Didn’t play any of the story last night, just levels in Mercenaries mode. First I tried out the Pincer Attack level again. I managed to do it, but I was stuck with just a handgun, my back to the wall and some scary enemies advancing on me when the helicopter finally showed up. Very tense stuff.


Though not as tense as the next mission, Sniper’s Hand. It is, as the name implies, a sniper level. You start on a ledge with the rifle and fair amount of ammo. There’s a ladder leading down to the ground that you can kick over. Then it’s a question of picking off the bad guys as they approach. It seems easy at first, but before too long the enemies have got the ladder back up. That’s still okay, though, because you can shoot them and kick it back down. That doesn’t last long, though, and eventually you’ll be unable to get to the ladder as more and more enemies approach and climb up to your ledge. They keep going down, but then the rifle clicks… you’re out of ammunition. Sometimes the enemies drop ammo, but do you dare to try and reach it with enemies approaching? Even if you do, you’ll run out again before long, so you switch to the handgun and keep firing as the final seconds count down, hoping that the rescue helicopter will reach you before the villagers. It’s awesome stuff, it really is.

And I didn’t even mention that now and again enemies can come from behind you and mess up your careful sniping. I’ve played this level a few times and it’s never been less than heart-pounding, terrifying stuff. If I was better at sniping people it would be a lot easier, but also less exciting. I’m actually hoping I don’t get too good at it.

Oh, and it also earns you a huge amount of money, due to the number of enemies and the amount of head shots you get. I’m building up a lot cash, which I’ll use to upgrade my weapons when I go and do the next story level.