
Total Game Completion: 45.0 %
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