”All you need to know is these men are NSA. Not FBI! They're here to retrieve the data from that DoD satellite. Oakton has that data. So his family and his entire group are going to be neutralized!
Paradise Ridge is the fifteenth mission in Syphon Filter 3. It is the first mission the player takes control of Teresa Lipan, who is revealed to be wounded but alive and well. It depicts Teresa Lipan's past as an ATF agent and how she met Gabriel Logan. It takes place in 1994.
Plot
Mission Briefing
Western Montana:
Paradise Ridge
Teresa's Testimony from the Congressional Record
"My grandfather had owned a cabin on the ridge just south of where the FBI had said the satellite went down. I used to spend the summers up there, so I knew the area pretty well. I guess that's why my ATF unit leader gave me the job to recon the mountain pass up to the impact area."
"I also knew the sort of people who lived up there: miners, hunters, militia, survivalists. Folks like the Unabomber who shunned people, mistrusted outsiders, and especially the government. I knew that if people like the Oaktons had got hold of that government satellite, there was going to be one hell of a fight."
Storyline
In the opening cutscene, the testimony between Gabriel Logan and Vince Hadden escalates. Hadden claims that Logan is a traitor and a terrorist (believing that he let the terrorist Erich Rhoemer escape in Costa Rica because he was working for him), and accuses him of murdering Edward Benton, Lyle Stevens, Jason Chance and Teresa Lipan, on the basis that they all "stood in Logan's way". However, Teresa Lipan shows up in person, revealing that she was in fact alive and was merely injured by Chance, greatly shocking Hadden (although he claims he was just "somewhat surprised"). Teresa then states she faked her death so she could investigate the actions of whoever was behind the Agency. Hadden then summons Teresa to testify in private, which Gabe complies. Before they discuss Teresa's investigations, Hadden wanted Teresa's background information by asking her how she got involved with the Agency. Teresa replies that she first joined the ATF right after college. The FBI discovered a survivalist militia compound and a satellite impact site near Paradise in northwestern Montana while her commander tasked her to scout and recon the area since she knew the area pretty well due to her having used to spend summers there with her family. This was Teresa's first and only mission while working for the ATF.
Once there, Teresa Lipan ran into two apparent FBI operatives who were under fire by survivalist militias. After Teresa assists them in eliminating the militias, the agents went their own way. Later, the ATF command reports that agent DeMarco was missing and was last seen around Dead Man's Gully. Teresa offers to find him since the gully was just ahead of where she was. There she found DeMarco but was ambushed by several militia members. Once she eliminated the militia, she freed DeMarco and told him to get out of there. Up ahead, she then encountered two militia (Randy and Billy) who were under custody of two "FBI" agents. The militia tells Teresa that these agents were not FBI and there was a conspiracy going on and asks her to help them because they didn't do anything wrong. One of the FBI agents tells the militia to be silent and keep moving. Teresa then asks the agents where the power lines are to which the agent responds that they are over the next ridge. An armed militia then assassinates one of the agents and tries to kill the other agent and Teresa in an attempt to free the militias but then gets eliminated. The agent then claims that the militia will pay for this (the death of his fellow agent). Teresa asks the agent what he was going to do, to which he suggested that she leaves now and that this is her only warning. Shortly after, she witnesses the agent murdering the two militias in cold blood, causing Teresa to be more suspicious of these agents.
Over the next ridge, Teresa planted homing beacons and reports this to the ATF command, asking them to send a strike team to the militia compound. She was then ambushed by a group of militia hitmen and promptly eliminated them. She then went her way to the crash site nearby and was shocked to discover what she sees. While she sneaks into the area, Earl Oakton was under custody of two "FBI" agents, one of whom issues death threat to Oakton and his family if he does not tell him where he hid the downed satellite. Oakton further refuses to comply and when Teresa yells at them to stop, the agent then murders him in cold blood. Another agent tells Teresa to go to where the other two agents are and then asks them what they should do with her, to which he ordered that they kill her since she has seen too much, much to Teresa's shock and horror. When Teresa got on her knees, the agent then suddenly killed the other two, saving Teresa's life and revealing that he was a spy. Teresa then asks what is going on and asks him who he is. The rogue agent, revealed to be none other than Gabriel Logan himself, then reveals the truth that these men are in fact corrupt NSA and not FBI. He also tells her these agents, led by Commander Silvers, were here to retrieve the data from the downed satellite which Earl Oakton possessed. Silvers will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. To this end, the NSA must "neutralize" Oakton's family and his entire group of militias. Teresa questions this, arguing that it's "insane" and asks Gabe what he's going to do with Oakton's family and his followers. Gabe states that they are not part of his mission, that the data and Silvers are his top priority and that Teresa has to get out of there immediately. Teresa objects and insists on helping Gabe. She also tells him that Oakton's family is innocent and that she will also help them get them out of there safely. Gabe agrees and gives her a device to help him know where she is.
After this event, Teresa goes back to the powerlines to remove the homing beacon and proceeds to head to the militia compound, along the way killing the now-hostile NSA agents. She also tries to avoid confrontation with the survivalist militia. In the closing cutscene, Teresa tells Hadden that the NSA agents made up lies so that they can go in the militia compound and kill everyone there with impunity. She waited until dark before heading into the compound.
Walkthrough
The difficulty level will spike in this particular mission. Remember to keep rolling if you have to bypass enemies without killing them. You will receive a crossbow for non-lethal takedowns, but beware for headshots will kill enemies, and you only have 5 shots.
From where you start, turn left and get into a crouching position. Hold this position by holding X and slowly walking forward, once you see the green enemy dot in your radar, zoom in with you Sniper Rifle to the tower ahead and quickly kill the sniper with a head shot. Equip the HK-5 and kill the militia member that runs towards you on the ground. Turn to the left again and head right and a bit forward to see the second tower, once you see the green enemy dot hit the militia sniper with a head shot.
Continue on to where the second tower was and run under it, shooting the militia member that meets you there. A little bit ahead, you'll get a radio call and a new objective. Head forwards a bit and you'll see DeMarco, get a little closer and he will yell about this being an ambush. Approach him and quickly run away to avoid the grenade, shoot the two militia that show up and approach DeMarco and press Action to untie him. Climb over the rocks to the left to continue.
Ahead you'll run into two militia being led away in custody by FBI agents, ignore them and continue on killing the militia that comes running out. Ahead is the power lines, approach the middle pole and press Action to lay a beacon, immediately kill the two Shotgun-armed militia that run out to you.
Ahead a cut-scene will take over, after it's finished head back to the power lines, (straight ahead from where you face after the cut-scene). Kill the NSA Agents that run out then ahead for the lines, upon removing the beacon three more Agents will run out so shoot them all. Then head back to where the cut scene took place.
From here, you are forbidden from killing any Militia, so use the Crossbow to hit them, (DO NOT use head shots with this for it is lethal!). Fortunately, the NSA agents are still a legitimate threat, so shoot to kill. (In fact, I would highly suggest firing first and asking questions later).
Basically at this point it's "get from Point A-to-Point-B", use the O button to roll A LOT to avoid getting hit by enemy fire, navigate through the little village and you'll later come across a white text that says "This Way to Oakton Compound", follow it and turn right and you'll see three militia running towards the compound. Follow them from a distance and once they get mowed down by NSA sniper fire, head to where they were and keep rolling to avoid their fire. Ahead you'll see a steel wall, approach it to finish the mission.
Characters
- Teresa Lipan (Player)
- ATF agent DeMarco (ally, hostage)
- NSA agents (allies early in the mission, enemies later on)
- Silvers (mentioned)
- F.I.S.T. survivalist militia (enemies early in the mission, must not be killed by the player later on)
- Earl Oakton (cutscene)
- Randy (enemy, hostage)
- Billy (enemy, hostage)
- Dusty Oakton (cutscene, mentioned)
- Debbie Oakton (cutscene, mentioned)
- Gabriel Logan (cutscene)
- Vincent Hadden (cutscene)
- Edward Benton (cutscene, mentioned)
- Lyle Stevens (cutscene, mentioned)
- Jason Chance (cutscene, mentioned)
- Erich Rhoemer (cutscene, mentioned)
Trivia
- This is so far one of the few missions in the Syphon Filter series where the United States organisations are fighting against each other (ATF vs NSA/ FBI).
- The survivalist militia may be based on the real life Militia of Montana, a far-right paramilitary organization that distrusted the government, especially federal agents.
- This series of flashbacks, set in 1994 Western Montana, strongly reference the real-life sieges of Ruby Ridge, Idaho (1992) and Waco, Texas (1993).