Exklusiv: Hellgate: London Tube Tour 2

When the end of the world came we dug deep and hid.

In our last installment of these London Tube Tours, we introduced Convent Garden Station, a Templar stronghold on the frontlines of the Demon assault that has so ruined the surface of our world.

In 2036, the Templar zealot, Brandon Lann, was bid by the High Lord Maxim to take control of Covent Garden Station – to turn a defenseless refuge for the damned survivors of Demonkind's war into a well ordered, tightly managed fortification. He succeeded. This allowed the nearby Charing Cross Station to focus on its own reconstruction and fortification efforts, now supported and defended by the Knights of Covent Garden.

Today, we'd like to introduce you to Charing Cross, stop number three on every man and woman's journey to the Hellgate.

Though Charing Cross lacks the iron rule of a stalwart Templar champion like Lann, the station still services survivors of London's holocaust well enough. Every visitor shall have the opportunity to buy, sell, upgrade, augment, and even construct items, provided they have the coin and necessary equipment. Additionally, healers are made available for those wounded along the way. And, fast travel options to previously visited stations are always present.

Even without a dominating figurehead, Charing Cross is still well monitored and patrolled. Templar and Hunter both share duties walking the station's perimeter, ensuring no inhuman trespasser survives. This vigilance on the part of Charing Cross's guardians is necessary, for while Covent Garden may act as their shield in times of crisis, Charing Cross still sits dangerously close to many unsafe zones.

Piccadilly Circus, for instance, has fallen far. Vile creatures stalk the streets and hunt under a permanently darkened sky as the sick taint of Hell tears concrete and steel, venting its fiery rage into our world. And in some sick twist of fate, the area's prominent neon advertisements are still semi-operational, reminding the struggling survivors of London's death of what once was.

In the opposite direction, an expanse of rotted vegetation waits for desperate scavengers to foolishly saunter through. This zone, named 'Chocolate Park" by the enigmatic Lucious Aldin for its appearance, is anything but sweet. A toxic fog drifts across the land, attempting to ensnare and infect passersby, while vicious Carnagors leap about, eviscerating men with their razor sharp tusks. And at its heart, in the very center of so much horror, sits a bottomless pit of fire that reaches down to the very depths of Hell. Good Lucious refers to this abomination as the "Cauldron of Eternal Happiness." Go figure.

Should you survive the Cauldron's protectors, you will soon find yourself gallivanting about the mind of a suicidal madman, infected by the curse of Demonkind's knowledge – a possession that will likely leave him a smoldering husk. Doubtless, tearing a dimensional rift into someone's conscious brain can't be good for that someone's mental state or general well being, but also think of the traveler who then has to trudge through the brain matter of a madman while battling involuntary constructs of his imagination. That could be you!

And beyond that, assuming you have retained your own sanity, awaits the great battle of Embankment Redoubt, where disobedient soldiers must be led from a tactical perspective into a dangerous clash with Demonic forces (some of which are even capable of bolstering their ranks by casting summoning spells of their own).

These areas are just a few that fall off Charing Cross Station. In all, there are 21 infested zones attached to this outpost. Like all of Hellgate: London, these zones are subject to our extensive randomization systems that ensure every trip through is different from the last one.

Finally, while the quests undertaken at Charing Cross make for most of Hellgate's second act, acts three, four and five offer substantially more content. We hope then that you return shortly to tour a few of the stations associated with those acts.