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D F N D R
E E E E
DEFENDER --o
E E E E
D F N D R
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Hello! I've decided to write walkthrough/FAQ to this often frustrating game. I
hope it's at least somewhat useful. If you have any concerns or want to
contact me on anything about this guide, email me at
[email protected].
Thanks.
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|: Copyright Garbage :|
Just say NO to plaigarism and thievery. Only gamefaqs has the right to
publish this Defender FAQ/Walkthrough. No one else may use all or any portion
of the information written here unless I give them my express permission. I
also confirm that nothing was stolen to write this document, and that this
document was of my own mind and experience with Defender. Just use it for help
and reference and all will be right with the world.
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|: Contents :|
(A.) Game Overview
(B.) Characters/Terms
(C.) Ships
(D.) Enemies (*denotes special enemy)
(E.) Important Structures
(F.) In-game Units
(G.) Walkthrough
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A.))
|: Game Overview :|
- This is a Starship Troopers ripoff if I ever saw one. Oh well, it's a
sustainable premise. An insect-like race known as the Manti have severely
kicked humanity in the crotch. They've seized the Earth sector and Mars, and
have pushed mankind to the outer moons of our solar system. Well, it's not in
humans' nature to take a beating like that quietly, so a new class dedicated to
exterminating Manti was been created to make an attempt to regain contol of the
solar system. This class is the Defender class, of which your character,
Kyoto, becomes the star pilot of. Your job is to take on various types of
missions to help win the war against the Manti. And trust me, you'll have a
load of fun doing it. :)
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B.))
|: Characters/Terms :|
- GSA: The government, essentially.
- Brass: The bigwigs of GSA. They're responsible for what goes on in GSA
territory. They run GSA government and military, specifically the Defender
unit.
- Memory: A giant, heavily-armed space vessel used as a base of operations and
information relay to all Defender-related campaigns.
- Colonel Adams: Your mentor and VIP of the game. I really don't see his use
except for at the end, but nonetheless you gain most of your story from his
rants.
- Kyoto: The pilot you control.
- Dr. Mudo: The eccentic, snooty head scientist of GSA. You'll be required to
defend his research labs and vessels ever so often.
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C.))
|: Ships :|
(((I have made a scoring system based on stars that represents each vessel's
strength, agility, etc. 5 stars is the highest, one is the lowest.)))
- Defender: Looks like today's fighter jets. It's your basic, standard ship
with average agility and firepower. Great for beginners.
Speed: **
Armor: **
Agility: ****
Strength: ***
- Guardian: A very big, clumsy ship, but packs a decent amount of firepower.
It's defense is also high. It's slow though, and can't turn around too
quickly. This ship is best used for early stages involving seek and destroy
missions.
Speed: *
Armor: ***
Agility: **
Strength: ****
- Nemesis: My personal favorite. It has incredibly weak hull integrity, but
probably ranks as one of the most versatile ships in the game. It's fast,
agile, and packs a wide, destructive array of weapons when maxed out. This ship
is excellent for missions that require speedy deployment of base defense.
Speed: ***
Armor: *
Agility: ****
Strength: ***
- Defiance: Essentially and upgraded Defender. It supersedes the Defender in
nearly all aspects, but is still middle ground in the advanced category. Use
it for a change of pace, or simply if you like the Defender and want something
more.
Speed: ***
Armor: ***
Agility: ****
Strength: **
- Judgement: This is one powerhouse of a ship. It blows all sizes of Manti
away and is nearly indestructable. But of course there is a trade-off. The
Judgement is extra slow, and pathetically clumsy. so despite the firepower,
it's not very useful if you can't even make it from hotspot to hotspot in a
feasible time-frame. But, an extra advantage about the Judgement is that it
can carry up to 5 colonists, or 4 colonists and a vehicle. Nice! This is
definitely a ship for experts, however.
Speed: *
Armor: *****
Agility: **
Strength: *****
- Retribution: The last of the advanced lineup, and certainly requires an
expert to use wisely. It's much better than the Nemesis in terms of hull
intergrity and firepower, but its speed and agility could be difficult to keep
under control. It's still a relatively weak ship. The Retribution is probably
best suited for missions requiring base defense.
Speed: ****
Armor: **
Agility: *****
Strength: ***
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D.))
|: Enemies :|
- Lander: The most basic and prolific enemy you will encounter. They're
green, their shots are green, and their blood is green. These are the ones
that try to eat your colonists too, so pay extra attention to them when
colonists are around. Has a green glow in the distance.
- Yellowjacket: They look like glowing yellow squid. Their shots are more
powerful than that of the Lander, and have better tracking capability. They're
also tougher than Landers, so take your time with them. Has a yellow glow in
the distance.
- Pygmies: These are the most annoying critters in the game. (*They aren't
called Pygmies in the game, but instead are called Landers. This could be
confusing, because these bastards are much different than your basic Lander.
Hence I call them Pygmies to differenciate.) They're tiny orangy UFO looking
things that buzz around you and take cheap shots. Luckily, their attack is not
very powerful, but they're aggervating. They way to deal with them is to fly
where missile crawlers are and have them take care of it. You'll never see
these at a distance, they spring like mousetraps.
- Stingrays: Yes, they infact look similar to ocean stingrays. They fire two
linear short-range shots. You'll want to destroy them quickly, because their
real danger is their ability to pick up your tanks and missile crawlers and fly
away with them. If you destroy a Stingray with a tank/crawler, the
tank/crawler will most likely (unless you can catch it) fall very quickly to
the ground and will be destroyed. Has a red-violet glow in the distance.
- Infectors: These are the land-creatures that Landers tow in and drop to the
ground. When safely on the ground, they fire shots in the air that fall down
on buildings and units. these can be dealt with quickly if you kill the Lander
while it is transporting the Infector. It will die upon impact if dropped from
a sufficient height. Another unique thing is that your ship can pick them up
too! The only use I can think of for this is to kill them by dropping them
with the R3 button or moving them to a harmless location. Strange. Has a
reddish-orange glow in the distance.
- Gamma Landers: Big and orange, an much tougher than its Lander bretheren.
It looks slow, but zips around fast when you get close. It will fire multiple
green shots with remarkable speed and tracking. You'll want to use more
powerful weapons on this puppy. This thing can also tow Infectors. Has an
orange glow at a distance.
- Beta Landers: Much more dangerous than the Gamma Landers, especially in
packs. Like Gammas, these creatures will zip around very quickly and fire neon
pink tracking beams at you. These should be dealt with quickly but with
caution. The biggest worry about these are that when a group of five gets
together, they perform a super attack with an electric beam they generate.
This is incredibly destructive, and if you see a pack of them in this
formation, use all you have to stop them. These creatures look like Landers in
the distance but have a dark pinkish glow around them.
- Mutants: These are some evil bastards. They're as deadly as a Widow and as
quick as a Beta. DO NOT try to take on a swarm of these, for they will utterly
annihilate you. Even one of them may be a handful. They also are quick to
level structures, so take them out in any way possible before they decimate
your base. Lure them to missile crawlers and turrets so your job will be much
easier. They fire long-range bright red shots. They have a bright red glow in
the distance.
- Widows: The main Manti ground-assault unit. These spider-like creatures are
HELL to deal with. They're very slow and their range isn't far, but their
defense is incredible and their attack power godly. No matter what, have tanks
to help you deal with advancing Widows. They fire two red explosive pulses.
The Detonator weapon, if available, will aid you considerably.
- Reapers: You won't see these often in the game, but use caution when you do.
They're pretty big, and fire strong purple shots at you. They stumble around
and have medium endurance. They have a purple glow in the distance.
- Podworms: Probably the goofiest enemy. It looks like its name suggests, a
long, multi-sectioned worm that floats around in circles, usually around Lander
Forges in the latter parts of the game. They have peculiar behavior. If you
go near it and attack it, it will start to chase you and perform some sort of
harmless headbutt when it gets close. Whatever you do, don't panic. Also,
when you blow off parts of it, a new, shorter Podworm will form, so make sure
you're not just firing off sections in the middle. The head is where you'll
destroy it, so aim there. They're not hard to tell from a distance, either.
- Shock Towers: Stationary Manti structures that fire orangy, electic orbs at
you should you get close. Their range is long and their shots powerful, but
their shots have no tracking. You can strafe to avoid them.
- Turrets: Another form of stationary Manti defense that turns to face you
when you get in range and fires multiple, white-capped shots at you. These
have short range but tracking ability. You can really just back up and the
shots will eventually dissipate.
*Brain Bug: A large, floating, yellowish creature with a wide back and legs
dangling down. This is much like the Reaper, in that it looks like it might be
threatening, but isn't too much of a deal. It is accompanied by many different
types of Landers, which are the real threat. See the walkthrough for
elaboration on how to tackle this thing.
*Dreadnaught: Argh. This is probably the toughest Manti creature in the
game, and it looks it. It looks like some kind of gigantic flying sea slug.
It's accompanied by a number of Betas, so take those down to make the dealing
with the Dreadnaught a lot easier. See walkthrough on how to beat it.
*Manti Queen: The first, huge sign of major trouble for Earth. You can't
kill her (don't bother trying), only the various Manti units circling her and
the "turrets" on her legs.
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E.))
|: Important Buildings :|
- Dropzone: A dropoff point for colonists, and in exchange for colonists it
will provide you with blue health-boosts. This structure is the heart of
nearly all the bases you'll be defending. If it goes down, your mission is
terminated. Keep this structure up at all costs.
- Tank Factory: Generates tanks for colonists. 1 tank / 3 colonists.
- Missile Crawler Factory: Generates missile crawlers for colonists. 1
missile crawler / 2 colonists.
- Repair Crawler Factory: Generates repair crawlers for colonists. 1 repair
crawler / 2 colonists.
- Turrets: I consider these buildings since you can't place them wherever you
want on the map. These babies fire a stream of pulse beams at the closest
enemy. Sometimes they need you to deliver a power supply to them so they will
activate.
- Teleporters: Generates colonists at random time intervals. Keeping them up
will ensure a steady supply of colonists for you.
- Lander Forge: Generates Manti Landers. Destroy them when you can.
* All of these buildings are destructable. They take damage whether you or the
Manti fire on them. Keep that in mind when using powerful weapons except the
Smart Bomb near a Dropzone or Factory. You don't want to accidentally lose an
important/critical structure due to friendly fire.
** Any other building, except the ones critical to your mission, are simply
cannon fodder. They can be destroyed at will.
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F.))
|: In-game units :|
- Colonists: Yes, they're the little people dressed in what looks like
quarantine suits. They don't seem very bright, but you'll have to tolerate it
to rescue them when you need to and to have them produce the other units you
need. All of the ships except the Judgement can carry 3 colonists at one time.
The Judgment can carry a whopping 5 colonists at a time.
- Power Supplies: These are the blue and white cylinders with an electic bolt
on them. Used to power various structures, depending on the mission. Usually
powers turrets.
- Tanks: You probably know what tanks look like, so I'll stop there. These
are your heavy-duty ground defense. If you pick it up, it can rotate its
turret 360ยบ and fire at nearby enemies, adding a little more firepower to your
lineup of weapons. But carrying a tank slows you down considerably, so I would
not recommend keeping one.
- Missile Crawlers: These are relatively small mobiles with missiles (go
figure) protruding out of them. They're much more versatile than the tank,
being able to fire at both air and ground units. However, they has far less
power than a tank, and it takes a few of them to take down a simple Lander.
They absolutely rock in numbers, though. But when you carry them, they sort of
close up and cannot aid you in their transport.
- Repair Crawlers: These units are shaped like a bird beak. They shoot out
lightning to repair damaged structures. These are GREAT assets to your base.
Repair crawlers when on the ground repairs ANY damaged structure or unit within
its range. These are great for keeping healthy your front lines and more
importantly, repairing crucial buildings like a Dropzone. Also, if you're
suffering from damage, you can hover near one or pick one up to restore your
health fully. AND they restore your ammo! Their only vices are that they heal
things very slowly. There is a reason why you have factories for them in the
latter stages, for you'll have to produce many for your the repair of your
Dropzone in a reasonable time-frame. But other than that, repair crawlers can
be the deciding factor in a mission.
- Transport Pads: It took me a while to figure out just what the hell these
were for. These are the items that are platforms with a pole sticking out of
them. The tip of the pole glows blue. If you pick them up and place them near
a group of tanks/crawlers, they will automatically wheel themselves onto the
pad. Up to four vehicles can be stored on the pad. This allows you to
transfer many more vehicles at a time. The trouble with it though is that it's
heavy, big, and nearby vehicles you don't want on it won't stay away from it.
In case anyone like me was wondering, that's what these things are.
- Dropships: These are the big, rather slow moving spaceships that you're
constantly told to defend. You never control one, but in certain missions it
will be beneficial if not critical to keep them safe. They either provide evac
for colonists/VIPs or supplies for you to use.
- Transports: These are slow, hovering vehicles, like a futuristic semi.
They haul unknown but allegedly important materials during missions, and
usually you'll be escorting these when they are featured in missions.
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G.))
|: Walkthrough :|
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Triton: 1st Training Mission
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0--verview:
You're fresh out of the classroom and into a training mission in the field.
You're objectives are simple: Fly through the rings, destroy three trapped
Manti Landers, and then save three colonists, then exit through the Stargate.
Piece of cake.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- (chained) Landers
****(This really should not be any trouble for experts or beginners. If you're
a beginner, you should certainly use this time to learn the complex controls of
the game. Master the basics of firing your weapons and scrolling through them
quickly. If you're just starting out, you won't have many to cycle through,
but keep in mind that utilizing the best weapons for the best circumstances
will be your greatest asset against the Manti. )****
* First, fly through the rings in order. What else is there to say?
* After the rings, fly downward where you will see three Manti Landers buoyed
to the ground. Use whatever you'd like to eliminate them.
* Next, save three colonists. Just fly into them and they will grab on.
Return them to the Dropzone.
You're done! I don't even know why I bothered writing a guide through this
level. :P
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Triton: 2nd Training Mission
------------------------
0--verview:
A step up in training, but not really. The only twist is an unwelcome Manti
suprise attack.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers
- (possibly) Mutants
Your objectives:
(1.) Demolish any condemned building you wish.
(2.) Open health boxes to obtain power-ups inside.
(3.) Save all colonists.
1.) Won't this be a challenge? Yea right. Anyway, essentially all you do is
fire on any building you want, a few shots will destroy them. Beginners, I
wouldn't advise expending all of your limited ammo (like homing missiles, etc).
Use you rechargable weapons for this objective.
2.) Now, move on to three boxes with red crosses on them. Just shoot them and
they will spilt open and release into the air a blue healing block. These
blocks give you a small but instant boost of energy and ammo. Okay, Houston.
3.) Now you have to save three colonists. You'll have to move quick, because
at this time a unit of Manti Landers, whose presence was not scheduled for your
training, has descended and usually one of the Landers will have picked up a
colonist. This is bad news. Immediately target the Lander with the colonist
and destroy it. The colonist will be released, and you'll have to catch him
before he hits the ground (because the gravity will kill him). Pick him up,
and tap the left arrow on the D-pad to have a light blue cursor point to where
the other colonists are. You may carry up to three colonists at a time, so you
might as well save time and pick them all up to rescue them en masse. Once you
have saved your colonists, you can have a go at the attacking Manti, but your
business is officially done and you can exit through the active Stargate.
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Mars: Cydonia Base
------------------------
0--verview:
Manti are swarming all over the base. You simply have to defend yourself and
stay alive while completing two tasks.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers
- Yellowjackets
Your objectives:
(1.) Stay Alive.
(2.) Escort the Dropship to the Stargate.
(3.) Pick up Colonel Adams' tank and escape through the Stargate.
1.) Fly around, pick off Manti that get in your way, but don't try to eliminate
all of the Manti. There are a few Yellowjackets flying around, and can
decimate you pretty easily if you aren't careful. Just keep flying until your
2nd objective begins.
2.) The dropship will be on the other side of the base and to the left a bit
from where you started. The game should automatically lock onto it for you
with a blue arrow outline. There will already be Manti Landers firing on it,
so you'll want to get rid of them. The dropship will lazily make its way
toward the Stargate, and there will be many Landers tailing it. Keep the rear
of the dropship clear of Landers and you should do this fine. Just be sure to
keep up with the dropship at the same time, and use the quick-turnaround
maneuver if you're comfortable with that. As it approaches the Stargate, focus
your attention to the front of the Stargate and destroy any Landers there. The
dropship will be clear out of there before you know it.
3.) After the dropship is clear, turn around. Where the dropship took off from
is where you'll next find Colonel Adams in his tank. Swoop down and pick him
up before the Landers get to him. When you pick him up, you'll be much, much
slower due to the weight. Now you have to make it to the Stargate. Usually
you can just fly straight across to the Gate while remaining relatively
unscathed. But if you need to be cautious, fly around; usually the Manti will
be too focused on destroying the Turrets and other structures to chase after
you. When you get to the Stargate, just fly through to freedom.
------------------------
Prometheus: Lake Thanatos
------------------------
0--verview
Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to evacuate the people of Lake
Thanatos. Colonists will be scattered all over the place, so you definitely
want the fastest ship available to you.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers
- (possibly) Mutants
Your objectives:
(1.) Gather all of the colonists and return them to the Dropzone.
(2.) Defend the Dropzone itself.
(3.) Protect the dropship when it arrives.
1.) This will be a very demanding task unless you have a fast vessel, like the
Nemesis or Retribution (but you most likely do not unless you are replaying the
game after beating it.). Hit Left on the D-pad to pinpoint your colonists.
Now zoom like the wind. You must be extremely efficient if your in anything
slower than the two previously mentioned ships. The reason is that your
colonists are all over the map, and Landers will arrive quickly to hinder you
by trying to gobble up your colonists. So if you're busy picking up colonists
while a colonist gets captured on the other side of the map, you're in trouble.
The last thing you want is a Mutant at this stage of the game. My advice
would be to check your map regularly (by hitting the 'Select' button) and
picking up the colonists where a group of red dots (your enemies) are
concentrated. Remember, if you save a captured colonist from a Lander, don't
forget to catch him before he hits the ground!
2.) After you have secured all or as many colonists as possible, defend the
base, specifically the Dropzone until the next part of your mission commences.
3.) Eventually you will be notified that a dropship has arrived to pick up the
colonists you saved. (The driver apparently is a total wuss. He'll freak out
about Landers attacking him even if there are none around for miles. He should
probably talk to a therapist.) Yay. Soon after, a big-assed Reaper will
arrive. Smartly the dropship will leave until you "clean up the mess." Do not
take the Reaper lightly, but don't overestimate it either. It's big and
purplely, but somewhat clumsy. Keep firing at it, and if you get low on
health, the blue health blocks you got from saving those colonists should be
right above the Dropzone. Grab a few and keep firing like crazy. The Reaper
will turn into chunks and the rest is pie. The dropship will return, finish
it's job, and reenter the Stargate. But wait! Silly Memory has to re-target
the Stargate. Should only take a few seconds. Then, you can leave the level.
Mission successful.
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Prometheus: Lleras Dunes
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0--verview:
Uh-oh. The bridge to the base is busted, and some heavy dropships are stranded
on the other side. And of course, matters are worse when Manti are coming to
lunch. Let them eat a missile sandwich instead. Or something.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers
- Pygmies
- (possibly) Mutants
Your objectives:
(1.) Save all colonists.
(1.) Again? More colonists need their butts saved? Yep. But that is the only
one objective. Cool! Well, not so cool, when there are about 5 bazillion
colonists, 5 bazillion Manti, and you can only pick up three lucky souls at a
time. I exaggerate, but this mission will be much like the Lake Thanatos
mission unless you have an extremely fast ship. You will not have a moment's
rest. Once again, target your colonists with the D-pad. Now FLY, damn you!
Pick them up and bring them back to the Dropzone. If a Lander catches a
colonist, make it your top priority to stop it from mutating. Even if you have
three already on you, kill the Lander with the colonist, drop off your load,
and return to catch that colonist if possible. This may sound morbid, but a
dead colonist it better than a mutated one for your safety (and your score). I
remind you that this will be difficult. If you get a Mutant, retreat to the
base where the turrets will help you out with it. There will also be a Beta
running loose at some point. If it attacks you, again lure it to the base
where the turrets will aid you. When all the colonists are accounted for, exit
through the Stargate.
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Rhea: Olduvai Gorge
------------------------
0--verview
Once again, you have to defend the Dropzone and clear out all the colonists.
But this time it's in the name of science, as a new, never before seen Manti
comes onto the scene. Nothing to worry about, though. This mission is really
for you to get aquainted with missile crawlers.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers
- Yellowjackets
- Pygmies
- (possibly) Mutants
- Podworm
Your objectives:
(1.) Use some of available missile crawlers to defend the Dropzone.
(2.) Save all colonists.
(3.) Investigate (destroy) the lifeform that emerges.
1.) Easy enough. Grab a few missile crawlers and distribute them around the
front of the Dropzone. That'll hold off the Landers.
2.) There are quite a few colonists out there, no big surprise. But once again
you'll have to be super speedy to retrieve them all. My advice would be to
start with the farthest colonists from the Dropzone and work backwards that
way. Then go after the colonists in the cavern on the left-hand side of the
map. After they are all accounted for, Dr. Mudo will arrive in his ship. They
tell you to defend him, but I didn't bother making it an objective because it's
not incredibly difficult.
3.) Shortly after Dr. Mudo arrives, a Podworm will burst from that greenish
knob which you probably spied as you were colonist-collecting. Apparently
"investigate" is code for "destroy" in this stage. Oh well. Go in and kill
the Podworm. Remember to try not to blow off a section in the middle of the
organism. The other half will spawn another Podworm. The Hive gun, Trident,
Honeypot, and Detonator work well, although any wide-range explosive will do.
Once it's down, Mudo's team will move in to autopsy the creature for some
reason.
------------------------
Titan: Aeneas River
------------------------
@---Overview
Your missions are finally becoming a bit more diverse. In this stage, you'll
have to defend a bridge from being destroyed, as it is the only route that the
tanks and transports have to leave a condemned factory. And guess what? NO
COLONISTS TO WORRY ABOUT! Yay! Now let's get to how to beat this.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers
- Yellowjackets
- Infectors
- Stingrays
Your objectives:
(1.) Defend the bridge from Manti swarms so the transports can make it safely
across the bridge.*
(2.) Keep Colonel Adams alive.
1.) This is easy once you get a rhythm going. The situation is there are two
sides from which the Manti will come at the bridge. What you'll want to do is
fly from one side of the bridge to the other regularly, keeping the Manti
forces evenly away from the bridge. If a Stingray comes your way, drop
everything and kill it.
2.) This really is sort of implied, but Colonel Adams is in a tank on this
trip, so you'll want to remember that.
* You can speed this up by moving the tanks across the river yourself, although
you have to wait for the transports since you can't lift them.
------------------------
Titan: Argus Caverns
------------------------
0--verview
This is kind of a goofy mission. Your objectives arise spontaneously. But
really it's a defend/rescue mission until you have to seek out the oddly-shaped
Lander Forge on the planet.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers
- Yellowjackets
- (possibly) Mutants
(1.) Get all the turrets powered up with power supplys, including with the
power supply stolen by a Lander and defend the base.
(2.) Go out and bring all the colonists to safety.
(3.) Investigate the source of the energy readings behind a canyon wall.
1.) As you start off, there will be a Lander with a power supply nested in its
legs flying around the base. Kill it and recapture the power supply (ignore
Colonel Adams because he'll usually be a step behind). Bring it close to the
beacon connected to a turret, and it should automatically fit itself into
place. One turret up. There will be a stock of three more power supplies for
you to use. Repeat the process of picking one up and placing it to power up
all the turrets. Now, standby as a big swarm tries to attack. Help the
turrets out, because even with four of them, a few Landers may manage to slip
by them. After the last of the force is obliterated, head out.
2.) After the base is secured, your light blue colonist arrow will pop up,
indicating that you need to start saving colonists. But DON'T follow that
arrow. When you leave the base, hang left. You'll go down a narrow path and
find a colonist with a power supply nearby, and a Lander right on top of them.
The reason to take this route is because after learning the hard way, there is
no way to stop that Lander from mutating unless you kill it first. So, when
you get there, kill the lander and pick up the colonist and power supply. Keep
going in the direction you were originally headed and make a turn into the
wider area. Go straight until you see a platform with a few colonists on it.
Nearby there should be a turret. Power up the turret with the supply you have.
Now, gather one more colonist, but not a third (if you do, that's okay,
there's a Dropzone closeby to drop them). Reason being that there is another
power supply in the vicinity of the turret you just powered up. You'll want to
pick up and bring it to the nearby Dropzone. Do so, and you should see another
turret to power up with that power supply. Drop off your colonists and hunt
for the rest of them. It should be a piece of cake.
(3.) After all colonists are accounted for, you'll be able to check out what
the hell is behind that gas-emmitting boulder in the canyon wall. Blow it out
using whatever. Don't race in there after the boulder is gone; there will be
about 5 zillion Landers hovering above a Lander Forge, a structure that
generates Landers. Move in carefully, because a disturbance will cause all the
Landers to go after you. That'd be bad news. If you have the Smart bomb,
you'll be in luck. If not, cut your way through somehow and fire unceasingly
upon the forge. The minute it is destroyed, the minute the mission is over and
Dr. Mudo moves in and tells you to shove aside and let his team do the rest.
You're welcome, doc.
------------------------
Europa: Legba Basin
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0--verview
You'll get aquainted with new units, both on yours and the Manti's side. There
are about four Widows slowly crawling their way to your base, with Landers
coming in as cover. Your task is to create tanks to destroy the advancing
Widows.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers
- Widows
- (possibly) Mutants
Your objectives:
(1.) Destroy all Manti Widows.
1.) This is kind of a training mission in a way. What you'll learn about is
taking colonists to factories to generate vehicles for your purposes. In this
stage, it'll be all tanks. There will be a few colonists at the gate of the
base. Retrieve them for your tank factory. Gather all of the other colonists
around the base and deliver them to the factory. Take your brand-new tanks and
place them at the gate of the base. Since tanks can only attack ground units
(except when you're carrying them), you'll have to provide them with air cover
against the Manti Landers. If you're worried about your colonist supply, take
note that there is a teleporter at the base which will constantly generate
colonists. Also, you'll receive a distress call at some point from stranded
colonists located at the end of the canyon on the other side from the base.
Get them and bring them back for more tanks. You'll need them. Place your
tanks at the gate, cover them from the Landers, and sit back until mission
complete.
------------------------
Europa: Straits of Imislund
------------------------
0--verview
Weird geographic name, eh? Anyway, you're in charge with defending a scientific
research facility from Landers and Widows. You'll have a missile crawler as
well as a tank factory open to you now, so it will take a bit of strategy to
determine how many of each vehicle you will need.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers
- Widows
- Beta Landers
- Gamma Landers
- Infectors
- Pygmies
- (unlikely) Mutants
Your objectives:
(1.) Defend the research facility.
1.) Okay. This will require some forethought as well as efficiency. Your
teleporters will be located at the front of the entrance to the base. Grab the
four colonists that are already there and use them to pump out two missile
crawlers. You won't need tanks for a few minutes, since the Widows are a ways
down the road. It takes a few seconds for the colonists to land and a missile
crawlers to emerge, so by all means while you are waiting go out and destroy
any Landers that are about to enter the base. You'll have to deal with new,
souped up Gamma and Beta Landers at this point, so your entrance defense will
need help. (If you get damaged, there is a repair crawler near your
transporters. Pick it up to get healed quickly. Place it about where you
found it so it can repair your teleporters.) Go back and get your missile
crawlers and distribute them evenly around your teleporters. There should be
one or two colonists available now. Take them to your tank factory. Wait for a
third colonist to drop off at the same factory. Wait for the tank (while
helping your entrance defenses), grab it, and put it at the entrance. Grab
three more and make another tank. Put it at the front. You can make another
tank to be safe, but the first approaching Widow should be dealt with fine by
the two tanks plus multiple missile crawlers. While waiting for the next
Widow, make one or two more missile crawlers and put them at the entrance. Now
make a tank. Noticing a pattern? At this point, you should be able to judge
more easily how many of each vehicle you're going to need. Keep running back
and forth between teleporters and factories and you should have enough vehicles
to not worry about the Widows. Instead, you can concentrate on the Beta
Landers and Gammas that try to invade. After the Widow threat is removed, you
simply have to wipe out the rest of the Manti air units (which shouldn't be
many) and Memory will bestow upon you a odd excuse for a victory theme.
Mission complete.
------------------------
Phobos: Orbit over Europa
------------------------
0--verview
Not really over Europa...but don't let the mission title confuse you. This is
finally a space battle, and a big one at that. The battleship Patriot, which
your good ol' friend Colonel Adams is on, has come under attack by a huge swarm
of Manti. It's your job to protect the battleship until technicians aboard the
Patriot can repair the plasma gun that's been damaged. Good luck.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers (lots)
- Yellowjackets
Your objectives:
(1.) Defend the turrets on the Patriot until the main gun can get back online.
1.) Upon starting this mission, you might have to assess whether this mission
is even possible to achieve. There are TONS of Landers converging on the front
and sides of the Patriot. But those turrets are hardy, and you'll be able to
clear out the bulk of the Landers in the first few minutes. My suggestion is
to use a ship that has a wide destructive array of weapons, like the Hive gun,
Smart Bomb, and Honeypot (Honeypot is only on the Defiance). The Ratchet
Gun/Cannon on the Nemesis and Laser Harpoon/Lance will also tear through
Landers in milliseconds. Just don't get freaked out by the loads of Landers.
Also, don't just focus on the front of the ship. Most of the Manti attack
force will be there, but periodically check the sides of the ship for squads of
Landers. If you lose one or two turrets, don't sweat. You have to lose ALL of
them in order to lose. Just keep a level head and all will be well.
---------------------
Phobos: Mount Biafra
---------------------
0--verview
Well, the Patriot, despite your heroic attempt to save it, has crash landed on
Phobos and a few survivors, including Colonel Adams, are stranded with Manti
closing in on them. You'll have to rescue Adams and the other defenseless
survivors.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers
- Gamma Landers
- Beta Landers
- Pygmies
- (possibly) Mutants
Your objectives:
(1.) Bring Colonel Adams and the rest of the survivor crew to safety in an
abandoned base.
(2.) Make sure Colonel Adams survives until reinforcements can arrive.
(1.) Before you start tackling this mission, check out the abandoned base with
the missile crawler factory (just hang left from the starting area and you'll
see it). You can take your time before investigating the Patriot, so use it to
power up the turrets that are in the base. The power supplies you need should
be located near the missile crawler factory. Place all six to power up all six
turrets, two at the entrances, four around the factory. After completing that,
go get Colonel Adams. Go to where the Patriot is, and it'll start exploding.
Adams will pop out in his tank with some colonists. You need to pick him up
IMMEDIATELY and two colonists. Bring them back to the base, set Adams down
close to the factory, and have the colonists make a missile crawler for you.
Don't wait for the missile crawler, just drop the colonists, turn around and go
get the ones you left behind. There will be Landers heading toward them, so
rescue them and return them to the factory to pump out another crawler. First
objective met.
(2.) Now, you have to defend the base. You'll have some time before the
Landers start approaching the base, so distribute the crawlers you manufactured
close to the factory, one for each side corresponding to the entrances to the
base. Soon you'll see Landers and Gammas rounding the corner before the left
entrance to the base. You'll want to engage them and help your turret out in
taking the first wave down. After that, you'll be notified that more colonists
have made their way out of the Patriot. Go save them! They have with them a
repair crawler, which will be incredibly useful. Pick up the crawler and two
colonists, return to the base. By the time you get there, you may have a few
Gammas inside the base wreaking havoc. Kill them. Set the crawler down near
Adams to repair him and nearby turrets/crawlers. Return the colonists to the
factory and turn around to save the rest of the stranded colonists. Watch out,
because Pygmies are around and will proceed to annoy the crap out of you
(remember, if you're chased by one, just go to where there are missile crawlers
and they'll help you out). When you return the rest of the colonists, you'll
have more missile crawlers at your disposal. Place them at the very entrances
to the base, beside the turrets guarding them, especially around the entrance
you first went through when you arrived. There will be Beta Landers
threatening that side, so help out and take them down. Now, all you really
have to do it turtle until reinforcements come along. Then it's mission
complete.
---------------------
Mars: Sirtis Major
---------------------
0--verview
Finally, we're nearing the homestretch. Mars will probably be the hardest
planet to secure. This level will demonstrate why. You're entrusted with the
defense of a base crucial to repairing the Stargates all over Mars. You have
to cover a convoy of units to the base and then defend it against advancing
Widows and finally the HUGE Dreadnaught.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers
- Gamma Landers
- Beta Landers
- Pygmies
- (possibly) Mutants
- Widows
- *Dreadnaught
(1.) Protect the tanks and missile crawlers as they make their way to the base.
(2.) Defend the base (specifically, the structure emmitting the yellow stuff).
(3.) Kill the Dreadnaught.
(1.) Argh. I'll never know why they decided to set the reinforcements so far
from the base. This will be a challenge. Not only do you have to clear the
way of Shock Towers and Manti Turrets for the convoy, you have to defend them
from swarms of Landers and Gammas, too. Again, argh. Get a tough, relatively
fast ship, like the Defiance to do this, or any ship with the Detonator weapon.
When the convoy is dropped off, they'll immediately be in a sea of trouble
unless you take out the Shock Towers and Turrets before they land. Just watch
out, because there is a Widow with them as well. The convoy will take out the
Widow. The convoy moves slow, thankfully, so you'll have time to clear the
path. Shock towers have a long range, but their shots can be avoided pretty
easily as they have no tracking. Use weapons like the Trident, Detonator, Hive
gun to fire from a safe distance, but you can always do a sort of "dive bomb"
technique with weapons like the Firehammer, Ratchet Gun/Cannon, and Laser
Harpoon/Lance to speed by and get shots in without getting hit. When you clear
out the path a bit, turn around and level out the Manti Flyers that are giving
your convoy trouble. There are lots of them, but it's managable especially if
you can just distract them. Once the convoy makes it to the base, prepare for
hell.
(2.) Defend the base, especially from Widows that are approaching. Move tanks
from the convoy to the front of the base neat the tank factory. Now you should
get a distress call from colonists in the canyons. Lock onto them with the
D-pad and find them before Landers do. bring them back to make tanks. While
waiting for the tanks, kill all flying Manti that are attacking the base, or
most of them anyway. Get your tanks and place them before the Widows. You may
have to help out with this Widow assault. Widows, though they may not seem
like it, get damaged by your weapons, so use a rechargable weapon to fire like
crazy. The Ratchet Gun/Cannon and Laser Harpoon/Lance are great for this. If
you have the Detonator weapon, use that liberally as well. Don't concentrate
too much on the Widows, though, because you'll have to be attentive to Landers
that infiltrate your base. Periodically check for and kill them. You'll
eventually get reinforcements from dropships, and they leave you some more
tanks, colonists, and the holiest of holies, a repair crawler. Distribute your
tanks, make your colonists build more, and put the repair crawler by the
Dropzone and the large, yellow-emmitting tower. When all the Widows are
destroyed, prepare, and prepare well.
3.) Kill the Dreadnaught. Easier said than done. The worst part about this is
that it's accompanied by about 10 Beta Landers, which can lead to severe
trouble. What you want to do is try to get in as many shots before the
Dreanaught gets to the base. Either that, or go out and destroy all the Betas
that are with it. The Dreadnaught will be on top of the base at some point,
and fighting it headlong will get you killed. What you have to do to go around
behind it and attack it from the rear. The Dreadnaught is big and powerful,
but VERY slow and even less agile. Use that to your advantage and take your
shots from the sides and behind it. It will take some patience, but the
Dreadnaught is no Widow in terms of endurance. Actually, picking up a tank to
help you probably isn't a bad idea. If you get injured, go to your repair
crawler to get fixed not all the way, but enough to let you go on. When the
Dreadnaught dies, your job is done and your mission accomplished.
---------------------
Mars: Bromios Desert
---------------------
0--verview
This doesn't suck as much as the Sirtis Major mission, but CAN suck a lot worse
if you don't pay attention. There are weapons prototypes being built in Dr.
Mudo's lab in the Bromios Desert. There are shields keeping Widows out of the
base generated by shield generators. You have to make sure these shields stay
online so you won't be overwhelmed by the Manti and make sure the prototypes
are not destroyed.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers
- Gamma Landers
- Beta Landers
- (possibly) Mutants
- Infectors
- Widows
- *Brain Bug
Your objectives:
(1.) Keep the shield generators safe.
(2.) Defeat the Brain Bug so the prototypes can be safely loaded onto a
dropship.
(1.) This is where you will have to endure the most in this mission. The two
shield generators are on the outside of the base on either side of it nestled
in a half-circle of rock. They're connected to where the shields appear.
There will be quite a few squads of Landers carrying Infectors to these
generators. Kill any Lander carrying an Infector so it will fall and die. Use
the "Select" button to display where and how close Landers are to the shield
generators so you can engage them accordingly. If you get damaged, there are
three teleporters scattered around the area. Hit the D-pad to target the
colonists and return them to the Dropzone if you have time. You can also make
extra tanks in the tank factory, which may be a good idea just in case a
generator goes down. Continue sweeping back and forth between the generators.
Be ESPECIALLY watchful for groups of Beta Landers. There will be a point where
five will gang up on a generator to destroy it in mere moments. Five is all
they need to commence their super attack, so kill at least one immediately
before they can do severe damage. Usually, these bastards attack the generator
on the right side of the science facility facing the tank factory. If you can
keep at bay the Beta Landers, you'll be almost done.
(2.) Almost. Away from the base behind the tank factory will arrive the Brain
Bug (Starship Troopers eat your heart out). This will be a breeze compared to
the Dreadnaught. It's accompanied by Betas, Gammas, and normal Landers. You
can go out and meet it, and simply fire long-range weapons mercilessly until it
dies. Usually, the Brain Bug won't even make it to the base before you can
destroy it. Brain Big squashed. Mission complete.
---------------------
Mars: Khimat Ridge
---------------------
0--verview
This is your last mission on Mars, or first and only, depending on how you play
the game. Anyway, a base is being threatened by the presence of a Lander Forge
in the area. It's your duty to secure the base and then destroy the Forge.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers
- Infectors
- Beta Landers
- (possibly) Mutants
- Widows
- Podworms
- Shock Towers
- Turrets
Your objectives:
(1.) A convoy of transports will be moving through your base to drop off
colonists. Make sure they get to the base to drop off their load.
(2.) Eliminate all Widows.
(3.) Destroy the Lander Forge.
1.) This part is easy. At the start of the mission, go straight ahead to the
elevated platform behind the tank and missile crawler factories. Notice the
teleporter. There should be a repair crawler on that platform, so pick it up
and put it near your Dropzone. Good. Now go out to defend the transports from
Landers making a nuisance of themselves. After you eliminate all of the
Landers you won't have to worry about the transports anymore, except for the
last transport. The last transport will break down on its way toward the base,
and you'll have to be quick because Landers may be around, and even more
threatening, Widows will be approaching. Get the colonists ASAP and bring them
back to the base to fortify defenses.
2.) Okay, now what to do with the colonists. After you get the transports on
their merry way w/o Landers bugging them, go get the colonists at the front of
the base (the middle road from the base). Take them all to the missile crawler
factories. They'll produce two crawlers which you should put in front of the
Dropzone before the middle road. Now, a transport should have dropped off 4
more colonists. Grab 3 for a tank. Put the other one in for half a missile
crawler (remember that there is a teleporter on the elevated portion of the
base. If there is a colonist there, take him to the missile crawler factory to
complete the missile crawler). The transports should be dropping colonists off
regularly by this point, so do the process of taking 3 for a tank and one for
the crawler factory. While you're doing this, put your tanks on all sides of
the base, approximately 2 per road will be barely enough. Put your crawlers
all before the Dropzone before the middle road, evenly spread out. You can, if
necessity demands, only have one tank for the Widows advancing up the middle
and hope that your crawlers can help as much as they can. You have to be
pretty vigilant over the middle road, because that is the route the Landers
carrying Infectors will like to travel up. Take them out whenever possible.
Once you have all sides covered, help kill all of the Widows bu firing
unceasingly on any that get too close, or any that have destroyed the barricade
of tanks you set up for them. It will be close*. But if you manage to
eliminate the Widows without them destroying your Dropzone, then the rest of
the mission is pretty simple.
3.) Now, to destroy the single Forge giving you so much trouble. The Forge
will be defended by Shock Towers, Turrets, a Podworm, Beta Landers, and the
normal Landers the Forge spits out. You'll need a long-range weapon to take on
the Towers and Turrets, and if you run out, just go back to have the repair
crawler replenish your ammo. The Beta Landers will be somewhere on the map.
It was usually pretty random for me, but there are only a few, about 5 maybe.
Again use long-range weapons to destroy the Podworm. Now you can close in on
the defenseless Forge and waste it. Mission successful.
(*This must have been a glitch, but sometimes the Manti Widows, some if not
all, would be frozen in place where they started. This made the mission SO
much easier, but I doubt any of you catch this lucky break. But if any of you
do, I'd be curious to know, so drop me a line if this is an issue for anyone
else.)
---------------------
Asteroid Belt: Alchera Fields
---------------------
0--verview
I always thought that Mars was an inner planet...that is, the asteroid belt
comes AFTER Mars, relative to Earth...anyway, in order to fully secure Mars, a
early warning system has been placed in the asteroid belt by the GSA. The
satellite arrays that perform this job have been discovered by a patroling
Manti force. You'll have to defend the satellite.
Enemies you'll encounter:
- Landers
- Betas, aka Kamikazes
Your objectives:
(1.) Defend the array from the Manti, and especially from the Kamikazes.
1.) The Landers are easy to deal with, since there are only 5 of them in a
formation and don't do a whole lot of damage. But, kamikazes? Yep, the array
has three sides to it, and kamikaze Beta Landers will try to ram themselves
into it. So therefore the Landers are just distractions. Luckily they aren't
very good ones. All you have to do is hang out close to the satellite, kill
the Landers that arrive, and when you see a red arrow outline, follow it to the
kamikaze and attack it headlong. They're surprisingly weak, so you shouldn't
have trouble. Just don't attack the kamikaze from the side; you won't get many
hits in because it's moving fast. If you get damaged, there is an abandoned
vessel nearby with supplies for you. The very last part of the mission sends
about three or four kamikazes in a row at you, so be at attention when the
Manti do their last ditch effort. When the last of the kamikazes are
eliminated, congratulate yourself because now you'll move on to Operation:
Reckoning. Oooh.
- To be Continued -
*** More of this guide is on the way. I just need to write down the names of
the missions as I go through them. I hope this was helpful so far! ***
If you would like to contact me concerning anything with this guide or the
information presented, or just to give general feedback, email me at
[email protected].
Thanks for reading!
Copyright 2003 Amy Clements
