A double helping of carnage at the plateau base, scene of my first ever megabattle…

(4:39) Level 2 ('Halo') on Heroic. This shows two rockslide megabattles against 34 covies using the plateau base defence plan, though for the first play I don't bother trekking out to finish the dropship 4 Elite. I'm using the same save as for BCM1, hence driving in with Stacker and an armoured Aussie, both from the hillside survivor area.

Released November 27th 2011, gameplay recorded November 25th-26th 2011.

00:02 (Play 1) Angling the hog between two trees, I head over past the lifeboat and do a fancy spin to get lined up for going though the plateau base gap, though I spin a bit soon this time so I have to curve into the gap more than I would've liked. The hog squeezes through over a Grunt who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and I head up the gently rising expanse, settling the hog into a position near the huge rock at the end. I allowed the hog to clip the small rock on the way, something I was experimenting with to try and get the hog rotated nicely (partly so the passenger will have a good view when he dismounts), but it's not easy to control and it's really not necessary. I could've just curved around without touching the rock.

00:25 I dismount and get the Aussie out too. Stacker has been working on a red Elite and I help things along with a frag, but while that's waiting to go off I mow down a fleeing Grunt. The frag hurts the Elite and I finish him off with some AR drilling then go for his plasma rifle, a great weapon for this hectic battle plan. It's a bit of a risk advancing to get it, and sure enough, I pay the price with incoming fire from the left. More Elites! I back off and try to stall the enemies with a frag and plasma fire but my shield is already bleeping. At least I managed to avoid some needles. A second frag makes a red dive to the right and I take the opportunity to tag him, but I'm living too dangerously out at the front with bleeping shield, so I move back and to the left, taking a pesky Grunt down as I go.

00:46 A frag makes the blue dive left but now there are enemies closing from the right, particularly another red. My health goes down to only two bars and I briefly use the hog for cover. Really I should've hidden for a while to recharge but I'm in a gung-ho mood and decide to keep dishing out the hurt. The red gets taken out by a plasma thrown earlier, and the Aussie throws a frag which takes out a few Grunts. Nice work pal! I switch to the pistol and score some nice hits on assorted enemies, including a headshot on a red and also on a needling Grunt, but for a while there I'm really living on the edge with only one health bar and shield still bleeping. Meanwhile Stacker is enjoying himself: "Hoh I do some good work!" You can also hear a bit of shouting up on the plateau; I suspect a few covies found the Marines up there.

01:16 Back to the plasma rifle, I try to get a Grunt on the right who's having trouble with a jammed needler but Stacker beats me to it. I pick up a plasma pistol but ignore the Jackal to the left because he's no immediate danger and it's time I paid attention to some covies who've come in behind via the cliffside. Only two Jackals though - no trouble. I double back and finish off another with a plasma ball. The other gets a few pistol shots but then I move in with some tagging mischief in mind. I get him fizzing nicely but Stacker can't keep his finger off the trigger and steals my kill: "Who's laughing now?" There's still the distant dropship 4 Elite to get, but we'll get him next time huh? Let's keep up the tempo…

01:42 (Play 2) Into battle again, and this time I take a different route, making a curving detour into the plain and getting a triple grunty squash along the way. A fourth Grunt is lucky to escape when I curve back out and the hog flies over him. I thread the hog through the gap between the lifeboat's nose and a rock - this is a really enjoyable drive - and a needling Grunt dives clear as I head for the plateau base gap. His leap does him little good however, as Stacker puts him down before we're through. On the other side, a Grunt and a red Elite both have narrow escapes as they dive clear.

02:07 I dismount and get the Aussie out too, then set to work with a few early frags and some pistol fire, bringing down a first red. A frag to the right gets another and he shoots up in a chain reaction. Nice. Another red goes down from a headshot, then a fourth is suddenly close after diving to escape my frag. But under the raking fire of Stacker's chain-gun and my AR he doesn't last long. I pick up his plasma rifle and stop an advancing blue in his tracks. We've definitely got the upper hand now - except that the Aussie has just gone down for the count.

02:33 A Jackal has had enough and is trying to get away with shield overhead, but I chase him down aiming plasma fire at his legs, then smite him with a firm whack. There's fighting going on at the plateau; I can hear AR fire. Turning to face another blue Elite, I throw a quick plasma then stun him with the rifle. When he goes down on his knees I know his fate is sealed, so I switch my attention to an incoming Grunt before he gets any ideas about lobbing a plasma. I lob a plasma of my own towards a couple of Jackals over on the right, but moments later I hear the sound of a Grunt needling from behind, so I turn to deal with the threat. A smack on the head finishes one Grunt, and another goes down from plasma fire.

02:48 I really should've thrown a quick plasma to stall enemies heading in behind the Grunts, but I don't think I took time to look at my motion tracker. Instead I just turn around and deal with more enemies coming up the rise, sending a Jackal flying nicely with a plasma. When I turn back again, a Grunt has toddled forth from the rear and is just about to throw a grenade. Yikes! I bring him down just in time with a fresh plasma rifle. I could've lost Stacker there. If you've got a chain-gunner you really need to watch out for Grunts lobbing plasmas at the hog. More plasma fire and a grenade takes care of more enemies before I turn back to get one final Grunt, then it's an about-face yet again to deal with a Jackal. A tag seems to finish things off.

03:15 I pick up a needler to maybe use on the dropship 4 Elite lurking at the other end of the battlefield, and get back in the hog, but then a Jackal turns up late for the party. Stacker gives him a warm welcome nevertheless, making my needles redundant. I drive us up to the plateau (note the dead Jackal) and across to the island plateau from which we do a jump which Stacker enjoys: "Nice one!" The Elite is soon spotted and he's looking the wrong way until too late. Instead of diving clear he opts for a bit of pointing, silly fella. I give him a little love-tap with the back of the hog, and it's all over bar the arrival of the Pelican.

Closing remarks This area was actually where I had my first megabattle experience, as mentioned on my page about the plateau base defence, so it was about time I caught some of the excellent action there in a movie. The second play was the main one but it was pretty short so I decided to beef up the movie with some additional action - sort of a warm-up - which also gave me the chance to show a different drive to the plateau base gap. That opening play was pretty desperate but it may help give you an idea of what you might be in for. With enemies able to approach from various angles, it's a relatively tricky situation to handle, which is the main reason I allowed Stacker to stay on the chain-gun.

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