Iron Soldier Mission Hints: General Hints: In playing each mission you will get the feel of what weapons to carry and what strategy (e.g. strong offensive, strong defensive, etc.) works best for that particular mission. Very often, enemies such as the VTOLs and Gantlets will help you by dropping bombs in a long streak and blowing up many buildings. In general, once you know where to go and what to do in a particular mission it is best to do it quickly and finish since your enemies tend to build slowly but constantly and often come in waves. All of the flying enemies are easy to take out with the Gatling Gun. You may also use other weapons such as the rocket launcher or rail cannon, but you must aim accurately and the moving targets are difficult to hit. The tanks, rocket launchers, and gun turrets can be taken out with any weapon, and long range weapons such as the rocket launcher and rail cannon work extremely well since these enemies are easy to hit at a distance and will often not "wake up" until you approach fairly closely. Heavy tanks require numerous hits with rockets or grenades to destroy, but are fairly easy to dispatch with the chain cutter. Simply stand on the heavy tank and slice away. Finally, enemy Iron Soldiers (IS's) are the most difficult opponent to take out. The best attack is a grenade volley, but you must be accurate. Rockets are easier to use against the IS but you need a very great number of rockets to take out an IS. Missions: 1. "The Bust." Very Easy. No weapons choices to make here, and you can virtually ignore the tank and helicopter enemies. Simply head for the warehouse complex (at the opposite end of the city from where you start) and beat down the buildings. Collect the new weapon to end the round. 2. "Care Package." Medium. Simply destroy the two ships docked in this city to end the round. The problem is that the ships are heavily guarded and have some serious firepower of their own. Also, if you take too long the ships will leave dock and you will lose. Approach quickly and blast each ship with grenades (three or four direct hits should do it) then retreat quickly. Avoid (read, ignore) the enemy IS lurking around. Note: I highly recommend doing this mission last of the first four in order to have the Gatling Gun and easily take out the many tanks and helicopters that will swarm you as you approach the ships. 3. "London Bridge." Medium. Simply destroy the two bridges leading out of the city to end this round. Three or four direct hits with grenades will take out the western bridge (assume you are at the southern end of the city at the start of the round) but the eastern bridge is significantly stronger. The eastern bridge is also heavily protected by air and by ground with tanks, rocket launchers, and gun turrets. Approach this bridge quickly, blast it with grenades, then retreat to collect repair crates and more grenades. Repeat until the bridge falls. Note: If you can manage it without getting blasted, walking onto the bridge a little way will do significant damage, allowing you to destroy it with far fewer grenades. 4. "Midnight Raid." Medium. Destroy all of the buildings between the four control towers and pick up all of the supply crates. The challenge lies in the fact that this area is HIGHLY guarded by practically every enemy possible. Success depends on your ability to land the grenades quickly and accurately. You need to blast the buildings with grenades quickly and collect the crates quickly, basically ignoring all enemies. If your strength gets too low, retreat to the western power plant (assume you are at the southern end of the city at the start of the mission) and break it down to reveal a repair crate. 5. "Hunt The Hunter." Difficult. Destroy the enemy IS. Easy, right? The IS is extraordinarily strong and takes huge amounts of damage without flinching. It can fire rockets in rapid succession (these can be avoided at a distance) and will push you if you get too close (A push does huge damge to your IS.) You need to approach into grenade range, blast it with grenades, and retreat to collect repair crates and grenades while avoiding the IS's rockets. Repeat until one of you dies. Note: if you try to go for the IS while it is still in the dense city you will fail. Take some time at the beginning of the mission to find some repair crates and grenades. Meanwhile, the IS will be knocking down skycrapers and clearing space for you to attack. 6. "Walk In The Park." Easy. Simply destroy all of the tanks to complete this mission. There are about twelve regular tanks and one Heavy Tank to destroy. These are protected by many helicopters and a few rocket launchers. The rail cannon is ideal for taking out the tanks at a distance (often before they even notice you and "wake up") and you should also have the Gatling Gun to keep the helicopters at bay. Use the chain cutter to take out the heavy tank. Rockets will also work but you need a significant number-- the chain cutter is faster and safer as the heavy tank will not be able to fire on you if you stand on it and cut. 7. "Fox And Hound." Medium. Destroy three truck convoys and collect the new weapon to complete this mission. The main challenge here is finding the convoys before they leave the city. Once found they are easy to destroy with any weapon, including your feet. Head west (assume you are at the south end of the city at the beginning of the mission) initially to find one convoy. Then head north and east to find the others. You can't really head to a specific location since they move around. The best way to find them is to use your radar. The convoys appear purple on the radar screen. When you see a purple dot, head for it. Enemies are not really a problem as long as you stay in the cover of buildings and avoid the huge open square in the middle of the city as it is dotted with rocket launchers and will leave you open to air attacks. 8. "Pearl Harbor." Medium. Destroy four ships to end this mission. Hints are basically the same as mission 2, "Care Package." Due to the greater number of ships and the more difficult defenses, you will probably need to scour the buildings for repairs and more weapons between ships. Thus, take a little more time and care than in "Care Package." Another tip is to use both rockets and grenades to take out the ships. This way you double your chance of finding more ammo in any given building. 9. "Pandora's Box." Difficult. Break into the fortified fortress in the center of this city, destroy the IS, and collect the new weapon to complete the mission. First, you will need to clear the area in front of the main door to the fortress of all tanks, gun turrets, etc. No problem here. Second, take out the gun turrets on top of the fortress walls (one on each side) with three rockets each. Do this before they attack you to avoid taking massive damage. Next, you must then break down the door to the fortress using the chain cutter. (You could also use other weapons, but it would take more than you could carry, and deplete the reserves to be found around the fortress.) When you break down the door you will immediately be confronted by a tank and one or two rocket launchers. Take these out, leaving just the IS to destroy. Two notes: first, while you are doing all of this numerous helicopters will continually fly in to annoy you. You need to take them out or they will build up and eventually get the better of you. Second, you can reduce the impact of opening the fortress gate by first tossing a barrage of grenades over the walls. This will take out some of the buildings and enemies before they can attack you. This IS is particularly difficult to destroy because it generally stays in the fortress where there is little room to move about. You need to enter the fortress and approach into grenade range, blast the IS with grenades, and retreat to collect repair crates and grenades. Rockets will also work but will take much longer. After defeating the IS simply pick up the new weapon in the fortress to complete the mission. 10. "Hornet's Nest." Easy. Destroy the helicopter base and the helicopters flying around it to complete this mission. The only danger here is that you will take great damage and possibly die while looking for the base. Follow the arrows on the roads to find it the first time, then you can go "as the crow flies." Once you know where the base is, simply go in quickly and blast all of the buildings at long range with rockets. Take out a few helicopters and VTOLs with the Gatling Gun and the mission is solved. 11. "One-Man Army." Medium. Wipe out the fairly small installation of buildings to the north-east (assume that you start at the southern end of the city) to complete this mission. The large, red skyscrapers and a few other buildings can be taken out from a distance with rockets. After this, use a strategy similar to that of mission four, "Midnight Raid," using grenades to take out buildings and moving quickly to avoid taking great damage. You will find several repair crates as well as additional ammo. Naturally, the power plant will take the most effort to destroy and is also guarded by rocket launchers. Note: This mission is rated medium because the area is very heavily guarded by ground and air, including a heavy tank. It is wise to take the heavy tank out first with the chain cutter and then begin the destruction-- this will allow you to destroy the heavy tank before the real air barrage begins. 12. "The Best Defense." Difficult. Protect the large skyscraper in the center of the area where you start out. It will be attacked by rocket launching helicopters, one tank, one heavy tank, and an IS. If the skyscraper takes enough cumulative damage, it will blow up and you lose. The helicopters are the greatest threat since there are many of them and they can each fire multiple rockets. The trick is that two "streams" of helicopters approach the skyscraper, one from the north-east and one from the north-west. The north-west helicopters generally do not have rockets and will fire on you rather than the skyscraper. The north-east helicopters have rockets and will go straight for the skyscraper. Position yourself in the path of the latter helicopters and stay there. Take them out quickly, ignoring all else. When you have time, turn and take out the other helicopters. When the tank comes, simply take it out with a rocket. When the heavy tank comes, wait until there are no rocket-bearing helicopters coming then move to the heavy tank and take it out with the chain cutter. Return to position and resume firing on the helicopters. Toward the end of the mission, the IS will approach and begin firing. If you can keep it at bay by drawing its fire (even if you don't destroy it) for just a few minutes, the mission will end successfully. I recommend keeping at a distance and blasting it with at least two dozen rockets. (Carry two launchers and save them for the IS.) You can also use grenades very successfully, but you will have to get closer, leaving the skyscraper open to attack. Uncover a repair crate before the IS approaches as you will probably need it. Staying alive and protecting the building from the IS is quite difficult, but is manageable with practice. 13. "Urban Renewal." Difficult. Level EVERYTHING to complete this mission. The city is heavily guarded by every type of enemy, including an IS and numerous Gantlet and VTOL planes. Also, as the area gets more and more level there are fewer places to hide and enemies will swarm on you. (The IS can do great damage from a great distance with its twin cannons.) The best strategy I have found is to let the enemies do much of your work for you by using the Slate Heavy Shield to minimize the damage you take and simply running about the city to draw the fire of the enemies to the buildings and skyscrapers around. Collect additional ammo and repairs as needed. The trick, of course, is to stay alive long enough to allow everything to leveled. You can help by momentarily switching from the shield to the rockets or grenades (carry both) and blasting a few buildings before re-engaing the shield. Note: There are three islands off of the coast which will not be covered by enemy fire. You must level these by blasting the buildings with rockets (grenades won't reach). Try to level these islands very early in the mission (ideally, first) so that you can blast them without being bombarded too heavily. All of the islands are nearby where you begin the mission. 14. "Escort Service." Very difficult. Guide a convoy of three trucks through the city to safety. First of all, you only need to get one truck through safely to complete the mission and you probably will only get one through as the trucks are very fragile and generally only take one hit to destroy. You should carry the Gatling Gun and three rocket launchers with you. The mission can be divided into three sub-parts, each with its own distinct strategy to protect the truck(s). Part One: When the mission starts, immediately begin moving toward the field of fuel tanks. Use a rocket or the rail cannon to take out the rocket launcher and the tank which you can see immeidately. There is another tank behind the field of fuel tanks. Blow up the fuel tanks with rockets to blow up the hiding tank. This will also prevent the fuel tanks from blowing up when the convoy passes through. As you approach the fuel tank field, stay to the inside of the road. Two helicopters will approach, the first from the right (inside) and the second from the left (outside). Take them out quickly or they will take out the trucks. In the distance to the right you will see another rocket launcher. If you can take this out now with a well-place rocket you will save a great deal of trouble later when the trucks themselves will block you from getting a direct line of fire at this launcher. Move immediately to the outside of the road. Although there is a heavy tank on the inside it will not attack the convoy and is there strictly to waste your time. On the outside you will encounter a VTOL and one more rocket- launching helicopter. Take both of these out quickly. You can probably hit the VTOL with a rocket or rail cannon as it is large and relatively slow-moving. This will bring the convoy to the second stage, a large open square with the road wrapping around the perimeter. Second: This is the most difficult stage. As the convoy moves around this square it will be attacked by one or two helicopters, a VTOL, and a Gantlet. It is very difficult to take all of these planes out without getting disoriented and possibly stomping on the convoy. Thus, it is best to head as quickly as possible for the center of the square and stop. From there, simply rotate and take out the planes as best you can. You will probably lose one or two trucks here despite your best efforts. Third: Once the truck(s) pass the open square, you can complete the mission by simply following on the road as closely as possible without treading on the truck(s). This will allow you to take all of the damage from air attacks, protecting the truck(s) below. You will still need to protect against tanks and rocket launchers by taking these out from a distance with rockets. You must be quick to destroy them before they fire, since one hit will wipe out a truck. With practice you will learn where the enemies are and be able to anticipate them. As you near the end of the mission you will see a heavy tank in the distance. DO NOT GET CLOSE TO IT or your truck(s) will be destroyed. Take it out from a distance by raidly blasting it with multiple rockets until it is destroyed. The final foe you will face is a lone rocket launcher directly in your path. Again, take it out from a distance before it can fire on your truck(s). This one is lethally accurate! Guide the truck(s) to the end of the road to complete the mission. 15. "Return To Sender." Difficult. Destroy five very heavily guarded ships to complete this mission. By now you should have the cruise missles, and you can use two of these to easily take out two ships. For the remainder, use the same basic strategy as in mission eight, "Pearl Harbor." Carry both rockets and grenades to diversify your ammo. Repair crates are fairly plentiful and you should always have one uncovered and know where it is so that you can get to it quickly. Air and ground attacks are merciless, so speed and accuracy while attacking the ships is a must, as is a quick retreat to cover and repair/ammo crates. 16. "War Is Heck." Very Difficult. Take out all skyscrapers to complete this final mission. The strategy here should be similar to that of mission thirteen, "Urban Renewal." This mission is much more difficult than that one, however, as the enemy assaults are unparalleled in their strenghth, speed, numbers, and accuracy. You will be blasted by every imaginable enemy (all at once), and most enemies regenerate, including gun turrets and heavy tanks-- unheard of in other missions. You need to have at least one repair crate uncovered and nearby at all times to avoid being blasted to bits even with the shield up. Move quickly in and around the skyscrapers (like a rat in a maze) both for cover and to draw the enemy fire to the tall buildings. You may occasionally use your rockets and grenades to speed the destruction, but make sure there are no heavy tanks, VTOL's or Gantlets around at the time. Note that the large blue and gray skyscraper in the north-east corner of the city (assume that you begin in the southern part of the city) is extraordinarily sturdy and takes great care to destroy without being destroyed yourself. If you save it until the end, you will have to face this formidable edifice in an otherwise leveled city, making you an easy target. I will not give away the complete ending of the game. It is something of a surprise and is most satisfying.