I love the intro cinematic for WC2. Talk about opening a game. Start by blowing up the hero ship from the first game, giving the hero a chip on his shoulders and a new face for our enemy. Could you ask for more? We've all spent years drooling over the Rigakh as well...what a beauty...
Gwynedd 1
I don't mind the Ferret. It may be lightly armored and shielded by the high refire rate of its mass drivers make it a lethal ship. I'm sent on a routine patrol that I know will be anything but routine.
Nav 1 has three Sartha which are little trouble. I just lay down a chain of fire and watch them each go bang in the night.
Of course we need our asteroid reintroduction and Nav 2 is it. Still have to fly slow and watch out. Nothing worse than losing a mission because of space junk.
Nav 3 has three Drakhai. You have to be careful going head to head against these guys as their lasers will tear you apart. I catch the first one on the initial pass. I take a bit of damage but nothing the techs should worry about.
After we land Shadow is a bit shaken by the encounter with the Kilrathi. We are supposed to be a backwater...not for long.
Gwynedd 2
The Concordia is in trouble. The curse of the down flight decks has begun. This is something that WC2 loves as well as the novels. Considering the Sartha cannot damage the Concordia this mission is fairly easy. Just make sure not to venture into the Concordia's fire or get yourself surrounded. Being surrounded by light fighters is the worst position to be in and with five flying around it happens easier than you would think.
Landing on the Concordia is nice. It's such a beautiful shot of the hangar deck. You can see the flight decks leading out, fighter storage and even a cargo or fighter crane in the middle of the shot. It's interesting Confed would still have crane units considering we know they use null gravity units as well
Angel is Wing Commander on the Concordia. She's still looking good. Easy buddy...all in due time. It's time for a reunion of characters from WC1-SM2. Spirit, Doomsday, and Jazz are on the O-Deck and want to talk about old times. Yeah remember when I was the hero of the Vega sector? Or that time I destroyed the Sivar? Helped save the Firekkans? No let's talk about how I got the shaft ten years ago...
Gwynedd 3
Strike escort. The first experience with torpedoes and a capship with AMGs. Joyous occasion!
Shadow and I launch and meet up with the broadswords in space. Hit the auto light and we are on our way.
Five Sartha and a Fraltha are waiting at the strike nav. I have Shadow break and attack and begin my own attack runs. Again, the need to avoid getting penned in by these fighters is key. Random AB vectors and deflection shots work best for me here. I try to hover around the broadswords as best I can to prevent them from taking damage. Shadow manages to nail one of the furballs and I handle the other three. Scratch one Kilrathi cruiser!
Transfer to the Concordia? Yes, I would like that very much. Tolwyn might be a bitch about it, but don't worry as according to Maniac, Blair is a "bonafide hero."
Gwynedd 4
Returning to base....oh nope, number two flight deck issue. Hold on Concordia we are on our way. This mission is great because we get a taste of capship vs capship fighting. Something we did not really see in WC1. Watching the Concordia trade shots with a Fraltha is still an amazing sight after all these years. Enough sightseeing though I've got five Drakhai to deal with. Sometimes I enjoy trying to get the Drakhai killed by pulling them through the AMG exchanges and hoping to get lucky. It works every now and then but not enough to be efficient
After the first wave, five Sartha barrel in. The Concordia lays down a nice barrage and downs one of the Sartha. I finish off the rest.
Shadow was a nice person, but perhaps the most passive of wingmen. Sorry to see her go.
I'm back in the saddle again. Flying off a fleet carrier into the heat of battle. Say goodnight kitty!
Niven 1
Solo broadsword patrol. 3 nav points looking for jump traces. Ok no problem.
The Broadsword is an amazing ship. Three turrets and a heavy torpedo load make it an awesome display of power. And I'm using it to scan for jump traces...
Everything is quiet until Nav 2 when I'm jumped by three Jalkehi. The three mass drivers eat through the Kilrathi when they get close enough, I just have to watch out for missiles.
Nav 3 has two of my Kilrathi equivalents, Grikaths. I use my missiles on these fighters and make short work of them. Another victory for the Mighty Confederation.
The introduction to Hobbes. He defected in SM2/FF and has since become a pilot in the Confederation. Kirha on the other hand is rotting in a detention facility instead of with Hunter. Damn shame.
Welcome to the asshole club as well. Despite being a damn hero countless other times everybody has got to remember your one big failure...victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.
Niven 2
I'm Tolwyn's errand boy. I need to deliver a comm message to Niven. I meet five Sartha on the way. Without the Concordia to draw some of their fire this is a bit trickier. I make it through with some scorching and armor damage. This Ferret will be down for a few weeks getting repaired...
Until next time...