And now for the deluxe version…

(6:48) Level 5 ('Assault on the Control Room') on Normal. Again concerning up-flow battling in the tunnel megabattle, this movie starts by showing how you can improve your set-up work by arranging for a pristine battle Banshee and handy Ghost. Then I get into some playing of the new set-up, with pistol and needler. As it turns out, three of the seven Elites are red, so the battling is pretty severe in places!

Released September 11th 2023, gameplay recorded September 8th-11th 2023.

00:02 (Advance prep) At the start here, I descend from the bridge using the surefire method featured in BCM180. Thereafter, I show the key new ingredients for my up-flow set-up: a pristine Banshee for battle (that was actually the twin bridges Banshee), plus, just as a bonus extra, the corner Ghost. Two things not shown: I also positioned two Ghosts up the tunnel. The one from nearby is at the middle rocks, overturned. The other is at the upper rocks, and came from the tower zone. The covies can't use that one, so I left it upright.

00:52 (Finishing the set-up) In regard to drawing the mob down the tunnel, I think I did a smoother job here than in BCM454. Better flying. The Banshee went down to only one health bar, but that didn't matter. It was mainly due to the severity of fire from the three red Elites. Almost caught me out!

02:35 (Play 1 - Upper rocks) As I fly up the tunnel, you can see that the middle rocks are completely clear, unlike in my earlier set-up. However, in this play I continue on to defend at the upper rocks. Four Elites are eliminated with needles as they charge up the hill.

04:07 (Nasty arrival) On one of my plays using the Ghost, this happened. Thought I'd include it for a bit of comedy. When I saw those two fuel rod shots heading my way, I knew my number was up!

04:26 (Play 2 - Middle rocks) Things are tough defending at the middle rocks, with covies pressuring from two sides as I try to use the big rearmost rock for cover, but eventually I get rid of the last Elite, and then things are more comfortable. This play is actually a late replacement for one I initially had in place. That one felt a bit low on visceral action, so I did some more play and got this one (with very similar duration).

06:01 (Bonus fun) There was quite a knot of Elites over the hump, not to mention all the other covies in the vicinity. So since the movie wasn't quite up to full chunky length (I'm often looking for around 6:50 these days), I thought I'd include a bit of explosive fun at the end here, clearing the main area. In effect, a partial 'base fight'.

Closing remarks The number of red Elites really made quite a difference. I've had two reds before (out of the seven Elites), but with three, it's not surprising that the battling felt harder!

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