An Escape is a type of Combat scenario, played using the Combat (Mini-Game). In this scenario, Max must attempt to leave the building where the combat takes place, while armed with minimal equipment and with the alarm blaring.
This scenario occurs only if Max has been Captured by enemies during another Combat situation, and has refused an Exchange of agents in return for his freedom.
Description[]
Prelude to an Escape. This cutscene wastes around 24 hours of game-time!
The term "Escape" is used on this wiki to describe a specific type of Combat scenario.
When Max is Captured during any Combat, his captors will offer an Exchange of agents in return for Max's freedom. If this offer is refused, the captors will then take Max to their Hideout in the city where Max was captured, and hold him there for a period of 24 hours or so. Once this period passes, Max will become free of his bonds and will attempt to Escape the hideout.
The Escape is played as an indoor Combat Mini-Game, similar in some ways to a Break-In. Max begins this Mini-Game sitting in what would otherwise have been the Agent Room of this hideout. His goal during this scenario is to make it out of the building without being Captured again.
Initially Max is sitting in a chair in the Agent Room, pretending to still be tied up. Enemy guards moving through the Agent Room will not pay attention to Max, as they believe he is still their prisoner. As soon as Max moves from this starting position, the alarm will immediately go off.
At this point there is not much for Max to do other than leave the building. This can be difficult, as the alarm will generally draw enemy guards into the Agent Room right away. Max's task, therefore, would be to try to make his way to one of the building's exits as quickly as possible. If he is Captured again, he will need to spend another 24 hours or so waiting for another chance to Escape.
The Alarm[]
As soon as Max moves from his initial position, the alarm will immediately go off. This means that initially, enemy guards will come running towards the Agent Room to look for Max.
If contact with enemies is avoided (or resolved very quickly), it's possible for the alarm to die down, and Max may even be able to collect a Disguise from one of his dead/neutralized opponents once this occurs.
However, if an enemy guard ever enters the Agent Room after Max has moved from his initial position, he will set the alarm off again. This will remove any Disguise Max has picked up, and will once again send enemy guards streaming into the Agent Room. Note that they will not go towards Max's location, but rather towards where the alarm was triggered, and so this occurence can be a useful distraction. In other words, since enemies will head into the Agent Room to respond to this alarm, the way out of the building may suddenly become much less populated, making the escape easier. This knowledge can be very useful on higher Difficulty settings.
Gear[]
Regardless of the equipment Max was carrying when he was Captured, he will always start the Escape scenario with the following gear:
- A Pistol
- A Kevlar Vest
- A Motion Detector
For most players this is usually enough to allow some combat on the way out of the building, though a Pistol is usually not sufficient to allow direct confrontation with larger groups of enemy guards, so stealth and/or quickly making your way towards the exit may be the best choice.
As with all other Combat scenarios, walking over the body of a dead or neutralized enemy will collect 2 grenades of any random type. This can be very helpful to your escape attempts. No other equipment can be salvaged during an Escape scenario.
Aftermath[]
Since Max is always wearing a Kevlar Vest during this scenario, he can be wounded up to 3 times without falling unconscious. If wounded 4 times, Max will be re-captured, and the entire process will begin again: an Exchange offer, which (if refused) is followed by a 24-hour period of wasted time, and then another Escape attempt from the same Hideout.
If Max makes it out one of the building's external doors, the Escape is said to be successful. If Max is not wounded, you'll be immediately returned to the City Locations list. Otherwise, you'll have to watch the "Recover from Wounds" cutscene, while several hours of game-time are wasted. In this sense it is similar to any other Combat scenario.
There is no benefit to a successful escape other than being able to continue your investigation. In fact, it is quite wasteful: you have spent 24 hours or more in captivity, time which your enemies have surely used to further their Criminal Plot.
Similarity with a Break-In[]
As explained above, an Escape scenario always takes place in a Hideout - one belonging to the Organization that captured Max. Therefore, this scenario shares some tactical similarity to the Break-In scenario, regarding movement between rooms, hiding behind furniture, and so forth.
The fact that the scenario is played inside a Hideout has another important effect: it means you can collect information on your way out of the building. Naturally, having nothing but basic combat-related Gear means that it is impossible to plant Bugs or photograph Containers. However, it is still possible to Hack Terminals, as this requires no special equipment.
Remember of course that the Hideout where this scenario takes place is always the one that belongs to the Organization that Captured Max. If you have no need to investigate this Organization or its agents, it may be a better idea to simply make your way out of the building quickly to avoid wasting time.
Note also that during an Escape scenario, the enemy agent residing in this Hideout (if any!) will not be present. Therefore, they cannot be Arrested or Turned unless, after escaping, you break back into the same Hideout.