Watch War and Play War

How many people out there enjoy watching war movies? As in WW1 and WW2 stuff. I won't say I'm a die hard fan, but it is something that peaks my interest. My favourite so far has been the HBO Original Miniseries titled, The Band of Brothers (BoB), Saving Private Ryan, Enemy at the Gates etc. BoB, in my opinion, is one of the BEST movie on wars I have enjoyed. The narration and realism is unparalleled, thanks to the dedication of the producers, directors etc.

I went on a war movie DVD hunt previously and ended up with 3 new titles. Old school stuff, but still enjoyable. Just finished "The Last Drop" and "Green Berets" this Christmas. Have another one waiting and it's about Operation Market Garden. Excellent stuff!

I guess all this interest in war movies came about after playing a PC game called, Battlefield 1942 (BF). They had a few expansion packs (Road to Rome, Secret Weapons of WW2, Vietnam and the latest, 2142). My clan [aSa] mostly trained on Road to Rome maps. Our usual favourites were Monte Cassino, Salerno, Omaha Beach, Market Garden and Anzio. Settings were: 100% AI, Ratio: 3:1, Tickets: 1000. There were only 3 members for BF [aSa], Shum, Thiru and I. That meant a ratio of 10 AI players to us 3 at max intelligence and we had to kill 1000 of them to win the game. Suffice to say, this maxed us out on all fronts and only the leanest, meanest gameplay could save mankind(tm). The easiest map to conquer under 15 minutes was Omaha Beach. Thanks to a strategy I helped hatch named, The Medic Pack Rush (MPR).

It involves landing on the beach and pushing back all the way to the 1st spawn point, where a Sherman is up for grabs. No time to waste, the 3 heroes push on to the right side of the map behind the buildings. We made sure to make full use of the heal and ammo point in a bunker before proceeding for the final rush. Fire in the Hole before swapping to the Medic Packs and run like hell for the wall on the opposite end. Keep spamming the heal and forget about fighting back. Jump the wall and start laying it thick with your Thompson. Kill any strays and head for the 1st bunker. Ammo reload is a God-sent feature here. Keep grenading the entrance whilst you regroup. At this point, the final flag would be neutral (white) and the ticket count will start dropping in your favour. By now, you will only need to handle the stragglers as the enemy have no spawn point. Caution, there maybe some enemy units, who are able to capture other spawn points. Speed is the essence of MPR. Make sure you grenade both the big gun turrets to kill of the last one or two enemy units. Now you are free to kill one another with tanks, machine guns or anyway you want it. The game is over.

The toughest map so far has been Anzio. It's one of the, if not most, bitchiest maps for the 3 heroes. Our last record was about 35 minutes, which is an amazing feat if you knew this map. There are so many spawn points to be captured and the enemy tank units are tough. Not forgetting that [aSa] still does not have the elusive 4th member, who should specialize as air support. The best strat so far has been of speed and perseverance. Pushing upwards into enemy territory on both sides and securing the spawn points along the way. We could have won in under 30 mins if not for the ONE stray idiot, who happened to be in a plane. The mofo jumped, parachuted [sic] and made his way over hills to capture the radar station. It was a real pain capturing that point back. It's also worthy to mention that it is the only map we have not won 100% of the time. The other maps were equally engaging and deserves mention, but it would take too much time.

Due to this game, I have read up on the actual wars in those places. Fascinating and deadly. I joked with the other [aSa] members, that the Allies may have won the war a little faster if we had our way with the strategy.

Sadly, BF 1942 in our favourite expansion pack Road to Rome is now "extinct" from cyber cafes, but I heard one in Subang SS15 area still has Secret Weapons of WW2 and the others. I'm itching for a game now, but it's hard getting the other 2 heroes since one travels so much. Small pleasures in life people. Go try it and if you like it, we may have found the 4th member or more!!!