Battlefield: Bad Company 2/Cold War

Mission Objectives
 * Follow unit
 * Secure Courtyard
 * Locate Russian High Value Vehicle
 * Reach Exfil point

This mission finally puts you back into the shoes of Preston Marlowe, and you can now start collecting the various weapons dropped by enemies and found on the ground. Your starting weapon is an XM8 with a scope. The other weapons found here can also be found on other maps, but this is the first mission in which they become available.

Follow Unit
After watching the introductory cutscene, you'll receive the order to move from Sarge. Follow the squad to the edge of a ridge. Don't drop down just yet (you can't anyway) because a group of enemies is approaching from below. They're completely blindsighted, but fire on Sarge's mark to eliminate the group quickly. Fortunately, it is impossible to mess the timing up on this section, as you will be completely unable to fire until Sarge gives the signal. After eliminating the group, be sure to loot their weapons. The TOZ-194 shotgun can be found here, along with the burst-firing AN-94. The AN-94 can prove to be a more effective weapon than your standard XM8, as the burst-firing and cleaner scope can aid considerably with aiming, but the choice is up to you. Just be sure to pick the weapon up to add it to your list of collectables; you can pick your XM8 back up if you choose.

Follow the group across the river to witness the first appearance of a main enemy character. After a cutscene and a display of his callousness, proceed across the river and up the stairs to the objective marker. Your first set of real enemies appears here - two infantry and a machine gun-armed Vodnik. You'll be able to take a shot or two before the enemy becomes aware of your presence, so try to make it count. Skilled players can shoot the gunner of the Vodnik before taking damage from him, but it's a difficult shot without the proper aids and knowing exactly where to aim. Should you choose to take this route, aim directly at the barrel of the gun, which doesn't shield the gunner.

If your accuracy isn't pinpoint, however, you'll want to employ the brute force method and use your grenade launcher on it. Switch to the grenade launcher and fire away at the Vodnik. Pop in and out from behind the building as necessary to destroy the Vodnik, which absorbs roughly three grenades before going down. Continue to advance, but hug the left side of the road. You'll encounter quite a few enemies here, and there is far more cover in the buildings on the left than on the road itself. Take caution regarding a rocket-launching enemy inside a house just before the bend left. You won't be able to grab his weapon, unfortunately.

From here, you'll have to advance left and follow the road. You'll eventually encounter a large bus full of enemies. The cover the bus provides makes it difficult to engage them all at once; instead, flank left through the buildings, and you'll be able to get an enfilading position on the bus. This will enable you to eliminate all the enemies in short order.

Follow the road to the courtyard.

Secure Courtyard
The courtyard is more or less secure, at least until a pair of Hinds appear and begin rappelling in. These enemies are aggressive in shooting, so take cover and be judicious with your shots. Use your grenade launcher to eliminate enemy cover, in particular the large building opposite yours across the courtyard, as well as the fountain itself.

A shotgun isn't effective at these longer ranges and it's even worse given the large number of enemies you're facing, so use your XM8 or the AN-94 to effectively clear out these enemies.

Once you eliminate all the enemies that rappelled in, you'll have to deal with a T-90 tank that appears up the road. Grenade launchers won't do enough damage here, so instead your team requests air support. You'll need to hold out until it does, but all it really means is to stay alive; fall back as much as necessary, even if it means going as far back as the bus.

The tank won't follow you, but if you put a building or some solid earth between you and its gun, you'll be able to survive it long enough for air support to come online.

When air support does come, you'll need to bring up your binoculars and manually designate the tank. Designating the tank is easy; unlike the mortar strikes of this game's multiplayer, the airstrike is designated instantly. Simply aim your binoculars at the tank and "fire" them at it. Once designated, a pair of Hornets will fly in and destroy the tank and everything around it, enabling you to advance.

Reach Russian High Value Target
Your advance to the truck is again complicated by a machine gun in a building. Aim just beneath it at the explosive barrels, however, to topple the structure, eliminating the machine gun with minimal effort.

Equip your grenade launcher and follow the road. A small group of enemies dismounts some quad bikes in front of you; using your grenade launcher on the Quads can send them out with a bang. A quick trigger finger can also eliminate the enemies before they dismount their quads.

The last stretch to the truck is up a long road, covered by multiple enemies and at least two machine guns and one guy with a rocket launcher. To reach the truck with as little effort as possible, perform the same trick you did on the bus; flank around them and engage the enemy from the side, where there is more cover. The AI will also fail to notice you in the buildings, so you'll be able to pick off an enemy or two before the enemy turns against you.

Take special care to eliminate the armoured machine gun emplacement halfway between the end of the road and the truck, and the other attached to some sandbags next to it. You'll need grenades to eliminate the armoured machine gun; gunfire is only effective if shot from the sides or behind.

If you want to skip all of that, however, stick to the left side of the road and travel behind the buildings. This will enable you to approach the truck in peace from its front. From there, all you need to do is run to the truck's back to hop in.

Reach Exfil Point
The mission here is a rail-shooting sequence. If you dropped your XM8 in favour of another weapon, you'll find it returned to you for this segment. Switch to the grenade launcher and begin launching grenades at anything behind you. Initially, you'll be approached by a few quad bikes as the rest of your squad drives to safety. Use your grenade launcher or the standard fire of your weapon to defeat them in short order. The second of the two quads that approach you shoots rockets at you, so deal with it quickly.

The next set of enemies that approaches from behind are Vodniks. These vehicles are far more heavily armoured than the two quads you fought earlier. Aim slightly above the Vodniks to land grenades on their windshields and destroy them. Fortunately, you have infinite grenades for this segment, so fire as quickly as you can. Although you can disable their turret by killing its operator, the swift movements of the truck make it a harder target to hit than the Vodnik itself.

Although your squad will eventually veer off of the road, through a forest, the truck will eventually stop. A Vodnik will approach quickly from behind, but it will be plowed off of the cliff by its partner just before it can hit you. This scripted event marks the end of the Vodnik attacks.

Instead, however, a Mi-28 Havoc helicopter marks you as its target. It flies overhead as your team takes the truck through a tunnel; you can't hit it, so don't bother. When it flies just above you and your team veers into a second tunnel, that's your cue to score a direct hit on it with a grenade.

Destroy the Mi-28 to complete the mission.