1-2: First In

1-2: First In (Prologue)

It's not the size of your weapon

Mission Intro

You must infiltrate the Taliban-held town of Gardez and locate Tariq, a local elder who has valuable intel on high value targets and enemy positions in the surrounding area.

Mission Start

You will be contacted by the other string of your squad -- who are okay but are also on foot like you.  What I suggest you do is put your main weapon in single-shot mode now.  I am sure that you are good at this, but there is no sense in burning though your ammo when you do not need to, and ahead you are going to want to execute some precision shots anyway. 

My experience with street fighting and house-to-house combat is that the acoustics in a city can be really funky.  It is often very difficult to determine the direction of a single shot -- firing on full auto even in bursts gives any Tango in the area a better idea of where you are, so stick with precision shots, and try for either center mass or head shots, as they are more likely to bring a target down.

There are certain tactics that come naturally in this sort of environment -- for example Tangos are likely to use vehicles as cover.  That cam make hitting them difficult if you force your mind to stay inside the box, but a little creative thinking can usually work wonders here.  Ricochet wounds are nasty -- and really easy to inflict if a Tango is behind a car!  Just aim for a spot under the car that will send your bullet bouncing up at your target, and you will see how effective that can be -- the push cart ahead is a perfect example for use of this tactic.

First chance you get swap your shotgun for one of the enemies weapons.  Why would you do that considering that a shotgun is good for close-in combat?  Well, first, this is not a situation in which you actually want to get that close to the enemy, and second, the sound of the Kalishnakov -- like the sound of your own main weapon -- is very distinct and easy to recognize.  By using their weapon, you make it harder for distant Tangos to tell if you are the enemy or one of their men firing.

When using the enemy weapons, remember that at short range they have pretty good penetration levels -- when an enemy is taking cover behind a plywood barrier or a wall, sending a few rounds through that cover is the best way to convince them that elsewhere is a good place to be.

As you work your way through the next street and alley to complete your objective try to get used to the AK and learn how to do three-shot bursts without thinking about it.  That is your best tactic to keep from burning through your ammo, but as it is their weapon you should be able to resupply ammo easily from the downed Tangos.  Keep in mind that there are Yankees ahead (good guys) and try not to engage them.  Friendly fire is a bitch.

You will kick through a door and take out a Tango inside, at which point you should now have experienced all of the tactical commands.  Inside you will melee the power box to put the building dark, and then turn on your night vision goggles (D-Pad Down) so you can actually see.  Now crouch and move through the building taking out Tangos as you go.

In this sort of situation you want to follow the walls -- that provides you with at least one direction from which the enemy will not be attacking, so it allows you to concentrate your attention on the three directions they may attack from.   Since you do not have eyes in the back of your head that is a good tactic.  You may want to  switch to your sidearm now -- just double-tap Y. 

When clearing a building it is a good tactic to double-tap the head of any downed Tangos as you encounter them to be sure that they are dead.  That should become second nature to you after a while, and you would be surprised at how often that "dead" enemy is actually just wounded or playing possum!  Making sure that they are dead keeps you from having to experience nasty surprises, like a dead enemy popping up behind you and emptying his clip into you.

As you progress along the path you will encounter a squad-served weapon emplacement that you will need to flank -- but things go somewhat sideways.  You have to expect that to happen, a plan rarely every survives long on the battlefield.   When you exit the building you will encounter a group of Tangos on the street and nearby roof.  Use the cover -- there is plenty of it -- and take them out quickly, then advance in the direction they appeared from and head up the stairs for your first Buddy-Hoist experience.  Good on ya!

You are now reunited with the other string of operatives -- and you are heading for the house where the meet was supposed to go down.  There is an open question about your contact, Tariq, and whether he has turned on you; it is equally clear that meeting with Tariq is a trap.  But your leader is determined to capture Tariq alive, so you are going to have to spring the trap in order to attempt that.  Until you can get hold of him you will not know if he was part of the setup or a victim of it...

Well that was a surprise!  It is a good thing your partner has such quick reflexes! Your next destination is the Fort at Bala Hisar, where Tiraq has gone. 

To the Fort

At your first choke-point you will find a group of enemy waiting to ambush you.  Using the excellent cover here, take them out.  Your team will take the right side of the street, you take the left, and you will find four enemy along the way to take out, including one in a shed waiting to ambush your buddies.  A very satisfactory kill.

The main door to the fort is closed, but you have air support that you can call in to open that door for you -- and you do!  Inside there is an MMG emplacement you need to flank and eliminate, and a bunch of Tangos to kill.   You cannot leave cover here -- they have you in a well-laid cross-fire.  What you need to do is identify the fringe elements of the trap and take them out first, then work your way along the left side to cover, then flank the MMG.

At the rocks you will head to the left, where there is an entrance to the building with a pair of Tangos defending it -- one inside, one outside.  Taking the guy out who exits is relatively easy - the guy inside you may just want to shoot through the wall to speed things up! 

After the next buddy-hoist take out the running Tango then ease forward and take the Draganov Sniper Rifle that he was carrying.  Use that to begin taking out the enemy outside.  As you work your way closer to the main bunker and Tariq you will encounter a larger group of enemy who are inside the last building -- take them out and then take the door to the bunker for a freeze-time event in which you have a fraction of a second to take out the hostage taker before his head is concealed.  Just take a deep breath, draw a bead on his forehead and blow him away to unlock the Achievement / Trophy "Smooth Operator" for taking out a Hostage Taker with a Head Shot.  Good on ya, mate!

Now just climb in the back of the truck and the mission ends, unlocking the Achievement "First Incision" for completing the mission First In.