Ambush

An Ambush is a specific kind of Combat situation. An Ambush may occur when Max tries to visit a Hideout, especially on the highest Difficulty setting. An Ambush is an outdoor combat scenario, fighting several enemies within a confined space littered with Obstacles.
As with any combat situation, failure to win this encounter results in Capture. Surviving the Ambush will reveal which Organization sent its men to ambush you, though this may or may not lead to any actual Participants or relevant data.
==Description==
An Ambush is an outdoor Combat situation. It is played in the Combat Mini-Game mode, and pits Max against one or more armed enemy agents.
An Ambush may occur when Max tried to visit a Hideout. A black screen will come up with an explanation of the situation, and combat will ensue immediately once any key is pressed.
Max is then placed at the bottom end of a singular battle area, littered with various Obstacles such as cars and trash cans. Enemies will be placed nearer the top end of this area.
For this combat, Max is automatically equipped with a Pistol, a Kevlar Vest and 4 Fragmentation Grenades. There is no way to change your Gear before the encounter, although you can pick up additional grenades from fallen enemies.
If Max suffers 4 Wounds during this combat, he is knocked out and Captured by his opponents immediately. Otherwise, if Max manages to kill all enemies, the aftermath screen will tell you the identity of the Organization that sent these agents, and return you to the City Locations screen unceremoniously. Any wounds suffered during combat will cause a "Recover from Wounds" cutscene to appear, costing several hours of game-time as appropriate.
===Occurence===
It is currently unknown how the game decides whether to trigger an Ambush situation. Unlike a Car Chase, an Ambush appears to be possible regardless of the local Hideout Alert level - it may be possible to encounter an Ambush on your very first attempt to visit any Hideout!
Ambushes can happen on any Difficulty Level above Local Disturbance, but appear to be more common as the difficulty increases. The number of enemies also varies depending on the difficulty.
Additionally, Ambushes may be related to the presence of a CIA Double Agent in the city where they occur. This has not yet been confirmed nor denied, so take this with a grain of salt.
===The Scenario===
Like the fight at the end of a failed Car Chase, an Ambush takes place outdoors. It is a single combat area, similar to a single Room found when entering Hideouts, except that the boundaries are set and there is no way to leave other than killing all enemies (or being Captured).
The combat area is littered with broken cars and trash cans. These are Obstacles which both you and your enemies can hide behind, to break line-of-sight and thus avoid being shot. Note of course that grenades can fly over Obstacles and so they are not perfect cover for neither you nor your foes.
Max begins the encounter at the center-bottom of the combat area. Anywhere from 1 to 8 enemies are spawned nearer the top of the combat area, though if sufficient enemies are present they may begin closer to Max's position.
Note that the Combat Mini-Map is completely blank during the Ambush, showing neither the Layout of the area nor the location of the enemies (since you do not have a Motion Detector).
===Gear===
Max will start every Ambush with the following pieces of gear automatically selected:
*A Pistol with 24 bullets.
*A Kevlar Vest
*4 Fragmentation Grenades
It is not possible to select a different load-out prior to the start of the Ambush, nor is it possible to acquire any extra gear except Grenades, which can be picked up from the bodies of dead enemies as normal (2 grenades of a random type per body).
===Gameplay===
The game is played as any other Combat encounter, with some minor differences:
*Enemies with clear line-of-sight will fire at Max, potentially causing 1 Wound per each shot, if it hits.
*Enemies can throw an unlimited number of Stun Grenades and/or Fragmentation Grenades, especially when they cannot see Max.
*It is possible to break line-of-sight by crouching behind any obstacle.
*Any enemy hit by a gunshot or Fragmentation Grenade will be killed. Enemies can be stunned with Stun Grenades. All grenades affect both Max and his enemies.
*Gas Grenades have no effect, if you even manage to get any at all (they can only be found on dead enemy bodies, since you do not start with any).
*It is impossible to leave the visible combat area, or step out of its visible boundaries. Combat will only end once all enemies are dead, or once Max has been knocked out.
===Outcome===
The Mini-Game ends when either of the following conditions has been met:
#All enemies have been killed (success).
#Max has suffered 4 Wounds (failure).
Suffering 4 Wounds will lead to Capture by the Organization that sent these agents after you. Max will be offered an Exchange of agents in return for his freedom. If the offer is refused, Max will be automatically taken to the Organization's local Hideout, approximately 24 hours will pass, and then the Escape mini-game must be played to regain your freedom.
If Max kills all enemies, the mini-game is ended successfully. A short piece of text will reveal the identity of the Organization that sent these men after Max. If Max has suffered any Wounds during the encounter, you will be treated to the "Recover from Wounds" cutscene which costs several game-hours. Whether or not this cutscene occurs, you will be returned to the City Locations screen automatically.
Knowing the identity of the assailants is not as useful as it sounds. It appears that there is not always a direct correlation between the Organization that sends men after you and the ongoing investigation.
Category:Combat