Line Of Sight: Vietnam Frequently Asked Questions/Walkthrough list v.1.0 by Vic (lordvic@mindspring.com) ---CONTENTS--- I - Introductory notes II - Basic Game info III - Friends and Resources A. Characters B. Skills C. Weapons and Equipment IV - General Hints/tips/observations V - Walkthroughs VI - Cheats VII - Disclaimer/Credits/Miscellaneous VIII - Version History --- I - Introductory Notes --- After being impressed by nFusion's Deadly Dozen series of games, I decided to pick up Line of Sight: Vietnam (LOSV) as I discovered it was based on the same engine with improved AI and multiplayer. There have been substantial changes to the game that make it quite a different experience. As with my previous walkthroughs, this will focus only on the single-player game. --- II - Basic Game Info --- LOSV is a tactical shooter based on the early conflicts of the Vietnam war. Through the course of 12 missions you will control Private Chris Egan (Hm, I wonder if he's any relation to Pvt. Robert Egan from DDPT?) through a series of small-unit engagements set in various places around Vietnam. The missions, taken together as a whole, tell a linear story as each mission sets up a future mission, and several of them are almost like part 1/part 2 of the same, extended mission. In several missions you have a squadmate you can control with basic AI - follow, hold position, fire at will, hold fire - or switch direct control between the two. Each mission has a set of objectives you must complete, and then an exit zone you must get to, to complete the mission. If any of your team dies you lose, and if you do not complete an objective you will simply not 'leave' when you hit the exit zone and will have to backtrack to finish what you must. Fortunately, you have a compass which points towards the first uncompleted objective you have, and as you complete the objectives it will point towards the following objectives until you are ready to exit, when it will point to the exit zone. --- III - Friends and Resources --- A. CHARACTERS You will play as several different characters through the course of this game. Brief descriptions of each character are given below. Pvt. Chris Egan - Egan is the main character in the game, as he is in all missions and the story told through the missions is his story. He is an expert sniper who is given many special assignments throughout the course of the game, often involving elimination of high-ranking VC and NVA officers. Egan is a master of Stealth and sniping, as well as being pretty handy with other types of weaponry and a good field medic. Pvt. Barry Barden - Barden will be assigned as a spotter (scout and close-cover guard) for Egan in several missions. He is proficient with sidearms, rifles, machineguns, and grenades, so he's a perfect man to provide cover in a pinch. Pvt. Gareth Vaughan - Vaughan is a tough SOB who's a crack-shot with a machine gun. If you're expecting lots of enemies, you want him right beside you when you snipe so that his M60 can clear out anyone who rushes you. He's not that stealthy, though, and not that great with other types of weapons, so keep that in mind. Pvt. Harper Rhett - Rhett is a demolitions expert who accompanies you when you have to really wreak havoc on the VC. He's pretty stealthy and good with machineguns and sidearms as well, so he can do a good job providing cover when necessary. B. SKILLS Each character you control has ten skills which affect your in-game actions. Each skill is on a 1-100 scale, with 100 being the highest. The skills are listed below along with an abbreviation and description. Toughness (TO) - This affects how well the character can deal with taking damage. Higher ratings are less affected by hits, recover faster, etc. Infiltration (IN) - This affects the character's ability to sneak around undetected. Blades (BL) - This affects the character's proficiency (ability to hit, deal damage, etc.) with bladed weapons. Sidearms (SI) - This affects the character's proficiency with sidearms such as pistols. Rifles (RI) - This affects the character's proficiency with un-scoped single-shot rifles. Rifles with scopes on them are sniper rifles and affected by the Sniper skill. Machineguns (MG) - This affects the character's proficiency with machineguns and submachineguns - any weapon with an automatic fire mode. Sniping (SN) - This affects the character's proficiency with sniper rifles - any single-shot rifle with a scope attached. This skill takes effect whether you are using the scope directly or not. Grenades (GR) - This affects the character's accuracy with grenades - you will be able to throw farther and hit closer to your target with a higher Grenades skill. Explosives (EX) - This affects the amount of damage dealt when using placed explosives (Mines, demolition charges, etc.) or fired explosives such as RPG's, LAW rockets, and the like. Medicine (MD) - This affects the amount of damage healed with one use of a first aid kit. If you have more than one man in the squad and one has a very high Medicine skill, it's best to let him do all of the healing, if possible - to heal another character, switch to your medic, point the cursor at the person you want to heal so that their name appears over the cursor, then use the Item scroll to select a first aid kit and hit the 'Use' key. Skills of the main game characters: TO IN BL SI RI MG SN GR EX MD --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- Pvt. Chris Egan 95 100 95 65 75 75 95 65 75 95 Pvt. Barry Barden 65 85 95 95 85 95 65 95 75 45 Pvt. Gareth Vaughan 100 35 75 75 75 100 55 85 75 65 Pvt. Harper Rhett 65 95 65 85 80 90 75 90 100 55 C. WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT Men are limited to eight equipment slots. Knives and guns take one slot each, as do mines, explosive charges, and first aid kits. Grenades usually go four to a slot. All equipment you carry contributes to your carried weight total, which affects your fatigue level. If you carry less than 30 pounds or so of equipment your encumbrance is not affected - but if you carry more, your weight total will show in red instead of white, noting that you are overloaded. If you run while overloaded you will drain your fatigue, which will replenish if you stay still. If your fatigue level drops to minimum, you will be forced to stay still to catch your breath - and there's nothing more dangerous than running while under fire and being forced to stop dead in your tracks. Try to stay light on your feet, ditching all unnecessary equipment as you lose need for it, or at least keep an eye on your fatigue level so that you can still take cover as necessary. Your equipment will automatically be outfitted at the start of each mission, and you can pick up new items as you come across them and drop items as you no longer need them. You will have to balance your mission objectives against your encumbrance carefully to decide what to keep and what to ditch. AMERICAN WEAPONS: CAR-15 Assault Rifle - this automatic rifle, a smaller version of the M16, is a mainstay of American troops in Vietnam. It has a 30-round magazine of 5.56mm ammunition. M-21 Sniper Rifle - The M21 is a descendant of the M1 Garand of WWII fame, much improved. The clip holds 20 shots of 7.62mm ammo, and the gun is outfitted with a scope for precision sniping. On some nighttime missions you will have it outfitted with the Starlight nightvision scope. Be aware that spare clips are NOT interchangeable between the nightvision- and regular-scope M21s. M-60 Light Machine Gun - Made famous by Rambo, this machinegun will chew the enemy to pieces with it's heavy 7.62mm rounds. Ammo is carried in 100-round belts, but if you fire steadily you will use them up in no time. As with all automatic weapons, the accuracy decreases quickly on sustained fire, so it's best to try to use short, more controlled bursts to maximize the weapon's effectiveness. M-1 Carbine Semi-Automatic Rifle - this work-horse has been in use since WWII and is essentially unchanged - it sports a 15 round clip of .30 caliber ammunition with a fairly quick repeat fire rate. While not silent, it's quieter than the M21 or the CAR-15, and so it's worth considering using in places where stealth is a bonus. M-79 Grenade Launcher - If you encounter clustered enemies, this 40mm grenade launcher is a godsend. It allows you to deliver grenades with much more precision than simple throwing. Comes outfitted with 12 rounds. M-72 LAW - the LAW is a single-shot expandable Bazooka, basically - you extend the firing tube, fire the round, then throw the tube away (be sure your drop-item key is handy after firing it). Useful against vehicles, clustered enemies, and small structures (small huts, guard towers, etc.) M1911A1 Pistol - You just can't improve on perfection. This .45 caliber sidearm is unchanged since it's original introduction to the Army. Plenty of stopping power, a quick re-fire rate, and a seven-shot clip make this a great choice for close-up fighting. Pump-Action Shotgun - It was only a matter of time before hunting weapons caught on in military use - it just took the right fighting conditions, and the tunnel fighting of the VC is exactly what called for military shotgun use. It's useless beyond a few feet, but inside that few feet it's a deadly weapon. Bring it and use it only when you need it and you'll love it while you have it. Knife - you can't get a better weapon for a silent kill than a knife. Machete - larger and more deadly than the knife, it can also be used to clear vegetation. Grenades - Grenades come in two flavors: Smoke and Fragmentation. Smoke grenades provide cover and can distract or confuse the enemy just long enough to blast them. Frag grenades have a fairly decent blast radius and can inflict serious damage or death with a little work. One equipment slot can hold up to four grenades. SOVIET/VIETNAMESE WEAPONS: Tokarev Pistol - This 9mm pistol is a standard sidearm for NVA and VC officers. AK-47 Assault Rifle - The AK47 is probably the most recognized assault rifle in the world, and with good reason - its 7.62mm rounds are powerful and come 30 to a clip, and with a decent rate of fire to boot. If you have the encumbrance to spare these are definitely worth picking up off of dead soldiers. SKS Carbine - The SKS is a single-shot 7.62mm rifle with a ten-round clip. Quite accurate and pretty powerful, but it's slow rate of fire limits its effectiveness. SVD Sniper Rifle - The SVD is on par with the M21 as Sniper Rifles go - it carries a 20-round clip of 7.62mm ammunition and includes a scope for precision sniping. Worth their weight in gold, especially if your own sniper rifle is running low on ammo (or if you didn't even start out with one...). RPD Light Machine Gun - The RPD isn't very different from the M60 in all the ways that count - it has a 100-round drum of 7.62mm ammunition, and what it lacks in accuracy it makes up for in sheer lead-throwing ability. RPG Anti-Tank Weapon - a modern version of the bazooka. Re-loadable, unlike the LAW, but very heavy. Usually comes with seven rounds. EQUIPMENT: First Aid Kit - one first aid kit will heal a variable amount of damage, based on the medical skill of the person using the kit. To use a kit on another person, point at them so their name shows up on the cursor, then scroll your item selection to the first aid kit and hit the use button. Binoculars - if you don't have a sniper rifle, this is a handy way to get a good look at a faraway target. Demolition Charge - A block of C4 explosives with a delay timer. Claymore mine - a US-issue anti-personnel mine. Handy for regular patrolling units. Radio - some missions may require you to radio back to base for various reasons (i.e. mission recon, calling in an airstrike, etc.) Ammo Belt - These are only given at mission load-out, and they don't appear directly in the equipment list. What they do is give all weapons in the original loadout two extra clips - that is, if you start with a .45 and a CAR-15 and an ammo belt, instead of the pistol and machinegun starting with five extra clips each they will start with seven extra clips. --- IV - General Hints/tips/observations --- - This game was created with realism in mind, as you'll notice from the first moments in the jungle and your first encounters with the enemy. As such, regular rail-shooter or FPS-style tactics just won't cut it unless you like dying a lot. Think like a real soldier - move slow, stay in cover, cover your advances, and try to choose the best equipment for the job. - High ground is your friend. It's much easier to defend and attack from high ground than to defend low ground or attack upward. - Always review your objectives and mission intel carefully, and then keep them in mind as you progress towards your goals. The compass will point you in the right direction, of course, but sometimes a more circuitous route will give you an easier way to get things done. Don't be afraid to explore a bit. - Also keep your objectives in mind when picking up enemy equipment. If you pick up every gun and ammo clip from everyone you kill you'll be overloaded in no time. I find it best to limit myself to one single-shot/sniper weapon and one automatic-type weapon at a time, with the rest of the equipment slots available for grenades, first aid, or that one time you may need to pick up something quickly. Also, unless you're just a bad shot, you really don't need more than four or five extra clips for any of your weapons. Try to remember where you leave equipment, though, so that you can go back if you find you need something you passed on. - Watch your fatigue level. If you're doing slow, careful advances this may not be a problem much, but run around a lot and you're asking for trouble. If your fatigue meter is low, stop and rest for a bit, especially if you expect combat soon. You also wear out faster if you are overloaded with equipment, so ditch what you can when you're done with it. You can see your total weight carried if you scroll your equipment slot on-screen - and if the number is in red, you are overloaded. The magic number is 30 lbs - if you carry less than this, you can run all day - carry more and you better give yourself small breaks. - Watch your cursor. It has an enemy alert (which can be switched off for a more challenging game, BTW) which flashes a red arrow pointing in the direction of trouble. Also, the four red lines around your centerpoint are your 'shot spread' - if you are still, they are very tight around the centerpoint, making your accuracy very high - but if you move a lot, run a lot, use sustained fire from an automatic weapon, you will see these lines spread out. The farther they are out, the farther your shots will spread. Try not to shoot on the run and, when using automatic weapons, use short bursts and pauses to keep your accuracy indicators as tight as possible. - The Starlight Scope can be useful in night missions, but don't rely exclusively on it. As with real night-sight/light-amplification equipment, it has a fairly short effective range, and while it tracks movement well it is fuzzy when showing stationary objects - thus, spotting patrols is easy, but those stationed/hidden snipers will be just as hidden, if not more so. Don't be afraid to toggle between the two modes in night missions - I guarantee that in some spots you'll find the standard scope more helpful (like when you're on the low ground and the snipers are on a high ridge, perfectly silhouetted by the moonlight ;). - A note on ammunition: Weapons that are placed on the map (not outfitted on an enemy soldier) will have a full load of ammunition and five extra clips when you pick them up (exeptions are the RPD and M-60, which start out with two extra magazines). Weapons you plunder from dead soldiers will have only one extra clip, with the number currently in the weapon depending on whether or not the soldier you killed had fired any rounds from that clip before dying. If you have the chance, wait until they reload before killing them so that you get the most ammo from plundered weapons. If you're using a plundered weapon that's almost empty on its current clip (and you're an anal-retentive type :) ), then you should opt NOT to reload if you manage to find a similar weapon on the map, and instead drop your current one, pick up the new one, and then grab any spare clips you had in the one you dropped. - If you have played other nFusion games (Deadly Dozen or DDPT) before, be aware that the maps in this game are a good deal smaller than the maps in older games, resulting in more closely clustered enemies. Most times when you shoot you will immediately be rushed. Be sure you (and your spotter, if you have one) are set behind cover and ready for an ambush before firing. --- V - Walkthroughs --- The format for each mission's walkthrough will be similar: - MISSION NUMBER - BRIEFING - This is a first-person monologue by Pvt. Egan given in text and voice-over before each mission. - OBJECTIVES - Viewable in pre-mission intel and in pause mode while in-game. Completed objectives will be marked so in pause mode. - LOADOUT - This lists your squad and the items outfitted on each member at the mission's start. - Enemy Strength Assessment - My personal comments on the type of opposition to expect. - Synopsis of Walkthrough - A rough paragraph-sized description of how to get the mission done. - Detailed Walkthrough - A more detailed description, with specifics on important place to take cover, locations of enemies, ambushes, places to go to pick up important items, etc. The items listed above in ALL CAPS are as they are given in the game. The other items are my personal comments and information based on playing through the missions. Keep in mind, though, that this game is non-scripted and very open-ended, so the walkthrough as given is only one from many possible ways to win. However, the location and makeup of enemy forces will naturally apply to any play through these missions. Depending on your timing, any patrolling guards may not be encountered exactly where I mention them in the walkthroughs, but I have tried to describe as much of their patrol paths as possible so you roughly know where/when to expect them. Still, caveat soldier, and keep your damn head down! -*-*-*- MISSION 1 BRIEFING: The chopper flight to Firebase Alpha 1 was anything but uneventful. As we neared the base, the Huey started taking ground fire. As the pilot started to gain some altitude, an enemy machine gun shot through the control panel and wounded the pilot. The co-pilot fought with the controls as we skimmed over hilltops and trees. I remember thinking "If we could slow down enough, I could at least make a jump for it." Suddenly the helicopter banked and hung in the air about 10 feet off the side of a hill- out the door I went! Once I hit the ground and came to a stop, I could see the column of smoke from the crash site beyond the next ridge. I found that I still had my knife and a 45 automatic- the rest of my gear was gone. I had to get to that crash site and see what I could do in case there were any survivors. I should also take out the machine gun nest that shot us down. There was no way I could leave that standing for another American chopper to discover. OBJECTIVES: - Eliminate machinegun nest - Find your chopper and try to radio HQ - Get to the exit zone LOADOUT: Pvt. Chris Egan - Knife, 1911A1 .45 Pistol, Machete Enemy Strength Assessment: The enemy are fairly light in this mission, but difficult at the start since you begin with only a pistol. Once you secure some decent weaponry it will be difficult, still, but manageable. Your biggest danger will be the rushes that VC troops make on you after they hear you fire. Try to take out your chosen target on the first shot and immediately get ready to be attacked. Synopsis: You start near the north end of the map. The path you are on proceeds south to a large, rocky east-west valley. The Machinegun nest you have to take out is on the north face of the eastern wing of the valley. The main path continues south, curving slightly eastward, leading to a large 'bowl' where your chopper crashed. The exit zone is south of the chopper, as the path continues southward, up and out of the bowl. Walkthrough: You start in the middle of a path that proceeds uphill to your south. The left and right sides of the path are raised ridges, and they make good places to sneak by enemies to attack. Creep forward towards the left ridge and go over the crest just south of you. The path descends south from the crest and continues towards the main valley, but at the bottom of the hill past the crest there is a small lean-to tent with a path going uphill to the west. There is a single VC soldier with an AK-47 near the lean-to, facing south, and another VC walking patrol up and down that path. A quiet kill might be the best bet, if you can time it so that the patrolman is away when you creep down the ridge. Sneak up and knife or shoot the VC at close range and grab that AK47 to kill the patrolman. Now that you have some semblance of decent weaponry you can continue towards the machinegun nest. Go back up the ridge on the east side of the path and proceed quietly until you see the valley running east-west across the path. There are two soldiers at the bottom of the valley where the two cross, but if you sneak quietly on the ridge top you should be able to get by easily. Proceed along the ridgetop east, watching your compass. The Machinegun next is on the cliff face directly below you, so if you stay on the ridgetop you'll not only pass the few guards on the valley floor, you'll be above and behind the machinegun nest crew when you're ready to strike. When your compass shows you where they are, sneak right above them, edging to peer over and line yourself up in a perfect striking position, then let fly with your AK47. If you're fast you should be abe to pop them both without any trouble. Sneak down to the platform and grab the AK47 ammo from one of the men, and if you feel you need it the other has an RPD machine gun as well. There are two First Aid Kits on the platform as well. Pick up your chosen weapons, then crawl across the valley to the south ridge to proceed back west towards the main path. (For a nice surprise, look around a small boulder near the top of the southern ridge just across from the platform :) Objective completed. Once back at the main path, proceed south along the top ridge to the east of the path. The path comes up out of the valley, then descends as it continues south. There are some big rocks on the east wall of the path, and two VC are near those rocks on the path floor, so ambush them as you see fit, using the rocks as cover. Farther south the path opens up again as it ascends to the edge of the 'bowl' that the chopper is in. Opposition here is quite heavy - one officer at the crest of the bowl, on the path, two more troopers just below him inside the bowl, and one sniper far off to the west on a ridge top across the depression that rises towards the bowl crest. Also, depending on timing, there's a trooper walking a beat along the circumference of the bowl, along the west side of the bowl. If you picked up an SKS, then this part can be done somewhat easily as a single-shot rifle, even without a scope, is exactly what you need to take out that long-range sniper. Snipe the officer first, as he's closer, then shoot the sniper across the way next since it may take him a while to spot you. Then, quickly shift to an AK47 or the RPD and take out the men coming up the path from the bowl. If you timed it right, everyone will be dead and you'll be fine and in good form to take out the man walking a beat on the ridgetop. Next, creep on the path to the edge of the bowl to get a good look at the next section of the mission. There is a fallen tree in the bottom of the bowl, directly between you and the crashed chopper. One man is walking a patrol just behind the chopper, and a second one is walking a beat farther south of him. Both have a pretty good view of the path coming down the bowl. You can't see it from here, but there is a CAR-15 waiting for you near the chopper, so don't feel like you have to conserve ammo at this point. Wait for both guards to be facing away from you, then creep down the bowl in cover, trying to move slightly to the left so the rocks provide a bit of cover. Get as close as you can without disturbing them, be sure your AK47 or RPD is fully loaded, and open up. Take them both out, then hop over the log and get the CAR-15. There's a first aid kit there too, but don't worry about it just yet - when you get near the chopper, two men will come down the path following you the way you came down into the bowl. Grab that CAR-15 and let 'em have it, then pick up what else you need from near the chopper. Objective completed. The path continues out the southeast edge of the bowl, with three guards near the crest. It's best if you climb up the side of the bowl, farther away from the path itself, then you can flank them from the ridge above the path. Take the three guards out (two in the path, one on the ridge to the west), then proceed down the path - Mission Completed. -*-*-*- MISSION 2 BRIEFING: The co-pilot did a good job of slowing his captors down, allowing me to gain on them pretty quick. A couple of times they stopped and took cover as other helicopters flew over- Our men from Alpha One Base were on the way to the crash site. The VC didn't have much time before our Hatchet Force from the base would start sweeping the area for the co-pilot. The enemy picked up the pace, pulling along and dragging the airman. I could hear their voices as they yelled in broken English at the co-pilot to "keep moving or die". I knew I had to rescue him and get him to the LZ. There was no way I was going to leave him in enemy hands. OBJECTIVES: - Rescue the downed pilot - Make sure area is safe for extraction - Get to the exit zone LOADOUT: Pvt. Chris Egan - Knife, CAR-15, .45 Pistol, 4 grenades, two first aid kits Enemy Strength Assessment: The enemy opposition is pretty tough in this mission, but at it's toughest you will have some help, and fortunately you start out with some real equipment (A CAR-15 and some grenades). The part of the mission up to the pilot's rescue is only single or paired infantry, but many times there are shooters hidden in rice paddies or clumps of bamboo or brush. At the pilot's rescue point there are between four and six men you'll have to face, depending on patrol paths. Smart use of cover and some luck will be essential to the rescue. Finally, while getting to the exit zone isn't much trouble, once you're there you will be rushed by four or five infantry at once, but you will have the advantage of high ground and three helpers (one with an M-60 :) - however, if you or the pilot die you will lose, so it's not quite as simple as it looks. Synopsis: You will proceed north out of a short valley onto a rice-paddy plain dotted with hidden snipers and clumps of brush. Proceed north across this plain to a ruined church to rescue the pilot. Once you rescue the pilot, head north while bearing slightly west to go around the west side of a small hill that is just south of the large hill that is the LZ. Go slowly during this portion, sniping anyone you see. Once you get to the hilltop, get ready for the onslaught by going prone and backing away from the edge to let the enemy crest the hill and get killed. Walkthrough: You start at the south of the map, in a little valley-type path as before. Just ahead the path narrows with some boulders on the right side - a VC is just to the north of those boulders, and another is farther north, on the plateau just north of the boulders. You can try to climb a ridge or just creep around the rocks to blast the one near the boulders, then quickly watch north for the one to come down the hill. Once they're both dead creep to the west side of the path and north onto the plain. This plain is quite wide and long, leading towards an east-west road which crosses the map just in front of the destroyed church where the pilot is hidden. Despite being fairly flat, there's plenty of soft cover with clumps of bamboo, trees, and small shrubs, more than a few hiding snipers. The only real advice here is to watch carefully, creep on your belly, and stay to the side - that will keep one flank covered so you only have to watch in one direction. If at all possible, try to creep up and use your knife for the silent kills. Watch for an area where the wall of jungle on the west side starts to open towards the west. Here you will be near the center of the map. Using the compass, head across the plain in front of you towards the church. The ground will rise slightly just to the south of the church, with the entire area to your left and right still covered by clumps of brush. Keep an eye on them as you head forward, looking for a couple of snipers hidden in them - creep up for silent kills if you can. When you get on the top of the southern edges of the rises you will see the church and two more buildings to the west of it. There is one guard in the westernmost building, one guard inside the church, one more guard outside the door to the south of the church, and then there are patrolling guards on the road to the east and west who may end up in earshot. If you can get to that westernmost building silently and knife that guard you have a reasonably protected area to attack from. Otherwise, you might be best trying to shoot from longer range and draw them out into an attack on more open ground. However you do it, take out all the guards, then go into the church to pick up the pilot, some grenades, a first aid kit if you need it, and then finally your raison d'etre - an M-21 sniper rifle - JOY JOY JOY!!! The rescued pilot will follow you and obey your commands, but you cannot switch to him for direct control. You can either order him to follow you or order him to hold in a safe place as you clear out an advance path, then return and bring him forward. Head straight north, veering slightly to the west, and proceed very slowly using your sniperscope to scan for enemy hiding in the brush. Snipe them as you see them, then after firing quickly switch to a machine gun in case you are rushed. Unfortunately, the pilot only has a pistol and won't pick up any weapons you drop for him. :( Proceed north this way until you get near the LZ. Just south of the LZ is a fairly large hill that you should circle around, clearing the enemy as you find them - there are altogether about four or five enemies hiding in various spots around the northern half of that hill. Once they're all dead, order the pilot to follow you up the hill to the top, then turn around and go prone when you're near the chopper. Four or five men will come out of nowhere and rush up the southern side of the hill towards your position. If you're prone you're under good cover on the high ground and the two chopper men can help with their heavy machine guns. You can also chuck a grenade or two over the hill's crest to help out. Once all the men are dead, Mission Completed. -*-*-*- MISSION 3 BRIEFING: Once I finally settled in at Firebase Alpha One, I was given my first mission. A local Montagnards village chieftain showed up at the base pleading for help. The old man told us that the VC were terrorizing his village; stealing food, kidnapping young men, beating people. The enemy always tried to make peace with the villagers at first, but as soon as the Montagnard elders said NO the intimidation and terror began. The old man told us that the VC would be returning to his village tomorrow night with some documents we would be interested in. The Alpha One Firebase C.O. thought we should be there to say "hello" and introduce them to my new M-21 sniper rifle. After all, I needed to break this M-21 in. I lost my old one back in the Huey crash. After my objective is complete, I should head back along the river to the extraction point. Hopefully it will be an easy evac. OBJECTIVES: - Eliminate VC political officer - Pick up any documents you find - Get to the exit zone LOADOUT: Pvt. Chris Egan - Knife, M21 Sniper Rifle, .45 Pistol, two first aid kits Pvt. Barry Barden - CAR-15, .45 pistol, 4 grenades, binoculars, Ammo Belt. Enemy Strength Assessment: The enemy are in stronger force now, with entrenched snipers hidden along the river and woods and infantry appearing in either pairs or threes. Moreover, the clustering of enemies almost insures one rush after every attack, so it's a good thing you have an expert machinegunner with extra ammo as your spotter. Just move carefully, spot as far ahead as you can with your sniper rifle, and do your best to position Barden where he can cover the expected ambush area. Synopsis: A north-south river is the central focus for this map. You start in a little grove just west of the river, near the north end of the map. You will proceed to the riverbanks, head south to the village, find and kill the VC Political Officer and pick up his documents, then head back north along the river to the exit zone (which is where the level began). Walkthrough: You start in a depression that proceeds west towards a river. Head directly up the ridge side to your south/right, then head forward east towards the river. As you near the point of the cliff near the river slow down. Look through the reeds across the river to find a small sniper hut on the far bank. There is one VC soldier hidden north of you and two more south of you, so beware as you start the sniping. Try to position Barden on the ridgetop so he can shoot both north or south, then take out the sniper in the sniper hut. Once the rush is completed, you can try to sneak across the river and get the sniper's SVD rifle to make sure you have enough sniper ammunition for this mission. There are a couple of other snipers hidden down some paths that continue east from the river, so be careful. Once your cross river sortie is done, get back on the west side and onto the ridge to prepare to head south. A very short way south you will see the low ground expand to the west, with the path ahead continuing straight south along the river and also branching out to the west. There is a hidden VC soldier behind the rocks near the river, and two VC are near the mouth of the path branching off to the west. Snipe the VC near the rocks from as far north as you can, then creep ahead staying on the ridge to find the best place to snipe at the pair near the western path. Once they are all dead creep across that low ground to the high ground and continue south along the river. As you start to move back towards the river south you will see that you are coming up behind another sniper hut. From this angle you might also be able to see two stationed guards on the far side of the river a bit farther south. There is also a hidden guard in the river behind some rocks that are just southeast of the hut. Finally, there is a trio of guards farther down that western path that will come to investigate if they hear shooting, not to mention two more guards that are farther south on the riverbanks. With only two men, it becomes tricky to set an ambush, but your best bet depends on a LOT of stealth and some luck. Set Barden on the ground directly behind the hut, facing south but also where he can face back north. Put Egan just northwest of the hut, behind some trees, so that he can hit both the sniper in the hut and the two guards on the far side of the river. This will take some QUICK shooting. Set Barden to fire at will, then control Egan and take out the hut sniper, then QUICKLY switch aim and kill the two on the far side who will be coming across the river. Barden should make short work of the three men to the south as they come around the hut. Immediately after Egan snipes out all three of his targets, have him get to the south of a nearby tree and switch to a machinegun for the charge of men coming from the north. Barden should be done with his men and take out some of the last charge on his own as well. Once that little escapade is done you're ready to continue south. South of the hut the river bank continues straight south, then starts to curve west as the river opens up to a small lake. The ground you are on curves west as well - ahead, on low ground, you should just be able to see a couple of small stilted huts that comprise a small village. Between you and the village is a group of rocks on the water's edge, with a guard hidden in the rocks. Another guard is at the foot of stairs leading up to the closest building. A civilian is near him, so be careful. The low ground path continues north from the rocks, and a sniper is hidden at the point of the ridge above that intersection of the riverbank and the path north. It's hard to get a good firing angle on the man in the rocks, so position Barden for a charge and snipe out the guard near the shack and let Barden take out the charger from the rocks. Then, creep along the ridgetop to take out that sniper before crossing the low ground towards the village. Two more guards farther down that path will rush when you take out the ridge sniper, so be prepared. Once all of that opposition is dead, get on the ridge that runs behind the village buildings for the safest way to attack. As you ascend the ridge on the west side, look through the window in the north side of the closest building to see the sniper looking out the east window across the river. Snipe him from a distance. He also has an SVD rifle if you happen to be running low on sniper ammo. You should also be able to see a guard standing near the southern building on the river bank. Take him out as you see fit. Continue creeping along that ridge south until you can see into the second building. One civilian, one sniper, and the VC Officer are inside. There are two men patrolling the riverbank south of the building, and they may hear when the shooting starts, so position Barden on the ground near the front of the building, facing south, and then have Egan snipe through the window to kill the sniper, and then move farther south to get an angle on and kill the officer. Objective Completed. You should have seen the documents glowing on the tabletop through the window. Circle around the front of the building and go up and pick them up - objective completed. Now you can head back the way you came, except that more enemy reinforcements have arrived. You will encounter more enemies as you get near the rocks just north of the village, then three more in the river just north of the last sniper hut you encountered. Just north of them, near the first lowground-rock area are four more guards. Finally, where the path turns off to the west for the exit zone there are three guards right at the intersection and two more farther down the path. Try to control Egan and snipe as many from as far as you can, and make sure Barden starts each engagement with a full clip of machinegun ammo. Dodge bullets, kill charlie, and follow the compass until you see the magic words - Mission Completed. -*-*-*- MISSION 4 BRIEFING: The fact that we found an NVA political officer and a bunch of documents told me we had stumbled onto something important. It was urgent that this information get back to base right away! However, Charley was out to stop us! They did not want us returning with those documents. We have been vectored to an alternate LZ where we can be picked up, but we are going to have to fight our way out there. We have one advantage over Charley. Night is falling and I had enough foresight to pack a starlight scope. It was going to be a long night. OBJECTIVES: - Get back to base with the documents - Get to the exit zone LOADOUT: Pvt. Chris Egan - Knife, M-21 w/ Starlight Scope, .45 Pistol, 4 grenades, two first aid kits Pvt. Barry Barden - Knife, CAR-15, .45 Pistol, 4 grenades, Binoculars, First Aid Kit. Enemy Strength Assessment: There are three main clusters of enemies - one right at the mission's start and two in the middle of the map, one in the burned village and one north of it leading into the mountain pass that goes to the exit zone. Each of these will end up being firefights between your squad and 5-7 VC troops. As always, snipe well and be sure your spotter is set to cover you. There are many stationed snipers on high ground surrounding the village and the paths to and from the village, but with some good scanning and sniping they won't be much trouble. It a lot of cases it's actually easier to see the ridgetop snipers without the nightvision scope, so don't be afraid to toggle the nightvision on and off for the best view (use the F11 key to toggle nightvision). Synopsis: You start out in a small valley that proceeds north - you will head north through a patrol to a burned-out village, through the village, and continue north to one of two mountain passes that wind around a central mountain to the exit zone at the north. Walkthrough: You start in the middle of a deathtrap - men ahead of you to the left and right, a north-south patrol group whose southern loop point is just ahead of you, and you are standing in noisy rustling bushes. Immediately order both men to go prone, then hold position. Switch to your spotter, Barden, and have him ready his CAR-15 and move just ahead and to one side (doesn't matter) so he's ahead of Egan and can provide machine gun cover. Then, switch back to Egan, get into crouching position to see over the nearby grass/brush, and step slightly ahead/to the right and turn on the starlight scope - look ahead for two patrolling men who will come south down a slope ahead of you and beyond a few low bushes. Sniping them will start an ambush of two men ahead and to your right and at least one more ahead and to your left. Take the two men in the patrol QUICKLY, then drop prone and scan the bushes ahead and to either side, killing anyone you see. Between you and Barden, with a little luck, you can kill them all without much damage. Stay prone and creep ahead both men as a team, Egan in the lead. When you get about even with the bushes that were between you and the first patrol, look on the ridge ahead of you to the left and take out the sniper hiding there. This may trigger a couple more patrolling men, so be prepared with Barden in cover. Step ahead to the position where the first patrolling men were killed and look to the right ridge for a sniper hiding there. Again, make sure Barden is ready to cover. If you want extra sniper ammo, you can crawl up the rocks and grab those two snipers' guns - they are carrying non-Starlight M-21s, but the ammo isn't interchangeable so taking one of those rifles will eat up another equipment slot. Drop your .45 if you have to. There are more snipers ahead visible from the first snipers' positions, so look for them and take them out if you want a slightly safer second part of this mission, or simply stick closer to the middle of the map as you continue. Continue creeping forward, edging slightly to the left/west as you do so. The rocks will expand into a wide-open plain covered with low sparse brush - this is the area near the village. The ground rises slightly, and at the top of the first rise you should just be able to make out a few burned-out buildings ahead of you. A sniper is hiding in the leftmost building, with stationed guards off to the east and west of these buildings. Sniping out that sniper will trigger another rush, with more men coming from the east than west. Position Barden with his CAR-15 ready just behind a tree, guarding north-northeast, and use Egan to snipe out the sniper then watch north and northwest for rushers from that area. One that attack wave is done, creep through the middle of the village towards the northeast. You should see the plain continue north, and then form into a pair of valleys, each of which go different ways around a large mountain to the exit zone at the north. It doesn't matter much which path you take, as both will result in the same thing - a clustered enemy attack just as you near the mouth of the path, compounded by snipers on the ridge tops, then a semi-dangerous walk down the mountain path with snipers on both ridges. Whichever direction you choose, have Barden on the ground and use Egan to climb over boulders or even up to the ridgetops for support. Watch ahead for snipers, and be sure Barden can cover when Egan takes them out. You will be near the exit zone when two paths meet at the north end of the mountain, then continue north. Just follow the compass and be careful until you see the magic words - Mission Completed. -*-*-*- MISSION 5 BRIEFING: After careful analysis of the documents by intelligence officers in Saigon, some of the recent VC activities in the area have started to make more sense. The documents specify the exact location of the local VC headquarters. However, the entire area is trapped. There is a villager who, once a week, brings in communications and intelligence. I need to follow her and keep her in sight; she will lead me through the traps and allow me to eliminate the VC officer. That should screw up Charlie's plans for the short-term. OBJECTIVES: - Eliminate the VC officer - Get to the exit zone LOADOUT: Pvt. Chris Egan - Knife, M21, .45 Pistol, 4 Grenades, 4 Smoke Grenades, first aid kit Pvt. Gareth Vaughan - Knife, CAR-15, .45 Pistol, 4 Grenades, First Aid Kit, Ammo Belt Enemy Strength Assessment: The enemy in this mission is fairly sparse, with only single or paired guards stationed throughout the various paths. There is a fairly large cluster of soldiers near the Officer, including a couple of machinegunners and a man with an RPG. Needless to say this part can be a bit tricky, but with some distant sniping and good cover you should be able to come through fine. The paths will be reinforced on the way back, so be sure you clear everyone out as you proceed on the way in, and then make sure you take the same way back out. There are many booby traps on the paths, but if you follow the girl or at least watch where she goes, you can spot and avoid them easily, or simply stick to the ridges instead of the main paths. Synopsis: You start just south of a village which has a VC sympathizer in it, a woman with a pink shirt. As you near the village she will run down a path to the east. She will wind down a maze of boobytraped paths to the east end of the map where a VC officer and his guard contingent are stationed. Follow the girl (if you can, or simply follow her until you lose her and follow your compass), kill the officer, then get back to the village. Walkthrough: This mission is a change of pace, since there is less vegetation in the paths than in most missions, and also because you have to run fast and stay on the move to keep up with the villager, resulting in a mission that's more 'run and gun' than the previous missions. You start out a short way south of the village near the Southwest corner of the map. Head north and veer towards the eastern edge of the village, looking ahead for a woman on the east edge of town with a pink shirt on. When you get somewhat close, she will start running down the road to the east, and if you want to keep up you will have to run FAST. It's a good thing you start out with less than 30 pounds of equipment, and to stay fast on the run don't pick ANYTHING up - there really aren't too many enemies on here that require you to pick up a lot of spare weaponry. It's recommended to use Egan in command with Vaughan following in AI mode, since Vaughan is an expert machinegunner and will take out the scattered guards probably faster than you can spot them, much less shoot. Follow the girl east down the path, sticking to the slopes or ridges or following her steps exactly - you'll see where she jogs to the side to avoid a tripwire. At the first intersection she will turn left to head north. There is a guard at this intersection. The path north from this intersection is filled with large boulders in the middle and on both sides. The rocks on the right side form a large, high promontory at a three-path intersection, with a guard on that hilltop and one farther to the north on another rock. Snipe them both from a distance if you can. Creep over the rock hilltop and look down the path that continues east/southeast for another patrolling guard - snipe him. Continue down this east/southeast path which is fairly free of both vegetation and rocks. It goes straight and makes a slight curve to the right. There is one guard hidden in some brush right at the curve, and one farther down the path around the corner. Take them both out. Just past them the path will widen and flatten out a bit as a path branches off to the left, towards the east, and the main path continues. Cross onto the left/east side ridgetop and follow that side path towards the east. Continue on that east path on the north ridge, watching for a guard hiding behind a large boulder in the northern slope of that path. Past that guard and large boulder another path branches off to the northeast, so simply stay on the ridge and hug that wall to your left and continue, watching ahead and below for hidden guards and snipers. That road heading northeast will make a gentle curve around north then back northwest - this will be near the VC officer and his guards. Stay in the reeds on that north/left-side ridge, picking off every guard you see and scanning ahead for his guards. With any luck you'll draw them out piecemeal, which is good because he's guarded by no less than five guards - two with AK47s near you, another AK47 and an RPG guard farther away, and a sniper overlooking the little clearing he is in. By staying on that left-side ridge you use the curve to your advantage, and the numerous boulders that hide his guard from your view also provide you cover, so you can simply make some noise and draw them out or try throwing a few grenades. After his guard is dead, simply peer around a boulder and snipe him out - he's only armed with a Tokarev, and so not much of a threat on his own. Objective completed. It shouldn't be much trouble to backtrack, but be aware that the roads have been reinforced - if you killed everyone on your path and go back the same way, though, you'll encounter a minimal number of enemy troops. Just go slower (you can afford to be a bit cautious now) and make sure Vaughan is in a position to cover Egan before you start sniping. Head back to the village (Watching out for three VC guards who are now in the village) and across to the west side, heading down the west road out the far side of the village. Mission completed. -*-*-*- MISSION 6 BRIEFING: Intel has a new mission for us- destroying a small NVA truck convoy. This will be my first mission "over the fence" into Laos. The plan is to utilize a Vietnamese SOG "Roadrunner" operative disguised as a villager. As the trucks come down the road, the operative will block the road, pretending that there was some kind of accident. While the trucks are stopped a demolitions specialist and I will take out the drivers and enemy soldiers. After that, we should destroy all three vehicles in the convoy and make our way to the extraction point. OBJECTIVES: - Destroy Truck 1 - Destroy Truck 2 - Destroy Truck 3 - Get to the exit zone LOADOUT: Pvt. Chris Egan - Knife, M21, .45 Pistol, 4 Grenades, 2 first aid kits Pvt. Harper Rhett - Knife, M1 Carbine, Machete, three M72 LAWs Enemy Strength Assessment: As usual, you'll have several clusters of enemies interspersed with hidden/faraway snipers. This is slightly problematic at the mission start since you don't begin with any automatic weapons, but you'll be able to grab some AK47s after the first firefight. The most dangerous cluster is the enemy trucks, where you will have to deal with five men on the ground near the trucks plus two more patrolling nearby, along with a few faraway snipers that cover the area just north of the trucks. Various points along the road and river area will be reinforced with VC troops after the trucks are destroyed. Synopsis: You begin near the northeast corner of the map. The map is high ground at the north, sloping downward to an east-west road at the middle of the map, and then from that road farther south it slopes down again to an east-west river. The trucks are at the west end of the road, and the exit zone is at the east end of the river, so you'll have to go downhill to the road, west to the road, and then either back east on the road and south to the exit zone or south to the river near the trucks and east along the river valley to the exit zone. The road is recommended as the opposition will be somewhat lighter. Walkthrough: You begin in a slight depression at the northeast corner of the map, facing south. The depression continues south and downhill, and the ridges continue to the hillcrest and then expand east and west. Two stationed guards are just below the hillcrest on the path and two more are on the ridge to the left, right at the cusp of the dropoff. With no automatic weapons, cover is essential - get your spotter Rhett to cover with his Carbine ready, preferably on the low ground or just on the rise to one ridge side, but NOT on the ridge top. Get Egan onto the left ridge, facing south, and have him trigger the first fight by popping both of the guards on the ridge top. Creep forward and when Egan is at those guards' position look to the southwest for the head of a sniper hiding behind some rocks to your left. Take him out too. Grab the AK47s you'll need off of those guards, and if you can spare it pick up the SVD from the sniper as well - you can't have too much sniper ammo in this mission. From the first sniper's position the ridge continues to the south until it ends at a high cliff overlooking the road. There is a sniper on this clifftop overlooking two more stationed guards on the road right where the path you are on meets the road. There is a small rock outcropping on the descent to the road that makes a good ambush point for the men on the road, but if you creep too far south the cliff sniper can get you. It's probably best to sneak Egan to the rocks, position him for defense, then creep Rhett over the cliff to take out the sniper there. When that happens the two road guards and another one farther to the east will probably rush towards the noise, but between the cliff and Egan hiding in the rocks you are pretty well hidden and ready to take them on your terms. Clear everyone in this little area, then move Rhett off the cliff to join Egan at the rock outcropping. Your next move will be to continue west down the road towards the trucks. The cliffs rising north of the road narrow and get steeper as you proceed west with plenty of rock outcroppings near road level. Use those rocks as cover because you'll have at least two small clusters of enemies to take out before reaching the trucks. Spot ahead with Egan's scope and start to climb the cliffs on the north when you can just make out the villager and his little overturned cart in front of the truck convoy. Get both men on the clifftop and order them to hold fire - you will HAVE to keep them both quiet and undetected until you get into the best firing position. First, creep Egan forward and try to descend to one of the boulders just below the top cliff level for the best view - you should see three trucks and five guards - one right in front of the villager and his cart, two stationed on the road sides between the first and second truck, and two more patrolling right around the trucks. There are also one or two more guards patrolling the woods/cliff area immediately north of the trucks, just to your west. You will be rushed by at least the four moving men when the shooting starts. When Egan can see the whole convoy, he's set. Get Rhett on the top level back a short ways and facing west/southwest so he can cover any men who make it to the clifftop and cover the last part of the cliff ascent as well. This ambush will depend mainly on Egan shooting FAST. First target the VC right next to the villager, and make sure you kill him on the first shot or he will charge too. On the first shot, the two patrolling near the trucks will rush. Try to get them before the cliff angles provide cover. If they're out of sight, quickly shift to the last two stationary guards near the trucks and take them out while you have a spare minute and let the rushers climb the cliffs. Don't take more than two or three shots at those two, though, because the VC will get into firing range quickly. Switch off the scope or quickly switch to a machinegun and hose anyone who gets near you. When the shooting stops, if the two near the trucks are still alive, take them out. It's still not safe yet, though, as the cliffs continue above the trucks to the north even higher than your cliff position. Creep Egan west, on the cliff top, scanning the clifftops north and around and take out any snipers you see. Then you are ready to take out the trucks. Reinforcements will appear on the map when the last truck is destroyed. First, though, claim the three first aid kits and RPGs that are there. Each truck will take two LAWs before blowing up, so go ahead and empty Rhett's LAWs into the first two trucks, then finish off with the RPG. Before blowing up the last truck, though, hide Egan in some brush just west of the last truck, facing west, as the first reinforcements will appear there. Pop the truck, then switch Rhett to a machinegun to support Egan as you take out the two men who will rush you from the west. Then, head together back along the east road. As you head back east on the road, watch for the several reinforcements in the brush on the right/south side of the road and in the rocks just to the north. Creep in the brush slowly on the right side of the road, watching for the jungle to open up towards the south so you can make the final descent into the river valley. As soon as you can turn south, do so, and you should then be on a ridge overlooking a valley descent to the river to the south. Continue south along the ridgetop, watching ahead for snipers and hidden guards. Just as the ridge you are on starts to curve back to the west, you will be near some rock outcroppings in the middle of the valley. Hide Egan there on sniper duty and get Rhett over to the rocks. This might draw out the many snipers in the brush at the river bottom, but between the two men and their high-ground/cover advantage you should make short work of them. Southeast of the rocks in the middle of that valley are a few more guards in the river and a sniper on the south cliffs on the south side of the river, so watch for them and use Egan to snipe them out. Once they are dead,just get in the water and head east - Mission Completed. -*-*-*- MISSION 7 BRIEFING: With enemy activity increasing in the area, I get to spend a night out in the woods looking for Victor Charlie. My spotter and I have been ordered to stake out a couple of trails that Intelligence believes the enemy is using. It's time to make like a ghost and disappear into the jungle. We will make the VC and NVA afraid of the dark. OBJECTIVES: - Kill Commander 1 - Kill Commander 2 - Kill Commander 3 - Get to the exit zone LOADOUT: Pvt. Chris Egan - Knife, M-21 with Starlight Scope, .45 Pistol, Claymore Mine, Two first aid kits Pvt. Gareth Vaughan - Knife, M60, .45 Pistol, 4 Grenades, First Aid Kit, Ammo belt Enemy Strength Assessment: The three main patrols are fairly dangerous - three AK-47-armed troopers escorting an officer with a Tokarev. Aside from the patrols, though, the opposition is very light on the way out, with only very sparsely scattered snipers and patrolmen, either lone or at most in pairs. After all three patrols are dead, though, the way back to the exit zone is reinforced with three main guardpoints with three to four troopers each. Having an automatic weapon on your spotter is a must to avoid being rushed to death, and it wouldn't hurt to grab an AK47 for yourself as well and switch quickly after your first sniper shot. Fortunately some of the patrols are stationary, so if you can get close enough a grenade might do well for an initial attack. Synopsis: You start south of an east-west valley that has two main roads running parallel to each other and crossing in an "X" formation just north of you. The patrols are at the east and west ends of these roads. Get to the roads, roam around to get your bearings, find and eliminate the patrols, then carefully shoot your way back up the hill you came down to get to the exit zone. Walkthrough: You start out near the southeast corner of the map, on high ground. Ahead of you the path you are on descends into a valley heading north into a dense jungle. Crouch and get under cover, then head towards your east/right, to get near the ridge on the right of the valley heading north and down. Take Egan up the side to give him a better vantage point for sniping. Just south of the start you should be able to make out the first of many snipers, stationed on a rock outcropping looking west. Stay on that ridge side and follow it around towards the north and as it curves northeast. A short ways around the curve of the ridge you should see another hidden ambusher behind some rocks. Snipe him out, but get ready for another nearby patrolman to rush you. Continue around this ridge, descending onto the valley floor near the southern east-west road. Head east along this road. Follow this road towards the east, looking left-north for an area where an offshoot goes off to the north towards the northern road. Head north along this path, but watch out a few yards down it for a guard hiding in some brush. Take him out and continue north, sticking to the east/right side of this path. Watch for the path ahead to meet up with the northern east-west road. The first patrol is just to the east of where the path meets the road - an officer and three AK-47-armed guards. They are behind the ridge that separates the last bit of path from the road, and that ridge makes a good ambush point. Get your men onto the middle of the path, behind what cover you can find, pointed over that ridgetop. Throw a grenade over that ridge to start off the ambush - if you're lucky you can take out a few of the guards as well. Once everyone is done rushing you, if the commander isn't dead, creep over the ridge, find him, and plug him. Objective completed. The second patrol is on the northern road at the west end of the map, past where the two roads cross. Head west along this road, watching for a couple of snipers in brush along the road before you get to the intersection. You will know you are near the intersection when the path starts widening and the brush gets thinner, and then you will see a large rock outcropping in the ridge on the north side of the road. The rocks there form a rough ring. A sniper is on a rocktop on the western edge of the circle, and another guard is hidden near the north end of the rock ring. Get under cover near the eastern edge of the rock circle, then peer over the rocks and snipe out the western guard, and wait for the northern guard to come around and get killed. Creep around the circle and continue west. As you continue west, stay on the north side of the road. Scan west for a sniper on the north side of the road. Take him out and wait for another hidden guard from the south side of that area of the road to rush you and get killed. Farther west from the sniper, also on the north side of the road, are two more stationed guards, and then just past them is the second patrol - an officer and one guard. Depending on distances, some of these sets of enemies will be triggered to attack if they are in earshot, so simply stay careful and have your spotter ready for ambush before shooting. Just keep heading west and killing all you see until you kill that second officer. Objective Completed. The third patrol is back on the east side of the map, but on the southern road, past the point where you turned north to kill the first patrol. Since you've cleared the jungle already just head back the way you came to the first patrol's position, then south down that connecting road to the southern road. Stop at the intersection and scan ahead to the west on that road, looking for a couple of snipers stationed on the south ridge of that road. Take them out, then cross to the south side of the road and continue west. As you proceed west, scan the road ahead. Once you are near a large fallen tree you should just be able to make out the patrol ahead through some brush. Position the spotter, snipe them out, and kill anyone who rushed you. Objective completed. After eliminating this patrol, the jungle will be reinforced, especially the area heading back south towards your insertion/exit zone (this is why we didn't take out this third patrol first, even though it meant doubling back across the whole jungle). Head back west along the southern road towards the path out of the valley. Your first reinforcement patrol is a trio that is hiding behind a large boulder near where you first came onto the east-west roads, somewhat near the crossroads. Take them out to keep your rear flank covered as you start to turn south towards the exit zone. You should now be near the small circle of rocks where you killed two guards at the start of the mission. There are three reinforcements straight west from this circle and two more southeast, in the middle of the north-south path. Use the openings in the boulder circle to make chokepoints for the rush, and set up to be rushed from the east. Then, peep your sniper over the top of the circle and snipe out one guard that you can see - it doesn't matter which. This will trigger the rush, so after shooting, duck and switch to a machinegun and stay spry, dodging and popping up to kill anyone you can. When the shooting stops, regroup and get ready to continue heading up the rise south. Continue north, hugging cover, and watch for when you get near where you started as there will be three reinforcements there with SKS rifles. Take them out, then continue north to the top of the path and the exit zone. Mission Completed. -*-*-*- MISSION 8 BRIEFING: One of our recon teams captured an enemy soldier in Laos and brought him back alive! The captured soldier pinpointed a supply depot hidden in a small box canyon. While the recon team gets their week's R&R pass to Thailand, I get to go out and scout ground for an enemy supply depot. My job is to find the depot and call in an air strike. I guess it beats sitting around here filling sandbags. OBJECTIVES: - Call in Air Strike at Correct Location - Get to the exit zone LOADOUT: Pvt. Chris Egan - Knife, M-21, .45 Pistol, 4 Grenades, First Aid Kit, Radio Pvt, Gareth Vaughan - Knife, M60, .45 Pistol, 4 Grenades, First Aid Kit, 4 Smoke Grenades Enemy Strength Assessment: The jungle between you and the enemy base is saturated with stationed troops. Snipers are waiting on hillsides behind rocks and trees. Machinegunners are in lean-to shelters. Stationed troops are in occasional clusters. Advancing with some separation between your men will allow you to set up many crossfire possibilities. Synopsis: You start at the southeast with the enemy base north/northwest of you. Just northwest of you is a fork area where three separate roads go northward to another east-west conduit, which has two more roads heading north to the base. Choose your path, head north carefully, call in the airstrike and get back to the exit zone. Since the jungle will be reinforced after you call in the airstrike, proceed back the way you came to minimize your danger. Walkthrough: You start in the middle of a deep valley path heading northwest. Get up onto the right-side ridge and scan ahead - you should see one guard behind a large boulder. Take him out. Continue northwest along that ridge, scanning the ground ahead. Another sniper is hidden in some brush just ahead. Beyond the sniper you will see the main path start to open up as it spreads east and west. This is the main fork area. There is a rock outcropping on the north side of this clearing with an RPD gunner hidden in a lean-to just to the west of the rocks on the ground level, facing south. Snipe him, then start to head north on the easternmost of the three roads leading north from this clearing. Just after starting down this segment of path, split your men up with one on each side of the path, on the ridgetops. A short way north on this path you will see a large fallen tree that spans the valley with some rocks near the tree's western side. There is an RPD gunner in a lean-to on the ridgetop near that tree. Two more ambushers are just past him, also on the western side, just out of sight. Set your machinegunner close to the RPD hut, snipe from across the valley, and kill until they are all dead. Cross your western man back over to the east side and continue both men north near the ridgetop. The path will curve to the northwest as it meets up with other paths and opens up again. Off to the northwest you should be able to see a guard on the valley bottom. Take him out. Then, creep straight down the side to the valley bottom, leave your spotter there, and get the sniper up to the hilltop on the west side. Then, slowly advance north. Your spotter should be in the middle of big patches of reeds, but as he creeps north he will see two men inside a lean-to guard post. Get him into position in case they charge, then bring your sniper into position on the ridge side and fire. Take out both guards. Then bring your spotter up the east side about halfway and creep forward. Again, the jungle will start to open up, but stick to that slope. Look ahead for where the path starts to curve left - in the bushes to the right of that curve there are two VC waiting for you. Before he attacks, bring your sniper forward about even with him on the other side and switch to a machine gun. Then, use the spotter to attack the two men on the low ground. Two more men will rush from the west, but your sniper there can take care of them. Once they are all dead, creep north along the path towards the box valley edge. If you look over the side you'll just see the VC base below. The message to use the radio will appear, so switch to your radio and call in the airstrike. Objective completed. In the radio conversation, you will hear that VC troops have reinforced the jungle, so you'll have to fight your way back. Fortunately, as always, if you stick to the same path you used coming in, it won't be that hard. There are pairs and trios of guards scattered along the path back, but if you stick to the ridges you can get all the way back without any real trouble. The heaviest troop concentration is four troops right near the exit zone. Just take everyone out as you go until you get back to the exit zone - Mission Completed. -*-*-*- MISSION 9 BRIEFING: One of the village woodcutters ran across three VC spotter outposts near the base. Looks like the enemy is interested in keeping an eye on our comings and goings. No wonder some of our recon teams were hit right after they landed, the enemy would radio an alert soon as the choppers took off and headed towards Laos. My spotter and I get the privilege of taking out these enemy outposts before they do anymore damage. OBJECTIVES: - Eliminate Scout #1 - Eliminate Scout #2 - Eliminate Scout #3 - Get to the exit zone LOADOUT: Pvt. Chris Egan - Knife, M-21 with Starlight Scope, .45 Pistol, 4 Grenades, First Aid Kit, M-72 LAW Pvt. Gareth Vaughan - Knife, M1 Carbine, M79 Grenade Launcher, 4 Grenades, First Aid Kit, M-72 LAW Enemy Strength Assessment: This mission starts out easier than it finishes. Your initial access is up a rocky valley with many snipers on both sides and a machinegun hut with nearby stationed guards at the top. Through the jungle, though, there are only occasional snipers and paired patrols. Each of the three spy outposts has a scout guarded by one or two heavily-armed guards (either an RPD or an RPG). The dense jungle may make some fighting difficult, and this is worsened by the nighttime conditions and VERY heavy rainfall. Synopsis: You start south of an east-west river. Proceed north across the river and up a rocky valley to a jungle area where the three outposts are. The first outpost is straight north, the second one is down an offshoot to the west, and the third is in a rocky valley on the east side of the north-south waterfall river towards the east end of the map. Once you've taken out the three scouts, get back to your insertion point to exit the map. Carefully, though, as the exit zone has been reinforced. Walkthrough: The visibility is VERY low here with the night and heavy rain. You will get used to it eventually, but for the start use that nightvision scope. Cross the river ahead of you but then head to the left and STICK TO THAT CLIFF. The path heading up the hill north is a depression right beside that cliff, and is thus the best way to stay hidden. Keep heading up the path until you get near a rock outcropping where the depression ends. Bring your sniper up carefully then scan the cliffs on the far side, southeast of you, and look for a faraway sniper on the mountain there. Take him out, then peer around the outcropping just above you - there is another sniper just above and ahead of you. Take him out as well, then creep forward still hugging that left wall. Creep again forward until you are at the base of the rock that the sniper was on. The path bottlenecks right at this rock, with heavy brush just past it. Also just past it is an RPD gunner in a lean-to position. He's facing east, covering the road, so flanking him from the brush is a plus - except that it's so thick. Letting your spotter's AI take him out is an option. Once you take out the RPD gunner, again, look above and behind him for another clifftop sniper to shoot. Continue on the path north, past a branch that goes off to the east. A short way north you will encounter another branch, this time to the west. North of this intersection are two men crouching behind a fallen tree and some brush. You should be able to see and snipe them from the northwest corner of this intersection, but you will also alert two more men farther down that western path out of sight. Set your spotter with an RPD (you didn't pick one up? Why not? A Carbine is no way to take on an ambush!) on the north side of the western path, facing west, ready for the ambush. Then snipe the two men hiding to the north quickly. If you take them out before the fun starts to the west, switch to an SMG and join in. Once this ambush is done, get ready to continue north towards the first scout post. Stick to that left/west side again as you continue north. Keep looking north/northeast until you see a fire on a rise ahead of you - that fire is a cooking fire in front of a guard house and guard tower that is the first spy outpost. There is an RPD gunner on the guard house porch, two AK-47 guards on the east side of the house, and the officer is in the tower. If you creep forward enough you should be able to snipe the porch guard and officer. This may trigger one or both guards to rush you, but you can make mincemeat of them. Objective completed. Even after killing everyone, plunder the weapons and grab the first aid kit in the house if you need it. Head back south down the path on the west side, looking ahead for two reinforcement troops who are coming north. Gun them down, and then keep heading south to that turnoff to the west. Stick to the northern ridgetop as you head west along that turnoff. The path will go west and then turn south, and on the northern ridge facing south is a sniper near where the ridge curves from west to south - creep slowly and gun him down. Continue along that ridge side and follow it around as it curves to head south, so that you will be on the west side of the path heading south. Again, creep slowly, and go up around a cluster of boulders you will see just south of the curve. Stop when you are right beside the boulders and scan ahead for a bush ahead of and below you that hides an RPD gunner - snipe him. Then, creep your men to the middle of the path in front of where the RPD gunner was hiding - set your spotter with a machine gun behind some cover facing north, covering the rear, and get your sniper up onto the eastern side. From the top of the ridge there you should be able to see the outpost to the south of you on a small rise. There are two men on the lower floor and the scout is on the top floor, but to the rear of the building so you may not have a firing angle from your position here. Snipe out the two ground floor guards, then creep up to the building and take out the scout - objective completed. Once the scout dies, two more reinforcements will come south to attack you, but since you set your spotter to guard against them they should die in short order. Gather the goodies (there's an RPG launcher here, and another first aid kit), then prepare to head to the last objective. The last objective is due east of you, across the north-south river on your map. Head back north and east to the main north-south path you've been on, and cross to the eastern side. Head south until you get to that first turnoff to the east, and follow it east, staying on that ridgetop. Just as you turn onto the eastern path, there is a sniper far away to the south on a mountain top. Two more VC troops are ahead of you on this path, hiding in brush on the path. Watch for them and take them out. Continue east on the ridgetop, and look for when it meets another north-south path near the river. Just as the ridge you are on curves to the north, you will encounter another two-man patrol, but with a large bush between you and them. Snipe them into an ambush or have your spotter use that nifty M-79 to plug away - you'll either kill them or goad them into rushing you and getting shot. Once they're dead, head straight east, down the path and toward some rocks on the east side of the path. These rocks are right on the edge of the north-south river, which is really a small tributary with several waterfalls cascading down as the river descends from the north. There are large rocks on both sides of the river, with about four or five snipers stationed at various points around this section of river. Creep your own sniper around the rock you are behind now to snipe at anyone you can see immediately across the river, and then creep up some rocks just to your north to move up to the next plateau of waterfalls and snipe anyone you can see there. Once they're all dead you're ready to cross the river - while there is a fallen tree far to the south, that's asking for trouble. Just climb down the rocks and swim across, then climb back up on the east side and start creeping south. To your south you should be able to see where a path heads off to the east. The path is far below the rock cliffs you are on, and fairly heavily guarded, so you're best to stick to the high rocks. Creep south towards the turnoff where the path heads east. Go slowly around the curve, staying as high on the rocks as you can. There is a sniper east of the turn looking over the valley - you can snipe him easily. Another guard is on a lower rock below you, so you'll have to edge over and look to see where he is and snipe him. Once those two are dead, your path is clear. Continue with your sniper east on the clifftop. Soon after the sniper's position you should be able to just make out the third outpost in a small valley that opens up east of you. Find a good position to snipe and take out the scout from long range - he's the one high up in the tower. Once you see "Objective Completed", you know you got the right one, and it's time to bring it home. Once again, you'll have to fight through a reinforced jungle to get back home, but as in past missions if you stick to the way you came in you'll only have new reinforcements to fight. Stick to the clifftop you are on and work your way back west, stopping when you get to the river. There are two guards in the valley path on your side of the river, and several more guards barely visible on the other side of the river far off to the southwest. There's PLENTY of space between them and you, and being on the cliff side they can't really get to you easily, so it's almost like shooting fish in a barrel. Plug anyone you see, and anyone else who comes running, and once the area is clear descend the cliff to the river's edge and cross the log there to get back to the west side. You should now be right about on the path that runs east-west to the main north-south path you first took in this mission. Head back down that path, which is free of enemies, until you get to the north-south road. Turn south and head back down that path, again sticking to the western wall as you do (there are some traps on the main path in the middle of this valley. As you get near the bottom of the path you will see a trio of reinforcements on the far side of the river to your south - snipe them from across the river, or if you think you can make it just run for the exit zone which is in the middle of the river just to your south. Mission Completed. -*-*-*- MISSION 10 BRIEFING: Looks like the enemy has decided to make our lives more miserable at Firebase Alpha One. The VC and NVA have moved in heavy machineguns on some of the hills around the base in order to shoot down our choppers. Occasionally they also fire those 12.7 millimeter guns into the base itself to keep our heads down. The problem is that the VC and NVA keep moving the guns around- making it hard for our attack aircraft to knock them out. SPIKE and Hatchet force patrols have been sent out to locate them while I get to stake out a couple of places with a spotter. While we were waiting around for the mission green light, one of the supply choppers was hit and crashed about a klick away. We were ordered to vector to the crash site to rescue anyone still alive. Once we destroy the guns and get to the crash sight, we will need to radio the situation to base for evac. Alpha One wants to know what is going on with our downed bird. OBJECTIVES: - Destroy AA gun #1 - Destroy AA gun #2 - Confirm helicopter crew are KIA with Radio - Get to the exit zone LOADOUT: Pvt. Chris Egan - Knife, M21, .45 Pistol, 4 Grenades, First Aid Kit, Radio Pvt. Harper Rhett - Knife, CAR-15, .45 Pistol, 3 Demolition Charges Enemy Strength Assessment: Every visible gunner has two more hidden gunners guarding him. There are quite a few faraway hidden snipers on the rocky outcroppings early on in the mission. A few log bunkers are hidden here and there and usually house one or two troopers, one with an RPD machine gun. As you get towards the AA guns, the enemy clusters will be much heavier, with an officer leading three to five enemy troops. The chopper crash site is surrounded by six or seven VC troops, as is the area near the exit zone. Automatic weapons and good cover are a must in this mission, and since Rhett is a fairly decent sniper it wouldn't hurt to give him one of the many spare SVD's you'll find here. Synopsis: This map is fairly linear, as the main path starts at the south and zig-zags east and west as it proceeds north to the northwest corner of the map. Follow the path, sticking to the edges and ridgetops, preferably on opposite sides of the path for the crossfire protection. The two AA guns are directly on the way to the crash site, so clear out the enemy guarding them and then blow them up. Once you get to the crash site, radio in to base, regroup, and then head to your northeast to a small ridge and up the ridge to the exit zone. Walkthrough: You start in the middle of a large valley running east-west, facing east. As always, get to the ridge on one side before starting forward/east - preferably the north/left side. A short way ahead there is a pair of guards in the middle of the valley bottom. Just above and behind them, in some rocks on the south face of the valley, is a sniper. Take them all out. Farther to the east, where the valley path starts curving north, there is another sniper on a large rock outcropping. Take him out, while guarding to the east to avoid being rushed. Get both of your men onto the north face of the valley and continue east. The path will start going slightly uphill and curve around to head back west - and where it does, under some heavy brush, there is a log bunker in a small depression. An RPD gunner is inside it, who you should be able to snipe through the side window (the bunker faces south, and you're on the west side of it). When you shoot, though, several troops will rush from over the ridge to the north of the bunker, so have your spotter in cover and ready. Once everyone's dead, regroup at the bunker and use the first aid kit there if you need it, then get ready to head north. Creep your sniper north to the top of the ridge, over which you'll be able to see where the path turns west. There is a guard near the rock wall to the east, a sniper on a large rock above him, and farther away at the point of rocks just north of you there is another sniper. Take the ground-level guard first so that he won't rush you, then snipe out the other two snipers. Bring both men over the ridge and start heading down the path west with one man on each side. If you haven't rearmed everyone by now, do so, making sure that both Egan and Rhett have sniper rifles (Rhett can take an SVD from one of the many snipers you've already taken out) and machine guns (plenty of AK47s for Egan, or give Rhett's CAR-15 to Egan and take that RPD from the bunker) so that either man can snipe or give covering fire. Get one man on each side of this valley and start heading west. Just ahead you will see two boulders in the middle of the path. Take cover behind/beside each of them, and scan forward - barely visible ahead, near some low brush, is a pair of guards in the middle of the road. Take them out. Creep forward, again sticking to the ridges as there are a couple of tripline traps in the middle of the path. When you get to the position of those two guards you should see more large boulders ahead that create a chokepoint in the path. There is a guard hiding behind one of those boulders, and just past them to one side is a lean-to with an RPD gunner inside. The lean-to faces AWAY from you, so you'll be coming at it from the rear. Another sniper is higher up on the rocks to the right. Furthermore, another path is meeting up with the path you are on just past these rocks and there are two guards a short way down that fork who are close enough to hear when the shooting starts. Take out the rocktop sniper as far away as possible, then advance with both men on the left ridge to keep your fire concentrated and give you a longer time to react down those men on the other fork. Continue forward until you can see through the side of the lean-to and take out the gunner there. Stay on the southern slope and edge forward as it starts a gentle curve to the left. Again, a short way ahead, there are two guards in the middle of the path. Just past them, up on some rocks on the north slope, is another sniper. Kill the two in the road, take cover behind a tree near their position, and scan for and kill the sniper. Then, edge forward down the middle of the path looking for where the path opens up and then forks. At the point of the fork there is some heavy brush, with another RPD gunner in a lean-to behind a log. Snipe him. The two paths you can take here meet up later on, before the next main curve, with the northern one having a bit heavier concentration of enemies. Still, I recommend taking the north one because at the end there is a sniper position which overlooks the main intersection, which is itself heavily guarded, so it's best to take out that sniper early. Head down the right-hand fork, northwest. Get your men on opposite sides again and edge forward. There is another two-man patrol stationed in the middle of the path, and again just beyond them is another sniper on some rocks on the north face. Take them out as appropriate. Continue creeping forward, and look for another sniper behind a tree on the north face just beyond the first sniper - because of tree cover on the north face it's best to snipe him from the south face. Again, edge forward. Once your northern man is about where the second sniper was you should be able to see another area where the path opens up ahead of you, where the other fork rejoins this path, just as this path makes a large curve around to the north and back east. From the north side you should be able to make out three riflemen on the plain and another sniper on some rocks southwest of them. A couple more riflemen are down the other path back to the east and may come running when the fun starts. Get your south-face man behind some good cover but leave him where he is, and use the north man to start the fun by sniping out one of the ground guards, then the sniper, then just killing anyone he sees moving. (I suggest starting with one of the ground guards since they will start running as soon as the action starts, but the sniper will stay stationary, so it's best to use that first shot to take out one of the potentially mobile targets while it's standing still). Once this opposition is dead, get both men onto the north face and continue west, getting near the top of the ridge. You will see the path starting to curve to the north with rock cliffs on the far side. There are some boulders on the near side as well. Stick to the ground and climb upward until you are behind a large boulder and can look straight north. Get your spotter right up against that boulder, just below the crest of the hill facing north, and have him ready for a rush of troops. Climb your sniper up to the top of that boulder and look west for a sniper on the cliffs on the far side. Take him out, and then switch to a machine gun and prepare for a charge of four troopers from the north. Between your machinegunner and sniper you should be able to take them out easily if you took cover in the right spots. Once they are dead, take your sniper back over the rocks and take him farther west, so he can look down to the valley floor to the west - on the floor, between you and the sniper's position, is another log bunker with an RPD gunner inside. Snipe him, then regroup at the bunker and claim the goodies there. Just north of the log bunker you can see the path head north and then turn to the east. There is a sniper on the large rock right at the point of the turn. Take him out and then get your sniper up to his position. If you look east you should see another sniper on a rock top far to the east. Take him out. Get your spotter to some cover on the south face of the path as it continues east. The south face is smooth, with cover, while the north face is all rocks and boulder cliffs. Creep forward with your sniper, sticking to the clifftops, and get to a point about halfway between the sniper you just killed and where you shot him from. You should be able to look over the side at that point and see another log bunker hiding an RPD gunner at the foot of the cliff below where that second sniper was stationed. There are two more guards farther east, past some brush, so you can either get your spotter on the south face into a cover position ready for them or just continue with your sniper to a point where you can take those guards out (since the guard in the bunker will stay put if the action starts). Bring your spotter up to the bunker, grab anything you need, then continue a short way ahead. Farther down the path is another sniper on the cliff overlooking three riflemen on the ground. Try to set your spotter behind some rock cover and then open up, taking the sniper first this time. Once they're all dead, bring the spotter forward to the position those riflemen were at and your sniper to where the VC sniper was. Again, the path will open up as it forks again, with both forks continuing east. At the point of the split straight east there are two men stationed behind a boulder. The first AA gun is north of them, behind some rocks from this angle, under a lean-to and guarded by two VC troops. Your sniper should be able to hit one if not both of the boulder-guards from his position. Then, bring both men together on the valley floor and creep northeast, sticking to the smaller boulders on the valley floor for cover. The AA gun and its guards are behind a string of two or three larger boulders, an easy place to either pop over and fire or throw a grenade. Once the guards are dead, have Rhett set a charge and blow up the gun. Objective Completed. It's best to continue down this northern fork. There is a sniper on a rock east of the AA gun. Take him out and then get your sniper up onto the cliff again. Take him to that sniper's position and get your spotter on the ground at the foot of that rock. There is a second sniper on a cliff farther east, but on a lower rock so that you won't be able to see him until you get fairly close. Watch for him and snipe him out as soon as you see him. Take your sniper to that second sniper's position and you'll see a third one on a large rock east of you again - you know what to do. Get to his position and you'll see a log bunker on the valley floor - two guards are inside this one, one facing east and one facing south, with a couple of VC troops stationed outside the bunker to the south, near some trees. The rock cliffs curve slightly to the north, preparing for another large turn in the path, with another rock-top sniper on the cliffs to your east. Once you've scoped the positions with your sniper, bring your spotter forward, hugging the cliff base and the boulders there, and get to a point where you are just behind a row of boulders in front of the bunker. Get your sniper onto the south face of the boulder where the sniper farther east can't see him and where you can see one of the guards in the bunker. Then, snipe out the bunker guard, then switch to the spotter and machinegun the other guards when they start running. Then, you can creep up to the bunker and take out the last guard inside it, and use your sniper to take out the other sniper on the cliffs to your east. The path starts to curve to the northeast now, heading towards the last large turn back to the west. The second AA gun is just ahead, where the path makes the turn, behind some boulders. There are two guards near it in the lean-to, and four more guards east of them, and a sniper overlooking from a rock that is northwest of the gun, on one of the rocks on the cliff after it has made the turn back west. Again, the cliffs and boulders give you the perfect ambushing opportunity - get your sniper onto the rocks just overlooking the lean-to and AA gun (while staying out of sight of the sniper), then bring your machinegunner on the valley floor right to the edge of the strip of boulders beside the AA gun. You can either trigger the ambush with your sniper taking out one of the AA gun guards or by rolling the machinegunner out to hose the guards beside the gun, but when the shooting starts switch back to your machinegunner for control. Keep rounding the boulder to fire and popping back under cover to reload, and your sniper will provide decent covering fire as the men charge across the open ground from the east. Because of the large number of enemies, this is definitely a job for the RPD. Once everyone is dead, take out the sniper and again use Rhett to set a charge to blow up the gun. Objective completed. The path continues northwest from here, and then turns straight west to the crash zone. Take your sniper to the position of the last sniper you killed, and look onto the ground just northeast/north of the boulder you are on - there are four guards stationed here ready for an advance from the ground, but sniping from above they are easy pickings. Keep that sniper on the cliffs and bring the spotter even with the sniper on the valley floor. Then, start creeping your sniper forward again to the northwest. The path will go slightly uphill and start to turn to the west - at this turn there is a small cluster of boulders with a guard hidden in them, and behind him is another guard and a sniper on the northern slope. Take them out, then bring your spotter to those boulders. Continue edging forward, watching ahead for guards and taking them out in crossfire as you advance west. Eventually the ridge will become 'shorter' as the valley floor rises and the path widens to the large clearing that is marked on the map as being the crash area. Continue bringing the sniper forward on the ridge until the ridge starts curving south - look to the northwest from here and look for a log bunker hidden in some brush, near the crest of the rise in the path. You should be able to spy a path where your spotter can crawl up behind cover very close to that bunker. The brush obscures your shot from the sniper, but you can bet your spotter close enough to take him out. This may alert some guards who are west/northwest of the bunker, so watch for them. Then, gather near that bunker entrance and look west for a small fire that should just be visible near some trees and boulders in the distance - that's the chopper site. To complete this objective you have to use the radio when you are in the clearing right beside the chopper. Boulders form a dotted ring around the chopper site, and a few trees and sparse brush provide cover. All told, there are between six and eight guards right around the chopper or within earshot. Leapfrog towards the circle from the bunker you are in, sticking to trees for cover and trying to spread out a bit. When you have a clear shot on one of the guards in the circle, snipe him out to trigger the firefight, and then switch quickly to a machinegun because you will be rushed FAST. Definitely have your spotter use an RPD for this, because you'll need the ammo capacity - if you have to stop to reload you are dead. You'll have plenty of spare ammo soon enough, so feel free to start this battle with completely fresh clips. Once the shooting stops, advance to the chopper and look around. You should be able to find two CAR-15s, an M-21, and a first aid kit or two. When you have collected what you need and regrouped, use the radio to call in to base. You will get a message to get to the extraction zone to the northeast. Head out the west side of the circle and then turn northeast, creeping carefully. You should see a guard near a couple of boulders, with another guard within earshot northeast of him. Take them out. Then, you will be near the rise of the northern arc of this plateat - your exit zone is up at the top of this and to your northeast. Get onto that ridge and creep forward, using your compass and looking for the opening in the jungle that marks the exit zone. Scan ahead for a sniper who is on the slope east of the exit path. When you snipe him, you will trigger a rush of four or five troops from the exit zone, so once again get your spotter ready with a machinegun, and switch quickly to a machinegun after sniping. Try to move to cover, if you can, but since they are cresting the hill as they descend to attack, you might be better off just shooting fast and taking them out before they clear the crest enough to fire at you. However you do it, take them all out, then continue up the slope and out the northeast to the exit zone. Mission Completed. -*-*-*- MISSION 11 BRIEFING: No one looks forward to crawling around in a cave full of hard-core, well-armed communists- even me! One of the village woodcutters pinpointed a number of likely cave entrances, so several "tunnel rat" teams were formed and sent to investigate each entrance. I could only imagine what was waiting for us in those caves- and none of it was good. OBJECTIVES: - Get to the exit zone **NOTE - while the only objective necessary to complete the mission is to get to the exit, there are three 'objective' positions on this map that are areas to be destroyed with explosives. You will not see them on the map and the compass will not point to them, so you must search for them to find them, but they will be marked when you get to them by a flashing red light and the on-screen message "Place Charge Here". LOADOUT: Pvt. Chris Egan - Knife, M21, .45 Pistol, 4 Grenades, 2 First Aid Kits Pvt. Harper Rhett - Knife, CAR-15, .45 Pistol, 3 Demolition Charges Enemy Strength Assessment: Outside the cave there are a few ridgetop snipers and two- and three-man guard patrols. As usual, get your spotter to cover with an automatic weapon before opening up with your sniper. Inside the cave the enemies are much more densely clustered, oftentimes coming at you five and six at a time. While the shotgun is a tempting weapon, it's really only good for one-on-one encounters - automatic weapons, especially the heavier machine guns, are your best bet. Grenades can be bounced around corners as well. Synopsis: You start west of a small river. East of this river is a small mountain which has roads leading both ways around it to the cave entrance. Head across the plain and river, around towards the north of the small mountain to the cave entrance, and then through the cave, killing and blowing up everything along the way. Walkthrough: You start at the west end of the map, in a small valley, facing east. Just ahead of you the valley opens up to a small plain. Go prone, then crawl both men to your right and forward, heading for a low boulder on the right side where the valley opens up to the plain. Put your spotter on the ground behind that rock, facing northwest, and have your sniper climb to the rockto, looking on the ridge to the northwest - you should see a sniper far off in the distance there. Once you take him out you will trigger a rush of five men - two men coming from the plain to your south and three coming from the plain to your north. Use your sniper to take as many out quickly as you can, letting your spotter take them automatically. Then, use the sniper to scan straight east to look for a sniper on a rock outcropping on the big mountain across the plain. Take him out. Get both men back onto the plain floor and grab up the AK47s off the dead men - Egan will definitely need an automatic weapon of some sort. Then, once you're armed, head east, across a small stream running north-south, and get to the base of the mountain there. Just north of the mountain a path continues through a valley east towards the tunnel entrance. Take your sniper up the rock face until he's as high as he can go, then start creeping around to the north. Look over the side to see two guards on the valley floor - take them out. A third one is too close to the mountain to snipe from above, so bring your spotter around and machinegun him. Look east towards a choke point to see another guard in some brush and snipe him out, then crawl forward. Your sniper will have to descend to get onto the rock on the southern side of the chokepoint. Beyond the chokepoint is a small clearing with a path heading off to the south and the tunnel opening in the east wall. An RPD gunner is stationed beside the door, and two other guards are near where the path continues to the south. Using the boulder you are on for cover, snipe the RPD gunner and then the two other guards. Move down into the clearing, bring in your spotter, and gather the weapons - that RPD will come in pretty handy in some of the intense firefights you're about to have in the closed quarters of the tunnels. Stay on your belly to avoid being seen by the guard just inside the tunnel entrance. Once you're armed and ready, crawl up to the the foot of the tunnel mouth, and then pop up and kill the guard you can see inside. A second guard farther in and around a curve will come running, so be ready and pop him. Move inside and grab the grenades or shotgun laying there if you need them. Creep slowly down that tunnel, sticking to the left wall as it curves to the left. Use the wider view of third-person camera view to look around the corner as you advance, and look ahead for a T-junction with an RPD gunner waiting. He will probably hear you before you get to his position. Once you see where he is, get your spotter with an RPD ready against the left wall and prone, so he has the maximum cover from people rushing the tunnel, then use the sniper to pop around the corner quickly and blast the guard. When that happens, pop back behind your spotter, switch to a machine gun, and brace yourself for an onslaught of about eight or nine troops - there are several VC troops down both arms of the T-junction ahead and they will ALL rush you when you shoot. Just stay in cover and shoot them right as they turn the corner. If you're particularly brave, you can try bouncing a grenade or two ahead around the curve, or maybe using one of your men to pop back out, fire off a quick burst, and then get back under cover to break up the attack somewhat. When it ends you'll have a ton of AK47s to plunder. Head to that T-junction and then pick a direction. Both paths meet up later on, forming a circle, so it doesn't matter much which direction you go. To the left the path turns right and goes down a straightway with a room off to the right. In that room is a first aid kit and a pair of demolition charges. The straightway continues to an S-curve that goes right then left, and on the straightway after that S-curve is another turn-off to the right with a guard at the intersection. That turnoff is the loop back to the other arm of the first T-junction. If you come at it from this direction that path goes straight, curves to the right, and goes all the way back to the first t-junction hallway and turns right to bring you back to that junction. Just before that last turn is another room off to the right (inside the loop) that is one of the places you should demolish with explosives. There is an SVD and a first aid kit in the room, though, so collect those before blowing the place up. Since most of the guards in this loop of tunnel were drawn off by the first major firefight, the only men you should encounter are two or three troops in the tunnel segment that turns off past the S-curve. Once you've blown up the room there and taken all your goodies, get back to that intersection where the loop closes past the S-curve. The path continues and makes another S-curve to the left and then back to the right. On the next straightaway there is a small alcove off to the left hiding an RPD gunner. That straightway ends with another turn right, another short straightway, then another S-curve right then left. Past that S-curve you should be able to see a very large room ahead. This has some tables in it, a sandbag position, and about five guards inside and just beyond who will come running to fight. Try to pop them with the sniper rifle before you have to machine gun them near the S-curve. When enemies stop coming, go into the room and you'll see that it's another destruction point. Gather the weapons and the first aid kit there, then head out the tunnel that continues out the other side of the room. That short tunnel ends at a dead end, but there is a turnoff to the left. That turnoff ends at a distant T-junction with another guard at the intersection, so snipe him out, then you can use that turnoff as cover from the explosion when you blow up that room. Get under cover, set the charge, and run. Boom. Continue carefully to the T-junction, but don't go into the intersection just yet. Edge up to it and peer around carefully. The right path continues a long straight way and ends at the cave exit. There is a guard near the exit. The left path continues a short way and makes an S-curve to the right and then left. Nobody is in sight, but there are a couple of guards in earshot down past the S-curve. To tackle this, get your sniper ready, pop out, and kill the man to the right quickly, then turn around, bring out your spotter, and get MGs ready to unload on anyone coming at you. Once they are dead, head around the S-curve, but beware before the final turn - the tunnel goes a short way past that S-curve and ends with an RPD gunner standing waiting for you. Snipe him quickly. There is a turnoff to the right just before that tunnel ends - this turnoff goes to the last destruction point, another room. Get on your belly and creep forward, edging around to look at the room. There is a maze of sandbags in this room, with three guards stationed at various points waiting for you. By staying on your belly and firing quickly you should be able to take them all easily. Gather the goodies (the plundered weapons off the dead, an RPD, and a first aid kit) and then blow up the room. For a nice chuckle, look by the barrels near the right-side wall of the room ('right' being relative to the way you entered the room). Once the room is blown up, you're ready to escape. The escape on this is ridiculously easy. Head back up the tunnel past the S-curve and go straight. You'll see the exit ahead of you. Be careful when you're a few yards from the exit, as there's a clifftop sniper outside the tunnel, across from the exit, waiting for you - but if you look ahead with your scope you should be able to see and snipe him from inside the tunnel. Also, right at the exit, there is another guard just barely visible behind some rocks outside the exit on the valley floor. Pop him or chuck a grenade to kill him. Then, just head out of the tunnel and up the valley until you get the magic words: Mission Completed. -*-*-*- MISSION 12 BRIEFING: Firebase Alpha One is under attack by a large number of VC and NVA. Making it all the more difficult is that surrounding area is fogged in, and that means no air support or evac until the visibility gets better. My spotter and I picked up our gear and started back to base. If there was going to be a fight, we sure wanted a piece of the action! OBJECTIVES: - Reach commander - Protect commander - Radio for support - Get to the exit zone LOADOUT: Pvt. Chris Egan - Knife, M21, .45 Pistol, 4 Grenades, First Aid Kit, Radio Pvt. Harper Rhett - Knife, CAR-15, .45 Pistol, 3 Demolition Charges Enemy Strength Assessment: The VC are in very strong force in this mission. The plain leading to Firebase Alpha One is covered with patrols and stationed guards, resulting in several multiple-man firefights with very sparse cover. The opposition is just as strong at the Firebase, but more dangerous since they have taken the entrenched positions there and thus have the advantage of the trenches and guard towers as well as sheer numbers. Slow advances and careful sniper use is absolutely essential to completing this mission, as is good covering fire. Synopsis: You start southeast of the mountain that Firebase Alpha One is on. You will head northwest across the plain to the foot of the mountain and then climb the mountain. Once on top, you should circle the base perimeter to pick off all of the opposition there, then climb the central hill to find Commander Reed. Once there, get ready to be rushed by several large squads of NVA and VC troops. When they're dead, call for support on the radio. Walkthrough: You start out in a small grove which opens up to a plain in front of you. The ground ahead is flat and sparsely covered with small trees and boulders. Such an open terrain provides problems since the enemy can come at you from almost any direction. Be sure to think in 360 degrees when taking cover. At the mission start, move ahead slightly and scan ahead with your sniper rifle. You should see some rocks and burning trees ahead with a couple of dead American troops nearby. A guard is behind one of the boulders to the left, and taking him out will trigger a rush of men from the trees to your far left and from beyond the rocks to your right. Stay put until the enemies stop coming, then gather some extra weapons - give Egan an AK47 and load it with ammo, and pick up any of the other gear laying around that you'll need. There's an M79 that will come in handy against some clustered troops later, and you don't need those demolition charges, so drop them to make room and shuffle things accordingly. Then, head off to the north. As you proceed, leapfrogging to cover positions is a must if you want to stay alive. Just move slowly and keep advancing to your north and northwest until you start to see the mountain rising ahead of you to your northeast. You can see from the map that there is a gentle slope up the south face of the mountain, the main road to the base, but that road is heavily guarded. Try to swing north and arc in to the west so that you come up the east face of the mountain. When you get the mountain in sight, spend a good amount of time scanning the mountainside for snipers, picking them off as you spot them. They are typically on the face of the mountain, not the top, so be aware. Once an approach is clear, head to that east side of the mountain and climb up the east face, using the large boulders as company. Have your machine guns ready and stop just below the crest of the hill. The top of the mountain is Firebase Alpha One. It's roughly a wide plateau with a slight ridge at the outside, then a trench dug in a circle around a central hill. The hilltop is a landing pad and serves as the command post - there is a commmand post there with a tower beside it. Outside of the trench is a set of sandbags, and then outside of that is a ring of guard towers which are tall enough to look over the outer ridge of the base. Barbed wire stretches control access to the base. The only real openings are the arc from the road coming into the south of the base around the SE quadrant to the east side of the base - which is your access point. The VC have occupied the base, with snipers on the ridgetops around the outer ridge and in many of the guard towers, posted guards on the plain outside the sandbags, and patrolling guards inside the trench. Your mission is to get to the top of the central hill, where the commander is hiding in the command hut, but not only is this an exposed position, it also triggers a massive wave of VC troops. Your best bet for survival is to start by making a complete circuit of the base, killing everyone you can find before ascending the central hill. By peering over the ridge on the east side, you should be able to see a guard in a tower on the east edge of camp. There are four patrolling troops within earshot on the plain to your south/southwest. Get your spotter with machine gun ready facing along the ridge south, and then use the sniper to snipe the tower guard. Then, keep an eye out towards the south and kill everyone you see moving. When the shooting stops, you can complete the climb over the ridge and into the base. Head for the tower where you killed the sniper and head up to gather a rich prize - a fully-loaded M21 and the SVD off of the dead VC troop. With both men sniper-armed you're ready to take the base. From this position it doesn't matter much which direction you go - just pick one and make a full circle, stopping to scan ahead frequently. Crawl and use those sandbags as cover, or get inside the trench and use the depression as cover, popping up just long enough to snipe. The heaviest troop concentrations are on the south side, where there are several snipers both on the ridges and the plains and even in the guard tower on the SW edge of base. More guards are near the sandbags at the north/northwast corner of the trench system. A few guards and patrolling trench guards are on the north and northeast corner. Just go slowly and scan ahead, picking them off as you go. When you're back where you started, the base is fairly secure, so it's time to head up to the command post and finish this mission. Climb the hill and you will see a Huey chopper on the ground burning. Across the airfield from it, near the west end of the hilltop, is the command hut (really just two parallel walls with a roof on top and a table inside) where the commander is hiding, armed with a pistol, and a sniper tower beside the hut. A first aid kit is in the middle of the hilltop near the Huey. Inside the hut is an M60 (if you're out of RPD ammo) and another first aid kit, and in the tower top there is another fully-loaded M21. When you get near the hut you will complete the first objective and thus trigger the first of three large attack waves, so do this quickly: Get to the top. Put Egan up in the tower, facing south, then switch to Rhett, get him a heavy machine gun (either switch to an RPD if you carry one or drop something and pick up that M60), get him just inside the command hut, but prone and facing out to the south, towards the main road that comes up into the Firebase. By then the first wave will attack. You will be attacked by three waves of enemy troops: Three troops with AK47s, a commander with varied armament, and a sniper. They will come up from the south and charge straight up the south side of the hill towards your command hut. Use Egan to snipe out as many as you can before they reach the hill, and as they crest it, and hopefully you'll kill enough that Rhett can chew up the remainders with the M60. Once Rhett is opening up on them, scan south for the sniper in the group, who will most likely hang back (near the trenches or sandbags) to the south and try to snipe at Egan in the tower. Killing the first wave commander will trigger the second wave, and again use Egan to snipe them before they hit the hill, then spy out the sniper and let Rhett take the remainders. Killing that wave commander will trigger the third, with the only difference here being that instead of a sniper there is an extra troop with an RPG - needless to say, you must take him out FAST. Once they're all dead, you'll get a notice that the second objective is completed. Then, just have Egan switch to the radio and call in for support - Mission Completed, and congratulations, you just finished the game! -*-*-*- --- VI - Cheats --- To enable cheats, you must use the Global Talk key (defaults to the single-quote key) to enter chat mode, then type 'cheatcheat' to turn cheats on. After cheats are enabled, enter chat mode again and type in the appropriate code: /godmode - God Mode /ammo - unlimited ammuntion /invis - invisibility /fly - fly mode --- VII - Disclaimer/Credits/Miscellaneous --- All trademarks are property of their respective owners, and no infringement is intended in their use in this document. Thanks to nFusion for creating such a great game. --- VIII - Version History --- v.1.0 - 8/25/03-9/25/03 - Wrote FAQ. ================