Second in my 12-man far area defence series, this time I use a plasma rifle and AR.

(5:34) Level 2 ('Halo') on Heroic. Second in a five-movie sequence which began with BCM129, this shows two plays of a rockslide megabattle save featuring a squad of 11 Marines waiting for me to join them in a far area defence against 33 covies. This time I fight with a plasma rifle and AR, treating the AR as secondary. In the second play I get more proactive rather than hanging back with the Marines. The power of the plasma rifle allows me to do that as long as I'm careful not to misjudge things - which could easily be fatal.

Released February 24th 2015, gameplay recorded February 18th and 22nd 2015.

00:02 (Play 1) This entry route starts off similar to my opener for the last movie, but in the rockslide I head uphill instead, making a Jackal dive. For the sake of variation I would've preferred a more different opening route from what I started the needler movie with, but when I was doing my early plays I was using this route quite a bit.

00:29 Up on the left there's a crouching Jackal and two more approaching. Two frags take out the lot, and I get a compliment from a Marine. This was a relatively early play, and in later ones I would've more likely used plasma fire to get them, to save frags for later.

00:39 After zapping a few Grunts I turn to tackle an Elite who I really should've spotted earlier. He's close enough for some AR drilling, and as I move around behind him he quickly withers under a hail of fire, getting finished off by a whack. My positioning wasn't too clever though; I caught some friendly fire there. I also then catch some needles in the back from a Grunt, and now I've lost three health bars and have a bleeping shield.

00:51 I throw a grenade out towards a red Elite and it eventually makes him dive forward, to quickly be taken down my the combined fire from ARs and my plasma rifle. A blue Elite comes in close from the right but I tag him. Another blue has advanced where that red was, but my frag shakes him up and then sets off a loose plasma which finishes him.

01:09 While I'm focusing on various covies including a Jackal on the right, the Marines take care of a blue Elite. One of the two remaining Elites is back at the semicircle of rocks, but before I can continue trying to get him, a red comes in from the high left. I stun him with plasma fire and finish him with the AR, briefly using the hog for cover. I subsequently pick off some minor enemies, including a blue-shielded Jackal on the left who was threatening the Marines.

02:19 After a brief lull the final Elite advances and I move down to the hog, using it as cover from which to spring a fatal surprise with the AR (although I slightly mess up my control handling and don't fully escape his attempted whack). With the remnants panicking, I charge into the attack. However, I also hear a Marine yelling "Frag out!", so I'm careful to wait for a frag blast, which duly takes out a yellow-shielded Jackal.

02:43 With only a few covies left, I score a nice tag on a shieldless Jackal, and the blast also sends a Grunt flying. A few seconds later things conclude with a final Jackal tag.

03:08 (Play 2) This time I take a simpler route to the Marines, just enough to release the dropship 3 troops.

03:27 A blue Elite comes through the central gap and gets a good zapping. I start to have a go at a Jackal on the left, but then switch to an arriving red Elite, zapping him like the blue. Hey, two Elites down and I haven't even had any shield damage yet!

03:43 After checking to see that I'm safe enough, I briefly advance to replace my plasma rifle. I also have a go at two Grunts, though my initial targeting is a bit off because I was thinking about the pick-up. A blue Elite approaches but I shake him up with a frag then finish him with my new rifle as I back off. Too risky to hold such a forward position for long.

03:54 After zapping a Grunt who wandered into Marine fire, I throw a frag towards a pair of Elites, and then another towards a Jackal. Both throws are good. The Jackal is taken out, and one of the Elites loses his shield. I try to finish him off with plasma fire despite the advance of the other Elite, but I don't quite manage it. I decide that the Marines had better get a bit of help, so I throw a frag towards the closer Elite. That gets him, and I finish the other guy with AR fire (I'd been hoping the Marines would do that, but they were too slow).

04:07 Two Elites left, and now here comes a blue from the right. I catch him with plasma fire, and there's time to get a new rifle afterwards. Continuing to the left, I do some Grunt zapping and clear three Jackals with two good frag throws. A bit more Grunt zapping, then I head back towards the Marines, attacking as I go.

04:30 A Grunt is needling the Marines but I zap him good, and then hurt the distant blue Elite some more, before throwing a plasma grenade to get rid of a threatening Jackal. The Elite comes running forth but is easily killed. That panics the Grunts, and I move in to get things finished.

04:56 I briefly consider attacking a yellow-shielded Jackal in the central entry gap, but think better of it. He could hurt me quite badly before I get close enough with the AR I'm holding. Instead I hop into the rocky semicircle and get rough with a few other beaky fellows (taking the opportunity to reload the AR as I go). As I head back out a Grunt yells "Save yourself!" but is too slow to escape my plasma.

05:12 A tag sends a panicking Grunt high and takes out another. But the final Grunt is a bit distant and I've run out of grenades to have fun with, so I just zap him.

Closing remarks Originally I had an earlier play in the second slot, but it was even longer than the first play and would've made the movie almost seven minutes long, so I played some more, trying for shorter battles by being more aggressive. The one I eventually selected was much shorter, saving well over a minute. Its combat phase is about 25% shorter than in the movie's first play, due to the more aggressive approach - which I thought would make for good contrast.

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