Last Updated: January 1, 2007
by Alan Chan (joylock @ hotmail.com)
The Usual:
This document is mine. Please don't rip it off or take credit for it. That
being said, feel free to post it on any site you want, provided you a)
don't make any changes to it, and b) don't charge money for it. You don't even
have to get my permission to post it (as long as it remains unaltered), but it
would be nice if you emailed me and let me know (joylock @ hotmail.com).
The information and statistics in this guide were arrived at through my
own original observation and research, so you must credit me if you use
my information or stats for your own guide or other publication.
Why?
Freedom Fighters might not have the most diverse cast of enemies
out there, but there a few different Soviet types with different
attributes and slightly varied behavior. So I decided to write a quick
weapons/enemy guide for the game.
Version History:
1.0: Initial Release
1.1: Some formatting for easier reading
The latest version of this FAQ can be found at www.gamefaqs.com.
Contents:
- General Notes
- Weapons
- Allies
- Enemies
- Health indicates the amount of health each character has for each
difficulty setting, in the order of Demonstrator/Rebel/Freedom
fighter/Revolutionary. A ? indicates I don't know the health for
Demonstrator difficulty, because I never bothered to finish the game
on Demonstrator difficulty (it's just so Kindergarten).
- Headshots do 5x damage. You cannot score headshots with melee
attacks or explosives.
- You can carry a total of 8 health kits at any one time. Since your
health kits will be refilled up to the maximum amount every time you
revisit the Rebel Base, there is no real need to conserve them, and
you can use them freely.
- Ammo for weapons not in your inventory does not carry over into the
next map. So, if you pick up 90 shotgun shells in a map, you can use
those shells any time you pick up a shotgun on that map, but as soon
as you leave the map those shells are gone (unless you're carrying a
shotgun with you when you go).
- Every time you re-enter a map, all enemies, allies, and items
respawn in their original positions. You can use this to stock up on
ammo for weapons whose ammo supply is otherwise very rare, such
as the rocket launcher or sniper rifle.
In Freedom Fighters, your carrying capacity is limited. You can carry 1 pistol
and 1 primary weapon, and must drop your current firearm if you want to pick
up a new one. You can always carry grenades and your monkey wrench, however,
and never have to drop them.
Punch:
Real Name: Mr. Fist
Damage: 17.5
Your basic melee attack. Like in Halo, punch and shoot are two
separate commands, so you can punch an enemy at any time, with
any weapon. You can even punch enemies with your medkits, which
is pretty ironic, although not as ironic as if your guns squirted a
healing salve that cured all wounds (shameless Red vs. Blue
reference).
Because most of the game's combat involves firearms and takes
place at long range, you won't use your punch that often. Still, it can
be a decent ammo-saving move in close quarters and indoor areas.
You can run at an enemy while shooting them to stun them and
prevent them from firing back, then punch them to death to save on
the last couple of bullets you'd otherwise have used to kill them.
Alternatively, if you run low on ammo you can try sneaking up behind
a lone Soviet soldier and punch him to death to steal his weapon.
Each punch will stagger an enemy for a split second, so if you punch
fast enough you can kill an enemy without letting them fire back at
you. However, this usually doesn't work against enemies with lots of
health, such as Soviet black ops or heavy machine gunners, since it
takes so many punches to kill them that they can eventually shrug off
your punches and gun you down.
Wrench:
Real Name: Stillson Pipe Wrench
Damage: 30
Your trusty metal monkey wrench, from your former life as a hapless
Manhattan plumber. You start the game out with this weapon, and will
always have it available to you. The wrench actually hits pretty hard: it
does more damage than your basic melee attack, and is in fact just as
powerful as the revolver or sniper rifle. The downside of the wrench is
that it is completely limited to melee combat, and you'll need to switch
to another weapon to shoot someone. You also cannot score
headshots with it.
Just as with your regular melee attack, hitting an enemy with the
wrench will cause them to stagger for a split second. Thus, if you hit
fast enough, you can pummel an enemy to death without allowing
them to fire back. Because the wrench does more damage than the
basic punch, you can even do this against enemies with lots of health.
It is possible to pummel a Soviet heavy machine gunner to death
using only the wrench, provided that 1) you can get the jump on him
before he has a chance to start shooting at you (try luring him around
a corner), and 2) there are no other enemies to shoot you while you're
busy wailing on him (it takes at least a minute of constant hitting to do
the job).
Pistol:
Real Name: 9mm Beretta 92F
Damage: 15
Accuracy: Average
Clip Size: 17
Max Ammo: 17 + 43
DESCRIPTION:
This Soviet 9mm pistol is the first firearm you'll acquire. The pistol
actually has decent stopping power; it does slightly more damage
than the assault rifle, and a clean headshot will drop a regular Soviet
soldier on all but the highest difficulty level. It also has a good rate of
fire, a decent clip size, and a faster than usual reload time.
Unfortunately, its accuracy is only average, so you won't be able to hit
anything with it past medium range.
EVALUATION:
The pistol makes a good backup weapon for when you're low on
ammo for your primary weapon, or when your primary weapon slot is
occupied by a special weapon such as the sniper rifle or rocket
launcher rather than your trusty assault rifle. However, because of the
pistol's lack of range, the more accurate assault rifle makes a far
better gun for most of the game's firefights. Pistol ammo also
becomes less common after the first couple of missions, as fewer and
fewer enemies will carry them (you can still get pistol ammo by
picking up ammo boxes, though).
On the whole, the pistol is a decent gun and is a preferable secondary
weapon than its alternative, the revolver. However, it is still a
secondary weapon, and you're better off mainly using a primary
weapon such as the assault rifle, shotgun, or machine gun.
ENEMY USAGE:
Soviet Security forces will mainly use the pistol against you on the first
couple of missions, and afterwards you'll occasionally see Soviet
soldiers fighting with it. Overall, these enemies are relatively easy to
fight since the pistol has less accuracy and a lower rate of fire than
the assault rifle, although they do have decent aim and can hurt you
at medium range.
NOTE: There's an odd glitch in the game where, if you pick up a pistol
at the Rebel Base, it might come with more ammo than you can
normally carry. I once picked up a pistol with more than 800,000
rounds in reserve. As far as I can tell, this glitch mostly occurs when
you replay a mission after beating the game.
Revolver:
Real Name: .44 Magnum
Damage: 30
Accuracy: Average
Clip Size: 6
Max Ammo: 6 + 54
DESCRIPTION:
This .44 Magnum-style revolver is the only American weapon in the
game. You'll be able to pick one up from the Rebel Base after
finishing the first mission. It does twice as much damage as the
regular pistol. However, as a trade-off, it has a slower rate of fire, a
much smaller clip size, and is a wee bit less accurate (as a result, it's
overall accuracy is crappy). Additionally, the reload time is somewhat
longer than for most other weapons.
EVALUATION:
The revolver is as powerful as a sniper rifle, and a single headshot will
kill regular Soviet soldiers even on the highest difficulty setting.
Unfortunately, because of the revolver's below-average accuracy, it
can be difficult if not impossible to score a headshot with it.
Additionally, the small clip size and relatively long reload time are a
serious handicap, especially in large firefights against multiple
enemies. Also, the extra power really doesn't make all that much
difference (it takes 3 shots to kill a Soviet soldier with the revolver,
while the pistol requires 5 shots). On the whole, I'd prefer the pistol
over the revolver, as the fact you can get off so many more shots
before needing to stop and reload more than compensates for the
slightly reduced damage of each individual shot.
ENEMY USAGE:
Soviet enemies almost never use this American-made weapon.
Throughout the entire game, I've only ever seen one or two Soviet
soldiers equipped with revolvers. This makes revolver ammo a bit
more scarce than regular pistol ammo. However, since you still
receive several rounds of revolver ammo from every ammo box that
you pick up, you can still max out on revolver ammo by collecting
ammo boxes (although you will run out if you rely on it solely as your
main weapon).
Shotgun:
Real Name: SPAS-12
Damage: 50
Accuracy: Poor
Clip Size: 8
Max Ammo: 8 + 112
DESCRIPTION:
As expected, the shotgun fires a spread of several pellets that
disperse over distance. It has a decent clip size and a relatively fast
semi-automatic rate of fire. It also does good damage, and at close
range can kill most enemies with just a couple shots to the chest or a
single shot to the head. At close range, you can quickly defeat
multiple Soviets with good use of the shotgun.
EVALUATION:
Ammo for the shotgun can be a bit uncommon, but you'll use up less
ammo with it than with an automatic weapon, and thus won't run out
quite as quickly. It only takes 1 or 2 shots from the shotgun to kill a
regular Soviet soldier, as opposed to 7 or more shots from the assault
rifle. You can also pick up a shotgun at any time from the Rebel Base,
loaded with a generous supply of 60 shells. Shotgun ammo also
becomes somewhat more common in later missions, when the Soviet
officers who carry it start to show up more often.
The downside of the shotgun is that it's not as handy as the assault
rifle at medium range, and it's almost impossible to hit anything with it
at long range. You cannot precision target an enemy at medium range
with the shotgun, because the pellets disperse so widely at that
distance. On the plus side, since the gun fires a spread of shots, at
least a couple will usually hit the enemy at medium range, and you
can even hit multiple enemies with one shot if they're grouped
together. You can still fight reasonably well at medium range with the
shotgun, you just need to use up more ammo since the enemy won't
be hit as often. For long range shootouts, however, you'll need to find
an assault rifle.
ENEMY USAGE:
Shotguns are used by Soviet officers, and can seriously hurt you at
close range. 4 or 5 close range shots from the shotgun will kill you on
Freedom Fighter difficulty. Fortunately, the damage done by the
shotgun decreases over distance, so as long as you avoid fighting
Soviet officers up close, their shots shouldn't do too much damage to
you.
Assault Rifle:
Real Name: AK-74
Damage: 10
Accuracy: Very Good
Clip Size: 30
Max Ammo: 30 + 150
DESCRIPTION:
The stock weapon of fictional bad guys everywhere, this is easily the
most common firearm in the game. Most of the Soviet soldiers you
encounter carry one. As a result, it's easy to obtain, and ammo for it
will always be plentiful. That fact alone will make the assault rifle your
primary weapon for most of the game. It's a good general, all-purpose
weapon. Other guns usually do one thing better than the assault rifle
(better accuracy, more power, greater rate of fire...), but the assault
rifle is the most well-rounded gun and is decent in all aspects.
EVALUATION:
As accuracy goes, it's second only to the sniper rifle. While you won't
be able to hit enemies at extreme long range, the assault rifle is still
accurate enough to snipe enemies outside their range of fire (just
don't expect to be accurate enough to score headshots with it). Use
aim mode and fire single shots rather than bursts for maximum
accuracy. You'll miss a few shots at long range, but will score enough
hits to kill enemy soldiers relatively effectively. The assault rifle also
has a quick rate of fire, and a reasonably fast reload time, so you can
run-and-gun with it at close range too (just don't go up against too
many enemies at once without someplace to take cover). Overall, it's
good for both close range and long range combat, making it a nice,
dependable weapon for a variety of situations.
The only downside to the assault rifle is that it is the weakest weapon
in the game. You'll need several shots to the body, or 2 of 3
headshots, to bring down a single Soviet soldier. Because of this,
you'll want to pick off enemies one-by-one while firing from cover.
Never try to rush a group of Soviets with the assault rifle.
ENEMY USAGE:
The majority of Soviet soldiers will use the assault rifle against you.
The individual bullets are weak and do only minor damage, but
several consecutive hits can do significant harm. Since Soviets have
very good accuracy and a high rate of fire, you'll probably want to fight
from cover rather than facing them head-on, especially when
confronted by a group of several Soviets. Fortunately, Soviet soldiers
fire in bursts, rather than emptying their entire clip into you, so even if
you do stray into their line of fire, if you act quickly you'll probably be
able to take cover before being killed.
Sub Machine Gun:
Real Name: Bizon SMG
Damage: 10
Accuracy: Poor
Clip Size: 40
Max Ammo: 40 + 140
DESCRIPTION:
The sub machine gun does the same amount of damage as the
assault rifle, but it has a much higher rate of fire, spraying out bullets
more than three times as quickly. It also has an extremely quick
reload time, allowing you to maintain a steady output of hot lead. The
downside is that it's also much less accurate at range than the assault
rifle, making it almost impossible to hit anything past medium range.
You can cut through enemies quickly in close quarters with the sub
machine gun, but won't be able to hit anything at medium or long
range.
EVALUATION:
It's extremely difficult to use the sub machine gun as your primary
weapon for an extended length of time, largely because it's hard to
maintain enough ammo for it. Ammo for the sub machine gun is fairly
rare, and because of the high rate of fire and low hit rate the gun also
burns through ammo all too quickly.
ENEMY USAGE:
The game's A.I. characters can actually be pretty deadly with this gun,
mainly because they have infinite ammo and can pretty much
constantly spray bullets at you, guaranteeing that at least some will hit
even at longer range. As a result, many of the high-end Soviet units
carry the sub machine gun, and can really hurt you with it, especially
in close quarters. You, on the other hand, are limited to 180 bullets,
and due to the low hit rate it's quite easy to spend 20 to 30 shots just
to kill one enemy at longer range. In general, it's best to stick to the
assault rifle, which is more accurate and easier to control.
Sniper Rifle:
Real Name: Dragunov SVD
Damage: 30
Accuracy: Excellent
Clip Size: 7
Max Ammo: 7 + 23
DESCRIPTION:
As you would expect, the sniper rifle has the longest range and
greatest accuracy out of all the game's weapons. Use aim mode to
activate the scope and zoom in on distant targets. The sniper rifle is
100% accurate, and your bullets will always hit precisely where the
crosshair points. While you can fire the sniper rifle unzoomed, the
whole point of the weapon is to use the scope to sniper distant
targets. The rifle actually has a pretty decent rate of fire, and while
there is a brief pause between shots, it's shorter than you might think
(after every shot, you can hear your character bolt the next round into
the chamber. However, you can actually fire BEFORE the bolting
sound finishes).
EVALUATION:
Scoring consistent headshots is essential for effective use of the
sniper rifle, since shots to the body with it aren't particularly powerful.
You'll need 3 shots to the body to kill a regular Soviet soldier (4 on the
highest difficulty level), and more if you're trying to kill an officer or
commando. Headshots, on the other hand, do 150 damage each and
thus are consistantly lethal against most enemies on all but the
highest difficulty setting.
Unfortunately, the sniper rifle is more of a specialty weapon for
specific situations rather than a general purpose weapon you can use
all the time. Ammo for it is quite scarce, and you can only carry a very
small amount in reserve. Usually, if you find a sniper rifle, you'll only
have the 7 or so bullets in the clip when you pick it up. Generally, you
should make those shots count (by finding a good spot and sniping a
few particularly obnoxious enemies, such as soldiers in guard towers
or manning machine gun turrets), then discard the empty sniper rifle
for another weapon. If you have a high charisma score and have
several Freedom Fighters with you, you can find an elevated position,
command your squad to attack an enemy encampment, then use the
sniper rifle to pick off particularly dangerous enemies (such as
soldiers who try to man the machine gun turrets) while your squad
mops up the rest.
ENEMY USAGE:
Only Soviet snipers will use the sniper rifle against you. Fortunately
they cannot score headshots, so the amount of damage they do to
you is not instantly lethal, and they will need to snipe you several
times to kill you. Additionally, Soviet snipers do not have perfect aim,
and can miss, especially if you keep moving.
Machine Gun:
Real Name: PKM machine gun
Damage: 20
Accuracy: Good
Clip Size: 300
Max Ammo: 300 + 0
DESCRIPTION:
The machine gun is a portable version of the powerful machine gun
turrets you've previously encountered. You start finding them about
halfway through the game, after "Desperate Revenge", when the
Soviet heavy machine gunners who carry it start showing up. It's not
as accurate as the mounted version (mainly because it isn't bolted to
the floor), but it has the same high rate of fire and damaging bullets.
EVALUATION:
Overall, the machine gun is an awesome weapon. It does twice as
much damage as the assault rifle and is almost as accurate, even at
long range. It also has a high rate of fire (slightly greater than that of
the assault rifle), and you never need to reload. Great for mowing
through the heavier opposition you'll encounter in the game's later
levels.
The only downside is that ammo for it fairly rare. However, when you
do find ammo for it, you'll usually find a lot. Each Soviet heavy
machine gunner usually drops about 150 machine gun bullets, and
heavy machine gunners become more common in the game's last
couple of missions. If you conserve ammo by having your Freedom
Fighters do a fair share of the fighting, and make sure to grab ammo
from every heavy machine gunner you kill, you can actually stretch
this weapon out to be your primary gun on the last couple of missions.
ENEMY USAGE:
Soviet heavy machine gunners use the machine gun against you, and
they are extremely dangerous. Not only do their bullets do a decent
amount of damage, but they also have a high rate of fire and won't
stop shooting until you die. On the higher difficulty settings, they can
cut you to pieces in just a couple of seconds, and even on the lower
difficulty settings they can do severe damage. Like the mounted
machine gun turrets, you should never directly attack a machine gun
carrying enemy, and instead find indirect means (such as grenades or
your squad) to beat them.
Rocket Launcher:
Real Name: RPG-7
Damage: 400
Accuracy: Excellent
Clip Size: 1
Max Ammo: 1 + 9
DESCRIPTION:
The rocket launcher is easily the most powerful weapon in the game,
a single direct hit will kill any opponent with the exception of the
heavily armored Soviet heavy machine gunners. The rockets also
have a respectable splash damage radius, and can send a group of
Soviet soldiers flying into the air (the rockets' splash damage is
somewhat less than the damage from a direct hit, but still enough to
kill most enemies with one shot). The rocket launcher is also highly
accurate, and will always hit dead-on where you point the crosshair.
However, since it doesn't have a scope you can zoom with, you really
can't snipe with it. Also, the rockets do not hit instantly and instead
must travel the distance, so it is possible to miss a moving target at
long range (although the splash damage will usually still damage
them if the rocket hits a wall or floor nearby). The rocket launcher is
also the only weapon that can destroy Soviet vehicles, such as
assault helicopters and tanks.
EVALUATION:
The rocket launcher has two big drawbacks. Firstly, it needs to be
reloaded after each shot and thus has a relatively slow rate of fire.
Secondly, you can only hold a maximum of 10 rockets at a time, and
ammo for the rocket launcher is EXTREMELY scarce (each ammo
pickup only gives you 1 additional rocket). The large splash damage
of the rockets also means that you cannot use it at close range, or
else you will seriously harm or even kill yourself.
Overall, the rocket launcher is best used for specific tasks, such as
destroying enemy vehicles. The low ammo amount and rarity of
ammo prevents you from carrying it around for an extended period of
time, so you should just use it when you find it, then discard it for a
more general purpose weapon.
ENEMY USAGE:
Only a couple Soviet soldiers throughout the entire game are
equipped with rocket launchers. These guys can kill you in one shot,
and they can also seriously mess up a squad of your Freedom
Fighters. If you spot a Soviet soldier firing rockets at you, don't try to
send your squad to rush him. If you've got enough guys, you might
take him down, but you'll lose a few men in the process. Instead, take
him on yourself (you can dodge rockets, your men cannot). If
possible, try sniping the rocketeer from just outside his firing range
with your assault rifle. Alternatively, chuck a grenade or molotov at
him, then run in and gun him down when he tries to dive for cover.
Molotov Cocktail:
Damage: 150
Accuracy: Average
Max Ammo: 10
DESCRIPTION:
A glass bottle filled with gasoline, the Molotov cocktail is the
incendiary weapon of choice for rioters and malcontents. Molotov
cocktails are thrown in a gravity-affected arc, the longer you hold
down the fire button, the further you'll toss them. Since they don't
travel in a straight line, it may take some practice before you can
throw them with decent accuracy.
As soon as they hit a hard surface, such as a wall or floor, the
Molotov cocktail will shatter and spill out a wall of flames more than a
dozen feet in diameter. Any enemies caught in the flames will be set
on fire and take damage. As a bonus, enemies on fire will be
occupied with flailing around in pain, and will have difficulty
concentrating enough to shoot at you.
EVALUATION:
The great thing about Molotov cocktails is that they detonate on
impact. This prevents enemies from diving for cover, like they do with
grenades. Molotovs also do lots of damage. On Rebel difficulty, a
single direct hit will kill any enemy soldier except for the heavy
machine gunners and the female black ops. As a plus, the wall of
flames created by a Molotov cocktail will last for a couple of seconds,
and sometimes Soviet soldiers not caught in the initial blast will
stumble into the flames and set themselves on fire.
ENEMY USAGE:
Molotovs are a Rebel-only weapon. Soviet forces do not carry them,
and you will not find any Molotov pickups inside Soviet bases.
However, you'll be restocked with a full 10 Molotovs every time you
revisit the Rebel Base, and you'll also sometimes find them lying
around the map in areas where Rebels hang out, such as Rebel
hideouts or near manholes.
Fragmentation Grenade:
Damage: 100
Accuracy: Average
Max Ammo: 10
DESCRIPTION:
Frag grenades are thrown in an arc, with the strength of your throw
determined by how long you hold down the fire button before
releasing it. They don't do as much damage as Molotov cocktails, but
they still pack a decent punch. A direct hit will kill a regular Soviet
soldier on any difficulty level (although you will need multiple
grenades to kill any of the higher-end Soviet units). The problem is
that grenades don't explode immedietely, instead they lay on the
ground for a few seconds before detontating (unlike other games, you
can't make the grenade explode faster by holding onto it longer). The
enemies in this game are no idiots, and are quite good at diving for
cover the moment they spot a grenade land. They might take partial
splash damage, but they'll rarely take the full amount of damage
(however, even partial splash damage can kill regular Soviet troops
on the lower difficulty levels). One way to get around this is to throw
multiple grenades... while they're still on the ground from diving from
the first grenade, the second grenade will explode next to them and
kill them.
EVALUATION:
While grenades might not be as lethal as Molotov cocktails, they're
good at scattering a group of enemy soldiers. Chuck a grenade into
the middle of a group of Soviets, and they'll dive haphazardly for
cover. If you're lucky, the explosion may even kill a few unfortunate
Soviet troops who were unable to get clear of the blast radius in time.
Also, because they rebound off walls, you can bounce grenades
around corners to take out Soviet troops without getting directly into
their line of fire.
ENEMY USAGE:
Grenades are reasonably common among the Soviet forces. Within
any large group of Soviet troops, at least one or two will carry a few
grenades. You'll also often find grenade pickups in Soviet weapon
stockpiles.
Be careful of Soviets that toss grenades at you; the blast can do
significant damage to you, and in the middle of a firefight its easy to
miss noticing a grenade sail through the air and land next to you.
Fortunately, grenades make a distinct clinking sound when they land,
which you should learn to recognize and take as a sign to dive for
cover. Grenades are also annoying as they can seriously damage
your squad of Freedom Fighters (who seem less adept at dodging
them than the Soviet troops). On the plus side, it's fairly uncommon
for Soviets to actually use grenades in battle.
This is you. This shows how much health you have on each of the
game's difficulty settings. On "demonstrator" difficulty, you're a
walking tank, while on "revolutionary" difficulty you have the same
amount of health as the regular Soviet troops you're facing. Proceed
accordingly.
Your ragtag squad of rebels. A large portion of the game's gameplay
mechanics revolve around you commanding a squad of these guys
into battle. The higher your charisma, the more Freedom Fighters you
can have in your squad, for a total of 12. They can be ordered to
defend a position, attack an area, or to simply follow you. They are
also essentially immortal, as whenever they run out of health they
simply are knocked "unconcious" and can be restored with a health
kit.
BEHAVIOR:
Freedom Fighters are superior in every way to Soviet troops. They
have better aim, superior range, they fire in longer bursts, and they
have much more health. Freedom Fighters have more than twice as
much health as you do on any difficulty level, and thus on all but the
highest difficulty setting, they have more health than any single Soviet
unit, save for the heavy machine gunner. Don't be shy about sending
them into combat, a squad of 5 or more Freedom Fighters can pretty
much mop the floor with any opposition the Soviets can send against
you. To minimize damage to your fighters, have them take cover
behind something (by ordering them to defend behind a wall or car),
and let them mow down Soviet troops from their shielded position.
Out of all the Soviet troops, only Soviet heavy machine gunners can
really stand up to your Freedom Fighters. However, those troops
never appear in groups of more than one, and a squad of 5 or more
Freedom Fighters can effectively overwhelm a lone heavy machine
gunner (especially if you help out with your own firepower).
In the normal course of the game, you will not find any Freedom
Fighters equipped with grenades, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, or
heavy machine guns. However, on the "Liberty Island" bonus level,
some recruitable defecting Soviet soldiers carry heavy machine guns.
Be sure to grab these guys when you find them, with their high health
and great weapon it's almost like having your very own Soviet heavy
machine gunner in your squad.
STRATEGY:
The only things that really pose a danger to your Freedom Fighters
are explosives (such as grenades or rockets), mounted machine gun
turrets, or assault helicopters. Few enemies use explosives, so they
aren't a common concern. Assault helicopters can be disabled by
destroying their helipads before tackling the area they patrol. As for
machine gun turrets, never send your squad to rush them, they'll just
be cut down. Elminate the gunners yourself before sending in your
squad to mop up the rest.
In "Follow" mode, your fighters can be a bit reckless, and will
sometimes charge right into enemy machine gun fire. To prevent
them from doing this, order them to "Defend" an area, and this will
keep them from running off on their own.
NOTE: On Revolutionary difficulty, your Freedom Fighters aren't quite
as durable. They only have about 200 health each, and thus tend to
die more quickly than usual. On this difficulty, you'll need to position
your squad intelligently behind good cover to maximize their survival,
and be generous with your medikits.
Mr. Jones:
Appearance: Gruff, older ex-military guy, wearing an Army surplus
jacket.
Health: Infinite
Weapon: Revolver
Mr. Jones, the first ally you meet upon starting the game, will help you
fight your way through the game's first map (which is essentially a
tutorial). You won't encounter many enemies in the first level, but
Jones will help you kill the few that you do run across. Jones leads
you along a pre-scripted path. You follow him around, but can't issue
him orders or lead him off the beaten path. He's got exceptionally
good aim, and can often score headshots with his revolver. He is also
invincible, so there's no need to worry about his safety.
Isabella Angelina:
Appearance: Cute redhead gal, wearing brown winter jacket.
Health: Infinitel
Weapon: Sub Machine Gun
You'll find and rescue your resistance leader and love interest Isabella
Angelina in the last map of the game's last level. She's armed with an
SMG, and will accompany you for the remainder of the last level. You
are unable to issue orders to Isabella, but she will follow you around
and attack any enemy soldiers she sees. Isabella is invincible, so you
don't have to worry about her losing any firefights.
Isabella also appears as a recruitable fighter at the beginning of the
game's bonus level, Liberty island. She's still armed with an SMG, but
is no longer invincible.
Soviet Security:
Appearance: Average-sized Soviets, wearing dark brown Fascist-style
uniforms and brown caps.
Health: 45 / 65 / 70 / 100
Favorite Weapon: Pistol
Other Weapons: Assault Rifle
Special Skills: None
Soviet Security forces are the first and weakest enemies you'll
encounter. They only show up in the game's first two missions,
"Soviet Domination" and "In A New York Minute". They behave more
or less like regular Soviet soldiers, except they're usually armed only
with pistols rather than with assault rifles. Their pistols do about as
much damage as an assault rifle, but have less accuracy and a
slower rate of fire. They also generally do not travel in large groups,
so unlike Soviet soldiers they can't gang up on you in great numbers.
Once you get an assault rifle, it's fairly easy to mow through these
guys. Also, since their pistols have slightly less range than your
assault rifle, you can actually snipe them down before they can get
close enough to shoot at you.
Soviet Soldier:
Appearance: Average-sized Soviet wearing round helmet and light
brown camouflage coat.
Winter Appearance: Average-sized Soviet wearing long white coat
and green cap.
Health: 45 / 65 / 70 / 100
Favorite Weapon: Assault Rifle
Other Weapons: Pistol, Revolver, Shotgun, Rocket Launcher,
Grenades
Special Skills: Can wield many different weapon types
DESCRIPTION:
The most common and versatile Soviet troop, you'll spend most of the
game facing off against these guys. Soviet soldiers are quite bright;
they fire from behind cover, advance in squads, and can even try to
flank you. If they're feeling confident, they can charge straight at you
firing their weapons, but if you're dug in behind cover they duck down
low and advance cautiously towards you.
BEHAVIOR:
Most soldiers are armed with assault rifles. Their aim is very accurate
and they fire in bursts of several shots, allowing them to hit you with
multiple bullets in the space of a couple seconds. This can seriously
hurt you on the higher difficulty levels. Fortunately, because they fire
in bursts, if you get caught in their line of fire you may take some hits,
but should have time to run for cover between bursts before they
finish you off.
Although most Soviet soldiers use assault rifles, they can occasionally
be seen using other weapons as well. Most commonly, they
sometimes use pistols or grenades against you. A couple soldiers in
the game are armed with revolvers, shotguns, and even rocket
launchers.
KILL STRATEGY:
Soldiers can survive several bullets before dying, but compared to the
other enemies in the game, they're relatively weak. However, soldiers
never appear alone, and you'll usually fight squads of several of them
at once. It's a bad idea to charge straight at a group of soldiers,
especially on the higher difficulty levels. Instead, you should dig in
behind some cover and pick them off one by one from there.
Although Soviets are pretty accurate, their assault rifles become less
accurate at long range, and they won't even try to shoot at you past a
certain distance. If you're armed with an assault rifle or machine gun,
you can actually shoot at soldiers just outside their range of fire. You'll
miss a bit, but every few shots should hit your target.
Your squad also works well against Soviet soldiers. Your squaddies
have better aim, fire in longer bursts, and have much more health
than Soviet troops, so as long as you give them a decent cover
position to fire from, they can easily mow down Soviets as they
approach.
Soviet Sniper:
Appearance: Average-sized Soviet wearing green uniform and green
cap.
Winter Appearance: Average-sized Soviet wearing Eskimo-style white
parka.
Health: 45 / 65 / 70 / 100
Weapon: Sniper Rifle
Special Skills: Sniping
DESCRIPTION:
Soviet snipers set up sniper nests in windows or towers, and snipe at
you when you come into range. They've got better sight and longer
range than the regular Soviet forces. If you start getting shot despite
not seeing any enemies around you, odds are a sniper is firing at you
from above. You should take cover as soon as this starts to happen.
Snipers have very low aggression, and usually stay in their sniper
nests. They will almost never leave their positions and try to pursue
you if you retreat out of their line of sight.
Snipers can be difficult to locate, as you usually can't trace their shots
back to them. However, they tend to fire from guard towers or open
windows, telltale signs you should try to spot using your over-the-
shoulder 3rd person perspective.
BEHAVIOR:
Snipers can be annoying, but they're not the frustrating instant death
variety you see in games like Allied Assault or Iron Storm. Their aim
isn't perfect, and they miss some of their shots, especially if you
dodge around or take cover. Additionally, their shots don't kill you
instantly; even on the highest difficulty setting it takes 4 sniper shots
to kill you, and you can survive more than that on the lower difficulty
levels (5 on Freedom Fighter, 9 on Rebel, and 25 on Demonstrator).
KILL STRATEGY:
There are several ways to deal with snipers. If you've got a sniper rifle
of your own, you can simply counter-snipe them. If you know where
the sniper's nest is, you can even snipe them before they realize
you're there. You can even counter-snipe snipers with the assault rifle
if you're close enough. Alternatively, you can sneak up on snipers and
kill them from behind. Most sniper nests are accessible from behind,
search around the building the sniper is shooting from to see if there
are any staircases or holes in the wall you can use to get in.
Snipers are the one enemy that your squad isn't particularly effective
against. Often, they can shoot at your squad at such a long range that
your fighters won't be able to fire back. Even if your soldiers can see
and fire at the sniper, they might not be accurate enough to hit him,
especially if the sniper is dug in behind cover. It's best to order your
squad to take cover somewhere outside the sniper's field of vision,
then take out the sniper yourself before letting your squad advance
through the area the sniper was guarding.
Soviet Officer:
Appearance: Big, burly-looking Soviet wearing light brown uniform
and red beret.
Winter Appearance: Big, burly-looking Soviet wearing white coat and
red beret.
Health: ? / 150 / 165 / 200
Weapon: Shotgun
Special Skills: Giving orders to troops
DESCRIPTION:
Soviet officers can be seen guarding the flags on the game's first
mission, and begin appearing on the streets and front lines
afterwards. They can often be seen leading a squad of Soviet
soldiers. Soviet officers are easy to recognize; they're larger than the
regular Soviet troops, and they sport distinct red berets on their
heads.
BEHAVIOR:
Officers are a bit more aggressive than the troops under their
command, but they still approach cautiously when they spot you at
long range, and make extensive use of cover to protect themselves.
They're also tougher and meaner than the regular soldiers, carrying
shotguns and capable of surviving almost 2.5 times as much damage
as regular troops. It takes more than a dozen bullets to take them
down, and they can even survive multiple headshots from the assault
rifle or pistol.
KILL STRATEGY:
Their shotguns make Soviet officers very dangerous in close quarters,
and at close range they can kill you with just a few shots. However,
the damage and accuracy of their shotguns decreases over distance,
so that at medium or long range they won't do much damage to you if
they can even hit you at all.
One weakness Soviet officers have is that they don't shoot at you as
soon as they spot you. Instead, they spend a couple of seconds
yelling orders to their men (even if there are no other soldiers around),
which leaves them vulnerable to being shot.
Overall, Soviet Officers aren't too much of a threat, just keep your
distance and be prepared to use up more ammo taking them down.
Soviet Commando:
Appearance: Big, burly-looking Soviet wearing dark-brown uniform
and orange scarf.
Winter Appearance: Big, burly-looking Soviet wearing dark grey coat
and orange scarf.
Health: ? / 125 / 145 / 100
Weapon: Sub Machine Gun
Special Skills: Rolling dodge, choking grip
DESCRIPTION:
Soviet Commandos begin to appear towards the end of the second
mission, "In a New York Minute", and become progressively more
common after that. They've got almost twice as much health as a
regular Soviet soldier (although not as much as a Soviet offcer), and
carry sub machine guns which give them an extremely high rate of fire
and make them deadly in close quarters. Just standing in their line of
sight for a couple of seconds can get you killed on the higher difficulty
settings. A squad of several Soviet Commandos can be extremely
deadly, but fortunately you'll seldom face more than one or two of
them at a time, usually mixed in amongst the regular Soviet soldiers.
BEHAVIOR:
Besides their rapid-fire weaponry, the distinguishing feature of
commandos is that they are extremely aggressive. While most Soviet
troops will either go for cover or crouch down and cautiously approach
your position once they've spotted you, commandos generally just
charge straight for you once they see where you're hiding. This can
be problematic if they catch you by surprise while you're trying to
reload to are focused on another enemy. Although you can usually
mow down a single commando who charges behind your cover area,
a squad of commandos rushing you can easily overwhelm you while
you're trying to reload. It's a good idea to have your squad defend you
while you cover and reload so that you don't leave yourself vulnerable
to these guys.
Soviet commandos also have two special moves unique to them. One
is a rolling dodge they use to avoid your shots, which they usually use
when you try to aim at them (other Soviet troops can occasionally roll,
but the commandos do it all the time). Commandos can also run up to
your Freedom Fighters and strangle them from behind. Your Freedom
Fighters are unable to block this attack, and will die after several
seconds of being choked. To prevent this, you must shoot and kill the
commando while he's choking your man.
KILL STRATEGY:
The best way to deal with them is to mow them down from a distance
using the assault rifle, before they get close enough to start shooting
at you. In close quarters, use full automatic fire and don't be afraid to
empty an entire clip into them. Your Freedom Fighters also put up a
good fight against them, as long as they don't get close enough to
start choking your men.
Soviet Heavy Machine Gunner:
Appearance: HUGE Soviet wearing dark grey, steel plate armor and
steel helmet.
Health: ? / 600 / 750 / 800
Weapon: Machine Gun
Special Skills: Stun resistant
DESCRIPTION:
These massive, heavily armored Soviet behemoths begin to appear
about halfway through the game, after "Desperate Revenge". They
are easily the toughest enemies you'll face. Extremely durable, these
guys take two direct hits from the rocket launcher to kill, or 2-3 clips
of constant assault rifle fire. It also takes multiple sniper rifle shots
to the head (4 on Rebel, 5 on Freedom Fighter, and 6 on Revolutionary
difficulty) to bring them down. Despite their large size and heavy
armor, they're just as manueverable as any other Soviet soldier, and
can use cover, dive away from grenades, and run forward to attack
just like your other enemies. They seem a wee bit slower than other
Soviet troops, but no so much that it disadvantages them at all in
combat. Normally, they don't bother with fancy manuevers and just
stand in one place and shoot at you, but they can do the fancy
manuevers if they want to.
BEHAVIOR:
These guys carry machine guns, portable versions of the machine
gun turrets you've been facing. Just like the turrets, heavy machine
gunners have a very high rate of fire, very damaging bullets, and very
high accuracy. Also, they do not fire in bursts, but rather fire a
continous stream of bullets into you until you die. On the higher
difficulty levels, they can literally kill you in a couple of seconds. The
same rules that applied to the machine gun turrets apply to the heavy
machine gunners. Never, ever launch a frontal assault against them,
and never get into their line of fire.
Soviet heavy machine gunners wear heavy armor that cushions them
from the force of your bullets. Unlike every other soldier, they won't
"flinch" when you shoot them in the chest. This means your weapons
won't stun them, and they can continue to shoot you even as you
empty your weapon into them. Therefore, if you face one head-on,
he'll easily kill you before you can kill him.
KILL STRATEGY:
The Soviet heavy machine gunners' big weakness is that they are still
vulnerable to headshots. So if you shoot one in the head, he'll flinch.
If you can score repeated headshots on one with your assault rifle or
machine gun, you can keep a heavy machine gunner stunned and prevent them
from counter-attacking. If you're in close quarters and absolutely MUST
fight one of these guys head-on, go into aim mode and keep targeting their
head. It's best to do this near a wall or obstacle you can use for cover
in case you need to reload to dodge his fire. ONLY try this if the machine
gunner is alone. If he's got backup, kill the other Soviet troops first
before trying to focus on the machine gunner.
While it is possible to down a heavy machine gunner by yourself using
headshots, this is not advisable. The best way to deal with them is
either to blast them indirectly using grenades and molotovs while
hiding behind cover, or to send your squad to attack them. A squad of
6 or more Freedom Fighters should be able to take down a heavy
machine gunner, especially if you lend your own firepower to the fight.
Soviet Black Ops:
Appearance: Average-sized female Soviet clad in green bodysuit,
wearing night-vision googles.
Health: ? / 200 / 250 / 350
Weapon: Sub Machine Gun
Special Skills: Cartwheel dodge
DESCRIPTION:
These ninja-like Soviet special forces don't show up until the last
couple of missions. They look like female versions of Splinter Cell's
Sam Fisher, and are quite tough fighters. They carry sub machine
guns, and have even more health than the Soviet officers.
BEHAVIOR:
Like Soviet commandos, they're quite aggressive and tend to charge your
position, but they also make good use of cover as well. They move
faster than other Soviet units, and have very high accuracy with their
rapid-fire sub machine gun shots. Like the Soviet Commandos, they
can kill you very quickly with the SMG at close to medium range,
especially on the higher difficulty levels.
Soviet Black Ops also have a special cartwheel backflip which they
use to avoid enemy fire. They generally use this either when you try to
aim at them, or in order to dive behind cover. Fortunately, you should
still be quick enough to nail them with assault rifle fire even when
they're flipping around.
KILL STRATEGY:
These gals are actually pretty rare, and you'll only see a handful of
them throughout the entire game. Because of their high health, you
should empty your entire clip into them and try to score headshots. As
with Soviet Commandos, you're best off either picking them off before
they get too close, or stunning them with rapid consecutive shots to
prevent them from firing back. Alternatively, you can send your squad
in to eliminate them. They're tougher than average, but alone they're
not too much of an obstacle against you or your squad. However,
while they never appear in pairs, they usually ARE accompanied by a
squad of several Soviet soldiers as well as officers or commandos.
General Tatarin:
Appearance: Huge, burly Soviet General wearing brown shirt and
pants.
Health: 45 / 65 / 70 / 100
Weapon: Assault Rifle
Special Skills: Commander-In-Chief
DESCRIPTION:
Tatarin, your arch-nemesis, leader of the Soviet invasion, the great
warrior-general... actually dies pretty easily. He's huge and looks
tough, but he's actually no stronger than the average Soviet soldier.
He's also only armed with an assault rifle. The thing is, you won't fight
him by himself. Tatarin paces back and forth on an outdoors balcony
at the center of the Soviet base. The courtyard in front of his balcony
is protected by a small army, consisting of a couple dozen soldiers, a
squad of several commandos, as well as Tatarin's personal
bodyguard, a Soviet heavy machine gunner. You could wipe out this
horde by luring them into a tight corridor, then killing them with
Molotov cocktails when they bunch together, but it's an awful lot of
trouble to go through.
KILL STRATEGY:
The best way to kill Tatarin, and the way the game probably expects
you to do it, is to snipe him from the sniper tower. One headshot will
do him. However, that always seemed a bit anti-climatic to me, so I
prefer to fight him up close and personal.
The sniper's tower is a good place to get rid of the General's guards,
however. From the tower, you can snipe the heavy machine gunner
and (depending on how much ammo you've got) cull out most or even
all of the regular soldiers milling about. Go down and try to enter the
courtyard where Tatarin's building is, and you'll be ambushed by a
squad of several commandos who swarm in from out of nowhere.
Retreat back to some cover and take them out with Molotov cocktails
(or, if you still have ammo, the sniper rifle). Don't try to face them
directly, you'll be wiped out in seconds. Once all resistance has been
eliminated, walk up to Tatarin's balcony and throw down.
Shoot Tatarin. Blast Tatarin. Set Tatarin on fire. Chuck grenades at
him and laugh as he dives for cover. Have fun killing him however you
like, he's not going to do much harm to you with his lone assault rifle.
For kicks, you can even use a grenade to blow Tatarin right out of his
balcony and onto the ground, where you can run up to him and get
into a punching match when he gets back up.
Soviet Elite Guards:
Appearance: A pair of HUGE Soviets, wearing white steel plate armor
with a big red star on the chest, and steel helmets with a similar red
star emblem.
Health: NA/NA/600/700
Weapons: Machine Gun, Super Shotgun
Special skills: Stun resistant
DESCRIPTION:
The final bosses! Well, not exactly. These two guys guard the Statute
of Liberty's torch at the very end of the final Liberty Island bonus level.
They're almost identical to the regular Soviet heavy machine gunners,
except their armor is a bit fancier, and in addition to a regular machine
gun each one also carries a special "super shotgun" that fires and
reloads extremely rapidly (they can fire off eight consecutive shotgun
blasts in one second). These two guys are devastating in close
combat, so you don't want to climb up onto their platform to challenge
them directly.
Unfortunately, their platform is only accessible by climbing a thin log
bridge. It is extremely difficult to get your Freedom Fighters to climb
this bridge, so you can't just order you squad to swarm the Elites for
you. You'll just have to kill them yourself.
KILL STRATEGY:
The Elite on the left can be targeted from the ground using aim mode.
At this range, he shouldn't be able to shoot at you. Snipe him with
your assault rifle or heavy machine gun. Some of your shots will miss
at that range, but some will still hit. It takes a LOT of hits to kill him
(since you're probably too far away to score headshots), so you may
need to run back to the previous battlefield to grab more ammo, but
he should eventually die. If you park your squad in sight of him, they
might even be able to shoot at him for you.
Once the Elite on the left is down, the Elite on the right is vulnerable.
Climb up the log leading to the Torch. When you get near the top, use
the top part of the log as cover. The remaining Elite will try to shoot at
you, but as long as your head isn't in his line of sight the log should
absorb the shots. When he's not shooting, run up and unleash a
stream of lead into his head. If you need to reload, run back down the
log for cover. The last Elite should die quickly enough, allowing you to
enter the Torch and finish the game.
Soviet Mounted Machine Gun:
Appearance: Stationary .50 machine gun mounted on a tripod, with a
metal shield in front.
Health: Indestructible
DESCRIPTION:
The Soviets have set up mounted machine gun turrets all over New
York to fortify their positions. Such turrets are usually protected by
short bunker walls, and are placed strategically at choke points to
hinder your progress through a level.
BEHAVIOR:
As soon as they spot you or your Freedom Fighters, Soviet soldiers
near a machine gun turret will usually run to that turret and use it to
attack you. Turrets have an extremely high rate of fire and very
damaging bullets. On the higher difficulty settings, a single turret can
mow you down in seconds, or kill off your entire squad of Freedom
Fighters. As such, you should never approach a turret head-on. Even
running sideways to avoid the turret's fire usually isn't enough, as the
turret gunner can usually compensate and hit you after a few tries.
The biggest problem with turrets is that they are protected by a
mounted shield that makes it extremely difficult to shoot the gunner
manning the turret. Only the top portion of the gunner's head is visible
from in front of the shield. At long range, your assault rifle simply isn't
accurate enough to hit such a small target. At closer range, you won't
have time to aim and fire at the gunner's head before he mows you
down.
KILL STRATEGY:
The best way to take out a turret's gunner is to find an alternate path
that lets you ambush him from the side. Since turrets can only rotate
to a small degree and have a limited field of fire, they are vulnerable
from the sides and the back. You can also throw grenades or molotov
cocktails at the turret from cover, and with a little practice you should
be able to successfully kill the gunner with bombs without exposing
yourself to attack.
Alternatively, if you have a sniper rifle, you can use it to snipe turret
gunners in the head at long range, but this strategy can be
problematic since you don't have much sniper ammo, and other
Soviet soldiers can sometimes run in and replace the one you just
killed at the controls of the turret.
On the plus side, you can commandeer any unoccupied machine gun
turrets, and turn them against the enemy. Besides being very
powerful, these turrets have perfect aim and unlimited ammo, allowing
you to mow down any Soviets in your line of sight. As a plus, the
metal shield mounted in front of the turret also defends you almost
completely against any return fire the Soviets might send back at you.
The only downside of the mounted machine gun is that it cannot
rotate more than 45 degrees in either direction, limiting you to a
narrow field of fire.
Soviet Armored Personnel Carrier:
Appearance: Armored car
Health: Indestructible
DESCRIPTION:
Soviet APCs drive through the embattled streets of New York,
dropping off squads of Soviet reinforcements at pre-designated drop-
off points. New APCs arrive every couple of minutes to deposit fresh
troops. APCs are bulletproof and respawn infinitely, so the only way to
stop them from coming is to destroy the bridges they travel over
(usually located in a different map from the one the APCs actually
appear in).
APCs will also run you over if you're standing on the road in their
path, and they'll also sometimes try to back up into you or your
Freedom Fighters if you're standing on the sidewalk. Your Freedom
Fighters are sometimes smart enough to run for cover when an APC
is approaching down the road, but sometimes they just stand there
and get run over. Just make sure one doesn't run you over, since they
make very little noise and can be missed if you're not looking in the
right direction. Getting hit by an APC is instantly fatal for you or your
soldiers.
KILL STRATEGY:
The constantly respawning stream of Soviet soldiers that come from
the APCs can be annoying, but since they tend to clump together in
one single area, it is possible to get around them by killing them off,
then running past the APC's drop-off point before a new APC arrives
with more reinforcements. Taking this approach, you can proceed to
the end of the level without having to deal with the troops the APCs
constantly drop off, but the downside is you can't backtrack and revisit
the area near the APC drop-off point, as fresh soldiers will be waiting
for you there.
Transport Helicopters ferry in fresh supplies of Soviet soldiers to
replace those killed by you and your troops. They hover over pre-set
locations while depositing their troops onto the ground, and return
with more soldiers every couple of minutes. Usually helicopters carry
Soviet soldiers, but they can also carry commandos, officers, and (on
one map) even heavy machine gunners. The only way to stop them
from coming is to destroy their helipad, always located in a different
map from the area in which they appear. However, stopping transport
helicopters isn't essential to finishing a map. There are ways to deal
with the reinforcements they ferry in.
KILL STRATEGY:
Transport helicopters have one weakness; they unload their troops
one at a time, and there's a gap of a few seconds between each
soldier getting off the helicopter. If you position your squad in a
fortified position facing the area where the helicopter deposits its
troops, you can have them mow down each Soviet soldier as he steps
off the helicopter, before he can orient himself and return fire. You'll
need a squad of 5 or more Freedom Fighters to pull this off, otherwise
the Soviets will be able to get off the helicopter quicker than your
squad can kill them off.
Also, just as with Soviet APCs, the Soviet soldiers that come in via
helicopter tend to stand around where they're dropped off, rather than
wander elsewhere on the map. Thus, if you stay away from the drop-
off point, these soldiers won't bother you and you can progress to the
end of the level.
These flying weapons platforms are extremely dangerous, and should
be totally avoided if at all possible. Each assault helicopter is
equipped with several machine guns, as well as multiple rocket
batteries. They can either bombard you with simaltaneous fire from
each of their machine guns, or blast you with a barrage of several
rockets. Either attack can kill you in just a few seconds. They only
appear one at a time, but one is more than enough to destroy you and
your entire squad.
Assault helicopters generally patrol a very small area, attacking
anything that strays into their path. It might be possible for your to get
past them by using buildings and debris as cover to avoid their
attacks, but your squad is not so smart and will almost always be
wiped out if you bring them with you into the assault helicopter's area
of patrol.
KILL STRATEGY:
Assault helicopters are bulletproof, but they can be destroyed by a
shot from the rocket launcher. However, there really isn't much point
in doing this, as another assault helicopter will show up to take the
previous one's place after a minute or so. The only way to
permenantly clear an area of assault helicopters is to destroy their
landing pads, usually located in a different area from the one in which
the helicopters actually appear.
Unlike APCs or transport helicopters, assault helicopters are very
difficult to get past, and you probably HAVE to destroy their helipad
before you can reach the end of the map they appear in. If you
complete the maps in the right order, you'll never actually have to face
one in the regular game.
There is ONE assault helicopter that you'll actually have to fight. It
appears near the end of the Liberty Island bonus level, guarding the
Statue of Liberty's torch. You can spot it off in the distance as soon as
you climb the tablet and reach the final battlefield. It flies back and
forth near the torch, all the while firing missiles at you and the
Freedom Fighters engaged in battle below you. You'll need to destroy
it with a rocket (and, coincidentally enough, a rocket launcher is right
there in front of you as soon as you reach the top of the tablet), but
because it flies back and forth, it's a moving target and can be difficult
to hit. Your best bet is to aim at the center of its flight path, and fire
several rockets at it all at once. Some will miss, but the helicopter
should stray into one of the rockets in the line, and explode.
Soviet Tank:
Appearance: It's a friggin' tank!
Health: Special (2 rocket shots)
DESCRIPTION:
There's only one Soviet Tank in the entire game. It appears in the
mission "Winter Revolt", guarding the entrance to the Soviet's TV
Propaganda Studios. The tank will roll into view just as you get within
range of the TV studio's entrance.
The tank is an extremely dangerous opponent. A single blast from it's
massive cannon will kill you on any difficulty level, and because of the
weapon's large splash damage it's almost impossible to dodge the
tank's shots. The tank is also completely bulletproof, as well as
resistant against flames and grenades. The only weapon that can
harm it is the rocket launcher. You'll need a total of two direct hits
from the rocket launcher to take it down.
KILL STRATEGY:
The best way to destroy the tank is to blow it up before it can roll into
firing position to blast you. There's a rocket launcher conveniently
located in one of the bombed out buildings just before you reach the
tank. As soon as you enter the building, you should hear the tank
rolling into position just outside. Quickly grab the rocket launcher, run
outside, and fire two rockets at the tank before it gets into firing
position.
Don't try to face the tank head-on out in the open, it will blast you
before you can destroy it. However, if the tank does manage to roll
into firing position before you can get to it, that's OK. You can still fire
rockets at it from the windows of the building you got the rocket
launcher from. Just be sure to aim and fire quickly, and duck back
behind cover before the tank can blast you. Some of the splash
damage might come through the wall and hurt you, but it shouldn't be
enough to kill you.
Finally, you can retreat all the way back to the elevated bunker with the
machine gun turret, near the highway. At this distance, the tank can't
hit you, but you can hit it just fine with your rocket launcher.
