What are we playing?

[LoooSeR]

   Back to Grissom base. This is going 3rd attempt to take it, heh. I'm re-playing previous battle (save file), as it was a really bad failer.

   It's like this game wants me to fail again! Kurochnik is back to try to kick my ass 3rd time. My plan is to break his plans and win, hehe. In previous attempts Alexander managed to capture more uplinks than we did, so this time more emphasis will be put on aggressive land grab in early parts of battle. Not sure on details, SGB both times managed to work around my attempts to survive, so we need to win based on overal operational superiority. Another problem with previous attempts was my reliance on defensive posture inside of Grissom base, we need to make a move outside of build-up areas and push harder on open parts of this battlefield.

 

Spoiler

   Yes, going for unusual composition of troops. This amount of infantry will allow me to grab more uplinks while also being immune to frequent use of EMPs, that Kurochnik shown during previous attempts to secure Grissom AB.

 

   Instead of gunships i'm calling artillery, so infantry will have more reliable support against ground units. Slower speed of infantry will allow SPGs to cover them and be able to catch up while not being affraid of Sheptsnaz SPAAGs, unlike Cheetahs.

 

   Badgers are moving to do their AA work against those cocky Kamovs.

 

   Here we go again:

Spoiler

   Go away, Kamovs!

 

   Tanks are coming in, apperently. Infantry is rushing towards 2 uplinks, while Delta is already being worked on.

 

   Grenadiers are rushing towards Bravo uplink, while SPGs are covering them. 

 

   Alexander went for early Foxtrot grab.

 

   As SGB is working on getting F, i went to Lima, Cheetahs are scouting area around it. We need to keep those aggressive actions coming at Kurochnik.

 

   SPGs and Cheetahs will take care of that squad of cannon fodder, will clear a path to Lima for Kommandos.

 

   Bravo is ours, Shpetsnaz just started to capture Foxtrot. T-100s are pushing towards Foxtrot, looks like it became a staging area for SGB forces.

 

   Ogres are moving towards areas near Lima with gunship support. This is an attack, we need to counter it. 

 

   SPGs are relocating away, Badgers are covering their exit. Grenadiers will be left near Alpha point, as it does have some cover.

 

   2 platoons of T-100s are attacking us, but thanks to barricades their advance is limited. Marksmans already started to shell them.

 

   Infantry survived hostile artillery barrage well, APCs took minor damage. This attack means Alexander brought at least 1 team of KV-20s.

 

   Kommandos are in bad spot - they can't get out as they will become exposed, but in current place they are also under concentrated fire. Currently giving them an order to fire sniper rifles again Shpetsnaz members that jumped over walls ruins and rushing in.

 

   Badgers managed to shot down SGB's CAS, but Kommandos are now even in bigger problems as KV-20s' shells are starting to connect with buildings, in which our SFs took cover. On top of that Ogres are using their flamethrowers to burn them inside of it.

 

   Very heavy casualties from this concentrated fire. It's like SGB went berserk with this squad.

 

   Our artillery rounds arrived to those armored beasts. Cheetahs are trying to distract Ogres from Kommandos, but it is probably too late, they feel an easy prey.

 

   Another team of Kamovs are rushing towards our positions, Badgers are ready to meet them.

 

   This looks like an attempt to restart previous attack - Kamovs are being supported with BTRs and infantry squad that occupied building near damaged section of wall. Ogres are firing on Badgers, as LOS was established.

 

   1 APC is lost, but we are still holding our positions.

 

   Kamovs are trying to get deeper into our part of base. Badgers are moving back to deal with them, while Cheetahs are not giving easy time for Ogres.

 

   Kamovs are now mixed in with Cheetahs, heh. Badgers are under artillery fire, but they are still trying to render Kamovs dead.

 

   This is a moment! Cheetahs have a free pass towards enemy artillery, i should not be THAT much defence-minded.

 

   Especially because T-100s are out of action.

 

   Raid behind castle walls:

Spoiler

   A group of Shpetsnaz engineers are moving from Foxtrot to attack us. If we will defeat them, Foxtrot point will be easier to take. Badgers were taken out by their RPGs, but we have Grenadiers nearby, so we still have AA coverage in central part of Grissom base.

 

   Cheetahs found their prey - Zhukovs were hiding behind ruins. We have little time to do something, as BTRs are rushing back to get KV-20s out of this situation. Meanwhile our Kommandos are now out of action.

 

   After firing missile barrage also ordered an airstrike on them. Zhukovs are nearly defeated.

 

   Another squad of infantry trying to rush our positions. First squad of engineers is down, time to concentrate all our firepower on second one.

 

   I SAID ALL OF OUR FIREPOWER!

 

   Results of MRLS strike observed from Grenadiers position.

 

 

   Didn't even managed to get inside of this hangar, haha.

 

   Well aimed airstrike (guided bomb) managed to take out BTRs. 2nd squad of Grenadiers are rushing towards Lima point to take it. We have 4 uplinks under our control so far, more than SGB. Plan is working, and so far it is working pretty well.

 

   New team of SPGs replaced heavily damaged one.

 

   Using our missiles against Zhukovs was more important. Command truck is pushing here to support my troops near Lima, as those SPGs are shelling them.

 

   Cheetahs are nearly broken down, our own SPGs are reloating closer to reach those KV-20s.

 

   Grenadiers from 2nd squad are defeated by artillery strikes, but at least CV is now here, it can try to tie Kamovs.

 

   Our gunships were shot down by missile salvo of Kamovs. At least CV and SPGs are starting to push Zhukovs.

 

   Close range attack by command truck, should force Alexander to rethink positioning of those SPGs.

 

   Nearly there!

Spoiler

   Grenadiers sneaked to Foxtrot under all this combat outside of base taking all attention of SGB commander. CV is still acting as distraction and pressure enemies there, if needed it will be sacrificed to give time for rest of troops.

 

   CV is distracting Kamovs and i am moving it away from F point.

 

   Grenadiers are taking shelter as Russian army soldiers are engaging them.

 

   Fresh reinforcements of SGB is arriving.

 

   Finally Kurochnik's troops managed to take out my command vehicle.

 

   Badgers are moving in to counter this horde of gunships, with help of airstrike we should be able to do some serious damage.

 

   2nd team of Kamovs is running away, first one is under our fire. Alexander's troops are limited in numbers and have less control of situation.

 

   Damn, another EMP.

 

   Kamovs are trying to use a moment, but we area nearly captured Foxtrot. After that point battle should be going in our favor.

 

   After we took Foxtrot Alexander went with WMD strike path. A pic made 1 nanosecond before explosion.

 

   3 or even 4 KIA units.... this is terrible, but there is no path back. We must continue.

 

   Called more gunships to support grenadiers and additional Badgers to have good AA coverage.

 

   Gunships are now engaging Kamovs to give time for Grenadiers to get to next uplink. As SGB troops are taking Lima, i think Zulu is empty, and it is now our next target.

 

   Lima is in their hands, but we still can get on top of this battle.

 

   SGB troops are spotted near Zulu, Grenadiers are re-orientated to Lima point.

 

   Cheetahs are clearing Lima to secure Grenadiers.

 

   BTRs are pushing here, but we managed to rebuild our force. Time to try again to get on top.

 

   No other way, no other attempts...

Spoiler

   Cheetahs are trying to attack SGB while they are near their own LZ. This will help to soften them before my main troops with clash with them.

 

   Cheetahs are continuing harassment attacks, it give time for SPGs to get on firing position.

 

   Lima now is in our hands. We need to hold on for 5 minutes to win this fight.  Enemies are now trying to dislodge us from Lima, i called airstrike on assault troops and SPGs are helping out with Shpetsnaz AFVs.

 

   All my troops are closing in to area between Zulu and SGB's LZ. We need to hold our ground and not allow Alexander any space to maneuver.

 

   BTRs and infantry is now trying to assault our positions. Badgers are already on place, 2nd platoon of Panthers is too slow to get here in time. At least first one managed to show up for main bloodshed.

 

   Cheetahs found target, but those T-100s have AA HMGs. Still, we should try to separate them from rest of SGB troops that are trying to assault Lima. Panthers finally are near Lima, helping to fight back.

 

 

 

   One by one, we will smash you in pieces!

 

   Run away, Ogres!

 

 

 

   YES! EAT SHIT, KUROCHNIK!

 

 

   Results:

Spoiler

   This is probably the worst victory i had. 4 units KIA. 20 minutes of fighting and lot's of effots put into micromanagment... not going to replay this 4th time, hehe.

 

 

[LoooSeR]

   And we continue our campaign against SGB forces after very hard battle on Grissom AB where we lost 4 units in single battle.

   We managed to push SGB out of US on our frontline and EU troops conducted a land grab in Northen Europe. Now SGB troops recovered from this failer and launching an operation to drive us back into the cold waters, our battalion is tasked to counter this attempt to dislodge us and secure Rondane pass.

 

Spoiler

   Hey, our good old enemy - Savilov, is back to annoy us. Unlike Kurochnik this commander is less aggressive and overal somewhat less... competent. His tactics don't work too well on this map (but thanks to highest difficulty level he have sharper planning than in previous campaigns). My plan is to take F-L-S line of uplink and engage Shpetsnaz troops in one big central fight. Zulu point will be left uncaptured to avoid triggering Defcon phase for as long as we can.

 

   I need to train SPG crews, as we lost artilery veterans in operation earlier. Rest of deployment is rather usual, with exception of using Kommandos-Grenadiers combo to increase spead of taking uplinks.

 

 

 

   Badgers are moving to central area to cover our Eurohordes from air attacks.

 

   SGB's BTRs are moving to take Bravo now.

 

   Grenadiers are upgrading Foxtrot while Kommandos are moving to Lima. UGVs to defend F are already deployed, usefull against attempts to raid us with gunships.

 

   First clashes:

Spoiler

   Cheetahs cleaning areas near Hotel from Russian human waves, while other troops are moving to their positions.

 

   Fyodor reacted - now BTRs, Zhukvos SPGs and T-100 tanks are moving towards Zulu area.

 

   Artillery is clearing village near Zulu to secure space for our troops to move around.

 

   BTRs arrived first and their are getting all our attention as a result.

 

   Opportunity to defeat BTRs as our artillery managed to take out 2 vics. Cheetahs are starting to fire at those things to not let them to get away.

 

   EMP disabled our gunships and Badgers. This can be a problem, but at least Marksmans are active and they are putting a lot of pressure on BTRs. Badgers were dealing damage to Kamovs, EMP gave a chance for SGB helicopters to survive a wrath of out SHORAD.

 

   T-100s are now getting to parking lot of those hotels.

 

   BTRs and Kamovs are retreating, while T-100s are now fully in contact with my units. Badgers are in trouble, they need to fuck off.

 

 

   SPGs are way near those tanks, but at least T-100's attention to taken by Eurohordes.

 

   Cheetahs waited for a moment, and when SPGs destroyed 2nd tank they are now jumping in, will try to destroy them.

 

   T-100s and Kamovs, that tried to cover their exit, are defeated. Zhukovs are visible on road to hotels, deploying their guns.

 

   Small road, lots of dead:

Spoiler

   Nothing now is blocking us from attacking SPGs. BTRs dropped infantry squad and left, so we can try to make life of KV-20s shorter.

 

   -1 SPG, but that group of Shpetsnaz soldiers are getting too close to gunships.

 

   Uhhhg, those AA flamethrowers. Cheetahs can't chase SPGs, as Kamovs are flying towards us to cover KV-20's retreat.

 

   Badgers are ready to Kamovs visit. Microwave weapon attack was just completed.

 

   They are finished.

 

   Now Cheetahs can try to destroy KV-20s, again. Savilov's artillery tried to shell Badgers, so we had to take action, even if Fyodor put infantry team and BTR SPAAGs to defend them.

 

   Our attack choppers after dropping missile salvo on SPGs are leaving area as BTRs are way too close. Instead of them Panthers will continue to apply pressure on SGB troops here by charging their positions. Our own SPGs this whole time were shelling Shpetsnaz engineers near Zhukovs.

 

   Enemy artillery is finished, but now BTRs are actively trying to get Badgers killed. Our APCs lost 1 vic already from missile launched by Russian transports.

 

   Engineers are also defeated, but Badgers lost another machine and forced to move back. BTRs did a good job with prioritization of targets.

 

   Panthers were without AA coverage as BTRs were pressuring our own SHORAD, but now, after BTRs are retreating, we can move Badgers back. Panthers lost 2 tanks to Kamovs that exploited this moment of our MBTs not having AA umbrella over them.

 

   Wolfes are trying to get to Zulu, but Cheetahs found them in the open.

 

   Badgers are out of action, as combined attack of Kamovs and BTRs near Bravo managed to find a good angle on them. Panthers now are easy prey for vultures with ATGMs. Understanding that my small assault group is effectively defeated Kommandos and Grenadiers were moved to village, which will become my stronghold and where my SPGs will be positioned.

 

   SPGs were positioned here to support assault team, but as it failed it is time to move back, under protection of infantry. About 8 Kamovs are working on tanks and they will need only few seconds to start fire at SPGs.

 

   Panthers are out of action, but SPGs managed to start their retreat in the last moment, heh. Cheetahs are doing everything to cover their exit, as well as Grenadiers that are positioned on the edge of village and are firing at infantry that tried to sneak into village itself.

 

   Missile attack against Kamovs to force them to drop their attack on 2nd group of SPGs. Kommandos currently are entering building to take positions and add their AA firepower to cover Marksmans.

 

   2nd team of Kamovs is firing at Cheetahs, while our gunships are trying to shot down Kamovs, which are engaging SPGs. Kind of long chain, but i can't move helicopters back as SPGs are more important for operation. 

 

   After Kommandos finally started actively fire at Kamovs, Savilov decided to move away. Now our infantry is concentrated on Shpetsnaz operatives, that tried to move in from Delta point. SPGs still moving to their new defensive firing positions. I expect new "phase" of battle - we lost initiative as we no longer have good attacking units on the ground. We need to prepare for defensive fighting until we will get reinforcements.

 

   Artillery stronghold:

Spoiler

   Infantry units are located on the edge of village facing to Bravo point, with SPGs taking positions near them, so enemy gunships will not have a good place to attack them without getting fired back from our troops. Cheetahs now are acting as scouts and QRF, if needed. Let enemies now come to us.

 

   That infantry unit that tried to infiltrate village tried to find a new way in, but got caught. All 5 units are now focused on single group of Shpetsnaz soldiers. They are fucked if they will stay here.

 

   In the same moment a group of Kamovs are scouting Sierra uplink. Savilov probably decided to drop plans to capture Zulu and is searching new place to grab.

 

   Infantry is running back, BTRs probably will try to provide some sort of armor to those soldiers against artillery shells fragments. We managed to get resources to call reinforcements, so Badgers were called in to support us.

 

   Now BTRs are under artiller fire. In their current position, we are controlling big chunk of central zone. 

 

   Good opportunity to unload our missile at Kamovs paid off - one team of choppers is less for Fyodor.

 

   Infantry squad didn't managed to jump in BTRs in time, they are also done.

 

   BTRs continue to eat rounds from our Marksmans artillery guns. Kamovs are actively probing defence of our improvised stronghold, Kommandos are not shy to use weapons to push those vultures away.

 

   And Cockroaches are now also out of action. Our plan is working so far rather well.

 

   And Savilov is also aware of this, he tried to do at least something against our SPGs. Kamovs decided to enter zone covered by Grenadiers and their AA missile in attempt to fire their missile salvo at SPGs. 1 vehicle is lost, but unit is still combat capable. Cheetahs are rushing to drive Kamovs away, didn't expected this type of rather desperate actions.

 

   Kamovs are running away, with minor damage, another team of gunships is trying to attack us from other angle, head-on.

 

   But Badgers finally arrived! Now we can use this moment of lack of ground units on SGB side to chase those things away...

 

   ...and away...

 

   ... and away!

 

   Cheetahs also added their own missile strike to futher drive our point.

 

   Attack!

Spoiler

   2 Badger units are on the ground already, we are working on guards of Alpha point.

 

   Wolfes found themselves very close to our Badgers. Although those Shpetsnaz operatives and guards of Alpha point managed to shot down Cheetahs, we probably should retreat and wait for reinforcements.

 

   Our SHORAD are moving back and launching missile at chasing Kamovs.

 

   We are back to positions from which started our raid, under protection of SPGs. SGB troops are rushing forward in attempt to secure their LZ.

 

  Attempt to attack was met with AA missile attack that shot down 2nd Cheetah. Called EMP on those guys, will help us to defeat this formation of counter-attacking troops.

 

   In the same moment i ordered Grenadiers to hack Delta, but not take in under our control. In this way we will deny resources for SGB commander, but not diretly trigger WMD exchange.

 

   Badgers finally downed that team of Russian gunships. We can work on others now without much of problems.

 

   Delta is not neutral, Grenadiers are moving to take positions in forest nearby. SPGs damaged those SPAAGs pretty well, Cheetahs have their ATGMs ready. We need to stomp them before tanks arrive.

 

   BTRs are out of action.

 

   And Cheetahs as well.

 

   T-100s decided to move to my troops through Bravo in attempt to find a good angle on Badgers. Panthers are moving forward to shield our APCs from Ogre MBTs.

 

   Panther's armor now is taking fire from T-100s, while Badgers are charging forward to take out Kamovs, who may try to attack my tanks.

 

 

   Kamovs are smashed, T-100s are under concentrated fire of 4 units and are also very likely to get destroyed.

 

  

   Evac choppers are taking survivors. Counter-attack failed for Savilov. What he will do now?

 

   The final act:

Spoiler

   Infantry spotted moving from SGB landing area.

 

 

 

   Kamovs arrived and attacked Badgers with missile salvo, but thanks to having 2 units we can take this attack and still be capable to fight back. Panthers are working on Alpha point guards that were left alive by Cheetahs in earlier push to SGB deployment zone. Currently Grenadiers are also de-capturing Bravo to deny even more resources to Savilov.

 

 

   Huh, apperently my attempt to deny Bravo to SGB triggered Defcon phase. WMD are going to be used, for sure.

 

   4 units in 1 hit, wasn't prepared to get nuked. 

 

   Yet, we have our own big boomstick.

 

 

 

   Result:

Spoiler

   Damaged team of Badgers was killed by WMD strike. At least that wasn't a veteran unit, so this casualty isn't a hard to recover from.

 

[LoooSeR]

   After our victory in operation to secure a mountain pass EU forces managed to get to a Rovaniemi military base.

   In this operation we will have only air support, while SGB can bring Regular army troops.

 

Spoiler

   In this operation our enemy is Georgiy Sokolov, capable leader of SGB troops that are attacking this base. Our task is to secure over 50% of uplinks or eliminate all enemies. My plan is to take all uplinks on our side of base and then conduct big attack on Alpha point to capture it and win battle after 5 minutes of EW dominance. Alpha point is located near runways, so that area should have enough space for AFVs, while other parts of this battlefield are pretty tight for vehicles and don't give them good opportunity to use their firepower to full potential. 

 

   I'm using Kommandos-Grenadiers combo yet again, to increase speed of land grab.

 

   This map is rather big, so artillery here probably is not as efficient compared to fast-moving units like gunships, thats why 2 of them were deployed.

 

   Russian army cannon fodder is rushing to runway, they will work as a shielding for SGB forces that will hack Delta point.

 

   And here are fully-upgraded BTRs, rushing towards nearest uplinks inside of military base.

 

 

   First firefights:

Spoiler

   As BTRs were spotted near central area of military base, Cheetahs are on free hunt for Russian Army soldiers outside of it.

 

   Another glimpse of those SPAAGs, moving around to scout areas.

 

   Cheetahs now are helping to secure our right flank, maybe useful in the future. Main troops are being deployed - 2 platoons of MBTs and CV for a support (although it is "fresh meat" and doesn't have all cool upgrades).

 

   Kamovs didn't liked our attack of Russian troops nearby and decided to act. We are meeting them with missile barrage and microwave energy weapon attack from Badgers SHORAD. Battle for control of military base began.

 

   Battle for Rovaniemi base:

Spoiler

   Badgers and Cheetahs have upper hand in this firefight, but looks like Sokolov is using this moment to bring infantry to Alpha point. He managed to take 3 uplinks already, compared to 2 under our control.

 

   Zhukov SPGs are spotted inside of military base. They will be a problem if not dealt with appropriately.

 

   Cheetahs tried to find an angle on KV-20s, but Sokolov is sharp - BTRs and more attack helicopters are dispatched to shield their artillery.

 

   BTRs managed to sneal AA missiles at Cheetahs, 1 gunships is shot down. Main forces are now arriving to start critical battle to shatter SGB forces.

 

   CV is supporting tanks with its UGVs, we are pushing forward to get to KV-20s.

 

   Kamovs are going for tanks and don't get distracted by CV.

 

   Badgers were moved slightly forward to push Kamovs out, but they became target for other SGB troops.

 

   Now badgers are moving back to get out of fire and leave space for Panthers to attack rushing Shpetsnaz soldiers and AFVs.

 

   T-100s are driving to this firefight, and Cheetahs will have a way to get to KV-20 SPGs.

 

   Panthers were moved on right runway to attack BTRs and give Cheetahs chance to destroy SPGs.

 

   Powerfull EMP disabled ALL my AFVs on the groud and Georgiy used this moment to launch missile attack from both Kamovs and BTRs against 2nd team of Cheetahs, killing all of them. This is terrible situation - i didn't expected that Sokolov will go for upgraded EMP and will have resources to use it.

 

   Missiles attack from 1st team of my gunships took our BTRs. But rest of troops are still combat capable. Ogres are equipped with AA HMGs, they can put some fight against our helicopters.

 

   Cheetahs are retreating after losing 1 more helicopter. Rest of troops are still disabled and Kamovs are starting to take advantage of this situation.

 

   Things are only getting worse as KV-20s also using this EMP effects to shell bunched up troops.

 

 

   Badgers are out of action, Panthers lost 3 tanks so far. Vehicles regained their ability to move and fire, but enemy is closing in. Command truck is firing laser against Ogres that drove by too close to it, but this is unlikely to stop their platoon.

 

   1st platoon of Panthers is defeated as well...

 

   Enemy is using a fact that we don't have SHORAD and defeated 2nd platoon of Panther MBTs. 4 units are out of operation with 1 of them being KIA.

 

   I'm trying to get CV out of this massacre, drive to infantry unit that could act as AA cover.

 

   Tanks and gunships defeated command vehicle as well. This attack was utter failure.

 

   Survival is my responsibility

Spoiler

   Now we are in deep shit - my troops are just 4 units dispersed around whole frontline, while enemy have more units and managed to take initiative. I need to rethink how to get out of this situation. Enemy will probably try to attack rest of troops if they are close enough or/and capture Alpha point. Grenadiers are placing minefield on one of entrances to Sierra point in order to make UGV's work easier vs infantry attack.

 

   Eurocopters are scouting location of enemies. As Alpha point is still not captured, i am really waiting for hunting party to arrive here, search and destroy and shit like that.

 

   Kommandos are loaded into Badgers and i'm going to try to flank enemies and take Delta, while Grenadiers were positioned away from uplink, but still capable of seeing one of 2 entracnes to Sierra server hub. Infantry unit with CAS is moving to it.

 

   Kamovs are attacking UGVs near Sierra, to clear it for infantry to hack computers inside of S. Cheetahs are waiting for a moment to attack.

 

   As this team of Eurocopters are also "green", they don't have HOT missiles to dump on those Kamovs. And looks like SGB artillery also joined clearing of Sierra.

 

   Badgers are skimming edge of battlespace to get around runway where 4 of our euroweaklings units were crushed by mighty fist of Shpetsnaz lead by Sokolov. I'm really sneaking now, frantically searching for enemies near and far through binoculars.

 

   Cheetahs moved back. I'm thinking here how to use those troops as efficient as possible in such situation... Georgiy have artillery, somewhere in the middle of base. If we will start to grab Delta, he will react and shell us using those things. Cheetahs can be used to at least lure or destroy them, but main body of enemies was unseen for some time and i have no idea where they are. Alpha is still not being hacked, so they are probably searching for us. 

 

   Decided to use Cheetahs as scouts and try to lure as much enemies away from Delta as they could. Main formation of SGB forces is now leaving military base and going to Sierra, where i suspect Georgiy is going to hunt down Grenadiers.

 

   Artillery is near their demise, but Cheetahs have not high enough damage output to do anything against them, as SGB troops orginised serious escort with infantry and tanks.

 

   Grenadiers continiue to launch AA missile agaisnt Kamovs, who are now moving back. Badgers are in contact with Russian conscripts, who managed to survive on right flank Cheetah's fire.

 

   This contact could be bad, as Georgiy now knows about flanking troops before they managed get to Delta point.

 

   Grenadiers are leaving their positions, as Kamovs spotted them and KV-20s guns started to speak their anger in form of HE landing near our engineers. Cheetahs after taking casualties are retreating from battlefield.

 

   Damn, Sokolov for sure have eyes on us. Badgers were dropping Kommandos when Russian jets conducted a gun run on us. On top of that now SGB is hacking Sierra...

 

   BTRs are moving to our LZ in attempt to catch Cheetahs, i had to use airstrike to stop those things from chewing our gunships. I can't deploy too many ground AFVs because of artillery and EMP (Sokolov for sure now have enough resources to use another powerful EMP against Enforcer corps vehicles). On top of that enemy started to hack Alpha, situation is critical

 

 

   Kommandos are in bad spot - T-100s with support of Shpetsnaz operatives are rushing to Delta in order to take it back, as we managed to grab it.

 

   2 AFV platoons are going here, this flanking raid is fucked.

 

   This situation is helpless, time to unwrap our WMDs.

 

 

   Still alive!

Spoiler

   2 teams of KV-20s SPGs are now back inside of base. We can try to do something against them, as Sokolov is moving them close to our LZ.

 

   Kamovs using their missiles to do some damage even before air battle starts between them and our gunships.

 

   Gunrun was called on artillery.

 

 

   Delta is still in our hands. We Crashed Yankee uplink, so if we will manage to take 1 more point, we can start victory clocks and use EW dominance to secure this battlefield in 5 minutes.

 

   Badgers moved team of Grenadiers from Sierra uplink to Whiskey. Will try to take it.

 

   Team of Shpetsnaz operatives are entering base from SGB LZ side, they will probably go for Delta grab.

 

   Can't really attack those, as SPAAGs are nearby.

 

   Yes! we started clocks... but damn it! Sokolov launched capture of Foxtrot and Delta uplinks in the same time.

 

   oooOOH FUCK

 

 

   And WMD strike on top of our troops...

 

   I have no clue how to get out of such bad situation. At this point we can only kick and scream before getting our heads crushed by SGB heavy armor.

 

   Hope dies last.

Spoiler

   Enemies are very close to our LZ, Georgiy managed to cut pathes to different units in diferent parts of this map.

 

   BTR's missiles found another team of our Eurocopters. I'm trying to bring in some ground troops to at least push enemies from Foxtrot and Lima points, thats why artillery makes sense - it have range to get to both without moving much.

 

   As only wheels of last SPG truck touched the ground SGB dropped another EMP strike. For fuck sakes, even if infantry was brought here they would have been take out by airstrike instead of EMP. Now i know what previous commanders were feeling when they were LZ massacred.

 

   Well, our troops were EMP'ed and used as practica targets for Russian Air forces.

 

   Cheetahs found Zhukovs, and at least we can try to take them our before going down. Badgers were also EMPed.

 

   Only 2 units are active. This is complete defeat, but i'm not done. Grenadiers see enemy engineers rushing towards Whiskey, we can try to fill those guys with lead.

 

   Cheetahs are almost done with Zhukovs. Surprisingly Badgers are still alive, i called more grenadiers and tanks in attempt to do at least something against SGB troops. We don't have some of our special attacks as Sokolov's operatives took almost all uplinks.

 

   Another airstrike?

 

   Take that, you assholes! Apperently that airstrike missed, we didn't lost anybody from it.

 

   BTRs arrived, Cheetahs need to get out. Only 3 minutes are left and enemies are taking 2 last uplinks - Bravo and Whiskey. This is now unwinnable, for sure... god damn it.

 

   Shpetsnaz operatives found a good cover - behind server hub building itself. Grenadiers are ordered to rush and take those guys out.

 

   Kamovs are joining this attack on W point. 

 

   Another EMP and Badgers were taken out. Enemies took blocking position overlooking road to Sierra point.

 

   Grenadiers are engaging enemies in close combat, where we can use our special short range attack.

 

   Shpetsnaz engineers are now firing their flamethrowers at tanks, they will start shell them with RPGs shortly after. Uplink is protected by Guards as well.

 

   Grenadiers are very near uplink, but overal situation is obvious - we are totally smashed by Shpetsnaz. We have noability to break through defences of Lima uplink in remianing time, i don't even start talking about 2 more. At this point i left this battle, was so angry that i didn't even made a screenshot of results, heh. 2 units were KIA. Sokolov managed to get on top as he was sharp with his tactics and fast to react to changes in situation.

 

[LoooSeR]

   Back to the save files!

   Trying to replay this mission. Hell, SGB really wants to make me fail this operation. Kurochnik is back to man-handle me, apperently. My plan is similar to previous, but i will bring more infantry to take more uplinks, we were rather close last time to get to victory. We are going to central zone and put more effort to attack SGB inside of military base. 

 

Spoiler

   We are bringing more infantry to grab more land in first stages of battle.

 

   

   Enemies are spotted, and yet again those are Kamovs.

 

   First contacts:

Spoiler

   Cheetahs are clearing areas near Delta and Zulu to prepare them for probable assault of our infantry in future.

 

 

   Grenadiers are rushing towards Foxtrot. This time i will try to use mines a lot, and if battle we go in same way as previous time (becoming almost like partizans in later stage of operation), they will help to soften enemies.

 

   BTRs are clearing SGB's right flank from Eurohordes.

 

   Meanwhile we are clearing our own right flank.

 

   Grenadiers are pooping minefields now everywhere, heh. Entrance to Lima is now double mined.

 

   Badgers are picking infantry to haul them to next position.

 

   Cheetahs are scouting central area, strange to see no SGB troops here. What Alexander is planning to do?

 

   Airstrike is called on BTRs and infantry team nearby. Grenadiers are placing mines on crossroads to secure Foxtrot from possible push through back allyes.

 

   2 Kamovs teams are flying on enemy side of battlespace. What is going to happen now? I'm not sure what SGB is planning to do, their actions are a bit weird.

 

   Fighting for military base in full power:

Spoiler

   Artillery started to shell Eurohordes, Kurochnik is probably going to launch assault on our troops.

 

   Both teams of Kamovs are moving it. In the same time Zulu is being hacked, so this is definitely an assault.

 

   Eurohorde is killed, but i called an EMP on those choppers.

 

   Now we can have our trigger time.

 

   -1, we need to finish second one before BTRs arrive from Zulu.

 

   Done, time to Cheetahs to get out of range of SPAAGs. Panthers and rest of AFVs are now near this area, so we can overpower SGB in this area.

 

   Now BTRs are under fire of Panthers MBTs.

 

   Kurochnik called airstrike on our gunships. 

 

 

   BTRs are out of equation. Another AFV unit is coming here from Zulu point as well.

 

   Those were Ogres. Cheetahs are trying to soften them up before they will get to our MBTs.

 

   God damn those AA flamethrowers.

 

   Another Eurohorde killed, but we already managed to defeat number of enemies anyway.

 

  2nd hostile AFV unit is making their way to this firefight.

 

   Alexander is using airstrikes to compensate for lost CAS gunships. 

 

   Ogres are retreating after losing 2 vics. 2 more AFV units are visible near Zulu, one of which is KV-20s SPGs.

 

 

   Looks like SGB troops retreated under protection of SPG long range fire. We need to push back a bit and concentrate on taking uplinks.

 

   Forest tourists:

Spoiler

   Kommandos that were moving towards W point found a group of BTRs, rushing to Sierra uplink.

 

   Kommandos are moving away from BTRs, i used them to sweap area between Sierra and Whiskey to allow Grenadiers a secure path through forests, as infantry is more likely to be found here than vehicles. Guided bomb strike is called on those SPAAGs to destroy them faster, Shpetsnaz infantry is probably inside of those heavily armored transports.

 

 

   After BTRs left our Grenadiers found themselves under fire, including sniper fire. BTRs managed to drop light infantry team here, so Kommandos were moved back to cover our Engineers.

 

 

   While we were busy with forest guests Alexander's troops captured Alpha hub. I'm going to Crash Zulu point to restore EW balance.

 

 

   Tanks are now pushing our forces near hangars, Badgers need to move away. Our gunships will try to get behind enemies.

 

   A moment before being killed by those damn AA flamethrowers. Ogres dropped this whole "kill SHORAD easily" deal and chased our gunships, as we were closing in to SPGs.

 

   Reason to attack SPGs now is that they are shelling engineers, as Shpetsnaz operatives are now acting as artillery spotters, and they are also camouflaged well enough that i don't see them to organise an attack against them.

 

 

   Gunships are trying to find an angle to attack. Called another guided bomb strike against T-100s.

 

 

   Kurochnik managed to take out both CV and defeat heavily damaged tank platoon with his own airstrike.

 

   Gunships are trying to get in as 1 platoon of Ogres is taken down, but second one arrived to cover SPGs.

 

   Sadly gunships can't be here for long, infantry team is nearby, and 2 more AFVs are closing in from Delta point.

 

    Flip flop:

Spoiler

   Engineers near Bravo took positions inside of air traffic control tower, which gives good observation. Shpetsnaz infantry squad is rushing to Bravo, but they are now under fire of our Grenadiers. In the same time Kommandos are cpaturing Whiskey point. In general sitaution is near breaking point for us - we have only 3 active units.

 

   If SPGs were left alive, we would lost this battle for sure. Also, we don't have troops concentrated anywhere, so we can use WMDs easily.

 

   Heh, minfield worked this time.

 

   Hope those guys will also get exploded by mines.

 

   Cheetahs are now trying to destroy SPGs, as they are light on defence troops. Kommandos near Whiskey are under pressure from SGB infantry.

 

   Kommandos could take out those footmobiles, but Ogres showed up. Our infantry is now in trouble.

 

   Almost done with 1st SPG unit, but Kommandos were defeated. Only 3 minutes left, but i'm already feel we can't hold our positions. We need to do everything to maintain our positions.

 

   Kurochnik tries to take Foxtrot uplink, while our gunships were pressured away from SPGs by 2 teams of freshly arrived Kamovs.

 

   4 active units, with Grenadiers rushing towards Delta (but way too far from it), 2nd team being near LZ and Badgers supporting them. Alexander's troops are located mainly on the edge of military base and in forests. His infantry is near Sierra point and is already capturing Foxtrot. Situation is getting out of control, for sure.

 

   EMP was used to disable single team of Badger APCs. I guess SGB side accumulated resources to drop them on our troops, even one by one.

 

   Zhukovs, even after losing some of vehicles in their units, are still in battlefield. Badgers are down, leaving me with 2 active units currently.

 

   I'm trying to bring Cheetahs to take out enemies and be mobile enough to counter their actions. Grenadiers are under artillery fire, so our gunships are taasked to press Kamovs away from them and break LOS.

 

   

   We could kill those things, but T-100s are back with their AA HMGs and Cheetahs are heavily damanged.. damn.

 

   Airstrike didn't took our those vehicles. Now we have 1.5 active units and Foxtrot + Whiskey are being hacked now, so in few moments situation will became total shit for us. Huh, infantry unit that tried to get to Sierra still didn't started to hack it as well, i guess those minefields did their work. 

   At this point situation is obvious - i have no forces to bring us back from pit of losers. Did everything that could be done during operation, and angrily left this mission. Hel, even forgot to take a screenshot of results, yet again. IIRC 1 KIA unit this time. Somthing is not right about my tactic, even if we are reaching to point of starting victory clocks, but i'm getting to that point with serious casualties and can't hold on captured uplinks. 

 

[LoooSeR]

   Attempt N3. This time i will use experience of 2 previous tries and put together a plan to defeat enemy.

   Upgraded protection of Badgers, as previous times number of Kamovs used was enough to be a problem. Also, i plan to use less gunships as SGB have pretty good AA capability with fully moded BTRs and Ogres tanks, which mean more unmolested Russian gunships buzzing over our troops.

 

Spoiler

   Kurochnik is back to cause me more butthurt over previous tries. Fucker is good and aggressive just enough to be capable at grabbing victory from our hands. This time instead of gunships i'm brining SPGs and lots of infantry. Slow speed of footmobiles allow to SPG to keep up with our troops. Seeing how minefields near Sierra helped to deny it we are also brining Grenadiers, to spam a lot of mines to fuck with SGB forces.

 

 

 

   Moving inside of military base and already placed minefield here, in case of being flanked or needing to retreat.

 

   First contacts:

Spoiler

   Badgers and Cheetahs were called in. Gunships would be QRF and scouts/spotters for artillery, Badgers will work as SHORAD for SPGs mostly. Marksmans are currently shelling Russian conscripts, using MRLS pods to maximize damage output, as we have some time to reload them before first serious enemy ground troops will appear.

 

   Cheetahs moving to central area to find targets to shell.

 

   Kamovs are busy slaughtering Eurohordes. They could be a problem in very near future.

 

   Exchanged!

 

   Under "they can be aproblem in very near future" i didn't thought that it will be 10 seconds after i said that. Kamovs are trying to attack SPGs, our gunships are firing their missiles to pressure Russians away.

 

   BTRs are outside of base, problably clearing area to allow flanking attacks through forests.

 

   Badger arrived to stomp SGB attack choppers.

 

   Kamovs are killed, but enemy now knows where our main forces are and we should expect another attack.

 

    Shield and rapier:

Spoiler

   And here is Alexander's attack - BTRs are moving from outside of military base walls to compund inside, driving to area occupied by our SPGs. Artillery already started to shell them, Badgers will try to screen artillery trucks from those SPAAGs.

 

   Cheetahs are flying closer to BTRs to attack them and to scout what is near them, as i expected more troops. T-100s are slowly moving towards base entrance, but at least no other Shpetsnaz unit is supporting them.

 

   BTRs are done. Knowning that those Ogres have AA firepower, ordered gunships to find an angle to spot those armored beasts for artillery, but without getting too close.

 

   LOS lost to tanks. Not sure where they are, but i see somthing right next to a wall.

 

   T-100s managed to get in range to engage Badgers without getting spotted, probably should have tried to use other place for Cheetas to provide eyes on them. 1 Badger is lost, rest of them are moving to cover while SPGs are shelling enemies. Infantry that was near Foxtrot is moving to cover and prepare to stop tanks if they will push futher.

 

   EMP was used to hold them for some time for artillery to damage them and for Cheetahs to prepare their HOT missiles. After EMP effect ended, they used their AA flamethrowers against our gunships, but we paid back.

 

   Almost done, but now Cheetahs are under fire of Kamovs that arrived to cover T-100s retreat.

 

   Badgers were rushed to attack Kamovs. Looks like enemies are near Zulu and Alpha is empty of ground troops.

 

   Badgers were ordered to retreat and get out of battle. Gunships got different order - to move as far forward as possible, will use air support to take out Kamovs.

 

   Kamovs are out and, as i expected, Zhukov SPGs are here. Our attack helicopters should have easy time to smashing those things.

 

   Kurochnik's engineers are nearby, we need to take out KV-20s before they will manage to get under protection of those guys. Our own SPGs are already sending their payload to those vics.

 

 

   Time to get away - engineers tried to get to positions to attack our gunships, but were too late. 2nd team of Badgers was called to replace team that is nearly out of battlespace. In the same time Grenadiers are rushing to Alpha to grab it before SGB will recover and put together another assault.

 

   BTRs arrived to pick up engineers from Zulu to move them somewhere else.

 

   Umm.. somewhere else appears to be Alpha point. Grenadiers are covered by server building but i still ordred to them to move away, artillery strike is going to be called on BTRs. We must take them out ASAP, before they fully dropped all Shpetsnaz engineers.

 

 

   Kamovs are rushing to support BTRs, Kurochnik didn't expected me here, it appears.

 

   Cheetahs are attacking Kamovs in attempt to drive them away, as our SHORAD didn't arrived yet. At least we managed to hold on Alpha point. Things in forests outside of base are heating up - Grenadiers are moving back to Sierra after getting under fire, while our Kommandos are breaching Whiskey point, occupied by SGB troops.

 

   Point of contention:

Spoiler

   2nd platoon of heavy armor tries to breach area near Alpha point, they are supported by infantry. SPGs already are targeted at those armored and heavily armed things.

 

   Meanwhile Kommandos have Naked gun situation with SGB Uplink guards.

 

 

   Cheetahs are shielding Alpha from Kamovs, pushing them out. SPGs continue to shell tanks.

 

   2 Ogres are destroyed, rest of MBTs are moving out of base now.

 

   Grenadiers are again under small arms fire, so we are moving away of possible source. 

 

   Tanks are defeated, Whiskey is cleared from SGB troops. Some SGB personnel is left near Alpha - infantry squad that are now our own MBTs fire.

 

 

   New attack is comming at us, Alexander really wants this uplink.

 

   Artilley rounds landing on BTRs, target is being spotted by engineers that garrisoned a building near Alpha. Called UGV defence for uplink, should be deployed here shortly.

 

   Whiskey is captured and EW balance is now shifted in our favor. Grenadiers were defeated with combined attack of Kamovs and light infantry, so Kommandos are now alone to defend W.

 

   Alexander crashed Foxtrot point to bring balance to our EW capabilities. 3 units are visible near W point, this is not good for Kommandos inside. 

 

   Artillery is shelling troops near Whiskey and Kurochnik decided to answer. Called airsupport to take out Kamovs and give some breaving space for our infantry.

 

   Vultures are out of action. 

 

   Melting snow:

Spoiler

   Of course, WMD strike. It took out 3 units, but main "chain" is still ok - tanks, SHORAD, helicopters.

 

   Kamovs are trying to use a moment and take out Panthers. Badgers are too far to get here in time, so another air support AA attack was called. We need to survive this moment and deal as much damage as possible to not allow Kurochnik to outnumber us.

 

   Kamovs are out, but looks like SGB is assaulting Alpha yet again.

 

   Badgers are moving away from BTRs, seeing how Kamovs are flying directly towards our MBTs.

 

   I need to swap MBTs and APCs location, so tanks could take care of SPAAGs and Badgers will be able to stomp gunships.

 

   BTRs are defeated, Badgers are nearly finished Kamovs. Panthers lost 1 tank, but still battle capable. Kommandos left Whiseky point, i will leave them deep in forests so if needed they can raid W, partizan style.

 

   Kamovs are out as well. We are pushing forward to drop our own WMD on enemies on SGB LZ. Big-ass Tarantula transport helicopter is visible and it means that AFVs are arriving. I brought more Grenadiers and Badger APCs to haul them.

 

   Excellent. Also, now i have 2 gunships units as QRF.

 

   Whiskey is being hacked, time to try to raid it. After some thinking i also decided to bring SPGs, even if they are non-upgraded units. Regular army recon unit is visible near W point.

 

   Our troops are parked between D and Z to try to affect Alexander's decision making. Gunships are not doing well against enemies near W.

 

   Heh, i expected that those vehicles are moving somewhere, this is a bit unusual place to place them. Thanks to them damaged team of Cheetahs is out of action.

 

   Kamovs sneaked ATGMs at Panthers, taking 1 more tank. Badgers missile were not enough to stop them from doing this sneaky punch.

 

   Taking our Kamovs is important, they should be landed to secure deployment of our SPGs.

 

   Ohh, that is bad. At least Kamovs are out.

 

 

   Our troops were ordered to move back to Alpha, while guided bomb was called on advancing BTRs, that took out our SHORAD/APCs.

 

   Bravo is now in our hands, we need to capture one more point to restore out EW dominance. Tanks are retreating, while 2 more platoons of MBTs are moving to central area. SPGs already working on enemies. Overall we recovered from WMD strike and now can continue to do our mission.

  

   Fireworks as ending:

Spoiler

   BTRs rushed to SPGs near Alpha, using a gap in our defences after MBTs moved back from D-Z line.Badgers are rushed to counter-attack BTRs and cover Marksmans retreat to cover.

 

   I also use this moment to attack a platoon of T-100s that wanted to join this SPG-hunting raid.

 

   One of SPG batteries already is shelling Ogre MBTs, but they are located so close to them.

 

   Trying to find a good angle to attack those SPAAGs through ruins is not easy, sometimes need to get way to close.  

 

   Badgers unit under number 10 is still capable to do their work (sort of), while unit 6 is defeated, but still didn't realized this, heh.

 

   I thought that we were done, but survivors of Shpetsnaz operatives that were inside of BTRs managed to get out and find cover. Marksmans and Panthers are already working on those guys.

 

   Done. Another team of Shpetsnaz soldiers is visible near Zulu, we should gun down those guys until they will get to some defensible place.

 

 

 

   Done. Gunships will scout what is happening on SGB LZ now, after this assault formation was shattered and stomped to death Kurochnik should bring some sort of reinforcements.

 

   Heavily battered pair of T-100s is only thing i see here. Gunships should be powerfull enough to destroy them.

 

 

   Sierra point is being hacked, so i know where one of last units of SGB are. Kommandos are going to take Whiskey in order to distract any other units Alexander have under his command.

 

   Well, this is unusual for me - tanks were caught in a minefield.

 

   Panthers will overwatch entrance to military base from SGB LZ just in case. Cheerahs are moving to locate enemies.

 

   Missile barrage is not enough to do something against those guys. I will park Cheetahs outside of their range and wait until Kommandos will take W back, so we can call serious airstrike to gauge Shpetsnaz Bears out.

 

   Engineers are going to eat a guided bomb.

 

   Yes!

 

 

   Fucking finally!

 

   Results:

Spoiler

 

 

   At least no KIA this time.

 

   Just 1 battle left.

 

   Because of save files abuse W/L ratio is not representative. We lost as KIA 9 units, which is a lot. European are truly weaklings.

 

[LoooSeR]

   Last battle:

 

 

Spoiler

   We have only regular army support, no air support (sadly).

 

   Yuri Tankaev is my opponent this time. He is rather aggressive and likes to use T-100s a lot. We need to secure our side of cost and force SGB troops to attack through middle bridge, to concentrate firepower on attacking AFVs.

 

   2 infantry units to capture uplinks with SPG and SHORAD to attack enemies in first stage of battle. Not sure about southern corridor, but we should take Zulu and at least put UGVs on it. I'm pretty sure that Yuri will try to flood us with armor via bridge instead of northen path.

 

 

   2nd SPG to support troops in initial phase, and to counter any early assaults of Shpetsnaz troops.

 

 

   Enemies are rushing through bridge, we are ready to to meet them.

 

   First clashes:

Spoiler

   Marksman's shells are dropping on enemies, meanwhile we are bringing Panthers to deal with AFVs.

 

   SPGs are shelling APCs to prevent them from pushing our positions.

 

   Kamovs are pushing forward, but Badgers and Grenadiers have pretty good AA abilities.

 

   Kamovs are moving away, but BTRs continue to push.

 

   Cheetahs are getting into position to attack BTRs.

 

 

   SPGs are under good AA protection, we can work on enemies.

 

   2 groups of Kamovs are active near bridge and 2 AFV units are also trying to stage an attack. Yuri is very aggressive.

 

   BTRs are defeated, but 2 Kamovs teams are still doing their attempts to attack our troops. They firied missile salvo against Badgers, damaging them, 2nd team of SHORAD is called to support/replace them.

 

   

   Cheetahs sneaked to other side of pond and looks like Zhukovs are moving to firing positions

 

   And looks like Zhukovs arrived and opened fire.

 

   MBTs are now stopping this rather weak attempt to push our troops out of their positions. Grenadiers jumped into a building near tanks to provide AA coverage.

 

 

   Path is clear-ish, we need to use this moment and create a safety buffer before Tankaev will start to bring fully loaded Ogre tanks. Our SPGs already started to shell Zhukovs to force them to move and allow our troops to breach their side of pond.

 

   Through the bridge of Death:

Spoiler

   Kamovs team is defeated, previous teams that were heavily damaged managed to get out of battlefield.

 

   Panthers lost 2 vehiles from Russian attack helicopters actions, even 2 SHORADs didn't managed to 100% protect them from aggressive attack.

 

   Now SPGs are in our sights. We breached to enemy side of battlefield, i'm trying to do as much damage as we can.

 

   Infantry is near Delta, but Zhukovs are more important, thats why i'm trying to force SGB infantry away and continue to attack KV-20s.

 

 

   Those guys are rushing to guard tower nearby.

 

   They managed to arrive to place with some casualties, but now they can do serious damage from good cover. We need to wrap up and retreat.

 

   This raid  was used to prepare positions for possible Yuri's tank rush.Grenadiers already placed one minefield and on the way to make a second one.

 

   Cheetahs are scouting southern corridor. I planned to place some defences on Zulu, but Grenadiers are busy with bridge so control over this part of map is now helicopters  and SPGs job.

 

   Now SPGs are takign shots at Russian army soldiers near Y point. As you see Regular European army reinforcements (that i called earlier) are finnaly here, they are moving futher to block bridge.

 

   Badgers are keeping their eyes on that group of choppers.

 

   I was waiting for a moment to use EMP and not allow Kamovs to retreat after taking serious damage.

 

   Got them! Badgers are moving in to finish them.

 

 

   So far situation is not bad - bridge is well-defended, we captured 3 uplinks (1 more than enemy), majority of troops are in good condition. Yuri is strangely not as active on multiple fronts as in previous campaign where i met him. 

 

   Using this lull in action i decided to raid Yuri's forces again. Cheetahs found their victim (T-100s) and will proceed to destroy them with EMP support (as those Ogres have some AA capabilities).

 

   Tankaev is trying to expand and sended his transports to Yankee. SPGs now working on that team. Meanwhile i decided to push this operation to Defcon phase ASAP, as lond as our side have all cards on hand, for this purpose both infantry units were tasked with taking more uplinks.

 

   Ogres recovered from EMP effects, but they lost 2 machines and just 1 more left to defeat their unit.

 

   Done, just in time as Cheetahs started to receive AA fire from tanks.

 

   Badgers are blocking Kamov's attempts to get to a place to move around.

 

   Cheetahs catched SGB helicopters and didn't alowed them to retreat, heh. We lost 1 helicopter, but this was warth it. Grenadiers are 50% done with Delta uplink, while Bravo is already in our hands and in a minute Defcon phase will be triggered.

 

   Superiority:

Spoiler

   Now clocks of victory started to count down. We have full amount of resources to call reinforcements and special attacks (thanks to a lot of captured uplinks), while enemies have just 1 server hub under their control. I'm not calling reinforcements now to avoid losing them in Shpetsnaz WMD strike.

 

   Gunships are scouting areas near Bravo, i don't see hostile troops.

 

   Enemies showed up, BTRs are trying to attack Delta point and Grenadiers around it.

 

   They were quickly dealt with.

 

   Ogres arrived. Badgers were moved away from possible LOS of those things. Russian heavy armor will be left for others to deal with.

 

 

   Ogres are also attacking Delta point, while Grenadiers were chainging position. 

 

   

   Well, that was quick payback for Ogres. 

 

   I saw transport helicopters landing behind this big ass building. Time to use our own WMD. We lost Grenadiers and 2 other units were caught by shockwave and now they are out of action. We can probably hit 2 enemy units max, but those guys don't have much in the first place. Now i can call all reinforcements we need, BTW.

 

 

   Yuri continue to bring troops in small numbers, we can deal with them without much of a fuss

 

 

 

   Kamovs are show down, our troops are holding positions pretty well.

 

   MRLS strike are not getting old for me, heh.

 

 

   Was too cocky, Cheetahs ate AA missile salvo from BTRs.

 

   Our SPGs are firing from protected position (Regular army troops in front and minefields behind to cath enemies if we need to retreat).

 

   A group of AFVs were deployed, but there is only 20 seconds left. Yuri, it is too late. EMP'ed them for giggles.

 

 

 

 

 

   Tanks were defeated during Victory screen, hehe. Didn't expected that Yuri will lose this fight as easily as it happened...

 

   Results:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

   Amount of turns and units lost don't take into account 2-3 times that i used savefiels to get through particular hard battles.

 

   Euroweaklings campaign on Hardcore (max) difficulty is done. Alexander Kurochnik is my Nemesis, lol, he managed to put some serious fight against me, lost about 4-5 battles during this campaign. AI on hardcore difficulty acts noticeable different (for some of commanders). I had a lot of emotions during those failed operation, for sure. Taking into account that AI in EndWar is not cheating in same way as usually you see in RTS (like having more resources or knowing type, number or/and location of your units), i should say that i was outplayed by it on a level field (which is impressive).

   It is rather sad that this team wasn't able to finish EndWar 2.

[LoooSeR]

   So while was posting my 3rd playthrough of EndWar (as actual operations were like 15 minutes on average, so several missions per playsessions were done, but only 1 was posted per update) i managed to complete 3 unknown shooters from 2005 to 2008 and if anybody is interested in reviews, you can ask which one will be first.

 

1) Hellforces ("Cleaner" in Russian version). FPS, released in 2005, made in Russia. Game about fighting *Alex Jones mode on* demonic invasion through people using a machine that suck souls out of them and replace them with demonic energy/thing, with main character being sarcastic asshole. Rather conventional shooty-shooty game.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

2) Bet on Soldier, also released in 2005. French FPS taking place in alternative history fanfic where some sort of unending Ward War is going on and TV show about gladiators fighting with each other on battlefields of that war is a thing. Strange mix of Counter-strike, linear shooter like Half-life, with bits and pieces of arena shooters thrown into this mix.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) Symbiont, 2008. Russian 3rd person shooter-slasher, somewhat similar to Collapse (reviewd in this thread earlier). Story about Alien invasion and main protagonistov becoming Alien himself.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LoooSeR]

   Decided to replay Freedom fighters, a 3rd person shooter from 2003 about Soviet Union taking over US, game was made by IOI interactive (Hitman devs). BTW Jesper Kyd was a composer of music in it, and it is great.

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

   Yes, Mi-24 is firing from a gun mounted just under rotor blades

 

   Heh, selfpromotion.

 

   Invasion JUST started and commies already are oppressing freedom-loving Americans!

 

   Wrench to the face does stop localized oppressions.

 

   Mr. Jones knows where to find a Resistance fighters, even if actual invasion started about a minute ago.

 

   Mr. Jones probably have 45. ACP - real manly American caliber to deal with commies.

 

 

   Soviets stealing our brother, but he was so fat that they needed a helicopter to haul his ass.

 

   Street full of panicking civilians and Mi-24 hovering on far side of it. You know what will happen.

 

Spoiler

   Reb barrels, group of socialists...

 

   Ragdoll feels great in FF. Weighty, "punchy" and hilarious in action.

 

 

 

 

 

   Hey! It looks familiar.

 

   Sorry what? Other than USSR other writings don't make any sense. CJUBACYEU and RHEAYJRP<F?

 

   Black Eagle, is that you?

 

 

 

   Molotovs and some guerilla-like gear - yeah, those guys are Resistance that appeared from nowhere.

 

 

   Sewers is our base, basically.

 

   Those TV news are funny as well.

 

 

   Nice to see our base with already stolen Soviet supplies about 10 minutes after invasion started!

 

 

   1st "chapter"

Spoiler

 

   Now we have C4 and police officers are suppressed by snipers. We need to deal with those snipers by Holywood explosions.

 

 

 

   Don't mind me, i am usual American gun-owning citizen that likes to open carry.

 

 

 

 

   Lol, low amount of polygons is a side effect of living in Socialist counties.

 

 

   Umm.... WTF does this mean? How they even made this?

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

   Back to police station map.

 

   Subway is crawling with commies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Real time shadows in 2003 were cool AF.

 

   How nice of those policemens to stay around and tell tutorials at us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Not sure what type of AK is this, hehe.

 

   Shotgun is able to throw bodies away with considerable force, like 3-5 meters at least.

 

   Spread of pellets is ridiculous

 

   Is this a Terminator police station scene?

 

 

 

 

 

 

   This shoty is great!

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

   Couldn't leave MG without using it on cars around. More explosions!

 

 

   Local climbing system allows to get to places and climb random crap.

 

 

 

   Resistance leader is a standart hot babe with big boobs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Local AI's ability to find cover in an empty corridor is pretty good.

 

   Man, that ragdoll physics is like 80% of fun of blowing shit up.

 

   Don't hit passengers planes on the way out!

 

   I hope IOI didn't modelled damage from physics objects flying around.

 

 

   FF's command system is fairly simple but robust enough. Only 3 commands (regroup, attack and defend), but their execution changes if you are aiming/zooming or using "normal" mode. 

 

 

   Even trucks are blowing up from few AK hits in this game.

 

   Climbing thigns allows to get better angle on evil commies or flank them. 

 

 

   Another cosmonaut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   This game at times is explosions train and i love it.

 

 

 

 

 

[LoooSeR]

 

   Chapter 2.

Spoiler

   Is this big enough to stop commies?

 

 

 

   Sneaking to Soviet base in cargo area of a sea port.

 

   My target - miniature of Mi-24.

 

   So i was spotted and enemies are moving to find me. AI in Freedom fighters can climb different objects about as well as a player.

 

 

 

 

 

   .............?

 

   WTF does this even supposed to mean? Anyway, at this point i realised that i don't have explosive to blow up this thing, heh. Time to raid another Soviet base.

 

 

 

 

   USSR inscription on back of helmet and giant red stars are pretty good indication that those guys are Soviets and not some sort of Canadian invaders.

 

   I think they spotted me. 

 

 

   Bye!

 

 

 

   *HEADSHOT*

 

 

   Vodnik brings reinforcements in this game, acting as an APC. I found explosives, time to get back.

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

   Sponsored by Russkaya Vodka.

 

 

 

   Just to remind you that we are fighting with Communists.

 

   Oh, no, explosions are starting to appear!

 

 

 

 

   Sniper on the left and Soviet base is nearby, hmmm...

 

 

 

   3rd person view is like cheating at times.

 

   Still, this fucker almost got me. Playing on max difficulty.

 

   Not sure what they are trying to sell to me.

 

   Let's not jump on that Communism train.

 

   No bridge - no Vodniks.

 

   "Oh no, 2 soldiers found me!" - said never during playing FF.

 

Spoiler

   Back at cafe area. Vodniks and gunships are out of actions, so we can clear this area and take it.

 

   POWs are simply upgrades in FF.

 

   Good thing that they can overcome some obsticles and not pain in the ass to escort to nearest entrance to sewers.

 

   Cafe was turned by commies into a checkpoint.

 

 

   I'm not going to count number of hammer and sickles on this board, lmao.

 

 

   Commander is relaxing in his imaginary jakuzi

 

 

   Sniper is trying to dance around my bullets, asshole.

 

   For some reason i feel like those guys are commisars or politruks.

 

 

 

   PP-19 looks detailed, maybe even more than soldiers that are holding them, haha

 

 

 

 

   That more than enough of Soviet symbolics, game.

 

   Climbing system sometimes allows for this kind of situations, heh.

 

 

   Destructible light sources exist in this game, but it doesn't affect anything AI-related.

 

   When i pressed use button to rise American flag, a move forward button was also being pressed and main hero, after rising a flag made few steps forward and...

 

 ...fall off. During victory screen. HeheHAHAHA.

 

[LoooSeR]

   Continuing to wreck havoc and #restisting to commies.

   I'm leading army of clones, apperently.

 

Spoiler

   

   Those commies really want to get me.

 

 

   Anything on level can be used as a cover by AI. Not bad, for 2003.

 

 

   Kek, that combination.

 

   Even dead those guys are determined to destroy capitalism.

 

 

 

 

   Fire extinguishers also explode with enough power to throw away 3 big ass guys in military gear.

 

 

 

"-Are you being suprisingly invaded by big group of Soviets? 

- Yes

- Is there a fire extinguisher nearby?

- Yes

....."

 

 

   Not too lethal, but allows to get out of bad spot.

 

Spoiler

   Situation like this (caught with 1 round in the mag on max difficulty) can end like this:

 

 

   Normal number of enemies for FF.

 

   Searching for me.

 

   ^Having a vision of bright communist future in USA.

 

 

   Doing slavic dances when on guard duty.

 

 

   Sneaking with weird 7 shot mag SVD.

 

 

 

 

   That is one elaborate vent installation.

 

 

 

 

   That commisar is funny - he speaks with normal soldier voice lines that were accelerated until they started to sound squeaky. I never heard anbody in FF speaking like this particular soldier, heh.

 

   That is supposed to be a tree.

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

   "Everything is fine and i didn't just walked pass a dead human"

 

 

   Um.. ok. I guess when you and train is in the same political party.. there are no fighting between communists.

 

 

   Cars are made out of explodium. FF's ragdoll gladly launches bodies far away.

 

   I would also arrest those 4 guys, as they are clone rebels (like rest of them).

 

 

 

   I saw that, IOI.

 

   We did our task here so far, let's deal with helicopters.

 

   Next map was done several times (stupid deaths and no normal quick save/quick loading system)

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

   Let's not try to attack this emplacement head on.

 

   In CQB shoty is great.

 

 

 

 

 

   Soldiers in red berets are more aggressive than normal ones, always armed with shotguns.

 

   Also rather dangerous one in CQB.

 

   

 

   All cars in FF are IEDs.

 

 

 

 

 

   Yes, i'm trying to sneak to that positions in a park, under burning helicopter stuck in building.

 

   Haha, very sneaky.

 

   Fuck!

 

   Next attempt:

Spoiler

 

 

 

   How about a grenade barrage?

 

   This is fun. Like playing with toy soldiers.

 

 

 

   Let's sneak to those guys to blast them with a point blank shogun shots!

 

   We are fucked!

 

   Next attempt:

Spoiler

   Groundhog day begins.

 

   It is still funny.

 

 

   I think this is not how human body works.

 

   Yes, i'm doing this again, cause it is hilarious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   I really like local ragdoll physics.

 

 

   Got back to that park position to face attack, now prepared and armed with SMG.

 

 

   Done with those guys. Our target - capturing cinema theatre.

 

 

 

 

   Fighting on a roof is last moment before rising flag and winning.

 

[LoooSeR]

   And i'm continuing to fight against Soviet invasion of NYC on max difficulty in Freedom Fighter aka commie soldiers juggling simulator.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

   That was one quick attempt, heh.

 

2nd run:

Spoiler

 

   Shooting revolvers into Soviet soldiers is somebodie's wet dream, for sure.

 

 

 

 

 

   You can lead a squad of rebels, but i'm doing solo max difficulty playthrough, so we will leave them here.

 

   Quick save can be done only near sewers manholes.

 

 

 

    Soldier, smacked into a wall is barely visible.

 

 

 

   Main reason to not enter this compound through main gates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Area is captured. 

 

   Back to warehouse area where i blew up bridges earlier.

 

Spoiler

   We are on collision course.

 

   Main entrance is of course well defended. We will take different path, above this emplacement.

 

   This one, to be precise.

 

 

   Train is arriving, we can use it as a cover to sneak to a building in the distance.

 

 

   This doesn't look comfortable.

 

 

 

 

 

   Unusual bug - sometimes when soldiers die physics of weapon in their hands don't initiate properly and 2 models of a gun appear - one on the ground and can be picked up, second one in the air, non-usable.

 

 

 

 

   Brother of main hero is captured during Soviet retaliation raid.

 

[Sturgeon]

Holy crap they released the original Diablo on GOG.

[Belesarius]

1 hour ago, Sturgeon said:

Holy crap they released the original Diablo on GOG.

GOG? 

 

[Sturgeon]

5 minutes ago, Belesarius said:

GOG? 

 

 

Good Old Games, the distribution service CDPR runs.

[Sturgeon]

Couldn't help myself. Had to buy it. No ragrets.

[Belesarius]

8 minutes ago, Sturgeon said:

 

Good Old Games, the distribution service CDPR runs.

What are they charging for it, out of curiosity?

 

[Sturgeon]

4 minutes ago, Belesarius said:

What are they charging for it, out of curiosity?

 

 

Ten bucks.

[LoooSeR]

   We are back to rebels base. Brother of Christopher (main character) was executed by Soviets, and this time our task will be an assassination of General Tatarin.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

   Let's not go this way, it is under sniper watch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   +25 to charisma (it allows to recruit more rebels to your squad during raids) for Tatarin killing. 

 

   Armored machinegunner. Don't really want to fight those guys.

 

   "....revenge for our brave general!" Time to get out.

 

 

 

   Managed to lose it from my tail, exit now should be easy.

 

   Back to our hideout:

Spoiler

   Plot twist! Mr. Jones was a KGB officer undercover!

 

 

 

 

   -HEADSHOT-

 

 

 

 

 

   10 shots for an RPG coupled with a high ground position, hehehe.

 

 

 

 

 

   RPG is fun to unleash on enemies.

 

 

 

 

   Hard enemy to deal with, but not "unfair". Molotovs stun this guy easily.

 

 

   Although he can eat a lot of damage. Grenades are ineffective against this guy (they only throw his body and render him unconscious for several seconds).

 

   Took a new toy from his dead body.

 

 

 

   Machinegunner killed with a MG that was taken from another dead machinegunner, haha. 

 

   300 round ammobox? Well, that is a lot of ammunition that IOI developers managed to cram in this 100 round box-sized MG belt box.

 

 

 

 

 

   *Evil speech in progress

 

 

 

[LoooSeR]

   We abandoned our old base because of very high concentration of Soviets in it, new base:

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

   Back to raiding commies:

 

Spoiler

 

   I like this baby-sized Krokodil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Going to free prisoners.

 

 

   

 

   Ambush on the way back. 

 

   After getting prisoners to sewers i'm back to trying get into this school, turned into Soviet HQ.

 

 

 

   A lot of Molotovs are needed to take this guy out. More than Crhistopher can carry, lol.

 

 

 

 

   Perfect.

 

   Wounded soviet soldiers turned against their comrades after 1 medkit given to them. What?

 

 

 

 

   Grenade barrage didn't managed to kill this heavy armor dude. Damn.

 

   Time to run, haha.

 

   I bet if i go to Girls room he will not find me!

 

   Next op - taking over SAFN TV channel building:

 

Spoiler

 

 

   That is a lot of adv for a TV channel, heh.

 

   Ability to climb things allows to sneak a whole squads on top of buildings where i'm trying to find a good sniping spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   IOI loves to sneak their logo into levels.

 

 

   That took only 4-5 rockets, heh. 

 

   CQB RPG firing is not a best idea for main character health.

 

 

   That dude is made out of pure Stalinium and can take almost as much rockets as a tank.

 

 

 

 

 

   Let's combine fire and explosions to defeat this heave armor comrade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   3rd one on this leve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LoooSeR]

   Final chapter of FF - assault on gov. island.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   I think gun glitched our of the turret, lol.

 

 

 

   We need to blow up this thing, but i don't have explosive. Time to retreat to sewers and attack warehouses.

 

 

 

 

    Raid for C4 explosives:

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   We found what we needed, time to get back to vent system and blow it up!

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

   This area is now ours.

 

   Next attack:

 

Spoiler

   Went back to ammunition warehouses to grab more C4.

 

   Now back to sewers and to next target - mortars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Mi-24 is out of action. Should be now easier to attack other regions of gov. island.

 

 

 

   Transport helicopter will be my next target.

 

 

[LoooSeR]

   Last missions. Here is one that took me several tries to finish:

 

Spoiler

 

 

   Camping on top of the stairs like an asshole.

 

 

 

 

   That cover is penetrable, hehe.

 

   And here is this transport Kamov that i want to blow up.

 

 

 

   Infiltrating cargo area full of transport containers.

 

 

   That is a bit too close. So close that game don't know how to deal with it when player is zoomed in, hahaha.

 

 

   Few moments later this room was breached by 20 commies and their human wave overwhelmed me. Time to re-start this operation.

 

Next try:

 

Spoiler

 

 

   This time i'm ambushing those commies that killed me last time.

 

 

 

   Back to the same room after clearing areas above. Waiting for those who were left behind.

 

 

   Nobody showed up, so i went to them instead.

 

 

   Heavy armor commie got a bullet to the knee. He is old-fashioned and outdated, i know.

 

   Meeting party decided to show up.

 

 

 

   While i was watching his cinematic fall, some asshole shot me in the back. Press F.

 

Yet another attempt:

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

   Heavy armor guy is rushing towards that small room where Soviets managed to ambush me. About 20 seconds later he killed me. Restart!

 

And yet again:

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Finally!

 

   Last level in FF:

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Saved here yet again. Now we need to rise US flags all over Soviet base.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   "They will come back, with more soldiers and bigger guns..." 2019, 16 years later and they didn't.

 

[LoooSeR]

On 3/1/2019 at 11:29 AM, LoooSeR said:

   So while was posting my 3rd playthrough of EndWar (as actual operations were like 15 minutes on average, so several missions per playsessions were done, but only 1 was posted per update) i managed to complete 3 unknown shooters from 2005 to 2008 and if anybody is interested in reviews, you can ask which one will be first.

 

1) Hellforces ("Cleaner" in Russian version). FPS, released in 2005, made in Russia. Game about fighting *Alex Jones mode on* demonic invasion through people using a machine that suck souls out of them and replace them with demonic energy/thing, with main character being sarcastic asshole. Rather conventional shooty-shooty game.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

 

2) Bet on Soldier, also released in 2005. French FPS taking place in alternative history fanfic where some sort of unending Ward War is going on and TV show about gladiators fighting with each other on battlefields of that war is a thing. Strange mix of Counter-strike, linear shooter like Half-life, with bits and pieces of arena shooters thrown into this mix.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) Symbiont, 2008. Russian 3rd person shooter-slasher, somewhat similar to Collapse (reviewd in this thread earlier). Story about Alien invasion and main protagonistov becoming Alien himself.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

0 votes for each, lol. Well i will go with BoS first.

[LostCosmonaut]

Today in War in the Pacific: 6 American carriers attack 2 Japanese carriers

 

 

 

 

[LoooSeR]

Some of Bet on Soldier campaign screenshots.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LoooSeR]

   Review of Bet On Soldier: Blood Sport.

   B.o.S. is a FPS developed by French developer Kylotonn, and published in 2005. Main "story" revolves around an alternate history world and unnamed sort of "World War", where gladiators is a thing and fight each other in duels during operations/missions of 2 factions armed forces. These deathmatches are broadcasted as a TV show called "Bet On Soldier".

    B.o.S. is a spiritual sequel of the Iron Storm FPS, released in 2002. Developer after release of B.o.S. made 2 expansions packs (both in 2006) - Blood of Sahara and Black out Saigon, but i didn't played them so only original will be covered. Also, both packs were released only in Europe, AFAIK.

 

   Visuals

   For a game released in 2005 BoS looked a bit outdated. In 2004 Far Cry, DooM 3 and HL2 were released and in 2005 F.E.A.R. appeared on PCs of gamers. B.o.S. engine was not able to generate picture on a level of those games but overal it wasn't too bad. Some of levels were getting close to how Painkiller levels looked like, but static lighting (no cool dynamic shadows) and bland-ish art direction didn't managed to smooth out technical limitations. Bad animations (especially enemies shooting from ARs), crappy face animations and so on are especially noticeable. 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Nice texture work, heh.

 

   Armor of some of enemies look like piles of metal scrap.

 

 

   Not very well placed yellow orb decal.

 

   Most levels in B.o.S. are dark grey, dark brown or just great and brown. Levels themselves are also rather bland, with maybe exception of several places.

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

   Rare level that is not flat brown.

 

   Gameplay

   This FPS is not going to surprise you - all missions are linear corridors with very little freedom of choice (most of the time you don't really have it). There are only 2 things that worth attention - equipment system and gladiators, and how they affect gameplay.

   You are playing as a gladiator working for one of factions (USWE - United States of Western Europe, fighting against RMC or "Russo-Mongol Coalition"). Player receive tasks like destroy enemy artillery or ambush convoy - something that you would expect from usual military shooter like Call of Duty. Before each operation, player can choose his loadout - armor, guns, grenades and so on. Choices are not very diverse, although differences between weapon types are substantial. All equipment, ammo, guns etc cost money. Money can be earned by killing enemies (headshots and other means of killing give higher earnings) and defeating gladiators (amount of money earned depends on speed - how fast you kill them).

 

 

   During gameplay player can't pick up ammunition and weapons from dead enemies, so you have to use special consoles spread across level to buy ammo, grenades, repair armor. Health is not regenerable and there are no means of healing yourself, so armor is what you rely on. Saving progress during missions is also not free and could be done only on special save stations for cash.

 

 

   On pre-mission briefing screen you also can choose what gladiators you will fight during mission. Each enemy is kind of unique, have different weapons, modules, armor, sometimes behavior, min and max price for winning.

 

 

Spoiler

 

   On top of that you can hire up to 2 friendly AI bullet sponges, but i never bothered with them. 

 

   So how all this actually work?  

   You are playing bog standard linear corridor shooter with a twist that during mission you can't change weapons, must pay money to buy ammo, armor effectively becoming your "health" rating (and actual health is a limited use "safety bag") and time to time this linear shooter is trying to be an arena shooter.

• A fact that you can't change weapons effectively limits your choice on assault rifles (all other weapons are less effective overal and you don't know what type of terrain you will encounter on next operation) as a main gun and rocket launcher as "heavy" weapon. All other weapons are more or less there to play around with them if you are bored with ARs and RLs.
• Armor repairs and ammo costing money didn't affected my playstyle much, as limited number of healthpacks and limited ammo pick ups are pretty usual for shooters that i usualy play. Although location of terminals and higher difficulty level chosen before starting campaign  means frequent backtracking to terminals away from enemies to restore your "health" and ammunition.
• Big number of "cannon fodder" type of enemies means easy and steady income, so i never really felt problems with money or being too low on them with exception on one time when i couldn't buy the best rocket launcher after getting all other best equipment.
• Frequent backtracking coupled with greed forcing to use less ammunition leads to slower gameplay. During first missions i didn't even run, used walking to have maximum accuracy for sweet and easy headshots.

   Overal gameplay is slow, but not really 'methodical" as enemy spawn system is basically same as in majority of corridor shooters - you "press" a trigger/script and next pack of enemies is spawn behind a corner/door/gate/wall and their AI is simplistic, so no need for tactical trickery or smart play. You slowly chew through them, go back to terminal to repair your "health" and return to your path. Armor is separated to different parts, each could be damaged individually. Different type of enemies aim for different body parts, but i noticed only 2 such types - snipers are aiming for your head and rest are going for chest shots. This mean that even if one of pieces of armor gets to dark red level of sustained damage player should seek repair stations or friendly engineer or when armor plate will be totally destroyed, main character actual health will start to drop.

   All this makes B.o.S. to be rather monotone and repetitive. Only few things make it a bit less boring - "advanced" enemies (as i call them), gladiator fights and mech driving.

 

   "Advanced" enemies are usually better armored and armed mooks with more aggressive behavior. Their AI reminds me more of Unreal Tournament/Quake 3 bots - they are moving around frequently, attacking, evading, retreating, taking cover behind objects or soldiers with shields, searching for lost target, basically doing more shit than usual cannon fodder (or because of better equipment they have time to do those things and not be killed in few seconds after getting spotted). If B.o.S. developed them more and tuned level design for this type of AI, game could be more fun to play as with those guys a segmented armor models and different type of weapons mechanics are starting to make more sense. They are armed with different weapons (unlike cannon fodder) and have strong and weak aspects that could be used to defeat them in more profitable ways.

 

Spoiler

 

   Those guys are pain in the ass in groups and when they are supported by shield soldiers.

 

   Ready to chase you anywhere.

 

 

 

   Mech driving is somewhat fun, because power fantasy. Although ammunition and repairs also cost money, but never head problems with that, as baddies are even easier to stomp with those things.

 

Spoiler

 

   

   Gladiators... some of them are kind of fun, but majority of those guys are simply overpowered bullet sponges. Almost all of them are equipped with bullshit field that decrease damage received or make them completely immune to bullets and direct attacks, and thats why Rocket launcher rules here - spash damage can take out all of them. You are supposed to use more tricky ways, like using acid grenades to take out their armor and shit like this, but something is really off about those deathmatches. Movement speed, accuracy and reaction time coupled with arena layouts and amount of HP those guys have make majority of battles to be simply quick exchange of fire without much of movement. Taking into account that you need to defeat enemy in short amount of time to win (otherwise you lose) those battles feels rushed, undercooked, underdeveloped, imbalanced, uncreative with few exceptions. I never had same duel with those guys as with last AI bot in Unreal Tournament singleplayer (wich was glorious and challenging) or as with Quake bots, so all this feels like lost opportunity.

 

   One of unusual enemies - he use only melee weapon.

 

Spoiler

 

   Dead.

 

   "I WILL KILL YOU NOLAN!"

 

   Few seconds later.

 

   Before

 

   After

 

   "I WILL KILL YOU NOLAN!"

 

   *Farting sounds*

 

   That one wasn't too terrible. He is equipped with flamethrower, so we need to move away from him to avoid taking damage.

 

 

 

   Unusual sniper type of gladiator.

 

   Guess how exactly he was defeated, kek.

 

 

   Maybe THE ONLY one missions that i found to be fun and stimulating from start to finish was an arean fight where we and our main "enemy" were caught and put into a walled off arena to fight against waves of different gladiators:

Spoiler

   "we are fucked, Nolan!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   In the end gameplay is average, even with those unusual aspects. Gladiators were not interesting for the most part, gear for cash didn't managed to affect me much, and in the end bland corridor repetitive FPS is what most of my gameplay time was with B.o.S.

 

   Plot

   The dissonance between world, main hero's motivation and story told in cutscenes and missions that players interact with is kind of incredible, in a bad way. Story was so boring that from maybe 2nd or 3rd mission i was skipping all cutscenes and i learned it only before writing this post, haha. There are no connections between operations and personal motivation of Nolan. There is a 10-page detailed description of a world, but almost nothing from it managed to find a way to actual game. No cool characters, i don't remember anybody name from B.o.S.

Who are you, people?

 

Spoiler

   Who the hell are you?

 

 

   Conclusion

   Bet on Soldier is painfully average. "Painfully" because it had few ideas that could take it to more interesting places, but those ideas where underdeveloped and not used properly. Boring visuals and presentation don't make this situation any better. Only 3 things that made this game just a bit better for me were Arena fight, overall difficulty, and heavily armored bad guys (that are one of main sources of difficulty of this game, heh). So.. 6/10, i guess.