Campaign and Bonus Mission Diary (Tips included)

[Art Blade]

I renamed the topic again  ;D

[Art Blade]

Bonus Mission 3 (ambush)

Playing on hardcore, I had no idea what was about to happen (apart from the briefing, secure the consulate building, repel counter attack, eliminate remaining forces) because, unlike other missions, you start right in the middle of a fight in a village. Overture: hand grenade explosion right next to the vehicle you are taking cover behind. Nice. And I wanted to be cool and turn "repel counter attack" into "attack them by surprise" before going to secure the Consulate. Scratch that, take bloody cover!

You have to quickly order your team to "fire at will, combat spread, line" so you gain control rapidly. We took out, no, my mates took out a couple of enemies while I was guessing wildly where those enemies were. Well, while I tried to follow the tracers to the source, my men did an excellent job keeping the enemy away. I had only an assault rifle, my men had 2 assault rifles and one SAW machine gun. Walking around instead of holding still proved to be a good idea, my men always on my sides, we sort of worked like a rotating line of fire. I once thought I got hit, but it was only a handful of mud splashed into my face, the bullet must have hit right in front of me. No scratch on my body, luck.

I told my men to move to the house we started from and have injuries treated. Meanwhile I skimmed the surrounding and there was a lone chap with his rifle around the corner. I remained cool and shot him down. No scratch. I decided to enter a building that had an open staircase, like outside, and heard a voice through the thin wall. Building clear, but someone was outside. I turned around, gun at ready, and I guess he had heard me too. Why? Because he uttered something that sounded like a child after the family pet had died, "Oowoowoowoowooooh..." - I saw the lone fighter and I guess I smelled the crap through his pants... Instead of shooting me he just stood there whimpering, so I gave him three presents. One lead comforter, one lead pacifier and one lead soother, with best regards from the English speaking world. Someone else will have to clean the mess up later, though. :-* Glad it wasn't me. Luck.

Then the shooting started again, so I had my men flank another building left of the road, while I used the looted sniper rifle, took it off the first guy I took out, (this was an automatic sniper, one I found before in the citadel mission during the campaign), I think it's weak as single shot rifle, but on automatic... quite convincing. I started taking out an MG nest to the right of the road, my team fired at some resistance to the left. Again I heard thumping sounds of hitting bullets next to me (or was it in me?) and my vision got distorted due to the splatter, but I kept killing the enemies in front of me, the ones that tried to reinforce them and the ones that tried to crawl away. Having finished the enemy off on my side of the road, thought it was time to patch myself up... I couldn't, because I hadn't been hit. It was all mud. Luck.

I thought of how the hell we were going to manage the situation once that counter attack arrived, as I heard one of my men shout "I'm hit!" - and at that moment I... saw the screen go black. Mission accomplished, all objectives completed, last enemy killed. Luck.

Took me 7 minutes. Only. The first time, on hardcore, and I had survived, and statistics showed I had 12 kills.

That was intense :)  :-X

I have to edit here:
The guy going "oowoowoowoowooh" really did that! The AI knew it was hopeless, incredible, but you have to act (kill) because he might just sucker you into believing he was no threat... and then you die? No way :)

[Art Blade]

FYI, I edited the first, second, third, fourth, and eighth mission posts with inserted matching videos we have in our gallery as well as two links to related vids in a topic here on this board. Might do that with the other missions, if you find some good matching vids, please let me know (post links to youtube here or upload them to the vid gallery).

[PZ]

I just did the first bonus mission (night raid) in which I set up sniper shop several hundred yards from the target area.  Started picking off enemy from a single position and was far enough away that none of the foe were able to make it to within 200 yards or so of my position - lots of fun, and before i knew it, the mission completed message popped up.

Having a great time with the game so far, and I really like the intro music.  Only wish that that style of music would continue through the game play.

[Art Blade]

I've got to do some missions again, now with more experience :)

I'm glad I can hear the enemy walk, helos close in, cars drive by... missing out on that (due to music) might be lethal  ;) I don't think I ever saw a soldier with a boom box on his shoulders (unless you call a javelin that) hehe

[PZ]

lol, you know it doesn't matter to a cheater like me Art - I'm just waiting to use my trainer with God mode!  ;D

[boom-box rockin' away]

[Art Blade]

Bonus mission 4 (Close Quarters)

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This is what you see, if you don't become entangled in some explosions and field battle right from start. A small village, at least two jeeps with mounted .50cal, and lots of armed people with only one thing in mind: getting rid of you and your men.

I have not yet managed to find a proper strategy because you are not allowed to go too far away (I wanted to take advantage of a nearby hill... and got radioed to return to the battlezone. Crap.) Right now I'm only wanting to get that bloody mission safely done :)

Oh, I got that sniper from a not so friendly enemy jeep driver...

[PZ]

What would happen if you ignored the radio message and continued to the hill?

[Art Blade]

Not sure, hehe, maybe they'd court-martial me?  ;D

Just finished the mission. I wouldn't call it "close quarters" because of two jeeps and fields around the village, and those gits kept tracing us down, we kept tracing them down, mostly outdoors.

Always before you start the mission, you may check your gear (even though you cannot change it) as well as "combat support" such as artillery, airstrike etc. For this missions there should be "10x howitzer" but I never managed to call them. Maybe I can't but the explosions I mentioned were the result. Silly.

I ended the mission with a surprise for me. I was outside a house, and I noticed a soldier staring at me from the inside of that house, and me going "rifleman ZERO meters" So I quickly raised my rifle, so did he, and we both shot at each other through the window. Only difference: he was the last of his kind  ;D :-*

[Art Blade]

What would happen if you ignored the radio message and continued to the hill?

Nothing, except they keep telling you to return  :o :)

[Art Blade]

Just a tip on that mission four.

If you do ignore the "don't leave the area" radio message, you can go up that hill which does reward you with a nice scenic overview of the village. Skim the area with your binoculars, marking many targets, then go to map mode... command your mission using the map. If you can't see any enemy any more, repeat that routine. If you really can't find any enemies any more, go in yourself. That will make those explosions set off (obviously you trigger them), and find the last one or two guys hiding somewhere. Done, like 8 minutes, but well, lost a man. "Do you want to live forever?"

:-* ;)

Or, if you do like cqc:

If possible, use grenades, rifle or hand grenades. Get assault rifles from the bodies, they have those grenade launchers. They also may have MGs and snipers. Grenades and big firepower seems to be the right thing. Was quite fast, too :)

[Art Blade]

Bonus mission 5 (Encampment)

Well, that was a surprisingly eventless mission: Secure PLA camp alpha and beta, secondary objective "in case" you encounter a helo, shoot him down. You have a Rocket Launcher for that purpose. Mission takes place in the woods (sparse trees) and has a nice ambience light (green/blue). I used the RL which sports a thermal view, spotted the enemies, and had my men walk in a combat spread line (I like that, covers a big chunk of area) towards the enemy. I switched back to my assault rifle and we killed enemies. Most were killed by my men as we slowly paraded through the woods. I heard a helo, assembled the RL, saw the transport helo few hundred meters away, and shot him down. Really, it was just that easy :) The only missile gone, I watched myself switch to hand grenade mode... well, time to grab a sniper rifle from the body in front of me. Walking on, I managed to kill 4 enemies when the "mission over" hit me. 13 minutes of a "walk in the park" :)

[PZ]

I notice that my crew is much more proficient at killing than I am so my technique often is to ensure that I am close enough to heal them when injured.  I'm becoming a bit more comfortable with issuing orders, using the binoculars, and even shooting with sniper rifles - kind of immersive to need to compensate for bullet drop.

[Art Blade]

Hehe, your crew is better at spotting enemies in the woods or in grassy terrain, but you'll get plenty of chances to see the enemy and you will be getting quicker at spotting and killing them.

If you see one of your mates has his name changed to yellow, orange or red, hit "q" for qommand (I guess) and aim at the coloured name guy - you should see "treat wounded" as the top command. Issue that order and your medic (or someone of your unit who replaced him) will confirm and heal the wounded. On hardcore, you'll see that only if you are in command mode, with that command radial enabled that is, and only when you "aim" at one of your buddies. They will survive quite a bit longer than you if they are wounded, unlike yourself :)



Bonus mission 6 (Debris Field)

Geez, 3:26 mission time. Your team has 3 RL, including you, and there are a couple of APCs to take out. Take them out... done, kill a few enemies en passant, mission over? That was quick. LOL  ;D

[PZ]

Good tip - thanks.  I've not yet tried to issue commands for a medic to heal my crew members, although I did shout for a medic once or twice for my own wounds  ;D

[Art Blade]

Tell me about it  ;D Always a hilarious moment, when the last thing you can actually do (besides croak) is to holler for your medic  ;D

Darn, I'd like a personal nurse much better  ;D

[Art Blade]

Well, that's it, campaign completed, bonus missions completed.

Summary

All in all, a rather quick game, but I think a couple of those campaign missions and a few of the bonus missions are worth a replay or three, for a quick thrill. Missions are usually very intense, they always keep you busy.

I think I'll go through the campaign again, this time on hardcore. Maybe try some new tactics, or try to explore the isle during a non-time-critical mission.

The game really really gains weight if you play on hardcore. Consider this: Nothing changes compared to normal, you bleed to death all the same. The enemy is just as clever. The visibility of the enemy is the same. Well, you cannot save during a mission, but that makes you play with more caution than ever. The real advantage is, on hardcore, that the immersion is better due to missing "computer game tokens" such as yellow flags, a compass in your view, an ammo counter... You have a clean clear sight.

For those who don't know this about me: This is the first game ever I've played on hardcore (starting with the bonus missions and extending it to the Lone Snipers custom mission). And no cheats whatsoever. So far  ;D

Never seen so much fairness on hardcore, meaning the enemy is not perfect but clever enough to keep you on your toes :) The enemy and you have about equal chances in a combat and in fights, only difference is that you can improve your skills. Absolute stunning physics, as in ballistics and modelling 3D sound (sound travels slower than bullets). And no real bug encountered, apart from one time I couldn't complete a mission, but a reload made it w@&k. Well, once my team mate knocked himself out trying to penetrate a concrete wall... and the AI can't drive for the life of you. All in all, great game. No patch needed, works fine, graphics are smooth even on maximum... great job. Kudos to Codemasters  :-X

[Art Blade]

Bonus Mission 2 (coastal stronghold)
I'll have to try that again, I want my men survive it. This is the first mission ever I finished on my own, until now my men always survived. Tough but cool mission.

Well, 18 minutes (most of the time recon and crawling up the hill). All men survived. Actually, they never even got shot once (no wounds at all).

Strategy:
- Keep men out of trouble, but let them do something useful.
- Self-assigned mission: Recon and find strategic sniper position.
Exercise:
Leave men behind, "guarding" (defending) the road, in case that transport truck shows. Orders: Combat Spread, Wedge, Fire at Will. Some distance to mission area, out of sight, yet close enough to assist me quickly.

I ran up the hill, went prone, crawled past that little shack, until I was in a straight line with the lighthouse, behind the rocky end of the plateau. Rocks partly covered me. Aim fixed on rifleman behind window. Called my men to "defend" the main entrance where that stationary Grenade Launcher is located. Good cover for my men there, no enemies were guarding the entrance (first and last mistake).

On a practical note, I used the map, and placed the mouse over their objective marker "defend" and the mouse turned into a hand, so I just moved the "defend" marker to the main entrance.

I knew they were ready when I heard the first shot from their position and that moment I took out the guy behind the window. I needed to crouch now, because a blind angle hindered me. Took out moving targets inside the compound (they kept me busy for a short amount of time, not easy to hit, either). Well, they could not see my men from there and vice versa so they focussed on me and vice versa. Once I was finished there, I moved towards my men, and killed enemies from behind <evil grin> who were taking cover from my men. Funny, they were prone - hard to see and hit for my men, for me like shooting pancakes on the ground hehe. That was so, well, peaceful... We were doing great, no rush, just picking one target at the time... Base clear. Finally the truck arrived, so I moved further on, and side-by-side with the truck (but still on the hill). My men were taking out the ones that were silly enough to try to assault the base entrance, I was taking out the ones who thought they were clever enough not to  ;D

Mission over, 53% accuracy, 12 kills  :)

That mission success felt really good because the stategy worked as planned :)

[Art Blade]

Just played some of the bonus missions again. The third (ambush) is one of those intense missions, and I tried it a couple of times with different strategies. Died a couple of times, then  :)

Now I have one suicide on my stats board. A moment of disbelieve and a stupid grin on my face, I realised that I had blown myself up with a barrel-mounted GL, shooting from the hip. What I had hit was the tree I was taking cover behind.  :D The cover prevented my unit from blowing up in sync with me  ;D What made me laugh was the death-cam, zooming out and away from my position, revealing me, knocked away from the blast, lying on my back, in a slowly dissolving cloud of smoke... lol  ;D

What did go well as tactics was using the GL immediately after the start and blowing up bunches of enemies from afar, killed 16 this time. And tested a SAW, man, now I know why it has that name  :-X

[fragger]

Mate, that's a terrific comprehensive report on the game, and a great read to boot. Many thanks for taking the time to relate your experiences! :)

And great screenshots, by the way ;D

[PZ]

ditto that - great read Art, and excellent tip on using the map to move the defender position.

An unrelated question: can you roam the island and encounter random enemies for chance battles like in FC2?

[Art Blade]

Cheers guys :)

Glad you like it :)

And great screenshots, by the way ;D

;D ;D ;D

An unrelated question: can you roam the island and encounter random enemies for chance battles like in FC2?

Yesterday night I had a non-time-critical mission going. I was radioed by Command to return to the combat zone, but I ignored it. After 10 minutes I was presented with the mission over screen, stating "mission failed."

So the answer to your question is "no." Unfortunately.

[PZ]

So the answer to your question is "no." Unfortunately.

Shame - my definition of "open world" is slowly being qualified to now include having the ability to do what you like in the "world", not just the ability to walk every square inch.

[Art Blade]

indeed, same here. Well, actually "open world" never meant anything else to me but the ability to do what you like - that means to have a virtual life between missions.

[Art Blade]

I've been experimenting with mission one (dragon rising). It is indeed easier with the compass that, despite of hardcore mode, does pop up when you use the command radial (thanks gvse for telling me, lol). So once you know where your target is located, it is ok to look around and reorientate yourself using that compass, rather than whipping up the map all the time.

the pictures below show part of the mission, after destroying the SAMs to the west, you can take a helo stationed there at the beach and fly around a little. My men were ordered to take us to the LZ, then I had the idea that, instead of finishing the mission, it would be cool to get to the main isle, but the infamous radio message "return to combat zone" (or something like that) made me reconsider. I then decided to try to get close to the lighthouse by helo. Maybe we hit a cloud or something, but with a bang the adventure came to a sudden end. It is fun though to play around with silly ideas :)

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