(screenshots referred to below are broken)
This is a timed mission. And it's very hard. I mean, really really hard. This is probably the toughest mission you have seen so far. Okay, now that we have the obvious out of the way, let's focus on how to beat it. Before I launch into the walkthrough, here are some tips:
- You must have your keyboard shortcuts and mouse movements down pat. Here are some obvious ones off the top of my head:
- A: Toggle 'Cover' mode on/off.
- Space: Lie down/Stand up.
- Z: Enter 'Examine' mode.
- Q/W: Cycle through weapons.
- F4: Toggle map on/off.
- F5: (hold down) Highlight enemies.
- F7: (hold down) Highlight crates/doors/etc.
- Ctrl + Left-Click: Shoot forcibly (e.g.: to attract attention).
- Ctrl + Right-Click: Shift field of view (in 'Cover' mode).
- Double Left-Click: Run (instead of walking).
- Alt + Left/Right-Click: Rotate game camera.
- Right-Click: Cancel current mode (e.g.: to get out of Examine mode; to get out of current weapon; and so on).
- Ctrl: (hold down) Use currently selected weapon.
- When you are in the truck, use the arrow keys (up/down/left/right) to drive the truck. Keep the 'Shift' key pressed to drive faster. Press 'X' to exit the truck.
- Don't get frustrated. With a bit of practice and the right strategy, the mission can be solved. With more practice, you'll find it a cakewalk. To this end, remember to Quick-Save ('F9') and Quick-Load ('F11') often.
- Despite what the objectives say, you don't have to take out any vehicles. You just have to move the truck off the rails. For instance, you don't have to touch the tank.
- You don't have to kill the three soldiers inside a building. However, you do have to kill everyone outside.
- When you are in the truck, you can survive a lot of enemy fire. Plus, you can mow the enemies down! The truck is not bulletproof, though. If you loiter around too long, you will die.
- Beware of the tank. It can blow you off (even if you are in a truck) in a single shot. But, the tank has weaknesses too. It cannot shoot at close range. So, you can snuggle up to it and still stay alive. Also, after the first few minutes, it stops roving around and comes to a halt (and so its field of view becomes fixed).
- Try not to raise an alarm before you get the grenades. Those guys near the tower are initially bunched up and are a prime target for a grenade. If alarm is sounded, they will disperse and it will be much harder to take them out individually (and takes more time too).
- The Green Beret can climb up poles and swing across wires. This makes for a completely different strategy. Explore your options! You can even swing your way to the other end of the map right at the beginning.
Getting started[edit]
As usual, there are many ways to complete a mission. The following is just one of them. It can certainly be improved. Particularly, if you have any neat ways of killing off those soldiers in the field (behind the truck), let me know. Right now, the best I can come up with is to draw them out with the truck and then run them over. Wait! We are getting ahead of ourselves. Let us start at the beginning...
Before we proceed, a few pointers: In the screenshots, wherever needed, the Green Beret's path will be shown in cyan colour. You don't need to rob dead soldiers unless I tell you to do so. However, if you deviate from this walkthrough, then remember to pick up any rifles (both the normal and assault varieties) and grenades that you come across. There should never be a need to pick up uniforms or submachine guns.
Time is critical in this mission. In the walkthrough below, when I say "Kill X. Run to some place. Kill Y.", I usually mean these steps to be continuous. There is no delay. There's no time to relax. Usually, the enemy movements will synchronize and you won't get caught. If you stop and think, you may miss the window of opportunity. Try to memorize the steps involved so that you can be fluent in your actions.
Picking up grenades[edit]
When the game starts, a patrolling soldier will stop near you. Sneak up on him, knife him, grab his cigarettes and run back to where you started from (i.e., behind the safety of a lorry). Immediately, a lieutenant will spy the dead body and come a'calling. Sneak back and knife him too.
Run back a little (about halfway) towards the lorry and rotate the game camera. Refer to the screenshot. Guy #1 should be walking towards the crate (he might already be there if you were a bit slow). Run to point (A) (near the rocks) and lie down. Throw the cigarettes to point (B) (make sure it's as far into the woods as possible). Wait a bit. Guy #2 will soon get lured. When Guy #2 is about to approach the cigarettes, order your Green Beret to stand up and knife him. Pick up the cigarettes and lie down. Now, crawl towards Guy #1 and knife him too. Rob his rifle. Pick up grenades and an assault rifle from the crate nearby.
Still crawling, get close to the wall/fence and move into position (hug the wall to avoid being seen by the guy in the watch tower). Turn on your assault rifle and auto-aim mode. Make sure you can cover the area as shown in the screenshot. Force-fire a shot and wait. Upto 3 guys will come running, and into your line of fire. Your Green Beret will dispatch them off automatically. Once all three are dead, turn off auto-aim, and crawl back to point (B). Once you reach (B), get up and run back to near the spot where you killed the first soldier (i.e., the one whose cigarettes you took and who was spotted by the lieutenant).
Relocating the truck[edit]
Lie down and crawl in a straight line to the tower. Stand up there and blow away the enemies grouped up on the other side with a grenade. From here on, things will be a bit chaotic (and so we can't deterministically say what will happen), but here's the general way to proceed...
Get your knife ready immediately after throwing the grenade. Although many soldiers will come to investigate the loud blast, nobody will spot you except the mechanic near the tank (marked #3 in the screenshot). So, in order not to give away your position through gunfire, wait for him to run to you and then knife him in hand-to-hand combat.
There should be quite a few alarmed soldiers around by now. Wait. While waiting, if you spot them come close to each other, throw the second grenade and finish off the lot in one shot. Otherwise, wait for the alarmed soldiers to cool down and disperse. Usually, there will be one gung-ho chap who will stick around. When the rest have gone back to their positions (and are out of earshot), turn on auto-aim mode with your pistol and force-fire a shot. This will attract the chappie who will then run around the tower, headlong into your gunfire. If you see any other lone soldiers, draw them also using your pistol. Beware! If 2 or more soldiers manage to hear the gunfire, they may come rushing from opposite sides of the tower, making it difficult for you to kill them all and also reducing your chances of survival.
When things have settled down, go around the tower to the first crate (this is to avoid the tank's eye). Pick up the goodies inside. Most of the remaining technicians will spot you and come running to you. More fodder for your knife! Go to the next crate and pick up more goodies. Any remaining technicians will now be drawn to you, and to their death.
Run and enter the truck. There will be at most 4 soldiers left inside the field (the region marked (C) in the screenshot). If you managed to kill any in the aftermath of the grenade blast, then of course, there will be fewer for you to deal with. Anyway, drive the truck around the entrance to the field until they spot you. Then, drive the truck away (e.g., behind the tank). This will make them come out of the field. Once they are accessible, run them over. Feel free to drive like a maniac! Just make sure not to step into the tank's field of view.
Once they have been disposed off, park the truck away from the train tracks and get out. Check to see if the two guys within the building compound are still alive and about. If not, then you can skip this paragraph. If any of them are still alive, enter the field, stand behind the building walls, facing the rails, with auto-fire mode on (with a rifle or assault rifle) and force-fire a shot (see the screenshot for an example). They will hear it and come running out, around the building, along the rails. Your auto-fire should make mince-meat out of them.
Mopping up[edit]
Now, go lie down near the level crossing (i.e., where the train tracks meet the road), as shown in the screenshot. Turn on your rifle and auto-aim mode. Then, throw some cigarettes into the middle of your field of view. The cigarettes will draw out Guy #4. He will die in your line of fire, which sound will now draw Guys #5 and #6 also, to their doom. If any other curious fellows (such as a technician or an officer) come over, make sure you have enough bullets to deal with them also.
Once the coast is clear, get up and run into the building compound (you can ignore the cigarettes you threw earlier, as you won't be needing them anymore). Pick up grenades and rifle ammo from the crate and approach the wall where the machine gun tripod is located (crawling, if needed). A technician should spot you and come running over. Knife him. An officer will do his rounds near you. Take him out using the rifle. Don't worry, the gunfire won't draw any others.
Refer to the screenshot (red dotted arrows show grenade flight path). Keeping close to the wall, crawl up and knife Guys #7, #8, #9, #10, #11 (lieutenant) and #12 one after another. Try not to use guns (besides, the knife is just as easy to wield). Stop when needed to avoid being seen by the officer in the area marked (D). Throw a grenade into (D) to take out the officer, soldier and mechanic. Crawl and knife Guy #13. Stand up, run close to the tower, and use your last grenade on the fellow on top of the tower. Phew! It's over! Congratulations!
You can easily complete the mission in under 10 minutes, with enough practice!