Needler plus assault rifle equals glorious noisy carnage, at the ramp entrance to the dustbowl…

(5:17) Level 3 ('The Truth and Reconciliation') on Normal. This shows three plays of the dustbowl megabattle seen created in BCM77, featuring 43 covies. I use the ramp defence each time, with needler and AR - my favourite combo for this defence.

Released September 12th 2013, gameplay recorded August 22nd 2013.

00:02 (Play 1) Picking up the needler dropped by a Shade gunner killed in the set-up work, I head into position. A couple of Grunts get a dose of needles, and although there's no explosion yet, there's comedy to be had when the second one's cry of "We're gonna die!" is cut short. The next Grunt does go up in a nice pink bang, and it also sets off the loose plasma grenade on the ramp and sets a blue Elite growling. I finish the blue with a frag, taking out a few Grunts too.

00:32 More needles take out some grunty troopers, and in particular there's a satisfying bang on a Grunt who tries to throw a grenade: "Tossin' one!" That bang takes out a blue Elite as well.

00:44 Now for a spot of AR fire. A Jackal and Grunt get a bit of drilling, then a red Elite comes charging forth with a plasma rifle. Behind him, a Grunt yells "Get down!", and his grenade lands by the big rock I was recently near, causing the red to instinctively leap away - into the void, ha ha. I land a few AR rounds on him as he goes. Consider it a leaving present. Another Elite dies in a chain reaction, and when I throw a frag, a blue Elite dives off the cliff at high speed. My frag sets off a chain reaction and a Jackal goes flying upwards.

00:56 After pausing a Grunt with AR fire, I tag him and he subsequently goes flying. A blue Elite comes running straight into my stream of needles, and a secondary bang sets off some loose grenades, taking out a Grunt. That Grunt had gone behind a tree and I threw a frag to try and blast him, but obviously that grenade was wasted.

01:07 This time it's a Grunt that comes running onto my needles ("Get it off!"). My frag causes trouble further back, shaking up a red whose leap to get clear almost takes him over the cliff. I charge him with the AR, giving him a smack for good measure. When he misses a swipe, I turn and finish off his shield with AR fire, then tag him while he's momentarily paused. Nice. After that, there's just a bit of mopping up to do, ending with a beaky latecomer who gets a dose of needles.

01:48 (Play 2) At the start of this play my needles give a Grunt a bit of a shock, and there's soon some explosive business going on which also takes out a red Elite. A blue runs out, gets a dose of needles and misses a swipe. BANG! I throw a plasma to cover my reloading, then throw a frag beyond it, with quite nice effect.

02:11 Now for some AR fun. A blue Elite gets drilled then whacked, and his death throe fire hits another blue arriving at the top of the ramp. I drill that guy too, then tag him and back off around the big corner rock while reloading.

02:22 Some Grunts and a Jackal head down the ramp to get needled and blasted. A blue Elite gets drilled and whacked, and meanwhile a frag thrown past him causes havoc amongst some Grunts. After that, I move across to the left. My plasma grenade appears to bounce off a Grunt's plasma pistol, but it still takes him out. The blue escapes to the left though, and I move back to the right while firing the AR and leaving a plasma on the ramp.

02:44 I eventually get the blue with needles as I back off from his swipe (luckily I didn't fall off the edge), then I frag a whole bunch of minors. There's a red Elite to contend with soon after, but once he's down from my needles, it's just a case of finishing off a swarm of Grunts. I double tag the last one but he doesn't get sent very high. Just goes up a short way then sent back along the path and over the cliff edge.

03:21 (Play 3) My opening needle clip gets shared by a Grunt and Elite, and they both go up with a bang, causing collateral damage. Next I give the needle treatment to a Jackal, but then I've got a red Elite charging out. I switch to the AR and drill him, then tag him as I leap over, leaving him to growl helplessly. A blue gets drilled too, then tagged as I back off to the left of the ramp. A couple of Grunts come after me and I throw a frag. It was meant to go past them to the ramp but it doesn't get that far. Recognizing the danger of a loose bounce, I keep backing off to try and make sure I'm clear of the bang.

03:52 There's a mass of minor enemies collecting on the ramp now, including Jackals with plasma pistols humming. I don't want to run into a plasma ball, so I need to take those guys out. A frag does the job nicely, and as I move back across to the right, I drill a red Elite then deposit a frag to finish him off - plus a Grunt and Jackal. BOOM!

04:05 A Grunt cries "Not again!" as I needle him, and the bang takes out a blue Elite. I leave a plasma on the base of the ramp, hoping to buy some reloading time, but another blue gets loose. No worries though: I get close enough to make him swipe, then back off and needle him. He drops a few plasmas and I make sure to stay clear of them as they get set off by a secondary needle bang.

04:16 I switch to the AR now, get it reloaded, and move in. When I see another blue, I briefly hide behind a tree, then step out to drill him at close range. That gets the minor enemies panicking, and I throw a few plasmas as I move across to the left. Something interesting happens then. My first plasma sets off a loose one, which in turn sends my second plasma airborne. It explodes in mid-air and kills a Grunt ("Wahhhh!"). Amusing!

04:33 Looks like just a bit of mopping up to do now. I work my way back across to the right, and when a Grunt cries "Get down!" I spot the opportunity for a mischievous tag while he's stationary. He dives off the cliff as the grenade arrives, but it catches him low down (where I wanted), and he gets blasted on his descent into the darkness. Good comedy.

04:51 Not quite done yet though. A Jackal arrives late, and naturally I want to have a bit of fun with him too. A couple of needles get him running, then I do a double tag. The first blast sends him high rather nicely, and the second blows him further out into the void, and he passes across the face of the planet in amusing fashion, making a nice ending for the movie.

Closing remarks These were all plays from when I was recording for BCM79. I ended up with several entertaining candidates for the needler & AR play and didn't want them all to be wasted, so I formed this movie to show a few. The third play here was very nearly used for BCM79, partly because of its amusing ending with a Grunt diving off the path and a Jackal getting blasted high, but I eventually chose another play which had its own comical aspects.

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