A triple dose of noisy chaos at the top pass, with Johnson on a chain-gun…

(6:35) Level 2 ('Halo') on Heroic. Time for some more rockslide megabattling! This shows three battles against 34 covies using the top pass defence plan with chain-gun support from Sergeant Johnson. I showed one such battle long ago in BCM20, but that was way too little, so here's a meatier movie - using only covie weapons this time. The battles all derive from the save I used before, but here I'm using modifications of it. I picked up the Marines, drove out to the waterfall, swapped my pistol for a plasma pistol, then headed back in.

Released September 27th 2016, gameplay recorded September 25th 2016.

00:02 (Play 1) At the top pass I swing the hog around so it faces the covies, to give the Marines the best protection. For now I'm leaving the seated guy where he is, because he's very weak and would otherwise likely get killed in a few seconds. I stop the leading Grunt with a plasma ball before he gets any ideas about lobbing a grenade at the hog, and then things really get going. I use plenty of grenades, and one early highlight is when I tag an Elite around 0:36.

01:04 The most hectic phase is over now, and I do some forward work attacking Grunts and Jackals. There's still one Elite left though, and he eventually comes forth. By then I've got the side Marine dismounted and he helps out with a frag before taking fire from the Elite - who I then finish with a plasma rifle.

01:50 Mopping up time now. Around 2:09 a Jackal rolls and I try to tag him but the grenade lands behind, so I just wait for him to get blasted. I should've dodged his plasma ball, but never mind. I smack his body when it flies my way. The final Jackal gets tagged from above when I leap down off a rock, heh heh!

02:31 (Play 2) Various covies dive clear as we drive up to the pass, and this time I put the hog nearer the rocks. The usual mayhem commences and I get surprised with a plasma ball quite early on. Luckily however, there aren't any Elites attacking close and I'm able to recharge with no health lost.

03:15 I pile an explosive stream of needles into a red Elite coming up the hill, and then switch my attention to a blue who advances on the left. I stun him with a plasma ball then finish him off with a bit of zapping. Soon after that, I swap my needler for a plasma rifle and smack a Jackal on the head with it, before zapping him dead.

03:35 The final Elite advances and heads left like that blue, but I kill him in a similar way. When I hop up onto the rock I get hit with a plasma ball, which was careless of me. I fire one back at the offending Jackal but miss, so I throw a plasma instead. Meanwhile another Jackal attacks from my side of the rock, but I tag him after jumping down. The final Jackal gets some tag treatment as well.

04:19 (Play 3) This time as I park the hog, the seated guy is killed almost before I've dismounted. I'm not sure exactly what happened there. Looks like he took a plasma ball on the way up the hill, but he still had seven health bars left, and then it seems like he suddenly went down to only two, from perhaps just a plasma pip and maybe a needle or two. Next moment he was dead. Oh well, just you and me now Johnson!

04:33 After throwing a quick frag which clears some minor covies, I jump over to the right of the hog to try to get a line of fire on an Elite. I miss one with a plasma ball but then pile some needles into a blue as I head back left. One Elite down. As the mayhem unfolds, Johnson has a good time and I tag a red on the head.

04:58 When another red hides behind the tree, he fails to notice my plasma grenade landing behind him, and subsequently gets blasted. After that I briefly advance and kill some minors - and narrowly dodge a plasma ball. Right after that, I realize an Elite is coming up the hill. I throw a plasma to the vicinity of the tree, then spot the red and pile needles into him. The needle bang seems to go off at the same time as the plasma blast, and the result is fairly spectacular!

05:17 There's a brief lull now, but then I catch sight of a Grunt advancing on the left and I get him with a plasma ball. When I emerge from behind the tree, I've switched to a needler and I see a red. I opt for a gung-ho needling attack, and he goes out with a bang.

05:34 Still quite a few covies left. I see two distant crouched Jackals and throw a plasma, which subsequently kills them. But then a red Elite attacks and I back off, helping Johnson out with a few Grunts near the tree. The final mopping up gets a bit hectic as I don't bother to play it cautiously. When I get back to the red, I pile needles into him, then get a final fleeing Jackal with needles in the back.

Closing remarks Back in BCM20 I showed a top pass defence with chain-gun support, but nowadays I find that movie unsatisfyingly short. I was too conservative about movie duration in those early days, and it took a while before I started making things more meaty, with double or triple plays. For that reason I've long been wanting to do a stronger for the top pass defence (one of the best battle plans) - so here we are. I didn't bother with much variety in terms of hog positioning; I just launched into things and had some fun.

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