Back into the fray, as my movie series resumes with some hectic glasshouse battling!

(6:22) Level 5 ('Assault on the Control Room') on Legendary. After a three-year hiatus, my movie series resumes with a trio of movies featuring some epic boosted glasshouse battling with a 38-covie set-up not seen before. That includes seven Elites, five of which are nasty reds! In this first instalment I dish out the pain with plasma weapons; but stay tuned for two other tasty weapon combos in the next two movies!

Released July 10th 2023, gameplay recorded May 14th-20th 2023.

00:02 (Play 1 - Going right) At the start here I try to tag the blue Elite up ahead (he has a needler by the way), but I think I missed. He dies anyway though, and a follow-up frag takes out a load of panicking Grunts.

00:24 Things get hectic soon after when three red Elites turn up, and I lose three health bars before finishing them and going on to clear the minor covies ahead.

01:22 Finally I get to work on the glasshouse, which contains a further three Elites. Grenades thrown up through the window frames are a nice way of doing damage, and they often take out Elites, but this time it sounds like my throws only get a Grunt. I do rather better when I tag a blue Elite up the ramp shortly after, which also takes out one of the two reds.

01:40 I'm a bit cautious about the last red, but I manage a stun and tag before having some gratuitous tagging fun with the final Grunt.

02:01 (Play 2 - Start zone) Traditionally I've tended to do most of my battling down the left or right hand sides, but here I try to tough it out in the start zone, which is more open and more dangerous. When the first Elite comes my way, I whack him and try to tag him, but actually it doesn't stick. I think it bounced off his plasma rifle. I manage to finish him with plasma fire soon after, but I've lost three health bars by then.

02:28 With sheild still bleeping I'm ambushed from behind by the blue Elite with his needler. Alerted by the firing sound, I quickly move to try to get clear of the needles I know are heading my way, and I execute a prompt stun and tag move to neutralise him. The use of a Jackal bomb then helps me clear the main area, and my shield recharges at last. With all four free-roaming Elites now dead, things are much less dangerous now.

02:45 Moving on to the glasshouse, a Grunt bomb takes out two Elites, then I get an easy stun and tag on the final Elite, who happens to come down the ramp as I'm passing. Turns out there's only one Grunt left inside, and I quickly toast him.

03:15 There's a bit of a duel with the Jackals now, as I throw a sequence of plasmas down at them. After that, there's some straightforward Grunt slaying. Except, my final Grunt tag detonates a loose plasma I hadn't noticed, and I get killed. Silly cyborg! Made for good comedy though.

04:05 (Play 3 - Going left) Heading around the left of the room, I eliminate a lone Jackal with a sneaky frag, my standard way of getting him in this set-up. Then an advancing red Elite gets a plasma grenade in the face, which also kills one of his buddies. A nice start.

04:24 I catch sight of another red Elite coming forth, and quickly throw a plasma before backing off to avoid Jackal fire. From the blast I hear one Elite dying and another going into rage mode; so I need to be ready for him charging my way. Just then I notice a red dot on my tracker indicating a covie coming up from behind, so I throw a plasma up that way to hopefully take care of the threat, leaving me free to focus on the raging Elite. When a Grunt turns up I throw a plasma to tag him, but just then the Elite arrives and runs into it. Not what I was planning, but I'll take it! I dodge his swipe and get clear, and meanwhile my earlier plasma detonates a loose one that kills what turned out to be a Jackal. Panic over (although, not for the Grunts).

04:46 A period of dealing with Grunts and Jackals follows, including a Jackal in the inner area who I initially try to get with a plasma rifle, but then just take out with a bounced frag. Bit of a waste of a frag really, but it was satisfying.

05:28 I advance to take care of the Grunt concentration over on the far side, and after throwing my last frag to try and clear a good number, I back off, having noticed some loose plasmas that could go off. A good decision; there's quite a big chain reaction and really I was still too close for safety. But I get away with it, and soon the Grunts are finished.

05:49 A sneaky plasma throw through a side opening begins what turns out to be a novel 4-tag clearance of the glasshouse, ending with a Grunt sailing through the air and getting whacked. Nice!

Closing remarks This save is one I've played hundreds of times in the last three years, and since glasshouse battling is what finally pushed me to get back into movie making, it's only fitting that I showcase some action with it, to start the continuation of my movie series.

The last play was a late change in forming the movie. Initially I had a shorter play in which the four free-roaming Elites got wiped out with minimum trouble in a few big bangs, but that also made the action less exciting, so I did some more plays to get better spectacle - and this was the winner, with its 4-tag finish.

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