General Hints: In playing each mission you will get the feel of
what weapons to carry and what strategy (e.g. strong offensive,
strong defensive, etc.) works best for that particular mission.
Very often, enemies such as the VTOLs and Gantlets will help you
by dropping bombs in a long streak and blowing up many buildings.
In general, once you know where to go and what to do in a
particular mission it is best to do it quickly and finish since
your enemies tend to build slowly but constantly and often come in
waves.
All of the flying enemies are easy to take out with the Gatling
Gun. You may also use other weapons such as the rocket launcher
or rail cannon, but you must aim accurately and the moving targets
are difficult to hit. The tanks, rocket launchers, and gun
turrets can be taken out with any weapon, and long range weapons
such as the rocket launcher and rail cannon work extremely well
since these enemies are easy to hit at a distance and will often
not "wake up" until you approach fairly closely. Heavy tanks
require numerous hits with rockets or grenades to destroy, but are
fairly easy to dispatch with the chain cutter. Simply stand on
the heavy tank and slice away. Finally, enemy Iron Soldiers
(IS's) are the most difficult opponent to take out. The best
attack is a grenade volley, but you must be accurate. Rockets are
easier to use against the IS but you need a very great number of
rockets to take out an IS.
Missions:
1. "The Bust." Very Easy. No weapons choices to make here, and
you can virtually ignore the tank and helicopter enemies. Simply
head for the warehouse complex (at the opposite end of the city
from where you start) and beat down the buildings. Collect the
new weapon to end the round.
2. "Care Package." Medium. Simply destroy the two ships docked
in this city to end the round. The problem is that the ships are
heavily guarded and have some serious firepower of their own.
Also, if you take too long the ships will leave dock and you will
lose. Approach quickly and blast each ship with grenades (three
or four direct hits should do it) then retreat quickly. Avoid
(read, ignore) the enemy IS lurking around. Note: I highly
recommend doing this mission last of the first four in order to
have the Gatling Gun and easily take out the many tanks and
helicopters that will swarm you as you approach the ships.
3. "London Bridge." Medium. Simply destroy the two bridges
leading out of the city to end this round. Three or four direct
hits with grenades will take out the western bridge (assume you
are at the southern end of the city at the start of the round) but
the eastern bridge is significantly stronger. The eastern bridge
is also heavily protected by air and by ground with tanks, rocket
launchers, and gun turrets. Approach this bridge quickly, blast
it with grenades, then retreat to collect repair crates and more
grenades. Repeat until the bridge falls. Note: If you can manage
it without getting blasted, walking onto the bridge a little way
will do significant damage, allowing you to destroy it with far
fewer grenades.
4. "Midnight Raid." Medium. Destroy all of the buildings between
the four control towers and pick up all of the supply crates. The
challenge lies in the fact that this area is HIGHLY guarded by
practically every enemy possible. Success depends on your ability
to land the grenades quickly and accurately. You need to blast
the buildings with grenades quickly and collect the crates
quickly, basically ignoring all enemies. If your strength gets
too low, retreat to the western power plant (assume you are at the
southern end of the city at the start of the mission) and break it
down to reveal a repair crate.
5. "Hunt The Hunter." Difficult. Destroy the enemy IS. Easy,
right? The IS is extraordinarily strong and takes huge amounts of
damage without flinching. It can fire rockets in rapid succession
(these can be avoided at a distance) and will push you if you get
too close (A push does huge damge to your IS.) You need to
approach into grenade range, blast it with grenades, and retreat
to collect repair crates and grenades while avoiding the IS's
rockets. Repeat until one of you dies. Note: if you try to go
for the IS while it is still in the dense city you will fail.
Take some time at the beginning of the mission to find some repair
crates and grenades. Meanwhile, the IS will be knocking down
skycrapers and clearing space for you to attack.
6. "Walk In The Park." Easy. Simply destroy all of the tanks to
complete this mission. There are about twelve regular tanks and
one Heavy Tank to destroy. These are protected by many
helicopters and a few rocket launchers. The rail cannon is ideal
for taking out the tanks at a distance (often before they even
notice you and "wake up") and you should also have the Gatling Gun
to keep the helicopters at bay. Use the chain cutter to take out
the heavy tank. Rockets will also work but you need a significant
number-- the chain cutter is faster and safer as the heavy tank
will not be able to fire on you if you stand on it and cut.
7. "Fox And Hound." Medium. Destroy three truck convoys and
collect the new weapon to complete this mission. The main
challenge here is finding the convoys before they leave the city.
Once found they are easy to destroy with any weapon, including
your feet. Head west (assume you are at the south end of the city
at the beginning of the mission) initially to find one convoy.
Then head north and east to find the others. You can't really
head to a specific location since they move around. The best way
to find them is to use your radar. The convoys appear purple on
the radar screen. When you see a purple dot, head for it.
Enemies are not really a problem as long as you stay in the cover
of buildings and avoid the huge open square in the middle of the
city as it is dotted with rocket launchers and will leave you open
to air attacks.
8. "Pearl Harbor." Medium. Destroy four ships to end this
mission. Hints are basically the same as mission 2, "Care
Package." Due to the greater number of ships and the more
difficult defenses, you will probably need to scour the buildings
for repairs and more weapons between ships. Thus, take a little
more time and care than in "Care Package." Another tip is to use
both rockets and grenades to take out the ships. This way you
double your chance of finding more ammo in any given building.
9. "Pandora's Box." Difficult. Break into the fortified fortress
in the center of this city, destroy the IS, and collect the new
weapon to complete the mission. First, you will need to clear the
area in front of the main door to the fortress of all tanks, gun
turrets, etc. No problem here. Second, take out the gun turrets
on top of the fortress walls (one on each side) with three rockets
each. Do this before they attack you to avoid taking massive
damage. Next, you must then break down the door to the fortress
using the chain cutter. (You could also use other weapons, but it
would take more than you could carry, and deplete the reserves to
be found around the fortress.) When you break down the door you
will immediately be confronted by a tank and one or two rocket
launchers. Take these out, leaving just the IS to destroy. Two
notes: first, while you are doing all of this numerous helicopters
will continually fly in to annoy you. You need to take them out
or they will build up and eventually get the better of you.
Second, you can reduce the impact of opening the fortress gate by
first tossing a barrage of grenades over the walls. This will
take out some of the buildings and enemies before they can attack
you. This IS is particularly difficult to destroy because it
generally stays in the fortress where there is little room to move
about. You need to enter the fortress and approach into grenade
range, blast the IS with grenades, and retreat to collect repair
crates and grenades. Rockets will also work but will take much
longer. After defeating the IS simply pick up the new weapon in
the fortress to complete the mission.
10. "Hornet's Nest." Easy. Destroy the helicopter base and the
helicopters flying around it to complete this mission. The only
danger here is that you will take great damage and possibly die
while looking for the base. Follow the arrows on the roads to
find it the first time, then you can go "as the crow flies." Once
you know where the base is, simply go in quickly and blast all of
the buildings at long range with rockets. Take out a few
helicopters and VTOLs with the Gatling Gun and the mission is
solved.
11. "One-Man Army." Medium. Wipe out the fairly small
installation of buildings to the north-east (assume that you start
at the southern end of the city) to complete this mission. The
large, red skyscrapers and a few other buildings can be taken out
from a distance with rockets. After this, use a strategy similar
to that of mission four, "Midnight Raid," using grenades to take
out buildings and moving quickly to avoid taking great damage.
You will find several repair crates as well as additional ammo.
Naturally, the power plant will take the most effort to destroy
and is also guarded by rocket launchers. Note: This mission is
rated medium because the area is very heavily guarded by ground
and air, including a heavy tank. It is wise to take the heavy
tank out first with the chain cutter and then begin the
destruction-- this will allow you to destroy the heavy tank before
the real air barrage begins.
12. "The Best Defense." Difficult. Protect the large skyscraper
in the center of the area where you start out. It will be
attacked by rocket launching helicopters, one tank, one heavy
tank, and an IS. If the skyscraper takes enough cumulative
damage, it will blow up and you lose. The helicopters are the
greatest threat since there are many of them and they can each
fire multiple rockets. The trick is that two "streams" of
helicopters approach the skyscraper, one from the north-east and
one from the north-west. The north-west helicopters generally do
not have rockets and will fire on you rather than the skyscraper.
The north-east helicopters have rockets and will go straight for
the skyscraper. Position yourself in the path of the latter
helicopters and stay there. Take them out quickly, ignoring all
else. When you have time, turn and take out the other
helicopters. When the tank comes, simply take it out with a
rocket. When the heavy tank comes, wait until there are no
rocket-bearing helicopters coming then move to the heavy tank and
take it out with the chain cutter. Return to position and resume
firing on the helicopters. Toward the end of the mission, the IS
will approach and begin firing. If you can keep it at bay by
drawing its fire (even if you don't destroy it) for just a few
minutes, the mission will end successfully. I recommend keeping
at a distance and blasting it with at least two dozen rockets.
(Carry two launchers and save them for the IS.) You can also use
grenades very successfully, but you will have to get closer,
leaving the skyscraper open to attack. Uncover a repair crate
before the IS approaches as you will probably need it. Staying
alive and protecting the building from the IS is quite difficult,
but is manageable with practice.
13. "Urban Renewal." Difficult. Level EVERYTHING to complete
this mission. The city is heavily guarded by every type of enemy,
including an IS and numerous Gantlet and VTOL planes. Also, as
the area gets more and more level there are fewer places to hide
and enemies will swarm on you. (The IS can do great damage from a
great distance with its twin cannons.) The best strategy I have
found is to let the enemies do much of your work for you by using
the Slate Heavy Shield to minimize the damage you take and simply
running about the city to draw the fire of the enemies to the
buildings and skyscrapers around. Collect additional ammo and
repairs as needed. The trick, of course, is to stay alive long
enough to allow everything to leveled. You can help by
momentarily switching from the shield to the rockets or grenades
(carry both) and blasting a few buildings before re-engaing the
shield. Note: There are three islands off of the coast which will
not be covered by enemy fire. You must level these by blasting
the buildings with rockets (grenades won't reach). Try to level
these islands very early in the mission (ideally, first) so that
you can blast them without being bombarded too heavily. All of
the islands are nearby where you begin the mission.
14. "Escort Service." Very difficult. Guide a convoy of three
trucks through the city to safety. First of all, you only need to
get one truck through safely to complete the mission and you
probably will only get one through as the trucks are very fragile
and generally only take one hit to destroy. You should carry the
Gatling Gun and three rocket launchers with you. The mission can
be divided into three sub-parts, each with its own distinct
strategy to protect the truck(s). Part One: When the mission
starts, immediately begin moving toward the field of fuel tanks.
Use a rocket or the rail cannon to take out the rocket launcher
and the tank which you can see immeidately. There is another tank
behind the field of fuel tanks. Blow up the fuel tanks with
rockets to blow up the hiding tank. This will also prevent the
fuel tanks from blowing up when the convoy passes through. As you
approach the fuel tank field, stay to the inside of the road. Two
helicopters will approach, the first from the right (inside) and
the second from the left (outside). Take them out quickly or they
will take out the trucks. In the distance to the right you will
see another rocket launcher. If you can take this out now with a
well-place rocket you will save a great deal of trouble later when
the trucks themselves will block you from getting a direct line of
fire at this launcher. Move immediately to the outside of the
road. Although there is a heavy tank on the inside it will not
attack the convoy and is there strictly to waste your time. On
the outside you will encounter a VTOL and one more rocket-
launching helicopter. Take both of these out quickly. You can
probably hit the VTOL with a rocket or rail cannon as it is large
and relatively slow-moving. This will bring the convoy to the
second stage, a large open square with the road wrapping around
the perimeter. Second: This is the most difficult stage. As the
convoy moves around this square it will be attacked by one or two
helicopters, a VTOL, and a Gantlet. It is very difficult to take
all of these planes out without getting disoriented and possibly
stomping on the convoy. Thus, it is best to head as quickly as
possible for the center of the square and stop. From there,
simply rotate and take out the planes as best you can. You will
probably lose one or two trucks here despite your best efforts.
Third: Once the truck(s) pass the open square, you can complete
the mission by simply following on the road as closely as possible
without treading on the truck(s). This will allow you to take all
of the damage from air attacks, protecting the truck(s) below.
You will still need to protect against tanks and rocket launchers
by taking these out from a distance with rockets. You must be
quick to destroy them before they fire, since one hit will wipe
out a truck. With practice you will learn where the enemies are
and be able to anticipate them. As you near the end of the
mission you will see a heavy tank in the distance. DO NOT GET
CLOSE TO IT or your truck(s) will be destroyed. Take it out from
a distance by raidly blasting it with multiple rockets until it is
destroyed. The final foe you will face is a lone rocket launcher
directly in your path. Again, take it out from a distance before
it can fire on your truck(s). This one is lethally accurate!
Guide the truck(s) to the end of the road to complete the mission.
15. "Return To Sender." Difficult. Destroy five very heavily
guarded ships to complete this mission. By now you should have
the cruise missles, and you can use two of these to easily take
out two ships. For the remainder, use the same basic strategy as
in mission eight, "Pearl Harbor." Carry both rockets and grenades
to diversify your ammo. Repair crates are fairly plentiful and
you should always have one uncovered and know where it is so that
you can get to it quickly. Air and ground attacks are merciless,
so speed and accuracy while attacking the ships is a must, as is a
quick retreat to cover and repair/ammo crates.
16. "War Is Heck." Very Difficult. Take out all skyscrapers to
complete this final mission. The strategy here should be similar
to that of mission thirteen, "Urban Renewal." This mission is
much more difficult than that one, however, as the enemy assaults
are unparalleled in their strenghth, speed, numbers, and accuracy.
You will be blasted by every imaginable enemy (all at once), and
most enemies regenerate, including gun turrets and heavy tanks--
unheard of in other missions. You need to have at least one
repair crate uncovered and nearby at all times to avoid being
blasted to bits even with the shield up. Move quickly in and
around the skyscrapers (like a rat in a maze) both for cover and
to draw the enemy fire to the tall buildings. You may
occasionally use your rockets and grenades to speed the
destruction, but make sure there are no heavy tanks, VTOL's or
Gantlets around at the time. Note that the large blue and gray
skyscraper in the north-east corner of the city (assume that you
begin in the southern part of the city) is extraordinarily sturdy
and takes great care to destroy without being destroyed yourself.
If you save it until the end, you will have to face this
formidable edifice in an otherwise leveled city, making you an
easy target.
I will not give away the complete ending of the game. It is
something of a surprise and is most satisfying.
