Okay covies, let's go into the tower to fight. Should be less chilly in there.

(6:45) Level 5 ('Assault on the Control Room') on Normal. We're heading into the tower now, for some indoor fighting with the rear mob. Well, not entirely indoors, as I use the balcony in one play. But you get the idea. Tower fighting. Three battles to enjoy, and a good many explosions along the way!

Released April 22nd 2024, gameplay recorded April 16th and 21st 2024.

00:02 (Basic floor play) To begin with here's a basic play, running around the central floor (the glassy main area), which I access via the balcony for safety. Initially I use my AR & plasma rifle, and there's a rather busy start with the Elites swarming in (as is often the case). Soon after the Elites are finished though, I enjoy an extended spell of needling, as covies advance along the back passage. Right up to the very end when I get the two Hunters.

01:48 (Balcony hold-out) At the start of this second play I demonstrate another entry method, in which you use the Banshee to cover your back as you head in through the back door. Then I head up to the balcony and enjoy picking off covies as they come.

One novelty here is when I score a mid-air kill on a blue Elite who started to dive clear of a frag but took some of the blast anyway, causing him to head away at speed. Another novelty is when the cloaked guard is up on the rim. I wasn't sure if he was going to swing his sword, but I didn't wait to find out; I just whacked him.

04:28 (Rockets & covie Ghost) For the final play I give the covies a Ghost and pick up the rocket launcher. I do another balcony entry, and this time I eliminate the cloaked guard before the mob arrives.

In the main action there are a number of good bits to watch out for. Around 5:13 I throw a plasma at a Jackal, but I see him diving clear so I throw a second (interrupting my AR reload) and it actually tags him. Right after that I rocket a red Elite but he's not quite killed. From the ramp I fire tube two, expecting the blast to finish him off, but in fact he was out of range, and I'm now in trouble because I've charged out onto the open floor. But I improvise with a tag 'n hop, and that sorts him out.

Around 5:43 I see that the covie Ghost has entered the passage (thanks to the door being open, which was due to the proximity of someone on foot of course). When it emerges I initially tag it, but then just destroy it with a rocket. Then just after that I catch a descending needler, which amused me. And I have a bit of fun with that in mopping up.

Closing remarks The first two plays were from April 16th when I did my initial binge of playing for this tower theme. I also had the third slot filled, but later I thought that play was a bit too leisurely, so I did some more recording and ultimately I used the one you see here, from the 21st. Among the features that made me select it: a nice Ghost destruction inside the tower (this also served to illustrate that an Elite can drive a Ghost into the tower), the amusing needler catch, and the novel ending where I blast the Ghost out of the passage.

Of course, there's the active camo in the tower, and I could've taken advantage of that. But that wasn't the sort of playing I wanted for this movie, so I made a point to keep clear of it. I expect I'll do some cloaked stuff in a future movie though.

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