Jvmach67incrysis1.1

JVMACH67 IN CRYSIS

This document is a fictional account of my experiences playing the CryTek game Crysis. Like Far Cry (CryTek's original release in 2004), Crysis is expected to again raise the first-person experience with their magnificent creation. This document will contain spoilers of game material. So, if you are planning to play the game and do not wish to know what your experience will entail, I strongly suggest you avoid reading this document. However, if you would like to read the events of the game, in a diary-like format, enjoy what is included below! This document is also online and can be found at the following URL: http://jvmach67.blogspot.com Thanks! jvmach67 aka Nomad

Table of Contents Level: Contact...................................................................................................................... 1 My Adventure Begins ........................................................................................................ 1 Divided We Fall................................................................................................................. 3 First Light – Part 1 ............................................................................................................ 7 First Light – Part 2 .......................................................................................................... 12 The Lusca’s Call .............................................................................................................. 20 Find Jester ..................................................................................................................... 24 Level: Recovery ................................................................................................................. 27 Trespass – Part 1............................................................................................................ 27 Trespass – Part 2............................................................................................................ 32 Head Upriver – Part 1...................................................................................................... 37 Head Upriver – Part 2...................................................................................................... 40 Left Behind .................................................................................................................... 44 Disable GPS Jamming Station........................................................................................... 48 KPA Military Base – Part 1 ............................................................................................... 52 KPA Military Base – Part 2 ............................................................................................... 57 Level: Relic........................................................................................................................ 62 Proceed to Excavation Site............................................................................................... 62 Infiltrate the Research Dome ........................................................................................... 67 Proceed to the Extraction Point – Part 1............................................................................ 72 Proceed to the Extraction Point – Part 2............................................................................ 77 Proceed to the Extraction Point – Part 3............................................................................ 82 Secure the Extraction Point.............................................................................................. 86 Level: Assault .................................................................................................................... 91 Meet Lieutenant Bradley.................................................................................................. 91 Incursion ....................................................................................................................... 96 Destroy Anti-Aircraft Units – Part 1..................................................................................100 Destroy Anti-Aircraft Units – Part 2..................................................................................106 Destroy Anti-Aircraft Units – Part 3..................................................................................111 Destroy Anti-Aircraft Units – Part 4..................................................................................116 Sabotage the Jammer on KPA Cruiser – Part 1 .................................................................120 Sabotage the Jammer on KPA Cruiser – Part 2 .................................................................125 Level: Onslaught ...............................................................................................................130 Team Idaho ..................................................................................................................130 Secure The Train Station ................................................................................................135 Destroy Anti-Aircraft Artillery ..........................................................................................139 Destroy the Munitions Dump...........................................................................................145 Level: Awakening..............................................................................................................149 Tremors ........................................................................................................................149 Retrieve Intelligence Data...............................................................................................153 Proceed to the Landing Zone ..........................................................................................157 Secure the Landing Zone ................................................................................................162 Infiltrate the Mining Complex – Part 1 .............................................................................167 Infiltrate the Mining Complex – Part 2 .............................................................................172 Level: Core.......................................................................................................................176 Guardian.......................................................................................................................176 Evacuate Helena............................................................................................................180 Laws of Nature ..............................................................................................................184 Abyss............................................................................................................................188 There Must Be Some Way Out Of Here ............................................................................193 Time To Escape .............................................................................................................198

Level: Paradise Lost ..........................................................................................................203 Frozen ..........................................................................................................................203 Passage ........................................................................................................................209 Level: Exodus ...................................................................................................................214 Stronghold ....................................................................................................................214 Hunter ..........................................................................................................................219 Strickland’s Order ..........................................................................................................223 Level: Ascension ...............................................................................................................227 Turbulence....................................................................................................................227 Level: Reckoning...............................................................................................................232 Debrief .........................................................................................................................232 Good Intentions.............................................................................................................237 Defend the Carrier .........................................................................................................241 Shut Down the Reactor ..................................................................................................246 Destroy the Alien Exosuit................................................................................................250 Defeat the Alien War Ship...............................................................................................254 Get to the VTOL ............................................................................................................259 Next Steps ....................................................................................................................263 Appendix..........................................................................................................................266 Frequently Asked Questions............................................................................................266 Special Thanks ..............................................................................................................267 Version History ..............................................................................................................267

LEVEL: CONTACT My Adventure Begins The date is August 14, 2020 and this is my online diary playing as Lieutenant Jake Dunn of the United States Army Delta Force in the EA game Crysis. My fellow comrades simply call me Nomad. If you asked me twenty years ago if I would be spending the week of my mother's 75th birthday in the Lingshan Islands located in the Philippine Sea, I would have not been surprised. After all, they call me Nomad for a reason. I've been all over the world the last twenty years, moving up the Army power train in order to find myself being a member of Delta Force. I still remember watching some corny movie with Chuck Norris called Delta Force when I was a kid - maybe that's why I ended up here. Man, how things have changed since the 1980's cinema!

At any rate, the North Korean Army decided to capture a group of American scientists about a week ago on the islands - just after they made some kind of amazing discovery. Since we've not heard a word from anyone since the distress call, they are sending the Delta Team I am a member of in to investigate. Of course, this is a covert mission ... so no possibility for others to join the cause - at least, not yet. One of my team members, code named Psycho (for a reason), feels like we should go in blasting a path before us until we find the scientists. Me, I am much more the low key kind of person who would prefer to let technology and stealth skills help us reach our objective of locating the American scientists. So, we suited up and departed toward the main island under the cover of darkness. Our entry point will be from the sky, several thousand feet above sea level, to quietly descend onto the island. Man, it is dark out here tonight. When it gets this dark, I like to toggle my Night vision on and off - just to make sure everything is working. I know that's the Old School way of handling your equipment, but jvmach67 in Crysis

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when I started doing these kinds of night jumps years ago, we didn't have the sensor technology to let one know when the equipment isn't working. Just as I flipped on the Night vision, I saw what appeared to be an object flying toward me at a high rate of speed.

Before I knew what happened, the thing hit me and caused my parachute to malfunction. Yeah, this is great, I am zooming toward the earth at what feels like the speed of sound and my main chute isn't working. I know ... relax ... wait for your backup parachute. Okay ... panic now, because that thing isn't working either!!! My suit has malfunctioned in the hit too. What the heck was that thing, any way? Okay ... focus on the problems at hand, we can figure out what hit me later. Good news ... well, sort of. There is a huge ocean below me. I've never been much of a high-diver, but I guess this cold, thick pond of water is going to be my only hope to survive. If I survive, I will continue. If not, well, I guess I will not continue. Wish me luck. Nomad ... signing out.

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Divided We Fall Well ... the water managed to break my fall without breaking me. So, it looks like I survived after all. My suit is coming back online now.

If you check the image above, you can see at least part of me ... my shadow is on the sand. My objective is to hook up with my other team members. From what I can tell, at least two of them landed safely, while another member (Aztec) is caught up in a tree. Of course, I was the only one who had the pleasure of taking a midnight swim this evening. I strolled past a turtle and some crabs on the seaside, which was kind of cool and started to make my way inland. I am following a blip on the lower corner of my helmet. Who needs a compass when you get to wear this million dollar Nanosuit?

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After squeezing through some bunkers, I ran into a group of North Korean soldiers. These guys have no clue that we've landed. Furthermore, the first soldier had no idea I was even coming up behind him as he strolled down the rock.

I equipped my silencer, took aim and knocked out the soldier before he noticed me. There were a few more that came over to investigate and ran into the same fate. I increased my weapon count by one when I snagged a FY71 from one of the North Koreans now resting on the beach. I loaded up the ammo from the other guns too. For now, I am in pretty good shape.

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They had lit a flare on the ocean side, so I decided to toss it into the ocean to make my visit a little less obvious. (Gotta love the new CryTek engine for allowing me to toss a flare into the ocean and continue to

render the physics in a very cool way.)

I joined up with a fellow soldier, Jester, in order to attempt to rescue Aztec - our Delta Team member caught in the trees. Along the way, we heard this wicked sound pass above us and the trees moved like crazy all around us. Man, I wonder if it was that thing that made my parachute fail? When we arrived, Aztec was there, but he was no longer alive. He was still hanging from the tree. There were North Korean soldiers on the ground around him, dead as well. Whatever got one of them got them all. My money is on the thing that made the trees move and freak me out a little bit. We said our respects and the Nanosuit was vaporized from our Control Center. At that point, with only four team members left, we had to split up to cover more ground. I picked up the ammo from Aztec's SCAR in order to take something of his with me. Who knows, it might just come in handy on this mission.

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I moved further inland, toward my destination. I came across a couple more North Korean soldiers. This time, I decided to go into stealth mode for a few seconds, so that I could check them out with my binoculars.

They had no clue I was even there, nor did they realize how close I was to them. After some precision use of the FY71, I was able to move toward the last known point where the scientists radioed for help. New objective phoned in. It appears they have a single jammer on the other side of this hill. Guess who gets to take it out? That's right, yours truly. Let me get over there and see what type of recon I can do from the top of the hill. Nomad ... signing out.

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First Light – Part 1 As I reached the top of the hill, I was welcomed by the first glimpse of tomorrow. We'll call it First Light. The top of the hill revealed a beautiful sunrise, with perfect temperatures and a wonderful landscape.

I can certainly understand why the American scientists wanted to remain on this island as long as possible to continue their research. I wonder, though, if they would want to remain here after experiencing what I've experienced in not even six hours on the island.

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To recap, I was hit in mid-air by something that appeared to be a huge Sparkler firework, only to slam into the sea at an uber-high rate of speed. Next, I was welcomed by around three North Korean soldiers who weren't seeking an addition to their Christmas Card list. I tried to rescue one of my team members, but was too late. Something had already left him for dead - hanging upside-down from a tree. Finally, on the way here, I ended up dealing with two other soldiers who left me a bit of food and water to feast on during my climb up this hill. I have to disable a signal scrambler that is located on the beach below. From what I can tell, there are approximately 5 - 7 soldiers guarding the area - including two on a Zodiac-like boat in the harbor.

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The scrambler itself is in the middle of the make-shift fort on the beach. My thinking is that I will need to take out the guys in the Zodiac first, then try to eliminate the soldiers as they try to flank me. I am fortunate that I am at an elevated position, which should help me reach my goal safely.

I ended up using my cloak mode to go stealth and slid the down the hill to use the FY71 to take out both the gunner and driver of the Zodiac. I moved back into stealth mode again in order to take a position on top of the hill to conceal my location. Once on top of the hill, I noticed that a gunner had setup shop on the back of a Hummer on the other side of the scrambler. I went prone in order to minimize my chances of missing and fired a few shots his way. Once he was out of the picture, I could focus on the troops on the ground.

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Using stealth again and my shields, I moved into position until I had cleared out the beach. The scrambler was now off-line and my map controls once again returned. I drove down the path until I noticed it was about to open up to another sandy beach. Getting out of the hummer, I climbed up a hill in order to elevate my position to increase my chances of survival.

To get to my next way point, I had another 4 - 5 soldiers to evaluate, along with a couple of Hummers. Only one turned out to be a real threat, as he was hidden below me the entire time - waiting to surprise me after I believed the area was clear. I took some damage to my suit, but the Nanosuit healed itself rather quickly.

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On my way, I noticed a large radio tower off in the distance. This must be the KPA Checkpoint the Control Center had warned me about.

My goal is to make it to that tower next, in order to see if I can disrupt the inter-communication between the North Korean soldiers. Nomad ... signing out.

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First Light – Part 2 Still on my way to that tower at the top of the hill, I reviewed my objectives. So far nothing new has popped-up, which might require re-prioritization of tasks.

On my way to the tower, I came across another small village occupied by North Korean soldiers. I found a resting spot up on side of the hill and marked everyone I could with my binoculars. From what I can tell, there are only a handful of troops here.

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They don't appear to be the A team, since they are leaving themselves widely exposed on the main path.

Since, I am trying to make time quickly and this village is really isolated from this corner of the island, I ran back to my Hummer and drove up to the village. Using the machine gun mounted on the Hummer, I was able to clear the village of the enemy, along with some vegetation as well.

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The North Koreans had built a base at the bottom of the hill, below the communications tower. I found it hard to believe that they would want to protect this tower with so many troops - since these kind of towers are probably located all over the island by now. What else could they be hiding? As I pulled up in the Hummer, my welcoming committee was the largest thus far. I would expect around 10 soldiers met me with firing arms in hand. Using the machine gun mounted on the hummer, I was able to take care of all but maybe two soldiers. Those two required stealth moves and a surprise attack.

My process of staying alive could have been a bit better here. I managed to render the Hummer at the top of the hill to be inoperable. So, I guess I need to keep my current truck in decent shape, if I want to keep using it on this part of the island.

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Five more North Koreans met me on the top of the hill. I loaded up on ammo, since I am still using the FY71 for a majority of my work. Leaving the FY71 in single-shot mode, I put a couple of bullets in a nearby gas can and the tower exploded into flames.

Turns out there is more to investigate. I have to head over to the edge of the island, because there appears to be a camp setup near the water. *****

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I reached the edge of the island and found a few North Korean soldiers waiting on me. The Hummer provided value once again as I was able to use the attached machine gun to clear about four soldiers from the camp.

I continued to get hit by bullets sourced from a Zodiac in the sea. The gun in the Hummer was out of range, so I kept moving quickly to avoid getting hit. So far, the bullets are not hitting me. Instead, they are really just annoying. I reached the heart of the camp and was surprised on my left by a soldier with a ground-mounted machine gun. Quickly, I was able to take him out before he did too much damage to my suit. There was a big red fuel tank next to him. Now there's some smart thinking on the part of the enemy! The Nanosuit healed just in time to fend off a surprise attack on my right. I took a walk around the entire outer edge of the camp. The only enemy I could see was those two guys in the Zodiac - still causing me fits.

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I dropped inside the main camper and was able to hack into the system to download some information and read up on the leader of the North Korean army. There was a map on the wall, I wonder what they are trying to protect ... or attack?

Surely, this isn't all about those American scientists, is it? I do recall some amazing discovery being reported just as the North Koreans seized them. Maybe that has something to do with this whole mess?

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My objectives were updated, I now need to head toward the source of the distress single.

Those Zodiac guys hit me again and it is really starting to aggravate me. I found a machine gun near the balcony overlooking the sea. After waiting a few minutes, the Zodiac came into view. After about 100 bullets, the thing blew up. I missed catching the explosion, but you can see the remains of the boat at the bottom of the sea.

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Looking back, I need to head toward the tower I blew up not too long ago. I think the distress single is coming from that same area. I knew that there were too many soldiers there earlier for it just to be a tower-protection team. I knew there was more.

I took a quick photo to reflect on where I've been so far ... which appears to be where I am about to go, again. Heading toward the distress single now. Nomad ... signing out.

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The Lusca’s Call Following the blip on the radar screen embedded into my face guard, I made my way past the point where I destroyed what I called my backup Hummer on the way to the communications tower that was also destroyed. I just realized that I am on quite the demolition path today! So much for being tactical and stealthy! I know this, my teammate Psycho would be pleased at my work. The blip led me up the hill towards the destroyed communication tower. The blip was on my left hand side ... still about a half mile away from me. I looked over to the left and noticed there was a path I had not noticed before. That path could lead to the distress signal for The Lusca's Call - which was the name of the boat used by the American scientists.

Was there water on the other side of these rocks? I didn't think so, but why else would a boat be located in the middle of a rock formation?

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I noticed the rocks kept getting taller and taller. I wasn't really in the mood to start rock climbing at this point, so I enabled the strength booster on my Nanosuit.

Enabling the feature reduced my shield, but that was okay at this point - since I didn't see any signs of enemy existence. The suit also turned a reddish color, which I've always thought was cool looking. Even more cool is that I was able to become Superman-like and leap a wall that was no less than 30 feet tall ... in a single-bound. (grin)

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The rest of the half-mile track was pretty much more of the same. I closed in on the blip and noticed The Lusca's Call was sitting on top of the rock formation, covered in some white colored haze ... and no water around at all. The remaining members of my Delta Force team had beaten me to the wreckage.

I have no idea how the boat got here, but I know we were not the only one's to see the ship resting on these rocks. Another version of that map was sitting on the ground, attached to a clipboard. So, someone else had already found the wreckage. So where was everyone? I would think that such a discovery would be monitored on a constant basis. This is not a normal situation. While we were still checking out the environment, we heard a wicked noise - similar to what I had heard just before we found our Delta Team member hanging from the tree. This time, the noise was louder and before I knew it - something blasted through the side of the ship!

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Jester, one of our remaining team members, was snatched in a second and that machine-like thing rocketed back in the same direction from which it came. I am really freaking out right now, but I cannot imagine what Jester must feel - as he's hanging from the claws of that beast, that alien, that machine, that whatever it is! So, now we are on a mission to try and rescue Jester before it's too late. Nomad ... signing out.

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Find Jester Jester was taken quickly by something I have never seen before in my life. Unless you count a goofy War Of The Worlds remake back in the early 2000s, nothing else I've seen comes anywhere close to what I saw a few minutes ago. Once he zoomed out of sight, we put our Nanosuits into speed mode and zoomed toward Jester. I wonder if we will be able to rescue Jester while he's still alive ... and I wonder what shape he'll be in for the rest of his life - following such an event.

We could still hear that thing making noise as we chased its trail through a valley between the rocks. It was wicked to see that thing in action, as we saw it appear to roll down a hill. My camera didn't catch the rolling action - because of how quickly everything is happening. I can only imagine Jester feels like he is trapped in a clothes dryer with the rolling motion taking place by that machine.

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There was a huge drop in the valley. At the bottom, Jester was lying there resting. Like our earlier Delta Team member, Aztec, Jester was also no longer alive. He was resting against some rocks, upside down just like Aztec.

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He was still in one piece ... unlike Aztec.

The Control Center vaporized Jester, just like Aztec. Now, our team is down to only three. I added Jester's SCAR ammo to my artillery ... hoping to use some of Jester’s bullets to destroy the very beast that took him out of this world. I'll be back online soon, once I say a quick prayer and pay my respects to Jester. Nomad ... signing out.

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LEVEL: RECOVERY Trespass – Part 1 With nearly a full load of ammo and vengeance on my mind following the loss of Jester, the next goal is to locate and capture a communications trailer owned by the North Koreans.

The trailer was close to where Jester was laid to rest as noted in my last post. Capturing the communications trailer was pretty much effortless and we ended up splitting up again. Looks like I will be Lone Wolf for a while - which isn't a bad thing for me. In fact, it is something that has followed my military career these last several years. I just received word that a hostage situation has emerged not too far from where I am currently located. Headquarters believes that the hostage may be one or more of the American scientists that we're here to rescue! My objectives were updated on the Heads-Up Display and I began to walk in the direction of the marker. Just as I rounded the corner, I ran into a group of Korean soldiers in a hummer. Taking some cover, I was able to eliminate the soldiers and keep the Hummer in tact this time - which I might need down the road. Lesson learned from earlier - try to salvage the enemy's heavy equipment. I nearly got picked off by a sniper in the trees. So instead of staying on the main path, I decided to sneak through the trees until I located my sniper friend. I had hoped to seize his sniper rifle after elimination, but I could never locate the weapon. Not sure if it fell off the cliff or what happened, but I am still using my SCAR and the FY71 I seized shortly after my crash landing on the island.

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Next, an objective was added that I needed to access the NK tactical network. Perhaps this would provide me with the additional information regarding the hostage situation. The network access point was on the top of the hill where I found the sniper - plus about three of his closest friends. At the bottom of the hill, I located a road block complete with 4 - 5 North Korean soldiers. After slowly taking them out of the picture, I was able to seize a rocket launcher, which I plan to use in my next round of battles.

After getting up the hill, I was able to get past the resistance and download data from the NK tactical network primarily using the rocket launcher. As I expected, more information was available regarding the hostage situation. Turns out, at least one hostage is located in an abandoned school house in the middle of the village. My heads up display was further updated. The drawback from using the rocket launcher is that a group of soldiers were heading my way up the hill - ready to talk with me about my intentions on the island.

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This time, I decided I would let technology help with the battle now.

I enabled the cloak feature of my Nanosuit and was able to sit on the rocks while the soldiers looked around for me - no longer knowing my actual location. Once they were in range, I used a couple of grenades to knock them out. At the top of the hill again, I dropped my SCAR and picked up a sniper rifle - complete with eight bullets. Man, I wish I would have located the other sniper rifle, because I might have ended up with 16 bullets now. I was only able to take out about four soldiers with the sniper rifle because their constant movement made for a tough shot. Next, I decided to use the rocket launcher.

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I noticed what appeared to be a gas station in the village. Surely, there is still enough gas in those pumps to make a big explosion.

So, I took aim for the pumps and launched a rocket toward outer edge of the village. Within an instant, the gas station burst into flames. A few seconds later, another explosion occurred as a second gas line must have been hit.

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Next, I launched a rocket toward one of the large machine guns. The two rockets managed to eliminate a few more soldiers, but I still had a lot of work ahead of me.

My next goal will be to get into that village and hopefully rescue the one or more hostages located in the old school building. Before heading down there, I decided to retrieve my SCAR and leave the sniper rifle behind ... for now. More later. Nomad ... signing out.

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Trespass – Part 2 Using the rocket launcher to clear a path in the village seemed like a cool idea at the time, but now the enemy knows that I am up here. As I dropped the rocket launcher, the village can be seen in the image below.

I don't expect to run into any enemies from here to the bottom of the hill, but once I get to the village, I am certain it will be another story.

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The school house appears to be heavily guarded. The image below shows one gunner stationed along the water and four machine guns are mounted on each corner on the top of the school building.

Getting to the school building is really going to be a challenge in and of itself. Mine fields line the land around the water and the only way into the village from here will be across the bridge from where I blew up the gas station. The same bridge that has no less than 8 guards on duty - who knows how many are in hiding too. I back tracked and picked up the Hummer I preserved and took it up and down the hill where I accessed the NK tactical network. Remember, the outer road was blocked from thru traffic. The run back to the Hummer was not a quick one, as I expect it was a good couple of miles away. I used my Speed function on the Nanosuit to get there quicker than normal. Nothing like coming to the battle with the guns blazing. My teammate Psycho would be proud as I loaded and fired the guns on the Hummer as I approached the bridge into the village. I was doing really well, until the Hummer was blown off the ground and I was sent sailing. When I realized what happened, I noticed a lone soldier throwing grenades at me - which wasn't really nice! After all, I am supposed to be the good guy, right? I took out the lone soldier and realized my Hummer was now 100% destroyed. So I ran up to the road block and grabbed this huge truck. The truck had a big old gun mounted on the roof too - so I used it in the same fashion. After I eliminated the first round of soldiers, I was able to make my way across the bridge. I loaded up on some FY71 ammo and ended up needing 90% of it, as wave after wave of North Korean troops came to greet me at the bridge. I believe my count passed 100 at this point of the adventure and I finally was able to move into the village. I am doing okay with ammo at this point, but can't afford another experience like I met at the bridge. At least, my aim is picking up on their movements, which has helped get past each checkpoint.

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I reached the school and met a couple of soldiers at the door. I moved quickly to each floor and then to the roof in order to take out any soldiers elevated from me. Once on top of the roof, I used the mounted machine guns to further take out soldiers coming from the other side of the village. With all the soldiers now gone, I had to find that hostage. So I began to inspect the school. I found a nice weapons cache and was able to reload on all weapons and grenades. It felt good to be fully loaded again, especially in the middle of enemy territory. I still could not locate the hostage. That is, until my buddy Psycho showed up and we found a door that was nailed shut. We burst the door open and found the hostage.

She was one of the American scientists ... she was still alive and she warned us about the strange things happening on the island. She was a bit frazzled, but I think I would be too - if I were in her sandals. She mentioned a statue that was woke up and caused a dead civilization to come to life. Whatever it was wanted us either dead or gone ... most likely the former. Just as she began to explain more, word came that three North Korean tanks were heading our way. Psycho took the hostage and I was on my own to deal with the three tanks. Lone Wolf, again.

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I was able to knock out two of the tanks from the roof of the school, with ease, I might add. The last tank required me to seek it out.

I rounded the corner and found the tank facing the other direction, as if it was expecting me to come from another route. Another two rocket blasts later and the third tank was history. Before I realized it, I was ambushed by more troops. How many North Koreans were in this village, any way?

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After taking out the other troops, I found another building full of communications gear. On the wall, I saw a picture similar to what I noted in an earlier post.

This must be where that dead civilization was located that the American scientist mentioned. From what I could tell from the picture and from my map, this area is not too far from where I am located. So, I am going to load up my weapons again and head toward the direction of what appears to be the same location on the map in my Heads-Up Display. Wish me luck, because if there were this many troops protecting one hostage, I can't imagine how many troops are setup around whatever is at the center of this map! Nomad ... signing out.

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Head Upriver – Part 1 So, the village appears to be cleared out now. By my own rough count, it feels like I had eliminated about 70 - 75 enemy soldiers up until the point when Jester was taken. Since then, I believe I have added another hundred or so to the list. I am beginning to wonder if all the North Korean soldiers are stationed on this island. At this point, I am really glad I picked up the FY71, because the extra ammo I keep finding is becoming very helpful! I am even more glad to be wearing this multi-million dollar Nanosuit - because it has helped me out of some tough situations so far. Sure, the tax payers freaked out when the Senate challenged the budget back in 2015 - but we've been far safer as soldiers ever since that point. Not one suit has made it's way into enemy hands, either! At any rate, I saw a road heading out of the village from the opposite direction in which I arrived. I can't imagine there are any more troops near this village, but I thought I better check out the road to see where it leads. After seeing that it might be a long walk, I opted to get in a Hummer and drive up the road. Well, the road stopped at this huge metal door that wasn't opening ... not from trying out the Hummer's topmounted guns or ramming the door at full speed, either. Still, I had some fun at their expense.

There wasn't a control panel on the side of the door or anything else that might cause the door to open. The rocks were too steep for the Hummer to climb, so I am guessing this road is not part of my current plan. Also, hopefully I have jammed it shut for a surprise visit from the other side of the door too. In walking around the village, I found a path leading into the woods. So this must be the path that will lead me to this dead civilization and hopefully some additional American scientists. I was honestly left kind of up in the air after I had destroyed the last three tanks. Maybe they did tell me what to do ... but I certainly didn't hear them or remember hearing them. Lone wolf, again, is totally fine with me at this point. jvmach67 in Crysis

page #37

I don't see a way to get the Hummer to come with me, so I guess I am going to do this venture on foot. As far as inventory goes, I still have the rocket launcher (three rockets remaining), two pistols - fully loaded, the FY71 with full ammo and the sniper rifle - with full ammo too. I have some shot gun shells too ... but I am not really sure why. Oh yeah, I have all kinds of grenades strapped to me. As I walked up the path, I could see a waterfall to my left. As I recalled the map from the make-shift base, I began to wonder if I really am close to the scene depicted on this map. The one thing I am sure of, is that I am going the right way - because I see more soldiers up ahead.

At first, I thought they had spotted me, but I was incorrect. For some reason, they were shooting at something above them. They were making quite a bit of noise too. I wonder if they have ever heard of a silencer before? I was able to get in close, but could not determine the source of their target fire. I got too close and blew my cover, but they proved to be somewhat easy to take out. It appeared that only two or three soldiers were close by.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #38

However, I did notice a freaky situation when I arrived next to them.

There was a male lying over the rocks with what appeared to be something really freaky and metal-like coming out of his back. Now, I am certainly one of age who ends up with lower back issues from time to time. But my back issues have never been this extreme. I don't believe taking even a triple dose of Aleve will help this guy! Looking ahead, it appears that I am going to be heading upriver in a valley which has large rocks on each side of me. I am not a fan of being so low to the ground - and easy to spot. So, I am going to take this slowly and see what lies before me. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #39

Head Upriver – Part 2 I have to tell you, this island has some beautiful scenery along my river walk. The beauty of the area was cut short not too long after seeing that guy with the metal coming out of his back. I ran into a few more packs of North Korean soldiers, who spoiled the view. After eliminating them, I was able to take a quick picture of my day, so you can see what I see right now.

I kind of figured that I had already met up with a good percentage of the soldiers on this island. Well, as my radar starting going nuts, I realized that another batch was heading my way now. I guess they saw a reflection off the lens when I took the picture. All I know is that they were heading my way and quickly. So, I put the Nanosuit into speed mode and raced down the river. I was able to hide behind a large rock formation and go into cloak mode in order to assess the situation. It looks like there are approximately 10 - 15 soldiers heading my way. Sure, that is far less than the 40 I originally thought, but certainly enough to end my visit on the island and reduce hope to rescue the remaining American scientists. I placed a silencer on the FY71 and took up a position near the edge of the water. The good news is, I don't think they can get to me from above or behind. They have to come at me head on. As I noted earlier, I am pretty much full on ammo still and should be able to make it through this as long as I keep my cool. The first two soldiers came into range and I was able to pop them off quickly without anyone noticing what happened. The river was flowing toward me, so their remains floated downstream and made the end-result less noticeable to the North Koreans. Things began to get a bit faster as the remaining groups came at me quickly. I took a few hits to the Nanosuit, but it healed me quickly.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #40

After about 10 minutes of being on the edge, I had managed to eliminate all but one solider.

I had marked him with my binoculars and realized he was far above me. So, I managed to get alongside him and go prone on some rocks. Using the sniper rifle, I was able to take him out. I wasn't completely certain I had eliminated everyone, so I took a walk around the entire area. No one was around. This place is kind of creepy when it's only me walking around. Still, the scenery is great. Was this the end of this part of the island? I still had no clue. I didn't like the idea of leaving the SCAR behind at the village, so I ran back to the village and dropped the FY71 in order to pick up the SCAR. The SCAR only has about 200 or so bullets left, but some of those are from Jester and Aztec. I want to make sure to keep them with me as long as possible, as a memory of my lost team members. No radio updates occurred while I was back in the village, so I figured the way out must be upriver somewhere. So I returned back to where I was, now with my SCAR in hand.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #41

I followed the source of the water and located another waterfall coming over the rocks.

I was really thirsty and fresh water is always a good choice. I had eaten some food back at the village, so I wasn't really hungry at this point. After taking a drink, I noticed a cave to the right of the water fall. If I was a dead civilization, I am pretty sure I would have a cave in my plans. So, with no other way out, I decided to take a walk into the cave.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #42

I heard some wicked noises as I entered the cave. So I am guessing that's a good sign ... or a bad sign ... depending on how you look at it. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #43

Left Behind Prophet caught up with me as I entered the cave. We are two of three remaining Delta Force team members left on the island. Aztec and Jester are confirmed victims of the mission. I still have shells in my SCAR from both of their weapons, to keep them with me as long as possible. Our third member, Psycho, is escorting the first American scientist (of many, I hope) that we plan to rescue while on the island. After all, that is our mission.

Prophet warned me that we needed to watch our step and be alert of all of our surroundings. After waxing over 220 bad guys and seeing Jester taken away from us in a second by some wicked machine, I am pretty sure my eyes will be wide open the entire time I am on this island. Just as Prophet turned to walk forward, we both heard a loud noise approach us, again. Memories of Jester's sudden disappearance came to mind. When I looked over at Prophet, his Nanosuit began to haywire and a second later he was snatched by that machine!

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #44

I am not sure if it was the same machine or if there are many of these things - but it grabbed Prophet and there really wasn't a thing I could do to stop what just happened. His SCAR was left on the ground next to me, so I emptied the ammo and took it with me, just like I did Aztec and Jester. So, now, Prophet is missing in action and I can't imagine anything good coming from this abduction. Mission Control just called and asked for a location beacon, so that they can come and rescue me from this island. I didn't even need a second to make up my mind. Whatever took my team members is not going to stop on this island. The more I see it in action, the more I learn about it's movements and it's approach. So, if anyone is going to take that thing down, it is going to be me ... with hopefully some help from Psycho. Also, as an American, I cannot leave the core mission in trying to rescue each and every one of the American scientists held hostage on this island.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #45

So, I am going to remain here. Before I can do anything, I am going to have to take down the radio jammer that the North Koreans have enabled. They know we are here and they don't want to give up our scientists just yet.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #46

Well, I am going to do everything I can to get them back and take out that machine that has reduced my team by sixty percent. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #47

Disable GPS Jamming Station The cave opened at the top of a hill. Down below, rests a valley where the North Koreans have setup their GPS Jamming Station. Like the rest of the island, many trees line the valley. There doesn't appear to be too many soldiers guarding the area - certainly less than twenty. I did monitor a helicopter in the sky, but it appeared to drift off for now.

As it stands now, I cannot communicate with Mission Control and my online maps are ... well ... offline. So, I am running a bit in Old School mode, where extended range support is off the grid. Before going for the jamming device, I decided to mark all the enemy soldiers I could in order to pinpoint their locations.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #48

My first plan of attack was to create a diversion. So, I grabbed the rocket launcher and placed a rocket into the flat-bed truck sitting very close to the jamming station. This certainly woke up the village and might have taken out one or two soldiers camped out near that side of the jamming device. I didn't get lucky enough to take out the jamming station, but at least I got the ball rolling to take care of the enemy. I went prone and monitored the actions of the soldiers now tracking me. While we are both residents of the same planet and have grown up through a lot of the same events, their approach to tracking is far behind the US military - and miles from the Delta Force. I was able to eliminate four soldiers by using my SCAR with the silencer attached. The woods provided great cover and at no point was I ever in question of losing my life. Next, I took up position on the rocks on the side of the hill. Using the sniper rifle and a couple of different locations, I was able to drop three more soldiers. With all clear, I began to head down the side of the hill. I noticed a grave site along the way down the hill. I wondered if I should grab a shovel and bury my North Korean enemies, but then realized I needed to stick to the mission at hand - especially since my head is starting to hurt from the pulsating noise inside my helmet from the GPS system being down. I guess it was a bug that we cannot mute that noise - but there's nothing I can do about that now - except to disable the GPS jamming station causing my issues.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #49

My ammo is still in very good shape, but I am wondering how much use I'll have for the sniper rifle now. So, I decided to drop the sniper rifle and pick up another FY71. This time I enabled the scope and silencer. When I approached the jamming station, there were about seven more troops guarding the station. So, I went prone and enabled the cloak device on the Nanosuit until each soldier came into range.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #50

With a quick shot, I was able to down the soldier and go cloak again before the next soldier arrived. There was a Hummer driving around that I wasn't able to eliminate. After the Hummer was out of my site, I made a run for the jamming station. I was able to disable it and hide back into the bushes before the Hummer could spot me.

The beeping inside of my helmet is gone now and I am back online. My next goal is to reach the Korean People's Army (KPA) base and gather intelligence - hopefully to help determine the location of the remaining hostages ... and more information about my machine friend or is it machine friends? I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #51

KPA Military Base – Part 1 After disabling the jamming device, I was greeted by some more Korean People's Army (KPA) troops who were not too pleased with me tampering with their equipment. I spent some time in cloak mode, until I figured out where everyone was located, then took them out one by one. I jumped into a Hummer and started driving around the village, looking for ways to stock up on my ammo. I ended up finding some grenades for FY71, which was a nice addition and also a bunch more FY71 ammo. I snacked on some bananas and got a drink of water. It's gotten a bit warmer this afternoon ... perhaps from the heat of the battles I've endured today. Back in the Hummer, I noticed that there was a small trail off the main road leading toward the KPA Military Base indicator on my radar.

The trail appears to drop down lower than my current altitude. Anyone who knows me, knows this will automatically be Plan B at this point. I certainly do not like to be the lower individual in the battle ... the odds are already against you with such a situation. It looks like the road circles around, but it appears that I have some more company waiting for me off in the distance ... I'll be right back. ***** I ended up driving the Hummer back to the center of the village and going prone in order to take out the four or five soldiers guarding what appears to be an exit from the village. That same road where the path shown above begins is the same road that forks into the exit. So, imagine that road being a big circle around the village.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #52

From what I can tell from the satellite download, the exit road weaves in a S-like fashion toward the Military base. Well, the last thing I want to do is appear like a wooden duck in a carnival shooting game. So, this option is Plan B, also. There is a large hill between the trail and the exit to the village. I drove the Hummer to the midpoint between both exists and found that I could climb the hill and get a high elevation view of the KPA Military Base. Bingo, Plan A has been found.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #53

I reached the highest point I could climb, then went prone as the KPA base came into view. From what I could tell there were two gunners watching for me, as well as a couple guys up in two different elevated watch-towers. I am certain that more are waiting on me, currently hidden out of site.

I dropped my SCAR and returned to the point where I left the sniper rifle. I picked up the sniper rifle and decided it was now time to use the 40 remaining shells that I have in my possession. On the side of the hill, I was able to take out both gunners and the guard in one of the towers. That sniper rifle rocks! The bummer is, I was met with more soldiers manning the ground-mounted guns. In the mean time, two soldiers were coming up the hill to get me. Before I could change weapons, I ended up using about four shells from the sniper rifle to take them down. Crud! I didn't want to waste the sniper ammo on someone I could have taken out with my FY71. After all, that ammo is pretty much free, since about 75% the KPA soldiers have a FY71 on their shoulders. I dropped the sniper rifle and went back to the SCAR and the FY71. I managed to go cloak again, moving from one hiding place to another, until I was able to hide behind a huge rock formation. From that formation, I was able to take out the other guard in the other lookout tower.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #54

A suspension bridge was about 30 feet in front of me and it would lead the path to the KPA base. For now, no one was manning the machine guns, so I decided it was time to cross into full enemy territory.

When I reached the bridge, I realized it was not something I could cross ... at least quickly. I figured I had about 10 seconds before bullets would be heading my way. Without much thought, I decided I would try to let the Nanosuit help me cross the bridge. So I put the suit into Strength mode and when I reached the edge I jumped as high as I could. Well ... I got some serious air time off my jump. Michael Jordan would have been proud! For about a second I thought I was going to make it to the other side. A second later, I began to fall quickly and fast. There was no way I could make the jump, so I fell towards the brown muddy water below. For some reason, I felt like I was falling faster than when my parachute failed. Was this water going to be deep enough to save me or was this the end? Will my mission end with me hitting a foot deep pond without firing one shot at the machine that has taken three of my Delta Team members?

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #55

Good news, I am alive. I am muddy and I think I have some kind of bug in my left ear, but I am alive. I am going to find land on the same side of the KPA base and see if I can't sneak up the side of the rocks and catch them by surprise. After all, I've got to avoid being the one at the lower elevation before being seen. First things first, once on dry land, I will plan to let my Nanosuit dry out I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #56

KPA Military Base – Part 2 As I sat by the rocks while the Nanosuit dried out, I thought about my current objective. About 50 feet above me on top of this huge rock sits a KPA base which contains computer equipment that should provide insight on two things. First, the equipment should provide some information regarding the American scientists, who are now considered hostages, and their location(s). The core mission is to rescue the remaining scientists, no doubt about it. Second, the computer equipment should provide some information regarding that machine, slash alien that has managed to freak me out and take away three-fifths of my Delta Team. I want to take that thing down while I am here, no doubt about it. Okay, I am dry enough and I hear footsteps. Time to get back to work. I moved up the side of the hill using a small trail that appears to be used by animals on the island. I had the silencer and scope enabled on the FY71. Both came in handy as I took out a couple of KPA soldiers who decided to come down the side of the hill and see if I was dead on the rocks. How ironic it is that they were the ones on the rocks as I passed by their remains. Once I made it to the top of the rocks, I noticed a metal fence around the end of the base. It was not a chain link fence, but one of those wall-like fences, about waist-high. The fence was the perfect cover for me to move toward a prime position to evaluate my situation.

I went into cloak mode, stood up and took a look around the base. I was able to mark about 10 soldiers, all on foot, walking around the base. So far, they had not realized I was still alive. Thank you Hiram P. Maxim for developing the first silencer back in 1908. Now, 112 years later, the technology still exists and really hasn't changed as much as one would expect.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #57

I managed to take out all but one KPA soldier, who went out of my site. So, I climbed into one of the watch-towers in order to take an elevated position on the base.

Up in the watch-tower was another rocket launcher and a high powered sniper rifle. This one had an even nicer scope than the last sniper rifle I used on the other side of the broken suspension bridge. Just as I fired at the lone KPA soldier and missed, he came toward me with several other soldiers. Where were these guys hiding, anyway? I was able to go prone in the watch-tower and also use my cloaking mode to get a fix on their position. After a few minutes, I had taken out the remaining soldiers and decided to head toward the base station where the computers were running. I reached the main computer and was able to hack into the device quickly, using a thumb drive with hacking software created by engineers at MIT in Boston.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #58

The fact that the KPA still used software from nearly 15 years ago reduced the amount of time required to hack into the computer.

There appears to be some wicked looking building on the screen. Some kind of a dome. I have a feeling I'll be seeing that in person soon. After forwarding the information back to Headquarters, I got word that they had been able to determine the location of the Excavation Site. This Excavation Site appears to be related to that amazing discovery that the American scientists mentioned just before their transmission was cut off. My next step is to head toward that site. Before doing that, I need to stock up on some ammo. The rocket launcher is good, since I swapped it with the one from the watch-tower. I am getting low on my SCAR ammo - just 81 shells left - but I don't believe I will find more SCAR ammo any time soon. I can always use some FY71 ammo and grenades.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #59

I reached one of the ground mounted guns and could also see the suspension bridge where I tried to become the Air Jordan of 2020.

Whatever made me think I could jump that crossing is beyond me. While admiring the bridge, I was surprised by several more soldiers. So I used the gun to take out some of them before I realized that they were heading towards me by taking another route around the water. I didn't think about going that way before trying to jump the bridge.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #60

So, I went back up into the watch-tower and used the same process to mark and eliminate all but one of the remaining soldiers. He is way off in the distance in the direction I am heading, so I will focus on him once I get closer.

My mission is to proceed to the Excavation Site and that is what I will do next. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #61

LEVEL: RELIC Proceed to Excavation Site The information lifted from the KPA computer indicates that the remaining American scientists are being held at the Excavation site by the North Koreans. I've loaded up my ammo and have polished off the lone soldier on my radar and am ready to head upland toward the Excavation site in order to see if I can locate the hostages. With the sun setting behind me, I thought I would show you another picture of me ... well, another shadow that is. (Great soft shadow effects by the CryEngine 2 for those scoring at home.)

To give a quick re-cap. My name is Lt. Jake “Nomad” Dunn of the United States Army Delta Force. I am on this island to rescue American Scientists who sent out a call of distress shortly after reporting an "amazing discovery" on the island. The radio call indicated that the Korean People's Army (KPA) had invaded the island. I was air dropped onto the island, along with four other Delta Force team members. Two of those team members, Aztec and Jester, are confirmed casualties of the mission. Another team member, Prophet, is missing after being taken by a some type of machine that I've never seen before in my life. That leaves me, who they call Nomad, and Psycho - who is currently with the first American scientist turned hostage that we rescued not too long ago. I decided to take a KPA Hummer from the North Korean base to the Excavation site, since that was the recommendation by Headquarters. Along the way, I ran into a few more KPA soldiers, who weren't too tough to eliminate. Their fort contained a bunch of ammo and some more rocket launchers. I decided to mark that location on my heads-up display, in case I need to stock up later.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #62

Currently, I am carrying my USA SCAR, with ammo from Aztec, Jester and Prophet's guns. I also have a fully loaded FY-71, complete with grenades, silencer and scope. I have two fully loaded pistols on each hip and a rocket launcher over my back. My health is in very good shape. I am not hungry or thirsty other than thirsty to rescue some more hostages. I left a high powered rifle at the KPA solder's fort mentioned above. As I drove further along the trail, I heard a helicopter pass overhead. While it hovered down the road from me, I tried to take it down with a rocket from my rocket launcher.

I ended up not getting a good shot at the helicopter and it quickly left the area after a rocket was fired. Since it hovered for about 30 seconds, my guess is that more company will be waiting form me down the road. So, I decided to leave the Hummer in it's current position and sneak through the hills, using the vegetation as my cover. Before getting on my way, I dropped the SCAR and picked up the high-powered sniper rifle - to potentially use in some long-range target practice. I will return for my SCAR later. I continued to move between the trees and reached the edge of a hill that over looked a valley and some water below. I went prone against the tall grass and pulled out my binoculars. I found what the helicopter was doing and saw several soldiers in the valley below. I am guessing they are there to keep me from getting on the other side of "there."

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #63

These soldiers appeared to be carrying a different kind of weapon. As they ran with the weapon, I could see long red laser beams pushing off the edge of the barrel. Their guns were equipped with some type of laser pointer. Using the sniper rifle, I was able to get a fix on one of the soldiers. While I didn't hit him hard enough to take him down, I did get every one's attention.

They formed a pack and headed in the direction of the shot. I was on the other side of the water and up the side of the hill. They had not seen me yet. Knowing it would take a lot of time to eliminate them one by one, I grabbed the rocket launcher and placed two rockets in the middle of the group. One soldier was missed, but the others were taken down. Moving quickly, I was able to get down the valley and locate and eliminate the lone soldier before he had a chance to realize I was even near him. Perhaps he had lost his hearing from the two loud rocket blasts placed not even 20 feet from where he had hid. I dropped the sniper rifle for now and picked up this new weapon being carried by the soldiers. It was a submachine gun, capable of carrying 50 rounds at a time ... and included a cool laser pointer.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #64

The gun also had a sniper scope, which I set as the default. With all the ammo lying around, I was able to max out on 300 bullets. So between the FY71 and this new gun, I am packing a tremendous amount of heat.

Using the two guns, I ended up having to head back up another hill which was guarded by two lookout towers and some more troops. The area had become more dense with trees, so I managed to get close by moving from tree to tree and not having to resort to going cloak as much as I had to earlier today. At one point, I could not get a decent shot at the guard in the tower, so I decided to shoot my third rocket at the tower. I ended up wiping out the guard and the tower with one rocket. After dropping the rocket launcher, I headed back to a couple of homes near the water. The KPA soldiers had also left three rocket launchers on crates near the water. I grabbed another one, just in case. Once I got past the two lookout points, I had to face off against a couple of guards at mounted machine guns. I realized I was getting close to the Excavation site, because I was met with several more troops. The grenades on my FY71 came in very handy as I launched them into small packs of soldiers. Thus, I ended up saving quite a bit of ammo. Going cloak, I was able to sneak up to an unfortified side of the Excavation site, guarded only by a couple of soldiers. Quick, close range shots with the FY71 and silence, made my path clear without warning two more mounted machine guns in the close distance.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #65

Finally, I reached the outer perimeter of the Excavation site.

Well, when I saw the image on the KPA computer back at the base, I knew I would be seeing this dome building in the near future. I just didn't figure it would be this soon. I am pretty sure that landscape around the dome was totally different a couple of weeks ago. I am betting there was only trees, grass and small animals. I believe it was after the KPA arrived that the dome became surrounded by standard military fodder. If I were to guess, I am guessing the KPA want to know more about this amazing discovery. So they made the scientists come with them inside the dome to explain this "amazing discovery" in great detail. So, pretty much the party is probably inside this dome. I hope they have room for one more guest, because my next stop is going to be inside that dome. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #66

Infiltrate the Research Dome I managed to sneak around to the far side of the research dome using the cloak feature of the Nanosuit. A few lone guards were left outside the facility, which were pretty easy to take care of - especially since their mounted guns would not rotate in my direction.

I jumped down into the ground below and entered the rear of the facility first, using cloak often. There was no one in the rear trailers of the facility. To avoid being surprised, I returned to my drop point and went to the front of the dome. Again, no KPA soldiers were found. There was also no sign of the hostages either. So I made my way into the trailers that lead to the research dome. I found a keypad attached to a door that led inside the dome. It wasn't locked, because I was able to use it without any issues. The door opened and I went cloak to enter unnoticed.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #67

What I saw was a large monitor in the top of the dome. Down below, was one of the American scientists. Actually, it was the lead American scientist, Dr. Rosenthal! He was still alive too!

He was operating a computer near something that kind of looked like the device that had taken at least two of my team members. Several sensors were connected to the metal machine lying on the ground. The difference between this machine is that this one was lying dormant. This one didn't look near as big as the one that captured my team members, either. Of course, that could be the difference from one hovering above you trying to take your life vs. sitting on the side of the dirt, powered off. As I moved from cover to cover in order to get a closer view of Rosenthal, I could tell that he was surprised by the readings on the computer. His voice began to panic as he told those he was talking to on the monitor that we must abort at once.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #68

Something abnormal was happening at that very second!

They disconnected from their video conference and I jumped down in front of Rosenthal. He asked who I was, I told him I was US Delta Force. He told me that we needed to abort as soon as possible. My suit flashed blue. Crud, something bad normally happens when the suit turns blue ... because that's what happened right before Prophet was taken. This time the dome turned to ice.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #69

In a second, Rosenthal was frozen to his death. His last words were to give me the location of the last two remaining scientists. They are both in the hands of the KPA leader, Commander Kyong. One of those two is his daughter, Helena.

There was no saving Rosenthal. His remains would be preserved for quite a while, given the fact that he is covered in several inches of ice. So, I focused on finding out where the KPA leader and the two American scientists are located.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #70

Headquarters came through. The last two American scientists are being held by General Kyong in a mining complex in the mountains. The location appears to be downstream of the river I saw earlier ... looks like I am going to get to use that boat I saw earlier after all. I need to get on my way. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #71

Proceed to the Extraction Point – Part 1 I really don't know what just happened. All I know is that Dr. Rosenthal was frozen to death in a matter of seconds. I managed to survive thanks to my million dollar Nanosuit. Thank you, US Taxpayers, for your hard earned tax dollars. I don't know how Rosenthal was frozen, but I am pretty sure it has something to do with that machine that was on the ground next to him. I am not sure if it was that machine or another machine, but it certainly wasn't a known entity that caused the death of the leading American scientist I was put on the island to rescue. Now, it's really dark in here. I can feel the ice-cold air racing inside my Nanosuit. Fortunately, the suit has already begun to warm me up. Did I thank you already, American Taxpayers, for the function of the Nanosuit that keeps me at a pleasant 75 degrees? Oh yeah, did that a couple of paragraphs ago. I turned on my night vision for really the first time since I was hit by something shortly after being airdropped onto the island. The sound that the night vision makes when powered on instantly made me reminisce of the feeling I had falling four thousand feet straight down without a working parachute. I guess we should credit that psychological issue to Dr. Ivan Pavlov. I managed to snake through the trailers, which were in total disarray after the whole Freezing incident. I am really not sure why everything was tipped over, since there really wasn't a earth shaking moment that I remember. Maybe that is what happens when it goes from 80 degrees to -40 degrees in a second? I can only vote for yes on that one. Okay ... back on topic. Two scientists remain at a new location called the Extraction Point. They are being held by the General Kyong of the Korean People's Army (KPA). One of the scientists is the daughter of Dr. Rosenthal. I am going to do my best to bring her back to America safely, otherwise that is going to be one terrible trip to notify the next of kin. This mission kind of reminds me of some other covert missions I've had the pleasure to exercise over my many years in the Delta Force. I wish I could tell you more, but that is restricted information. However, the situation is always the same - there's a bunch of bad people who want to do really bad things to notso-bad people. We go in under the cover of darkness and extract the not-so-bad from the bad. The motive seems to always be power, money or something greed-related. Of course, this is my first experience with some paranormal activity or alien encounter. To be honest with you, I thought I had seen everything to this point, but this mission has certainly been an eye opener so far. I'll never forget seeing the remains of Aztec hanging from the tree, or Jester being snagged while I looked at The Lusca's Call on the rocks, or Prophet being stolen while standing next to me. Whatever it is, I am going to take it down ... or take them down, if there are more than one. Headquarters told me the fastest route should be by water. I remember seeing at least one Zodiac back down the hill in a small boat house along the river. To get back to the river, I need to move down the hill. As I looked outside the trailer attached to the dome, I saw KPA troops running down the hill. Now, I wonder where they are going in such a hurry? As I tried to catch up, I guess they were chasing after me, not realizing I had not left the dome yet. I guess I ended up doing a bit too much thinking and writing before heading down to the river. Well, I decided I should take out the troops around me, so I used my cloak feature to get up in a watch-tower nearby.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #72

From the tower and using my stealth I was able to take out all the soldiers from pretty much point-blank range. I honestly don't get why these guys are trying to take me down, when there is obviously a bigger force to be dealt with at this point. I guess we'll chalk that up to greed as well. I drove one of the Hummers down the hill only to be met with more KPA resistance. They began to fire heavily at my Hummer, so I jumped out and let it coast to a stop. I hid behind some trees. Well, they all decided to surround the Hummer - thinking I was inside. At this point, I figured it was a good time to test out the grenade launcher on my FY71, which took them down when the Hummer exploded. Next, I decided to climb up a nearby hill that overlooked the water. I could see two Zodiac boats that were not manned and a third Zodiac that was trying to hide from me, with two KPA soldiers near by. Other than that, the entire area looked clear. I moved to the edge of the hill and waited until both soldiers were near the boat. This time, I used my rocket launcher to sink the third Zodiac and place significant damage against the KPA soldiers. A few long distance shots using the scope on the submachine gun finished both soldiers off. They couldn't run, because they were on a small island. They couldn't hide, because I was at a much better position. I moved down the hill and swapped rocket launchers with one left behind by the KPA troops. I've still left my SCAR behind, but am not too far from the SCAR, which I plan to pick up once I clear a path along the river. So, for now, I still have the FY71 and the submachine gun.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #73

For travel along the river, I came across the option to choose between a Zodiac with guns and a high powered motor or a standard fishing boat, as shown below.

It was a tough choice, but I ended up picking the Zodiac. Cruising down the river, I still had not noticed any enemy activity. Did I really take care of all of them? I wondered if Headquarters told me not only the fastest way, but also the path of least resistance as well.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #74

Okay, so I spoke too soon. Just as I got about 100 meters along the river, I heard a helicopter overhead, which saw me sitting in the water. I think we saw each other at the same time, because bullets started flying in each direction at the same time.

I managed to get some hits using the guns on the Zodiac, but the helicopter won the first round as I was forced to abort the Zodiac and hide near shore. The Zodiac had about 25% left before it would start sinking, but I know I will need more strength to get closer to the chopper. I swam back to where I got the Zodiac and acquired the second Zodiac from the bay. The great news is that there are no Zodiacs left behind to facilitate a surprise attack from the KPA soldiers. Of course, they could probably bring their own boat to the party, but that seems really unlikely at this point. I drove the boat at higher speed and blew past the point where the helicopter saw me. Either the pilot thinks he has taken care of me or he's flying a pattern and is currently out of range. I am fine with either option, since it allowed me to cruise up stream very quickly. Still, that beacon for the Extraction Point seems like it is not getting any closer at all. I started to hear louder noises of water and realized I was going to need to take the Zodiac over a waterfall. Man, that thing is coming at me quickly too! I know the USA models can handle this sort of thing, but wasn't too sure about this KPA model. I wasn't going to back out now, so I did the jump.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #75

The landing could have been better, but the boat and I both survived without taking much damage. The only issue is that I had to turn the boat around. Man, I hope Psycho didn't see that Evel Knievel jump because I'll never hear the end of that one! I wasn't noticed yet, because of the huge rock on both sides of the water hid me out of sight. In fact, these same rocks where the rocks that I tried to jump when I realized the suspension bridge was out earlier. Looking at the distance between these two rocks still makes me laugh to think I could jump that far - even with the Nanosuit enabled. So, I got the boat turned around and noticed that two soldiers were heading my way. No word from that chopper, but I imagine it will be coming soon at this point. Once I saw the soldiers, I used the guns on the Zodiac to take care of them. Next thing I knew, the helicopter was there and it was shooting rockets at me now. I got a few hits in with the machine gun on the Zodiac before I decided to bail out and head for cover. I reached the shore and hid between a tree and the large rock wall on the same side of the water as the KPA base I visited earlier. The helicopter managed to finish off my Zodiac, which turned out to be a good thing, since I got a very good fix on its position. I changed to the rocket launcher and while standing on the shore in cloak mode, I was able to aim directly under the helicopter. Two rocket shots later, the helicopter was destroyed and was crashing into the water at nearly the same position where my destroyed Zodiac was sunk. So, the good news is that the helicopter is down and I have no warnings on my Heads Up Display. The bad news is that I don't have another boat to use. So I guess I need to go on foot for a while. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #76

Proceed to the Extraction Point – Part 2 I am on foot now and had to climb up the side of the same rocks I had climbed earlier after trying to do my best Michael Jordan attempt at jumping what appears to be a 100 ft distance. I survived the jump due to the deep, muddy brown water below. I also learned the path on this part of the island, which made the second walk along the path much easier. I had eliminated two troops from the path with the Zodiac and that appears to be the only troops that were on duty tonight. Felt good to focus on walking for a while instead of focusing on staying alive. Remember, I decided I didn't want to take the curvy road toward that base earlier? Well, I am actually walking that very path as we speak. So I guess I didn't avoid it after all. The good news is that there are not a bunch of troops on top of the hill looking down at me anymore. When the road curved back toward the river, I noticed there were quite a few troops stationed on the bridge waiting for my Zodiac to arrive.

So, I guess blowing up the helicopter came with a price. That price being that there were probably another 10 troops waiting for me on the bridge. What they don't realize is that the Zodiac is gone and I am on foot. After marking the troops with my binoculars, I continued to sneak up closer to the bridge. I used my last rocket to take out a large truck on the other side of the bridge. That brought a huge explosion and also eliminated some of the troops. The other troops were alerted of my presence, but by this time I had relocated under the cover of stealth. These troops seemed more skilled than the others, since they tended to split up and attempt to flank their target. I used that approach to my advantage and moved toward each flank member and took them out quickly with the FY71 and the silencer.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #77

I looked about 25 meters up stream and saw a manned Zodiac waiting for me to come up the river. There was a huge fuel tank next to the boat. So, I managed to explode the fuel tank, which took care of the boat and the crew. I still am not sure why one would leave an explosive tank of fuel so close to a military vehicle. Another truck load of soldiers remained.

So, I slipped over the bridge and used a grenade from the grenade launcher to take down these troops. I wasn't able to hit the truck, yet, but I did take out all the troops that I had marked. Without using a lot of stealth, I moved from rock to rock until I saw one last soldier manning a mounted machine gun. I enabled stealth and got all the way behind him before taking him out. I am certain he had no clue what happened to him.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #78

With all the troops gone, I wanted to make sure I didn't leave a means for more troops to catch up to me, so I used the mounted machine gun to destroy all the remaining vehicles - except a Hummer which I planned to use myself.

I found more ammo and rocket launchers near the bridge. This was another make-shift ammo hut for the KPA. I can certainly say that they've been busy the last week or so, stocking up the island with ammo and explosives. I certainly am glad they have done so at this point. I drove the Hummer on the road alongside the river. That Extraction Point still seems a long way away. While driving I heard the sound of another Hummer coming my way. I quickly jumped out of the Hummer and hid behind the trees. The other vehicle didn't stop and kept driving the other direction. Not sure what that was all about, but I think I am okay now. I ended up seeing another group of soldiers blocking the road ahead. I also heard another helicopter in the distance. The road block appeared to be at or past the halfway point to the Extraction Point. Man, this is a long trip. The troops at the road block were mediocre at best, as I was able to force them my way and knock them out one by one. I thought I might have a second option for another path, but the road led to a tunnel that had collapsed. Bummer, I was hoping for another way in to the Extraction Point. I continued to hear the helicopter which still had not noticed me below. Finally, I was able to get a fix on it's position and noticed it was not searching for anything at all. Instead, it was hovering in the same spot. I wonder what they were looking at from the helicopter ... I wonder if it has something to do with that Extraction Point?

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #79

This was a good sign for me. I was able to get a lock on the chopper and shoot two rockets at the helicopter before it had a chance to move.

With the helicopter eliminated, my radar was again green. No enemy in sight. Based upon my map, I am past the halfway mark to the Extraction Point.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #80

I am going to take a few minutes to get some rest, before moving further along the river. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #81

Proceed to the Extraction Point – Part 3 I sat against the rocks to calm my nerves before heading toward the Extraction Point. By my count, I have dealt with nearly 200 enemy soldiers since leaving the research dome ... which is about 200 more than I preferred to handle. The US Army Corps of Engineers developed a powder back in 2017, that when mixed with water, produced a drink that is not only refreshing, but works to calm the nerves of a soldier after being involved in severe combat situations. This powder became known as blue gold, because of both it's color and power. The use of blue gold was intended for situations like a death of a squad member, heavy combat action which included several fatalities, or situations where the soldier is put into a position where he is outnumbered by the enemy. Since I qualified for all three, I used the entire powder packet in one setting, instead of using the recommended allowance of one-half a packet. I don't think the Engineer Research and Development Center figured a single soldier would be put through so much trauma in such a small amount of time. Feeling the blue gold drug race through my body was a wicked feeling ... especially, with the entire packet being administered into my body in one canteen of water. The feeling of my blood cooling brought back memories of the frozen research dome. My Nanosuit began to warm me, before I disabled the feature in order to let blue gold do it's job. Within about 10 minutes, my heart rate had calmed, along with my nerves. It was time to move toward the Extraction Point and there was less than 200 meters to go now. I re-enabled the Nanosuit's Climate Control feature. Headquarters informed me that I won't have the honor of meeting General Kyong now, but that I am going to be air-lifted out of the area once I make it to the Extraction Point. While the communications were scrambled, I found it coincidental when I heard another helicopter off in the distance a few moments later. I knew the noise was not my ride, because the US Army wouldn't send a simple helicopter to extract me. So, this sound had to be coming from the Korean People's Army (KPA). So, I moved up the hill and hid under the cover of trees to wait things out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #82

The helicopter noise got louder and before long it flew over the top of me. I tagged the chopper with my binoculars to keep an eye on it's position.

This helicopter seems to be designed to carry troops more than to perform tactical bombing missions. So that must mean that the KPA overheard the conversation and placed some troops near by to foil my extraction. My point was further justified when the helicopter continued to head in the same direction. Had it been looking to take me down, it would have been in some sort of search pattern.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #83

This chopper took a direct path out of the area ... as if to return to it's original place of origin.

I decided to take my time to the Extraction Point and stay up on the side of the hill as much as possible. I encountered no troops on my path toward the Extraction Point. Finally, I got within 60 meters of the marker and realized they had targeted an old grave site.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #84

The US Army can be quite morbid at times. For the most part, it was a typical grave yard, complete with large crosses marking the graves of former occupants of the island. Some tombstones were huge, while others were pretty much non-existent. I am guessing the same held true then as it does now, that the bigger the tombstone, the more important one wanted to be portrayed. Well, there doesn't appear to be anyone on my radar at this point. Maybe that helicopter wasn't dropping off troops. Maybe they did not intercept my signal. Maybe that blue gold Kool-Aide I drank is making me paranoid instead of relaxed. As I approached the center of the marker, my rescue pilot alerted me that they are ready to land, except there are enemy forces near my location. Before they will attempt a landing, I need to take care of the situation.

I am going to take a look around and see what I can find. I will be back soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #85

Secure the Extraction Point I moved back up the hill and took a look around while in cloak mode. I found four soldiers on the other side of the grave site. They were stationed several feet apart from each other and were focused in different directions. From what I could tell, these were the most advanced Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers I have found so far.

I continued to use the trees as cover and my cloak feature to move closer to the first KPA soldier. I got within 30 meters of the soldier and used the scope and silencer of the submachine gun to take him out. For the first time, the KPA soldier had more gear on. I decided to put the submachine gun into multi-fire mode. All I had to do is begin shooting and hold the trigger down until he fell down or I had to reload. As I started shooting, I realized this gear is more advanced than anything I've seen before ... that is, except my Nanosuit! It took the entire 51 bullets to take down the first solder. Soldier number two was heading my way quickly. I had used up all the energy in the Nanosuit and had to hide behind the tree until the energy charged back up.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #86

When I turned back around after enabling cloak mode, I noticed the second soldier had thrown a smoke grenade at me and was heading my way.

As I watched him, I saw him go into cloak mode! It appears that the KPA also has a Nanosuit! How in the world did this happen? My issue now is that I am already in cloak mode and he just enabled cloak mode. So, in theory, I will likely be seen before my enemy. How did this superior technology find it's way into enemy hands?!!! About a year ago, all Delta Team members were forced to go into a six week training course on the Nanosuit. During the training, you learned how to spot the Nanosuit in cloak mode, in the event one of the suits are captured in working condition by an enemy. Right now, I was very glad this training took place. Quickly, I began to wonder if the soldier not even 60 meters from me attended a similar class. With that thought in mind, I quickly began to scan the immediate area, looking for Light Difference Traces (LDTs) which were a minor side effect of the Nanosuit ... or at least the USA Nanosuit. LTDs are basically pixilated images that occur when the soldier steps into a different light pattern. As an example, if the soldier were to be walking on a sandy beach with the ocean in the background, then walked in front of some large brown rocks, the edge of the soldier would emit pixels that didn't match the correct background for a second or two. It is within that second or two that a window exists to locate and destroy the cloaked soldier. Quickly, I found the LTDs as the soldier moved from heavy vegetation to be in front of a thick tree. I had a fix on him and unloaded 51 bullets into the path of what I believe was the soldier. I hit part of him and caused his suit to malfunction. I could see him at point blank range. The issue was, he could see me too - since the Nanosuit I wore would automatically exit cloak mode once a weapon is fired. Without hesitation, I continued to throw lead in his direction until he too fell to the ground. The next two soldiers were on their way. I used the same approach on the third soldier as I did the first soldier, which was pretty easy the second time. For the final soldier, I decided to plant a rocket at his mid section, then follow up with some submachine gun ammo until he too fell to the ground. jvmach67 in Crysis

page #87

I looked down at the soldiers and noticed quite a few similarities between their Nanosuit and mine. How could this have happened? What other US secrets does my enemy maintain?

I stocked up on submachine gun ammo, since this battle cut into my 350 round supply.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #88

My ride out of this part of the island was able to land in the grave site. I still think that is kind of morbid! As you can notice, the extraction vehicle looked nothing like the helicopter used by the KPA that I tagged earlier this evening.

I moved to the rear of the vehicle and noticed the back latch was open and for the first time since Prophet was stolen from me, I had comrades waiting to greet me.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #89

I am going to take a seat and catch-up with the squad. By the look in their eyes, it doesn't appear that were are getting to the easy part of the mission. Meaning, much more trouble likely lies ahead. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #90

LEVEL: ASSAULT Meet Lieutenant Bradley I walked into the extraction helicopter and was greeted by Special Forces teammate, Psycho.

It appears that after he rescued the American scientist from the school, he hooked up with a team that eventually extracted me from the graveyard. When I looked at Psycho, I remembered leaving the SCAR behind, but I didn't forget to unload the ammo from Aztec, Jester and Prophet first. The last thing I wanted to do was leave any US ammo in a gun that could be used against me. I know I will find another SCAR and I know that I will take down that machine ... or those machines ... if it takes every bullet that was once owned by my teammates! As we lifted off the ground, Psycho and I talked about Prophet. Turns out, he was never found and is presumed to be dead at this point. The vitals from the Nanosuit had stopped transmitting back to Headquarters several hours ago. The locator beacon in his Nanosuit - which begins transmitting once the vitals reach critical levels - never was detected on US Military radar. I began to think about what would cause the locator beacon to not fire. That led me down a path of severe pain and anguish that would end someone’s life faster than our existing technology could predict ... or react to. Immediately, I had to push these thoughts out of my mind, because I cannot imagine that kind of pain being brought upon someone who did his best to lead our team through so many missions the last five years. I said a prayer for Prophet and for his distant family members back in the US. I never had the experience of being there when such news was delivered from a soldier lost at battle, but I can imagine it has to be one of the toughest things in the world to endure. The biggest issue is not being able to say good-bye or I Love You one last time. jvmach67 in Crysis

page #91

All of this time, I figured Prophet would have figured out a way to cut himself loose from the clutches of that machine. That he landed in the bush somewhere on the island and was planning a way to get back to base. I guess the reality must be different. I guess the reality must really suck. I heard a loud bang caused by what I believe to be sourced from a higher power - because my mind quickly focused on what was going on around me. Looking up, I just realized that I was surrounded by several troops in this helicopter. So, I guess this is no longer a five man covert mission. Perhaps losing three very good Delta Force soldiers was enough to get the Calvary involved. I personally know that I've tagged probably more enemy soldiers on this island than I have in my entire military career ... and we are still not to the core of this situation. I think about my past covert missions that were executed without public knowledge in both suspected and unsuspected parts of the world. At the time, I thought I would never experience battles heavier than I had seen in those places. Just in a few days, with what appears to be over 300 enemy soldiers left behind, I know I am standing on a new plateau. I sure hope this is the peak ... because this kind of stuff really gets to me. I began to focus on what I was hearing. The US Military is launching an attack on the island. My goal, as it was explained to me on the chopper, is that I have to meet up with Lieutenant Bradley for my next assignment. The Korean People's Army (KPA) is certainly prepared as they are filling the sky with a lot of Anti-Aircraft (AA) ammunition. Things were really getting hectic and it sounded like World War III had erupted on the island. Surely, this had to be on the major news media outlets at this point. These bombs are rocking the foundation of Earth! Things got so bad that they had to land the helicopter near the top of a hill. A green flare had marked our safe zone. When I exited the helicopter, I realized it was anything but safe, by my definition. My Nanosuit radar was nearly full red, meaning the enemy knew where I was and were pointing weapons in my direction.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #92

I had to move to a new location. I could hear jets screaming just a couple hundred feet above me. The AA guns were pumping thousands of rounds of ammo into the sky. Several bombs where hitting the ground not too far from my location. My pulse began to race. This was far from being slow and stealthy my preferred plan of attack. As I walked down the hill, one of the US Air Force planes was hit hard by AA. I didn't see the pilot eject. He probably didn't have time. What I captured on my camera was probably his last second of life.

I turned around to glance at the rocks behind me. I saw a flame burst into the rocks and char the foundation to change from a nice gray color to deep black and red. I said a few words for the pilot that I did not know who also gave his life for this mission. Another visit will be scheduled for the next of kin, I am certain.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #93

As I walked further down the hill, the AA guns hit a second plane flying above.

Another pilot, another 100 million dollar aircraft, wasted. Is this discovery really worth the cost the KPA is launching? At least this plane hit the ground near a base. Maybe it took a few KPA soldiers out along the way. Something has to be done about these AA guns. What I don't understand is how the KPA are so accurate with guns that have been around since WWII. I remembered that they had some of our Nanosuits, so maybe they stole the key to our Top Secret research files without our knowledge!

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #94

I continued to run down the hill until I finally met up with Lieutenant Bradley. As if I had been reading his mind, he told me (in a very loud and stern voice) that these AA guns are killing our pilots and they need to be stopped.

I agreed using a stern voice of my own. After all, anyone who decides to take down a soldier on a rescue mission must be dealt with accordingly. It looks like there are two AA guns in the valley below. They appear to be heavily guarded and I appear to be the one most qualified for the job. I certainly don't mind, either, because of the vengeance of my fellow soldiers who have already fallen in the line of duty. I am off to get to a point where I can plan my route toward the first AA gun. I will be back in touch very soon! Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #95

Incursion The troops guarding the safe zone were standard US Army soldiers. They lacked the technology and training to handle tasks that are typically assigned to the Delta Force. Having the Nanosuit is certainly a wonderful asset in battle, but it comes with the price is putting your life on the line with missions that place one in the center of a hot zone a majority of the time. I can remember a mission code named "5-1941" where I used the Nanosuit for the very first time. We were dropped into a hot zone where stolen arms were being used like pellets in a pellet gun - hours after the gun was purchased. The Nanosuit and true lack of knowledge of the weapons saved me many times that day. In the end, we resolved the arms issue at 5-1941 and left peace to the disconnected country that was being held captive by some militant terrorists.

My first step is to get down to the lower part of the hill below and take out some Korean People’s Army (KPA) troops guarding a main road on this part of the island. Once I secure this area, I should be able to climb up a watch-tower and get a strong view of the valley and harbor containing the two Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns that have to be destroyed. For now, it appears that the amount of bombing has cut down somewhat. The sun is also beginning to rise, which will require less night-vision, but will also require more use of my cloak function on the Nanosuit. With the help of the US Army troops, we were able to take down the guards stationed along the roadside. One poor soldier decided to take refuge behind a fuel tank. Still don't get that train of thought. A few hits to the tank and the explosion took care of the rest. Once the road side station was cleared, I was able to stock up on some ammo and head up into the watch-tower. I am still carrying a submachine gun and a FY71. Like I noted earlier, I still have the SCAR ammo from Aztec, Jester and Prophet, along with two fully loaded handguns and a rocket launcher. My grenade supply is plentiful at this point. jvmach67 in Crysis

page #96

Once I got into the watch-tower, I was able to get a decent view of the situation below. With dawn approaching, it is easier to see the US Air Force flying above at this point.

The AA guns are stationed on two different parts of the area. One is off to the right of my current view and is located on a rock island foundation. The other appears to be further inland and is probably the more guarded of the two AA guns. I scanned the harbor with my binoculars and noticed some KPA soldiers patrolling the area with Zodiac boats as well. Just below the watch-tower, there appears to be a make-shift base, with more Zodiacs and soldiers. They can't see me ... yet. After taking a quick view from the tower, I decided I would focus on the AA guns near the water as my primary target. My thinking is that I might be able to clear out the area first and then destroy the guns on my way off the island. Anyone trying to counter my attack should be met with a deserted area. Before they realize I am gone, I will have escaped in another direction ... on the way to the second AA guns that I plan to destroy. I climbed back down the watch-tower and ran toward the heavy vegetation that covered the top of the hill. There is quite a bit of vegetation here, so I basically began running as fast as I could along side the hill - keeping an eye on my radar the entire time. The winds around the valley and the noises from the AA gun provided better cover than my Nanosuit cloak feature. The best part is that I didn't have to slow down to let my suit recharge.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #97

I reached the edge of the rocks and saw the AA guns from the closest range yet. I brought up the map and my mission objectives for one last review.

One Zodiac boat was patrolling this part of the island. There was one soldier currently watching in my direction at this point, but I suspected another three or four were within range of coming over - if a loud shot were to be fired. I wondered if I could use my stealth and swim to the other side, taking out these soldiers without alerting the pilot of the Zodiac.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #98

I looked below and noticed that mines lined the water below.

The good news is that they are far enough apart that my swim motions would not trigger them. The great news is that the KPA Zodiac would trigger them if they got too close. So I might have a chance for a stealth crossing after all. I also noticed another watch-tower down below. I am going to see if I can figure out how to get into that watch-tower, because I see one of those high-powered sniper rifles sitting on the floor of the tower. I am going to take a break to eat some food and get a drink before continuing forward, because this could get real ugly, real fast. Sorry for the short post, but the next two should be longer. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #99

Destroy Anti-Aircraft Units – Part 1 I decided to rest on the ground, submersed in foliage, as I ate my snack and enjoyed a drink of water. I needed about five minutes to relax before going forward. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the sound of the Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns out of my head. Even when they weren't firing, my ears could still hear them fire inside my head. While I took my break, I began to count the seconds between bursts of AA ammo rocketing into the air. The longest I made it to was twenty-seven. I decided it was time to head toward AA gun number one on my list. The foliage was great cover to get where I was now. Things were about to get tougher, as my vegetation cover was about to end - to be replaced with a bunch of rocks and mine-loaded water. As you may remember, my first AA gun was resting on top of a rocky island surrounded by water. In looking at the water, I noticed mines were floating near the surface. This might turn out to be a good thing, since it should keep the Korean People's Army (KPA) Zodiac boats away from me. I went into cloak mode and quickly slid along the rocks. I hid on the surface while I waited for my suit to charge back up. I then stood up and noticed there was a Zodiac patrolling the area, toward the sea and not within the harbor. There were also three guards in view on the island that I could see now, that I could not see before. There was also an empty watch-tower, complete with a high-powered sniper rifle. Before leaving my spot, I waited until the Zodiac was heading directly toward me. Using the sniper scope I was able to launch twenty rounds at the gunner and took him out of commission, which seemed to stun the boat's driver. Less than ten rounds were needed to take out the boat's driver. Looking at the island, the guards were alerted, but had not picked up on my position. I hid against the rocks while my suit charged back up again. My next goal was to make a run toward the watch-tower in order to use the sniper rifle. I hoped it had some ammo left, but if not, I will have a great vantage point of the small rock island before me. Using cloak, I slid down the rocks and hid at the base of the watch-tower, while my suit recharged again. Slow and steady wins the race, I am told. With the suit charged back up, I climbed up the later and hid at the top of the watch-tower. I let my suit recharge. While the suit was charging I checked out the high power sniper rifle. It had eight bullets left. That should be plenty. I picked up the rifle and dropped the FY71. Using cloak, I was able to get a good fix on each soldier, fire a shot and then hide out of view. Repeat that process three times and the island appeared clear from the watch-tower view. I dropped the sniper rifle and picked my FY71 back up, then went down the ladder out of the watch-tower. A few minutes later, I eased into the water and swam carefully across to the island containing the AA guns.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #100

I did some quick rock climbing and ended up on the island where the three guards had been eliminated just a few minutes earlier.

I found some explosives in boxes near where I climbed onto the island. I am guessing the KPA were planning to use these devices on the US troops stationed at my drop point. We'll turn the tide on them now, since I am planning to use the explosives on the AA guns. The great thing about this Nanosuit is the cloak feature. Other Delta Force team members will tell you that the shield option or the strength option is the better two options. Heck, some might even say the speed option is best. For me, that cloak feature has saved my life more than anything else. There is something to be said about standing next to the enemy, yet they have no clue you are there. I remember using cloak as I approached the school house. I was able to hide close enough to the enemy that one grenade was used instead of a couple hundred rounds. Using the cloak feature, I moved slowly over the island. I stood up while in full stealth mode in order to check out my surroundings. Looks like two soldiers are stationed on the other side of the island. There might be a third soldier over there, currently out of view. Making sure the silencer was still attached, I moved into very close view of the first soldier and took him out with one perfectly planned shot. There was no reaction by the other two soldiers. With him out of the way, I was able to plant the explosives and run back to the side of the island I entered upon. I pulled out the detonator and pushed the button.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #101

A brief second later, the first AA gun was destroyed.

The explosion managed to take out the hidden, third soldier. The second soldier came my way, trying to locate where I was hiding. At this point, I wish I would have went over to the watch-tower and denoted from there. The view from the tower would have been spectacular. The third soldier got into range and was taken out with another single shot, before he had a chance to react. I received radio contact that the first AA gun had been fully destroyed. Now, it is time to move to AA gun number two. I considered two options on how to get to the second gun. The first would be to continue to push forward and circle around to the gun from the opposite side of where Lieutenant Bradley is located. From what I could tell, there are at least three KPA soldiers waiting for me on the other side of the island - that were in my long range view. At the same time, there was a bridge I would need to cross, which would put me at high risk of being seen. That bridge is too long for me to make it across in cloak mode before losing my entire suit's energy. As you probably realize, a charging Nanosuit is a huge bullet magnet! When I looked back toward the way I came to the island, I saw another group of soldiers and a couple of Zodiac's floating in the open harbor. So, if I were to continue on the first route, I would also have to deal with a couple more Zodiac boats, along with everything else noted above. The second possible route would be to head back in the direction I came, and then sneak around from the side closest to Bradley. I would still need to deal with the Zodiac's and the men on shore directly in my path. But I counted a max of only seven KPA soldiers, two of which are boat drivers - meaning, they are likely terrible shots. The decision was made; I would take the second route noted above. This way, if troops head toward me across that bridge, I could pick them off before they get close enough to me.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #102

I went into cloak mode and swam to a small rock formation in the middle of the harbor. Out of range from the Zodiacs, I took a quick picture of the route I would take back to my entry point to this mission. It looks like there are three, maybe four KPA soldiers guarding a house on the sand.

The rocks around the harbor proved to be very great cover. I swam to a large rock, then went into cloak mode. Using cloak mode and the silencer on the FY71, I was able to eliminate three KPA soldiers before I was tracked by all of them. Next, I moved around the house and came up to see two more soldiers near a Zodiac boat. The last two soldiers I had seen earlier must have driven out into the water while I was swimming to the shore.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #103

I pulled out a grenade and dropped it right next to the Zodiac. The explosion managed to take out not only the boat, but the two remaining soldiers as well.

For now, I was able to stay in shield mode on the Nanosuit. At the top of the hill, the US Army troops had a strong grip on the area.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #104

I brought up my map in order to view the path to the second AA gun.

The second gun can be located by snaking around the edge of the rocks. There is a road leading directly to the gun, but I think I will stay off the road and see if I can achieve a surprise attack. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #105

Destroy Anti-Aircraft Units – Part 2 I found a path leading to the road above. I faced toward the direction of the second Anti-Aircraft (AA) gun, only to see a fellow US soldier manning the skies above. For now, the area behind me and to the right is clear of AA fire.

I wonder if the pilot is waving at me, to signal a form of gratitude. Probably not. All he probably sees is an ant-sized soldier in a wicked suit walking on the street instead of taking advantage of the natural cover that this island provides. As I found cover and began to walk in the direction of the second AA gun, I thought about some of the key air strike missions that I've been involved with as a Delta Team member. Operation Goat's Milk was a mission that I will always remember, because the amount of time spent executing the mission was the quickest that I have ever experienced in my entire military career. Operation Goat's Milk was a covert mission that focused on what appeared to be a goat farm in a section of the planet I am not allowed to discuss openly. From satellite and spy plane photos, the land appeared to be nothing more than a goat farm. However, very reliable sources indicated that the farm was being used to experiment with chemical weapons - white in original form, but dissipated into clear form when dumped from 10,000 feet and mixed with the Earth's atmosphere. We called the chemical goat's milk, because of the farm house. Since we did not have anywhere near the confirmation we needed to take action on the situation, I was air dropped with Prophet to look into the situation. Like this mission, we were dropped in the middle of the night. Unlike this mission, I wasn't clobbered by some machine-like thing shortly after free falling from the plane. We remained hidden in the vegetation for only an hour before making any move toward the farm house. We planned to sneak into the farm house in order to determine if our sources were correct, since the house appeared to be inactive. As I began to head toward the house, Prophet radioed me at the last second and told me to wait. jvmach67 in Crysis

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A second later, we saw lights approach from the long driveway leading to the house. Had I ran toward the house when I did, I would have been in plain view by the vehicle and our mission would have been compromised. Remember, back then, there wasn't a way cool Nanosuit. So, Prophet was certainly deserving of his name. We watched three men and one lady exit the vehicle. The men began to unload huge canisters and move them into the home. It took four trips by the men to get everything unloaded. The lady then left with the vehicle a few minutes later. About twenty minutes later, we saw a stream of white smoke emit from the chimney. It appeared they had started cooking the chemicals down. Our engineers told us what to expect from a scent perspective. The powder would have a very strong sulfur-like odor when being cooked. When that happened, we knew that the chemical was at its most volatile state. Jumping into action, Prophet and I painted the top of the chimney as a target with our bomb guiding lasers. With two points of reference, the bomber would have a 98.5% chance for a direct hit. The stealth bomber was heading toward the target less than two minutes after we painted the target. We watched on our portable radar as the plane approached, but was still too quiet to be heard. In fact, we only heard the plane a split second before we heard the bombs hit the home. When the initial smoke cleared, the farm house had been destroyed. As expected, the white powder had crystallized and had a gray tint as it lay around the burning grass. Operation Goat's Milk was a success. Prophet and I reached our way point and were out of the area before any one realized what had occurred. The mission was a great coordination between two different forces of the US military. I realized that Prophet was gone, again. That hurts. I plan to take out my aggression and pain on that machine. In order to do that, I've got to destroy that second AA gun and anything in my way. Speaking of which, I came up to a gas station, which appears to be manned by a few Korean People’s Army (KPA) soldiers. I was hoping to get a clean shot at the gas pumps, but the angle wasn't as good as when I lit up the sky back near the school house.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #107

So, instead, I used my cloak abilities to clear out the gas station without alerting any troops further inland. Moving rock to rock or tree to tree, I was able to clear a path that led me to the second AA gun. My route was rather unique, in that I climbed the rocks behind the AA gun, then slide down the hill into some water and climbed back up resting behind the unit itself. There were several soldiers on the other side of the guns looking for me. I was in the least place they expected. I even recharged my suit without being noticed. I planted the explosives, and then moved around to the other side of the AA guns in cloak mode. One by one, I eliminated all the troops in sight. I still don't think they expected me to be hiding so close to the guns. However, it was the best place, since the guns could not aim toward my location. Once the troops were cleared out, I detonated the explosives and destroyed second AA gun unit.

I was able to take a photo of this explosion. I was certain this gun was destroyed. I expected to hear confirmation that the guns were indeed destroyed, but instead Headquarters informed me that a helicopter was en route with KPA troops. The chopper hovered above me, as it planned to deploy KPA troops.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #108

I pulled out my rocket launcher and placed two rockets into the bottom of the helicopter, which led to a serious explosion.

There should be no doubts by the KPA, that I am here and I am taking this battle seriously. After all, if you are responsible for taking down 60% of my team, there will be a price that needs to be paid.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #109

I just received word that a third Anti-Aircraft gun exists. They flashed the marker on my radar.

The route to the third gun is going to head into the direction close to where the first gun was stationed. Looks like I will need to cross that bridge after all. Looks like I will need to take care of the remaining Zodiac boats in the harbor too. I am going to take some time to plan my route. I will be in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #110

Destroy Anti-Aircraft Units – Part 3 Crossing the bridge ended up being easier than I expected. There were destroyed vehicles sitting along the bridge, making perfect cover for my Nanosuit to recharge its cloak mode. I was able to stock up at the second Anti-Aircraft (AA) gun, so I am carrying a full load of ammo for my FY71 and a full rocket launcher containing three rockets. I am carrying a SCAR again, but have few bullets left, other than the bullets that I retained from Aztec, Jester and Prophet - my three Delta Team members lost in this mission. My grenade supply is nearly full as well. If things get really bad, I have two fully loaded pistols - one on each hip. To recap, my name is Lieutenant Jake Dunn of the US Army Delta Force. Friends simply call me Nomad. Since I was dropped on this island, I have taken out over 300 enemy soldiers, all Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers. The KPA captured the island briefly after a group of American scientists contacted the United States to indicate they had made an "amazing discovery" on the island. Since then, things have been out of control here. I was air dropped onto the island with four other Delta Team members. As noted above, three of them have been killed and left for dead by some machine-like thing, which appears to have been buried in the ground and have something to do with that "amazing discovery" the American scientists spoke of in their radio distress call. We have been able to rescue one scientist, while Dr. Rosenthal - the leader of the team - was frozen back at the research dome in front of my eyes. That leaves two scientists that need to be rescued. They appear to be being held by the leader of the KPA in a mine on the island. The goal is to rescue the remaining hostages. My personal goal is to destroy that thing (or things) that took the life of three very good Delta Team members. However, before I can get to those goals, there is a third AA unit that is causing havoc for the planes above. That third AA gun has to be destroyed. I plan to be the one detonating the charge. I could see one Zodiac in the harbor at this point, but it could not see me. Looking out over the harbor, I could see our planes circling the area.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #111

Until those last AA guns are destroyed, our fighter plans and bombers would still be at risk. It was time to get moving toward what I hope to be the last set of AA guns. I continued down the path toward the guns and noticed a small group of soldiers monitoring the bay area for activity. From what I could tell, I was probably not going to cross their path on my current route to the AA units. I don't believe they even knew I was coming across the bridge, since my Heads-up display still showed them performing routine tasks. I walked slowly through the bushes along the road leading to my target. A small village approached as the elevation continued to drop from the high-point of crossing the bridge. Headquarters contacted me over the radio to add a secondary objective to my current objectives. The goal is to gather intelligence from a computer located in the village. I took a screen shot of the map and my objectives for future reference.

As I walked toward the base, I thought for a quick second to myself. "Did I remember to grab that USB decrypter when I hacked into the last computer?" Looking into the top left inner pocket of my Nanosuit, confirmed I was okay. The USB decrypter was still in my possession. I was very confident that the USB decrypter would again be able to compromise the KPA computers. Even if they realized we had already hacked into their network, the decrypter was still on an initial pass when the original computer was exposed. The USB decrypter had 17 levels of key code intrusion abilities, with the ability to scan 9 variants based upon the Operating System in use by the computer. Computers owned and used by the KPA were likely to be compromised within the first couple of passes, based upon International Export laws put into place on North Korea since the early 2000s. I guess the take-away is, if you become a hostile militant-based safe haven for terrorists, restrictions will be put into place by the free-world countries.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #112

I approached the village and was able to get a view from above, compliments of the rocky landscape of this part of the island.

Down below, I could see what appeared be less than six KPA soldiers guarding the village. Five guards are stationed around the homes, while one guard remained in a watch-tower up above. I am still amazed how quickly they locked down this island - since the distress call was still less than two weeks ago. Using the silencer, I was able to take down the guard in the watch-tower quickly. While the other soldiers were alerted of the gun shots, they weren't certain from which direction the shots originated. The valley is surrounded by rocks, so the gun shots echoed in all directions. I could not have asked for a better situation. A couple more soldiers were in the area that I had not seen before. Additionally, a KPA helicopter flew into the area. Someone from the village below must have radioed for assistance. The helicopter likely contained more troops - so I needed to take out the chopper first. Using the trees as cover and the cloak feature of the Nanosuit, I was able to fire two quick rockets at the helicopter. The first rocket missed, so I needed to launch the third rocket, which destroyed the helicopter. The crash of the helicopter caused the remaining troops to scatter for cover. This gave me an opportunity to assess the situation and figure out where the remaining soldiers were located. From this point, the remaining soldiers were not difficult to eliminate - especially when compared to the four soldiers that fashioned Nanosuits I encountered earlier.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #113

I was able to hack into the KPA computer with ease. The USB decrypter managed to unlock the system will only one security pass required. It didn't appear that the KPA had even adjusted their network, based upon our last intrusion. Amazing.

The computer indicated that two munitions rooms were located near the AA units. This information would be helpful, in the event I need more hardware to take out the third AA gun. I found another rocket launcher in the village and stocked up on ammo.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #114

I climbed up into the watch-tower in order to scan the area from above.

Looking at my path, I realized that the troops stationed in the harbor could become a problem at this point. A path exists from their location to my current path, which means they could surprise me from behind. Before heading toward the AA guns, I decided I better backtrack to the harbor and take care of them. One soldier appears to be stationed on the island that contained the first AA gun that I noted in my last set of posts. I should probably take him out as well. Walking to the harbor was really a non-event - since I had previously cleared the path. The ruins of the helicopter was still smoldering as I walked by the village. When I arrived at the harbor, I was able to take out the three troops stationed near the water quickly and swiftly. Turns out the first set of AA guns were not on an island, but a peninsula. I was able to walk up the trail and take out the KPA soldier at the gun from behind. Now, the path is clear. I returned to the watch-tower to move the sniper rifle up the trail. I will leave it along side the road if long shots are required. In front of me is what I hope to be the final AA gun. This one might not be as easy, as it is stationed inside an industrial area. I am going to move in closer. I will be in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #115

Destroy Anti-Aircraft Units – Part 4 The third Anti-Aircraft (AA) gun is stationed inside an industrial area. The area is a shipyard, complete with a huge Korean People’s Army (KPA) Cruiser ship docked in the harbor. I can see large buildings, fuel tanks and trains in the area. From what I can tell too, the entrance appears to be very heavily guarded.

I decided I would take out the first level of soldiers using the sniper rifle. This appeared to put the base on alert. For now, only troops headed in my direction. No helicopters to deal with ... yet. This was a good thing, since I had no tree cover at this point. As the troops approached, I used cloak to climb up onto the rocks above. I have a very good view of the area up here and should be able to fire quick shots and duck for cover before being noticed. Using that exact approach, I was able to eliminate a group of KPA troops who were all carrying submachine guns. After eliminating the first round of soldiers, I decided to leave the SCAR behind, as well as the sniper rifle and focus on using the FY71 and the submachine gun for now. The KPA soldiers had left plenty of ammo for me, so both guns are now fully loaded. Both guns also have the sniper scope and silencers attached. I moved into the area and was within 50 meters of the third AA gun, when I ran into more troops. Two of them ended up bunching up directly in front of me.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #116

I used a single grenade to take them out.

I saw a soldier stationed above me. I zoomed in to realize that the soldier had a Nanosuit on. At first, I figured he was guarding the AA guns and that this mission was going to be very difficult to complete as long as that soldier was in my way. I looked again and realized that the soldier was Psycho - my lone remaining Delta Team member!

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #117

I visited one of the munitions areas and picked up more explosives - clearing out the area as part of the trip. The AA gun was guarded by two troops that were very easy to eliminate using cloak. After the first charge was detonated, the AA gun was not fully destroyed. Looks like another charge will be required. I quickly returned to the munitions depot and picked up another set of explosives. This time the charge was detonated and the third AA guns were destroyed.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #118

Here is an image of the explosion from Psycho's Heads-up display.

Headquarters just radioed me. Looks like there is a GPS jamming device on the KPA Cruiser ship parked in the harbor. I need to get on board that ship to disable the jamming device before going any further. I am going to plan my route of attack. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #119

Sabotage the Jammer on KPA Cruiser – Part 1 The Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns are toast and there do not appear to be any other AA guns in sight. Something that has always frustrated me is our inability to determine how many AA guns are in a given area ahead of time. One would think if we possess the technology to make me invisible to enemies a few feet away using my Nanosuit, we would be able to obtain a solid count of AA guns in a target area ahead of time. I realize that my vent is certainly as old of an issue as I am a human being, but it still amazes me that we tend to be surprised with another AA gun after we believe to have destroyed the last gun in the area. I know that someone might bring up the Probability of Exact Proximity studies completed for the US military in 2012, where current technology cannot predict with absolute certainty in cases where long range ground to air guns are employed. Still, I think we should be able to do better than that now that it is eight years later. Me, I just tend to add one more to the list of known targets. I just always hope that last AA gun doesn't find me before I find them first. At any rate, with the AA guns out of the way, I was alerted that a Korean People's Army (KPA) cruiser is docked in the harbor and is jamming our GPS systems. Given the attack by US forces, I am certain they are jamming our signals to keep us from sinking their huge boat. To give you a recap of the objectives, I've attached them below in image form:

From the map, you can see Psycho in blue, watching over the area from above. I am located at the orange location, directly where I stood when I detonated the final AA gun in my last post. The KPA cruiser is located on the other side of the dock from me. I am pretty sure that the path between my current location and the signal jammer is loaded with more KPA soldiers. I am still using the KPA submachine gun as my primary weapon, with both sniper scope and silencer attached. My secondary weapon is a KPA FY71, that I've been carrying for quite a while now and a great weapon given the amount of ammo lying around. Both weapons are fully loaded and I still have three jvmach67 in Crysis

page #120

rockets in my rocket launcher, strapped to my back. Both pistols are full and my grenade supply is plentiful. Using cloak, I moved toward the KPA cruiser. As you can see in the screen shot below, the ship is quite large in size.

Just after I took the picture, I heard a Hummer arrive to my area. I went into cloak mode and they failed to notice me sitting by a large spool of wire. The Hummer was obviously on a search pattern, because they returned a few minutes later. I remembered having some grenade launchers for my FY71 and decided I would give them a try against the Hummer. The Hummer contained a driver and a gunner. So, if I could take out everyone in one shot that would probably be the preferred option. When the Hummer arrived, it stopped for a second to see if I could be located. Once the break lights engaged, I shot a grenade at the back of the Hummer, directly at the fuel tank near the back bumper of the all-terrain vehicle.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #121

The Hummer went up into flames with a loud explosion.

The explosion placed the remaining guards on the dock on full alert. I was able to use the large roll of spool to help snipe gunners located from about 70 meters away. Taking this approach kept my exact location unknown. Once the area was cleared, I used cloak to move further upward. I made it to the location where a ground (or dock) mounted machine gun was stationed, still under the cover of cloak. However, I heard a helicopter approaching from the distance. The helicopter must have been called in from the ship, as it hovered above the dock - still seeking out my exact location. I stood up and switched to the rocket launcher. With very little stealth available, I fired two quick rockets at the helicopter. Unlike last time, both rockets hit the helicopter directly and caused the chopper to explode in the air above me. Remains of the helicopter landed against the ship, still burning as they hit the dock. I quickly hid under a train car close to my location. My Nanosuit energy was extremely low at this point. Once my suit charged up, I moved into cloak mode. Another Hummer had arrived and was searching for my location.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #122

I also noticed guards station themselves on top of the KPA cruiser.

Moving around to the other side of the rail cars, I was able to eliminate the troops in the Hummer and a couple troops that were stationed on the other side of the dock. Taking out the gunner was the more difficult of the two tasks, since I had a really bad angle stationed next to the rail car.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #123

With the area secure, I was able to move down toward the cruiser using the rail cars as cover. I jumped into cloak mode to pick up a new rocket launcher, which was located next to the ground mounted machine gun and stock up on ammo. The KPA soldiers stationed on top of the cruiser turned out to be easy prey, since they were not sure of my exact location. Their curiosities ended up getting the best of them, as I was able to pick them off when they leaned out to seek my location. Knowing that some troops would be manning the second munitions site, I decided to enter the site in order to clear out any existence of soldiers on the dock and inside the industrial area. I wanted to make sure the area was clear to avoid a surprise attack after I boarded the KPA cruiser. Three guards were stationed in the second munitions building and their elimination proved to be easier than expected. I moved back toward the KPA cruiser. From what I can tell, the dock area is now clear. My next step will be to board the KPA cruiser and take care of that GPS jammer. I will be in touch soon! Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #124

Sabotage the Jammer on KPA Cruiser – Part 2 With the dock area completely clear and Psycho watching over me from a distance, I enabled the strength mode of the Nanosuit and jumped aboard the Korean People’s Army (KPA) cruiser. I was met with a single KPA soldier standing guard on the main level of the cruiser. He was quickly eliminated, since he was carrying a shot gun, which didn't have the range as my submachine gun. I went back into cloak mode once my suit recharged.

Through the door that was being guarded, two more KPA soldiers greeted me and again my weapons proved to be too much for them. Actually, I should say their weapons since I am still using the FY71 and the submachine gun - both weapons I have taken from the KPA!

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #125

I arrived at the top level of the KPA cruiser and after taking care of a few more KPA soldiers, I found the GPS jamming device.

I thought about using my FY71 to destroy the device, but I opted to follow the direction of my superiors and I disabled the device correctly. With the jamming station disabled and our GPS devices fully functional now, our bombers were clear to invade the area. Next, they needed me to paint the target from the ground. I know you are probably thinking to yourself, why would I need to paint something with my laser that is more than three football fields in length and more than 50 yards in width? Two words, Precision Targeting. I decided I would take cover on the other side of the dock - the same area where I had destroyed the third AA gun. Instead of walking there, I jumped into the harbor and swam across to the other side. I don't think there were any troops waiting to surprise me, but it felt nice to take a quick swim.

jvmach67 in Crysis

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I took cover from my new location and painted the target. The Air Force sent what appear to be four bombers to the area and they unloaded thousands of pounds of bombs onto the KPA cruiser very quickly.

There was no doubt in my mind that they wanted this ship sunk as fast as possible. It seemed like the KPA cruiser was hit no less than five times, each bomb rocking the foundation of the harbor. In what seemed like only a matter of minutes, the huge boat was sunk below sea level. As I expected, another KPA helicopter arrived into the area. The US Army was ready to deliver more troops into the area to secure the harbor, but they needed that KPA helicopter taken out first. I remembered I had three rockets in my rocket launcher. Now was probably going to be as good of a time as any to use them, so I waited for the helicopter to steady itself and fired all three rockets at once.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #127

I think the first rocket missed, but the second two rockets hit the chopper in the mid section. Another exploding KPA helicopter littered the sky.

With the area clear of any serious threats, the US Army arrived into the area.

jvmach67 in Crysis

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The area is now secure. I need to locate and check in with Major Strickland at the rail tunnel to find out my next objective. I think there is a rush for me to get there ... so, sorry for the short post. I will be back in touch soon.

Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #129

LEVEL: ONSLAUGHT Team Idaho With the Korean People's Army (KPA) cruiser destroyed, Major Strickland's armor group arrived via heavy VTOL. The distraction of the harbor's Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns, a KPA cruiser and a bunch of KPA troops have been taken care of. Now, we can head in the direction of the mine where the remaining United States scientists are being held by General Kyong. My next objectives will be delivered by Major Strickland himself. It has been a good two years since I last saw Strickland. I had the opportunity to learn how to navigate an array of US tanks with him - for situations where such skills are required. I had to italicize opportunity because Strickland is true to his name. You basically learn things his way, which is the only way, or you are out. He is one strict leader. In fact, before Aztec came into our Delta team, we had a guy named Gary Mannville - who we called Omega or Omega-man. Omega-man really never fit into our group's persona and clashed heavily with Major Strickland. Omega learned all about the US tanks via the simulator back in New Jersey, so he figured the time with Strickland was a total waste. What made matters worse, is that he planned his own agenda for the training - which contradicted with Major Strickland. Needless to say, Omega-man left our group and the Delta Force two years ago. The last I heard, he was heading up security for some Fortune 2000 company in the southwest part of the USA. That event turned out to be really great news, since we ended up with Aztec - who was a much better fit to our team. Crud. I just remembered that Aztec is gone ... just like Jester and Prophet. It's just me and Psycho now. Psycho and I caught up with Major Strickland to get our orders.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #130

There was a tunnel heading through the mountain before us. The door had been jammed shut. The first agenda for Major Strickland was to bust a hole into that opening and get on the other side of that mountain. My training two years ago was now getting ready to be put into action. Had you asked me if I would be using this training when I was air dropped onto this island, I would have probably laughed - then reminded you that this was a simple rescue mission. Now, a few days into the mission, I am now wondering if I will remember how to drive and use these tanks. Strickland said his training would stay with you forever. At first, I didn't believe him. Then, I remembered the continuous long days that spanned a few months back in 2018. Those months were painful. Those months were worth it, because I did remember as I began to drive the tank! After exiting the tunnel in my own tank, I saw another war in the valley below. What amazes me is how serious the KPA are about keeping us away from our scientists! I've come to realize that if I am not facing heavy action, then we are probably no longer on the right path.

Explosions continued to rock the island as the first wave of tanks pushed into the area. Strickland had me go in second, in order to let me get used to the controls of the tank. His last words to me before leaving the tunnel were, "This is a ten million dollar tank, rookie. Don't destroy it in the first five minutes of battle!" I sure hope I can keep this tank in tact for at least a mile or two. That might be tough, because this is going to be wicked! I pulled off the rail line, because I figured that is the path the KPA would expect me to remain on into the area. I was able to sneak up on a KPA tank, if that's what you call what I am doing in this huge hunk of lead.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #131

Before the gunner could get a fix on my position, I launched two shells directly into the rear of the tank. The explosion was captured on my Heads-up display.

More tanks covered the area. Our mission is to eventually wind up at a train station, but for now, Team Idaho must neutralize the area. Explosions continued to litter the area as we picked out the enemy tanks one by one. I also used my machine guns on the tank to eliminate KPA soldiers armed with rocket launchers.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #132

I noted the positions of the rocket launchers for future reference.

I found a road leading back up to the train tracks. As I expected, the KPA had destroyed the rail line and setup a road block complete with a tank and rocket launchers heading toward the track. I was able to eliminate the tank, but in the process my tank was heavily damaged. On foot, I managed to destroy the KPA soldiers holding the rocket launchers and secure the area. Still on foot, I needed to head toward the rail station. By my count, I made it about five miles in the tank. That's 150% longer than I expected. I don't think Strickland will be happy, though.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #133

As I walked toward the rail station, I noticed a huge mountain in front of me. I did not recall ever seeing such a strange looking rock formation.

When I zoomed in with my binoculars, I noticed a section of the rock had a bluish-glow appearance to it. One could say that the glow was due to the type of rock making up the mountain's structure, but my money would say it has something to do with those machine-like things that have taken the life of three of my Delta Team members. I need to cruise on foot for a while in order to locate this train station. I will be in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #134

Secure The Train Station I climbed up a near by hill that faced the train station below. Still on foot and using cloak, I was able to pin most of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) soldiers on my radar.

The train station doesn't appear to be that heavily guarded. Aside from the train station itself, there is a watch-tower up another hill. A few other KPA troops are setup along the hill from the watch-tower down into the valley. There is a single KPA tank guarding the entrance to the train station - which makes me glad I am on foot now, because that would have certainly taken me by surprise coming around the corner. Way on top of another hill is a bunch of KPA troops monitoring the area from high above. I picked up a rocket launcher from one of the locations I noted earlier and decided it was time to get things started.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #135

So, I aimed and quickly launched two rockets at the KPA tank, which took it out of commission.

As troops began to head in my direction, I went prone and used the sniper scope on the FY71 to eliminate them as quickly as possible. I then slid down the hill, navigated over to a new rocket launcher and toward the train station. I saw some fuel tanks at the top of the hill and was able to take out the KPA soldiers watching from way high above before walking into the open area. Next, I focused on taking out the guard in the watch-tower, which turned out to be easier than expected - due to the arrival of more US troops via VTOL. I took note that there is a sniper rifle at the top of the watch-tower, if needed.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #136

The remaining troops came down the hill and were met with an explosion linked to some fuel tanks nearby. With the area secured I greeted a fellow soldier. I bet he's wishing he had a Nanosuit too!

Before we could proceed further, we had to blast a path forward. That path would need to destroy two box cars on the train track at the train station. I found some explosive charges and placed two sets into two different box cars. I moved near an idling and empty KPA tank and detonated the explosives. jvmach67 in Crysis

page #137

The explosion was huge! The path was clear. My next objective will be to push ahead to the KPA tank depot. For some reason I thought I had faced all the tanks I would need to face. Turns out, things are just getting started. I am going to see if I can navigate this KPA tank and will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #138

Destroy Anti-Aircraft Artillery Navigating the Korean People's Army (KPA) tank was much easier than I expected. I again was very thankful for Major Strickland's training from 2018. He certainly gave us a broad understanding of tank navigation. It was certainly the kind of training I never expected to use ... especially on what was supposed to be a simple, covert rescue mission of American scientists. Crossing the railroad tracks noted in my last post brought me into another valley full of KPA tanks. This time, three Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns were hidden in the area as well. The guns are taking down our jets as they tried to survey the area. In addition to clearing out every enemy tank in view, the AA guns needed to be destroyed as well. I hid my tank behind an embankment in order to survey the area on foot. After all, it is kind of tough to be stealthy in a huge tank. I climbed the embankment and the view was also being enjoyed by two US Army soldiers, who were monitoring the area. They both had long-range rockets in hand. As I looked over the area, I noticed that a KPA Hummer was heading up the trail toward my tank. Not wanting to take any chances, I opted to drop two rockets on top of the Hummer as it approached. All looks clear and I've gotten a feel for the area - time to re-board the tank. Back in the tank, it was clear that Strickland's Team Idaho provided excellent cover and eliminated about 75% of the KPA tanks in the valley. The rest were destroyed by myself and ground forces. Because I was driving a KPA tank, I took very little damage to my tank by the time I reached the first AA gun. I am pretty sure the KPA didn't realize I was an American soldier borrowing their hardware. At this point, I was kind of glad my USA tank was destroyed earlier ... but I still don't believe that Strickland would be impressed. I drove right up to the first AA gun, which was buried in a block of large trees. When the KPA figured I was driving in to support their cause, they were shocked when the mortar shells hit their AA guns destroying the area in a matter of seconds. One AA gun was down, two remained. I then noticed a lone tank facing in the opposite direction. Close to the tank were rocket launchers and explosive ammunition. I needed to get more rockets after using two shells on the Hummer, as noted above. The tank still contained KPA troops, but the troops guarding the area must have already vacated the site.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #139

I was able to stock up on ammo after planting two rockets into the rear of the KPA tank.

I returned to my tank and drove further down the path. The second AA gun was in range, but I could also hear a helicopter hovering above. I went cloak and verified it was guarding the second AA gun. There were also troops guarding the area as well - along with a mine field. First things first, I have to eliminate the helicopter, then the supporting troops and finally the second AA gun. Since the area is lined with mines, there isn't an opportunity to use my tank beyond this point. Even though the tank is tough, a couple explosions from the under-carriage of the tank would certainly translate into the end of the tank - not to mention the end of Nomad and these blog entries that I trust everyone still enjoys reading. I drove the tank around the other side of the rock, clearly out of view from the helicopter, AA gun and supporting KPA soldiers. I went cloak and climbed a nearby hill which gave me a decent view of the chopper. When the helicopter was facing my direction, I exited cloak mode until they noticed me on radar. If I was going to hit them with rockets, I had to have a pretty good shot. Also, once I start firing rockets, I am certain the ground troops will be heading my direction quickly. Showing myself to the chopper was certainly a way to get it heading in my direction. The helicopter noticed me, so I switched back into cloak mode and moved quickly about 40 yards away from my noticed position. Even if the KPA fired rockets at me, I was out of range from being hit - based upon the amount of trees in the area. When the helicopter hovered close to me, I launched two rockets directly at the middle portion of the chopper. The helicopter exploded instantly and I dropped down and let my suit recharge. Once recharged, I went into cloak mode and surveyed the situation.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #140

As I expected, ground troops were now heading my way.

I used the silencer and sniper scope on the submachine gun to take out the troops one by one. A few troops passed my tank from the other side and were directly in my scope before they even pegged my general location. A couple of Hummers had guards manning their machine guns, who were also taken out as well. I then moved closer to the AA guns. The guns were resting next to a large pond at the base of the valley. Ordinarily, this was probably a very quaint area for vacation and relaxation. Now, it had been transformed into the center of an epic battle. Between the AA guns and the water, a single KPA soldier remained. He was watching over the water and did not notice me until after the rounds began to soar in his direction.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #141

With the area clear, I used a combination of explosive charges and my third rocket to destroy the second AA gun.

The last AA gun was on the other side of the pond. The KPA did not station any Zodiac boats in the area, but I did see a standard luxury boat near the second AA gun. So, I took the boat across the pond. As I approached the other side of the pond, I noticed the alert in my Heads-up display began to trigger a warning. So, I hopped out of the boat and swam to shore using cloak.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #142

I took a picture of the boat I used to cross the pond, for your viewing pleasure.

Yup. I am the proud owner of a lifted luxury boat. Perhaps when this is over, everyone can come out to the lake and take a cruise on my boat. We might even be able to ski off the boat as well. I don't know much about boats, so I could be wrong there ... I just know this boat was no Zodiac! Another make-shift weapons supply was not far from the other side of the pond. So, I picked up another rocket launcher and filled up my ammo. I climbed the hill under cover and arrived to the third AA gun. In fact, I didn't realize I was so close to the AA gun, until KPA soldiers came walking past me. They could not see me, but they did hear me. I quickly eliminated them before they were able to launch an emergency flare. That was a good thing, since I had absolutely no cover on the side of the hill. Off in the other direction, I had to eliminate a ground-mounted machine gunner about 500 yards away. In order to pull off the long shot with my submachine gun, I had to lay flat on the ground and wait patiently for the shot to line up correctly. With the area pretty much clear, that set the path for the third AA gun to be destroyed.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #143

I took one last picture of the AA gun causing havoc in the area before launching two rockets at the guns.

The rockets hit the third and final AA gun and it was destroyed. Honestly, I expected to hear a radio alert indicating that a fourth AA gun had been discovered - as I noted in an earlier post - but that was not the case this time. Instead, the radio call I received indicated that I needed to head to a higher elevation so that I could paint the munitions dump close to where the ground mounted machine gunner was located. I have a hill to climb, but will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #144

Destroy the Munitions Dump The Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns were destroyed and most of the area was clear. What remained was the Korean People's Army (KPA) munitions dump. My objective was to reach the highest elevated position in the area so that I could paint the target for our bombers.

The haul was not as long as the map shows, since I had zoomed in a bit earlier on my mission to pinpoint one of the AA guns. Along the way I found a box of bananas and realized I was really in need of some food. So, I grabbed a vine of bananas and took them with me. There were bottles of water there too, so I grabbed a bottle in order to save my packed water supply. Just like in Operation Goat's Milk, the painting process is pretty much uneventful when it comes to painting the target. I had already destroyed the watch-tower at the position on the map, so I pretty much sat on the top of the grass and started the process of painting the target with my binoculars. Once the target was painted, it was less than 30 seconds before I could hear the bombers approaching.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #145

I started peeling my first banana and watched from my safe distance as the bombers took their turn against the KPA.

A couple bites into the banana and I realized these bananas are way greener than I am used to eating. Still, it was food and I needed to keep my energy up. By the time the final bomb hit the area, I had eaten about three bananas and could not take it any more. I wished that Jester was here, because we talked about how I hated to eat green bananas when did a quick mission in Mongolia about a four months ago. Crud. Jester is gone too. Before I could get too wrapped up about losing team members, I heard the VTOLs arrive with support to eliminate the rest of the munitions dump. Time to get moving.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #146

I saw a VTOL land and received word that I needed to pick up a Gauss rifle for use on the mission. The craft was not too far from me and I was able to quickly drop the FY71 and begin carrying a Gauss rifle as well. I am not worried about losing the FY71 - since those things seem to be everywhere on this island.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #147

My next stop is to assist the US Army to clear out the remaining KPA troops at the munitions dump. I don't believe they want me using the Gauss rifle for that. In fact, as I walked I began to see the humorous side of the Gauss rifle itself. You see, growing up as a kid, I first came to know about Gauss rifles by two sources. The first, was sci-fi movies. The second, was silly computer games I played as a kid. In both cases, to defeat the big boss ... or the world-ending alien, one had to obtain and learn to use a Gauss rifle. So what was this Gauss rifle anyway? Well, the Gauss rifle was given one of it's names by the original creator, Carl Friedrich Gauss. Gauss is still referred to as one of the world's most influential mathematicians. He lived mostly in the 19th century, if my memory of history is correct. The gun is also referred to as a Coil gun, because it is a projectile weapon that uses multiple electronic coils to accelerate a magnetic projectile to high velocity. What I still find extremely ironic is that I used these Coil guns or Gauss rifles playing video games as a kid. Now, the year is 2020 and I am using a real Gauss rifle to potentially save man kind. Talk about life imitating art! I stowed the Gauss rifle for now and used my submachine gun to help clear out the munitions dump. We then focused on the road block leading out of the valley.

When the VTOL arrived to the road block, the situation for the KPA went from bad to uber-bad. About sixty seconds later, the path was fully cleared. I am going to take one final look at the area, then see where we are going next. I am guessing it is time to head towards that mine. If you ask me, it is way PAST time! I will be in touch soon! Nomad ... signing out. jvmach67 in Crysis

page #148

LEVEL: AWAKENING Tremors The road leading from the munitions dump to my next way point had been hit by something intense, because it now has a huge gap in the road. Neither the tanks or the Hummers could cross this area. So, it looks like I am heading forward by foot. I was really looking forward to showing Strickland that I brought a tank all the way through the mission. Of course, he would quickly point out that my original USA tank was gone and was replaced with some lesser Korean People’s Army machine. After crossing the gap and walking forward, I quickly realized that something intense did not hit the road, rather an earthquake had caused the issue with the road. I started feeling tremors as I walked toward my next way point. Basically, the tremors ripped the road in two pieces! Before me, I saw two paths ahead. The path to the left is made up of dirt and heads upward. The path to the right follows along a rail road track.

I am sure that everyone who has read my previous posts realizes that I am destined for the higher dirt path - since I prefer to always be at the highest elevation possible.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #149

The tremors continued to rock the land around me. It appears that lightning is striking that huge rock that I noted earlier.

Now, I am 100% certain that there is something inside that rock ... and I am close to 100% certain that it has something to do with those machines that have taken the life of three of my Delta Team members and some of the scientists that I am here to rescue. The dirt trail led me to an area with a sign that read "Pacific Shores Industries." I can imagine this was a valid business on the island just a few weeks ago.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #150

Now, it appears that it has been taken over by Korean People's Army (KPA) troops.

I decided to stay cloak for a while, as I inched closer to the camp. Looks like the KPA still have a few more helicopters patrolling the area. I stayed in cloak mode while the chopper flew overhead.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #151

My guess is that it will be looking for me back at the munitions dump. I better get moving before they decide to circle back in this direction. I noticed that there were some fuel tanks sitting on the back of a truck at the entrance of the Pacific Shores complex. With troops surrounding the area, I decided that placing some quick shots at the fuel tanks would be a good way to handle them. Since I was prone, my scope picked up a couple of frogs in the area. (Thanks CryTek, for going the extra mile with adding the frogs! I can't wait to see what else is in the game when I am able to run at the Very High graphics level.)

I went forward with my plan to puncture the fuel tanks, which caused a huge explosion. Initially, the KPA thought the explosion was related to the tremors - since my shots happened just as another tremor rocked the area. After a few more troops hit the ground from my single shots, they began to search for me. The cloak turned out to be too much for them, as I was able to take out one or two soldiers, then sneak back into cloak mode to change to a different position. In all, the mission proved to be one of the easiest yet. However, word just came over the headset - we need to get a solid location of the scientists being held in the mine. That information should be stored on a computer inside the Pacific Shores compound. My secondary objective will be to clear out the Pacific Shores area, then retrieve the data from the computer. I still have the USB decryption device - which should be able to hack the computer quickly ... unless the KPA have adjusted their security - which is highly doubtful. I am going to clear out the complex and will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out. jvmach67 in Crysis

page #152

Retrieve Intelligence Data After clearing out the area of troops guarding the entrance, I saw a heavy amour vehicle enter the area. So I moved back to my original position and launched a couple rockets toward the vehicle. It exploded and was now out of my way.

With the entrance clear, I moved up into the watch-tower to scan the area from above. I noted another soldier guarding an entrance at the rear of the facility, so I had to exit the watch-tower and take care of him before an alert could be sounded.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #153

I returned to the watch-tower vantage point and rescanned the Pacific Shores complex. All looked clear from my view.

My next step was to enter the building shown below. The building contains computer equipment which should pin-point the location of the remaining US scientists currently being held hostage by the KPA. I plan to again use the USB decryption device to hack into the system.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #154

Once inside the building, I had to navigate up the stairs to the second level of the building. So far there were no troops guarding the computer building - at least the first floor is clear. (I took a picture of the

stairs so that the soft shadows could be seen. Great job, CryTek on the soft shadows in Crysis!)

I made it to the computer after dealing with about eight KPA soldiers - all stationed on the second floor. I was able to reload my submachine gun, grab a new rocket launcher and pick up more ammo for my FY71. Using the USB decrypter, I was quickly able to hack into the system and gain entrance to the program containing information regarding the US scientists. I honestly cannot believe the security codes have not changed! This is, like, the fourth computer I have hacked into since I was dropped onto the island.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #155

In every case, the first pass by the decryption device unlocks the machine. Amazing!

The hostages are still being held in the mine, which appears to be under that huge rock formation that is glowing blue and being constantly struck by lightning. I would tell you that I am surprised by that fact, but that would be a lie. With the location of the hostages now on my radar, my next step is to head toward that mine, so that I can rescue the hostages and hopefully deal with that machine (or those machines) that has (have) taken the life of three of my Delta Force team members. I will be in touch soon! Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #156

Proceed to the Landing Zone With the Pacific Shores Industries complex cleaned out, my next objective was added to the Heads-up display on my helmet. I have the location of Helena (Dr. Rosenthal's daughter) and another American scientist now on my radar - compliments of the Korean People's Army (KPA) and a very lackluster security implementation of their computer network. The two remaining scientists are being held against their will by General Kyong of the KPA. Their location is within the mine shaft, which appears to be under a huge rock formation that is currently glowing blue. My guess is that thing is loaded with some alien-like machines that have taken the life of three of my Delta Team members. I will remember you always, Aztec, Jester and Prophet. In order to get to the entrance to the mine, I am going to need some help by the US forces in the area. However, in order to get them near me, I need to clear out a path for them to land. The Pacific Shores area might seem like an ideal choice, but the area is too small to be a landing zone for the VTOL machines. Additionally, the structure of the land is very unstable - due to the tremors resonating off that huge glowing-blue rock that I am certain I am going to enter at least once while I am on this mission. So, my next objective is to clear out a landing zone. The zone has been identified and is located along the dirt path leading out of the Pacific Shores Industries complex.

As I walked along the dirt trail, I was taken back in amazement at the huge excavation dig before me. In a hole large enough to contain a modest-sized city were several KPA vehicles who had evidently seized the area.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #157

This area, by no surprise, pushes right up against the mine.

I would guess that from sea level to the bottom of that huge hole is no less than 10 building stories. So, not even with the Nanosuit would I be able to survive a fall that steep. Looking around the hole, I noticed that outer roads snake down from the top of the hole to its lowest point. This information might come in handy, if I am expected to plow through that hole in order to arrive at the entrance to the mine.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #158

Continuing onward, my expectations were met, as I could see the entrance to the mine.

The entrance does appear to require navigation through that huge hole. I made some quick notes regarding the structure of the area. I also noted that the mine entrance appears to be guarded by a couple ground-mounted machine guns and some troops as well. The hole might appear to be a great landing zone, but it is not the area marked on my Heads-up display. The reason this is the case is likely due to the fact that the VTOLs would be sinking below sea level in order to drop the troops. In addition to the troops being placed at the lower elevation than the KPA guards, the route to drop them would pass through the cross-hairs of many laser guided KPA missiles as well.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #159

I faced the direction of the marked landing zone and noticed an industrial area before me.

This area would certainly be big enough to clear out a path for the VTOLs to land with support troops to help us secure the mine entrance. However, the area appears to be very well guarded as well.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #160

Looks like the KPA have a few more of those suits that are similar to our Nanosuits.

I really need to stake out the area and determine how I can clear out the landing zone for the support troops to land. I am going to stealth forward for a bit, but will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #161

Secure the Landing Zone I was able to continue toward the landing zone under cover of stealth and I ended up positioning myself on top of a small hill that over looked the landing zone. From what I could tell, there are at least two Korean People’s Army (KPA) troops in suits that closely resemble my Nanosuit. There might be more, but I can only see two of them from my current vantage point. How in the world were they able to acquire our Nanosuit technology?!!! Lying prone on the ground I was able to pick off a single KPA troop using my submachine gun in singleshot mode with the sniper scope enabled. This caused a few troops to head in the direction of where I was located. I remained in my position using the cloak feature to stay out of site. As the troops headed my way, I used a single shot to take each down, then returned to cloak mode. I have a feeling it all won't be this easy! I had one of the troops directly in my view that was wearing the Nanosuit. Since I had three rockets in my launcher, I figured two of them could easily take him out. I launched two rockets in his direction and either they missed or they didn't faze him, because when the dust settled, he was still standing close to his original position. Crud! What made things worse is that someone from the KPA lit a red flare, which means that more support will be heading this way soon. I moved from my original position and located myself on top of a dirt pile closer to the compound.

In the distance I heard a helicopter. I knew it wasn't our VTOLs, so it had to be another KPA helicopter maybe even the one that flew overhead before I reached Pacific Shores. I had only one rocket left from my attempt to destroy on of the Nanosuit wearing KPA troops. For now, I had to stay out of site from the helicopter. I wondered, though, if the Gauss rifle might be able to take down the helicopter. If worse came to worse that would have to be my only hope. The helicopter arrived and began to seek me out. It remained above the guarded compound that we would like to turn into a landing zone for our VTOLs. I also began to hear noises. There were more KPA jvmach67 in Crysis

page #162

troops coming up from behind my current location. They were guarding the rail lines that lead directly into the camp.

I took up a good position behind a rock and the rail car and took out the troops guarding the rail lines one by one. So far, the helicopter had not noticed me and the silencer was a big help in keeping a low profile. I noticed one last KPA soldier guarding the area with a ground-mounted machine gun. Just as I knocked him out, I noticed the helicopter was now heading my way. I quickly hid behind the train car on the ground while my suit charged back up. There was no way I could make the cover of the trees at this point. It was time to see if one rocket and some shots from the Gauss rifle could take down this chopper. With my shields maxed out, I stood up and fired a rocket at the helicopter. It began to smoke, but it wasn't destroyed - just as I expected. So, at this point, I began to wonder if this is where my mission was going to end. Would it now be up to Psycho to finish the mission? Heck, I didn't have a clue where he was even located at this point. Maybe he was gone as well. I wasn't going to let it end without giving it everything I had. So I grabbed my Gauss rifle and began to fire shots at the middle of the KPA helicopter.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #163

After the third shot hit the chopper, the chopper exploded into a ball of flames.

I could not believe it. The Gauss rifle took out the helicopter. I felt like I must of stood there in awe for several minutes before I realized there were more troops in the area to secure. So, I dropped down and let my suit recharge to max power. Once in max power, I went cloak and moved through the compound. I found a weapons depot and was able to pick-up another rocket launcher and refill my submachine gun ammo. For now, I am set. My weapons cache consists of the submachine gun, the Gauss rifle, a rocket launcher, two pistols and a bunch of grenades. There were two Nanosuit-wearing KPA troops that had to be eliminated. The other troops appear to have been taken care of already. The first troop was located on top of a roof and was standing in cloak mode. I was able to spot him from the edge/light reflections I spoke of earlier in my mission. Quickly I fired two rockets at the image and the heavily armed KPA solder was destroyed. Interestingly, I noticed that once I hit him with the first rocket, that his cloak powers were disabled - making the second shot very easy. Before focusing on the other KPA soldier with a Nanosuit, I returned to the depot to pick up another rocket launcher. This was the last one in the depot, so I had to make it last. The second soldier was stationed in the middle of a conveyor belt leading toward where the first soldier was in stealth mode. Could this be the last guy in the camp? I hoped so. This time, I decided I would use the Gauss rifle. My only issue is that this soldier had a huge gun in his hands. It looked like a massive machine gun. So, I would need to get close before taking him down. The good news is that I had a good one or two seconds before his machine gun would wind up to speed since the gun was kind of Gatlin-like in design. The bad news is, if I missed, I was going to be full of lead in a matter of seconds. I moved between many sand barges that proved to be very good cover. Once I was at the end of my cover, I made sure that plenty of Gauss ammo was loaded and ran directly at the KPA soldier. I managed to hit him directly with my first shot - which stunned him. My second shot hit him just as he began to pull the trigger on his weapon. By the time my third shot hit, not a single bullet left the gun in my direction. jvmach67 in Crysis

page #164

I dropped down and let my suit recharge. Was the area clear? No! There was one more troop in the area. I could not see him. Where was he located?!!! I navigated to the rear of the camp and found that I could climb all the way up a silo to get a bird's eye view of the area. I still had three rockets left and plenty of Gauss ammo - if another chopper arrived. I reached the top of the silo and pointed my binoculars in the direction of the last KPA troop. Turns out there was one more Nanosuit wearing KPA soldier, who remained in cloak mode and was hidden at the top of the compound - which happened to be below my current position.

Since I was in cloak mode, he didn't notice me. So, that is when I opted to use the rocket launcher again. I fired the first shot which caused the suit to fail. Then a second shot to fully clear the area.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #165

With the area clear, the VTOLs arrived into the area and planted a green flare to allow a second VTOL to land.

The landing zone was complete. While this mini battle had just ended, another battle was beginning as troops stationed in that huge hole and along the mine entrance were now aware of our presence. I better get down this silo and see if I can help our troops with this battle. I will be in touch soon! Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #166

Infiltrate the Mining Complex – Part 1 The path I had cleared gave way for two VTOLs to land. The vessels provided support troops to the area and more ammo for my Gauss rifle. Much needed ammo, I should say. The next objective before me is to infiltrate the mining complex. In order to reach the entrance, I am going to need to navigate around this "big dig" of a hole beneath me.

Between me and the entrance to the mine shaft are no less than 30 Korean People's Army (KPA) troops. I think they are really upset too, because they are using their heavy amour machines to launch huge chunks of lead in our direction. Perhaps, they just realized I destroyed several million dollars of Nanosuit technology that they evidently stole from the US government. Honestly, I am the one who should be mad. Guess what? I AM MAD!!!

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #167

Looking up at the huge rock that is still glowing blue, I noticed one of the machine-like aliens flying through the air.

This is the same type of beast that stole Jester and Prophet from me. I presume that this same machine is what destroyed Aztec shortly after we arrived on the island. It is my goal to use whatever ammo I have to destroy each and every one of those machines! I don't care if they are aliens or property of the KPA. They are going down for taking down three highly decorated Special Forces troops that I've had the pleasure to know for quite a few years now. Looks like that thing flew off in another direction. The way it flies, it moves unlike any man-made device I've seen to date. So, I am guessing it is an alien of some sort vs. a KPA drone guided by a KPA engineer off somewhere in the distance. I honestly cannot believe I am really concluding this is an alien encounter! I mean, this is 2020, not the future! Since the machine is out of my current vision and thousands of bullets are flying my way from the KPA, I need to focus on taking out some enemies while I can. I looked down into the excavation hole and studied what was going on below.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #168

At the entrance to the mine, appear to be about 10 KPA troops stationed in fortified bunkers. Getting to them will require stealth and some luck.

Directly to the right of the mine shaft are some heavy machines that are currently pelting us with bullets, ammo and some rockets. They are certainly making my head hurt from all the intense noise up here.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #169

Before leaving my post, I used my rocket launcher to take out one of the core vehicles that were shooting rockets at our VTOLs. We might need them to evacuate the area, so it was worth dumping a few rockets on the KPA unit. I found another rocket launcher, so my stock is again full. Based upon the path I noted in my post earlier, I hijacked a KPA Hummer and headed into the excavation hole. For now, the support troops would remain at the higher elevation - providing long distance assistance as much as possible. I drove the Hummer to the left of the mine shaft, for two reasons. First, I was able to get into the higher levels of the hole easier. Second, there didn't seem to be as many troops in this part of the excavation area. By the time I reached the second level of dirt, I saw one of those heavy machines heading my way. The aim of the machine was good, but I ended up being better at out driving the bullets. As the road turned 180 degrees, I was able to get past the vehicle before it had a chance to hit me. By the time it was turned around, I had made it around a corner where I aborted the Hummer and went cloak. As the machine came around the corner, looking for the Hummer, I hit it with two rockets just as it got into range. The good news is, the vehicle was destroyed. The bad news is, the KPA knew I was getting close. Worse news! A KPA helicopter was entering the area. I was in the wide open hole at this point - with no real good place to hide. Luckily, my support troops were there to help me. They began to unleash ammo into the chopper.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #170

The problem was, the chopper exploded and ended up landing at their post.

I am not sure if they are still alive or not, but I know they just saved me from near certain death - once the guns would have began firing in my direction. Again, I avoided losing my life. Like so many times before, I owe a debt to my fellow soldiers. Soldiers I hope are still alive, just covered under a pile of dust and dirt. I need to find a place to restock my rockets, since I am getting close to the mine entrance. I will be back in touch soon!

Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #171

Infiltrate the Mining Complex – Part 2 I managed to find a weapons supply trailer at a level just below the entrance to the mine. Prior to the helicopter explosion, the support troops had cleared the area before I arrived to this point. Thanks again, guys! I sure hope they are still alive ... I want to thank them in person after this mission is complete. I had to focus, because more Nanosuit Korean People's Army (KPA) troops were heading my way. I wonder if I look this freaky with my suit on?

Using cloak until I was less than five meters away, I unleashed three shots by the Gauss rifle to destroy the first KPA troop wearing a Nanosuit. This brought about more troops in standard attire, who were easy to eliminate by comparison.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #172

Once the area was clear, I reached my objective. The mine shaft entrance was before me.

I looked around for extra ammo for my submachine gun before heading into the shaft. Walking into the shaft was quiet ... that is, until I reached the room inside the door.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #173

Here, I was met with more resistance, as a couple KPA Nanosuits, who I am going to call KPA-Nanos, were guarding the area. I wondered if I was going to have enough ammo left in my Gauss rifle to deal with the aliens. Then, I decided that I needed to stay alive and the Gauss rifle is the only thing that is going to keep me alive, as long as those KPA-Nanos are around. Plus, they are carrying these huge machine guns - so maybe I can use one of those if worse comes to worse. Moving through the mine shaft, I was able to navigate toward the beacon with my only challenge to avoid being hit by large boulders that were crashing down near me. At one point, I thought I was going to die as a result of being crushed by a rock. That would truly stink, going this entire way, only to be destroyed by a falling rock. Not something one would want on their tombstone, I might add! Following the signal, I began to hear voices. Am I finally getting close to the location of the hostages? I moved closer and saw a bunch of computers and people working around the computers!

From what I could tell, I found the remaining two US scientists and General Kyong - all in the same place! I just had to plan my next steps carefully, so we could deal with evacuating the scientists and then figure out a plan to take out these machines once and for all. I stood up to begin my route toward Kyong's body guards.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #174

Just as I stood up, I was surprised by one of the KPA-Nano's standing right next to me!

Crud! He just hit me hard enough to wake up my dentist back in the USA! I am not sure if I am going to make it past this point ... but my head and mouth certainly wishes I would just stop living now - from all the pain of being on the other end of a killer punch! I guess I know how it feels to be hit at full force with our Nanosuit technology. My vitals are low. I am passing out. I might not be back. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #175

LEVEL: CORE Guardian My head. The pain. It hurts bad. I must have stood up too fast, playing under the wooden bar in the house. I remember having the Hot Wheels on the bar stools, then would nudge them gently to get them rolling in order to watch them pick up speed before they crashed onto the hardwood floor. It was really cool. It seemed like the bigger trucks always crashed the hardest on the floor. The race cars tended to bounce more - some times they would even roll away from the crash zone. My leg had fallen asleep, so I jumped up to straighten it. At only eight years of age, I didn't realize I was too tall to stand all the way up while playing under the bar. CRASH! My head smashed into the bottom of the bar! I hit the floor a second later. My head. The pain. It hurts bad. I wonder if mom will hear me down here. Surely she heard the noise. Wait. I am hearing other noises now. I am not under the bar anymore. Heck, I am not even eight years old anymore! Talk about a wicked flashback! I had totally forgotten about that childhood head smashing incident. Now I remember. That KPA-Nano hit me with his fist. He knocked me out. Now, where the heck am I? I slowly opened my eyes and began to focus. I am laying on my back. My Nanosuit is disabled or powered off. Some dude is looking at me.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #176

Crud. It's General Kyong. The leader of the Korean People's Army (KPA). I guess I figured I would get to meet him sooner or later. I didn't count on not having a fully functional Nanosuit at the time, though. Looks like I am in the same general area that I was before. At least the noises sound the same. The scent smells the same. I am certainly still in that mine. I am almost afraid to look around - thinking they might have me strapped to one of those machines - so I can face the same fate as Aztec, Jester and Prophet. They picked me up and led me down the stairs. When I looked around, I saw that I am less than 5 meters from both of the remaining US scientists - including Rosenthal's daughter, Helena.

There are a few KPA guards as well. I didn't even have to look down to notice that all my weapons were gone. I wonder if they found the SCAR ammo I left inside my suit? Surely not. After all, I had to protect the final rounds from my fallen teammates. With a guard focused on me and both scientists operating the machines around the room, Kyong started talking about wanting to use his stolen find to gain World Power. This was going to be a weapon of the Korean People's Army. A weapon to finally get past China, the United States and anything the United Nations has to offer. He wanted to get the ball rolling now. He wanted to send power into the machine. Helena Rosenthal did not want to obey the command, but did not speak up. The other scientist urged Kyong to reconsider, that there would be no way to control the machine once it was fully powered on. They had not figured out how to control the machines yet. Kyong refused to listen. Instead, he put a bullet into the outspoken scientist. Not wanting to find a similar fate, Helena began to send tons of power into the machine. It began to emit massive amounts of light.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #177

Commander Kyong became overwhelmed with excitement as he faced the machine.

What he didn't realize is that the power helped to jump start my Nanosuit. I could feel the device begin to run through the pre-power up sequences. None of the surrounding guards realized my suit was coming online - as their suits were already fully functional and they were overtaken by the display of light filling the room. Within about 30 seconds, the suit would be online.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #178

When my suit powered fully online, things got really ugly - really quickly. One of the guards was knocked down by some falling machinery - as the machine was starting to come to life. The other was taken down by Helena. I made a beeline right toward Kyong. I could have picked up a weapon, but this was personal. Kyong was the force behind three good Special Forces teammates of mine who were killed in the line of action while trying to rescue innocent American scientists. So, I put my suit into strength mode and went after him using only my fists. Kyong grabbed a machine gun, but never got a chance to use it, as round after round of punches met his unguarded head. Without a firing a single shot, I personally eliminated the KPA commander.

With Kyong out of the picture and the room still out of control, I need to evacuate the area before Helena gets hit by some of this falling debris. I am not sure what we are going to do, but I am 100% certain that my way in was just collapsed shut. I need to figure out what I can do to get us out here. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #179

Evacuate Helena The mine was really starting to collapse all around us. From what I could tell, only Helena and I were still alive. At least, we were the only two moving around at this point. If we didn't do something, we wouldn't be alive much longer. The rumbling and the noises reminded me of an avalanche I survived while skiing in the Back Bowl of Vail about 7 years ago. I had decided to take a vacation in Vail, Colorado for the first time in my life. If you do the math backwards, you'll probably remember why I had to spend some time relaxing - after some serious world issues were resolved. At any rate, the scariest thing about the whole experience is how it came up upon me so quickly and the noises that I heard just before I became trapped in the snow. The weather was perfect and the snow was great on the double black-diamond Back Bowl area. But what I didn't realize is that the increase in temperatures and wind were the preconditions for the avalanche that soon arrived into the area. Before I knew it, I heard the sound of snow coming down from the elevation above me. I would guess the wall of snow was probably 15 feet high, which is far taller than I am. The closing speed was faster than my current rate of speed. The sound was a scary, throaty roar. I moved toward the edge of the racing snow, but the edge seemed to keep extending outward. The wall of snow closed in on me. I unhooked my ski line that was very red in nature. I never figured I would need the emergency/rescue gear, but that appeared to be incorrect. Now, I am still skiing toward an edge that is not in sight and I have a long, bright red tail behind me - in the event that I become buried in the snow. Well, the wall of snow hit me and it hit me hard. It knocked both skis off my feet and sent me down the hill very quickly. I used swim motions to try and keep going with the flow, but eventually I became covered in a blanket of snow. I remember hearing that after 15 minutes, less than 10% of people caught in an avalanche survive. First things first, I bore out a big area. I needed to maximize my area and get some space for air. But the area had to be big to avoid the edges of the snow from freezing and locking me into this snowy grave. With a big area around me and plenty of air for now, I sat idle and did some thinking. Which way was up? The last thing I needed to do was dig myself deeper from the top. After sitting idle for a few minutes, I felt the gyroscope of my body work with the gravity of the Earth to help me realize which way was up. I took a deep breath and began to push in that direction. Just when I thought I would reach the top, I was greeted with more snow. But I kept pushing. From what I could tell, both of my legs were okay, so I used them to my advantage. Since you know that I survived the story, the end of the story was more of the same. I kept pushing and pushing until I found a way out. That is what I plan to do to get me and Helena out of this mine. I saw an elevator shaft. Maybe up is the answer, since looking around tells me that down is not the answer - unless we go down into that machine. Who knows what's in there! So, we moved into the elevator shaft and started heading upward. Helena looked a bit worried at this point. I cannot imagine what she's gone through since being detained by the Korean People's Army (KPA) and Commander Kyong.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #180

The elevator managed to flow upward about two stories before it stopped working. Something hit the engines or the shaft and now we are jammed. We are too high to jump down. Not sure what we would do once we were down anyway. The mine area was really starting to fall apart.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #181

Just then, we saw an opening in the mine. I could see the sky outside. If we had a VTOL we could fly out of here now. Otherwise, we need a miracle, because I cannot jump that high - especially holding another person. The Nanosuits are not that powerful yet. The pilot from one of the VTOLs radioed me. They are going to drop in and evacuate us! There's our miracle! I could now see the VTOL and the line it dropped to rescue us. The sound of a VTOL is always a great sound! Especially when you think you've reached the end of the line.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #182

We managed to get Helena on the line with the rescue team. They pushed the rope upward and toward the VTOL.

Just after I saw her board, I saw the rocks come down hard on the elevator. Before they hit the cage, I knew there would be no way I was going to be rescued from this mine via the VTOL. Instead, I was about to hit the ground hard, surrounded by this metal cage. My only hope will be to find another way out. I have a feeling I am going to get to see more of that huge machine soon. I will be back in touch as soon as I can. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #183

Laws of Nature Helena was now safely out of the area and the collapsing rocks had covered the opening to the sky once again. For all I could tell, I was the only one here now ... still alive that is. My path up and out was gone. My path into the area was gone as well. All paths blocked, except one path - a path that appeared to enter the ship-like machine that is connected to the rock mountain that was glowing blue in my earlier posts. Earlier I joked about the machine being a way out. Now, I was seriously considering the option. Desperation can be a wonderful thing. (sarcasm) I found some ammo for the machine gun and for the SCAR. I picked up a pistol too, which had included a decent amount of ammo as well. With no other option, I proceeded toward the entrance before me. Desperation.

I opted to take my time and to use cloak a majority of the time. The tremors around me had seemed to stop once I entered the area. My level of fear began to rise the more steps I took inside the area. What made things worse is that the area began to make a growling noise every time I recharged my Nanosuit. Once I went back into cloak mode, the growling seemed to subside. Looks like I will certainly focus on being cloak as much as possible. The area was not flat by any stretch of the imagination in this room. Pointy, glowing objects appeared around the area like flowers. The structure was nothing like I had ever seen before in my entire life. I wondered if the Korean People's Army (KPA) had ventured into this area or if I was the first to make it inside alive. I then wondered if I would survive to make it out of here. I continued to walk forward, expecting either a dead end or to become dead from some unknown entity. However, I soon found a doorway shaped like a cylinder in the path before me. Looking around the area didn't provide any alternative routes. My only other option would be to return to the entrance. By now I would wander if the rocks didn't already collapse that area.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #184

So I decided to head toward the circular door.

I walked through the door and entered a larger room. The ground before me was like two huge rail lines, with beams supporting a large pattern above me. Down the path from me, was a blue sea-like surface floating about 10 meters above the ground level that I was walking on. I saw a ship stationed about 50 meters in front of me. It had not noticed me ... yet.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #185

As I walked closer, the ship floated up into the blue sea-like area. It then floated away from me descending upward and out of site. It didn't really make a sound ... or a sound that could be heard over the hum I experienced since entering this location. I continued forward to take a better look at this sea-like area floating above me. Before I realized what happened, I was elevated up into the blue sea-like area and was floating upward - just like the ship had floated away. I was now in a gravity-free environment. This was certainly a first for me. I guess the laws of nature are meant to be broken.

I knew that getting out of the area meant moving upward. My current situation seemed to be helping my goal. I just am not sure what lies before me. Certainly, at least one machine is in this area. So far, I haven't been able to see that ship again.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #186

I found an opening that appears to lead me into another area.

I am going to take a chance and go into this opening and see where it leads me. If by chance I don't make it, you'll hopefully be able to review the images I posted as proof of this amazing discovery that Dr. Rosenthal and his team mentioned just before the KPA captured them. I will hopefully be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #187

Abyss The gravity-less pathway lead me into an area that reminded me of photos taken from the Abyssopelagic areas of the Earth's ocean - which are in depths of 4,000 meters and beyond. The area yielded strange formations due to the atmospheric pressure and lack of sunlight. It was very dark and creepy, just like what I am seeing now. So, I would simply refer to this area as Abyss.

I navigated through what appeared to resemble tree branches, but were really metallic in design. While the area appeared to be very old in design, I soon began to see that blue-glow appear when I moved further into the Abyss area.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #188

What looked like old sea life and trees were really machine-like parts that appear to serve a purpose similar to a machine room on a large ship. Was this the main power plant? I didn't think so, but this might be a substation serving a particular purpose. I expected that someone or something would be monitoring this area, since it could be at risk for sabotage, but maybe my entrance into the area was still unannounced.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #189

I began to see something enter the area. I am guessing I wasn't unannounced after all.

Floating in front of me was certainly not a human creature that I had seen before. The binoculars allowed me to see a skeletal formation in the object, but it was far from human. So far, it didn't realize I was in the area. Thank you, cloak function of the Nanosuit! When I got within 5 meters of the object, I used the machine gun to pump quite a few rounds into what I am guessing is an alien. I can't believe I actually think I just saw and destroyed an alien. I wonder if I am going to wake up in a minute ... indicating this was nothing more than a dream. I wonder if I am still only 8 years old? Moving onward, dream or no dream, I reached an area where I could not push forward. The current from the next area was pushing me backward.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #190

In front of me, there were several items glowing a gold-like color.

From what I could tell, those gold beams might be controlling the current.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #191

So I used my SCAR to shoot at one of the gold beams to my right.

The item exploded on impact and I was able to move forward up the path. Another door is waiting for me up ahead. So far, I haven't noticed any more of those aliens. Now I wonder if I really did destroy that last alien ... or maybe it was a mirage. Well ... if it was a mirage, where did my bullets go? I am going to move forward toward the next area. Hopefully, I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #192

There Must Be Some Way Out Of Here As I continued to walk ... er, float ... through this area I have called an Abyss, I am reminded of a Bob Dylan song from over fifty years ago. "There must be some way out of here, said the joker to the thief." To be honest with you, I want to get out of this rock, this area, this machine, more than anything else. While I am armed with some heavy ammo, I don't think I have enough to take down everything floating around in here. I am really thankful for the cloak function on the Nanosuit, because if this alien-thing could see me, I would probably not be alive, period.

This particular thing appears to have a bony skeleton and some transparent or fish-like body attached to the bones. I have started to see quite a few of them and I wonder if they are also the drivers of the other machines I've seen before. The other option is that they are one type of thing living inside this rock, while another type are what I've seen earlier - floating around and grabbing my Delta Force teammates - Aztec, Jester and Prophet. I navigated past the alien using cloak mode and hiding out of view when my suit needed to recharge. I am still amazed that Commander Kyong thought he could use the amazing discovery that I am now within for world domination. I am pretty sure he would have not made it inside even the second room based upon his previous plans of attack. After going down a long series of entrances, I found another area before me.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #193

The area had a huge ceiling with pods hanging at near the top of the room.

There were more of the same things working in the area and I even saw their idea of workstations. I wondered if Kyong's attempt to power the area caused them to come to life - or if they have been down here working all along. I wondered how long ago these machines had arrived on Earth. Certainly this hasn't happened since the mid-1990s, when the Internet-age caused the size of the planet to shrink due to the availability in information. My guess is that these things have been here longer than most of the world would be comfortable knowing. In the center of the room was what appeared to be an exit. I discovered a cylinder that looks to be used for exhaust or chemical wastes. Like most living elements, one likes to discard their wastes to make their current surroundings better. From what I could tell, this might be either where they grow the items needed to continue life in this area or where new things are brought to life. I managed to make it to the potential exit area and realized I could not slide out of the area with the flow of exhaust/waste still flowing. Taking a wild guess, I opted to point my weapon toward one of the controls and fire at the glowing yellow lights. The controller blew apart and the flow stopped, but at the same time alarms began to sound. I guess they know I am in the room with them now. When I got to the end of the escape area, I had to use some ammo to destroy one of the things that were waiting for me. The tube ended up leading me into another room, which consisted of a lot of junk floating around.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #194

This was certainly the waste area. I really didn't feel that dirty - all things considered.

I saw another one of those long glowing tubes. I saw some more of what appeared to be control stations that were used by the things living down here. I found it interesting that even these things have jobs that are not the best jobs in the world. I guess these guys were on break, because the area was pretty much empty - except me and a bunch of trash floating around. Another tunnel was found that leads out of the area, so I decided to float in that direction. This led me to another room, which appeared to be more industrial in design.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #195

There were robotic-like machines moving things around - kind of like a steel factory back in the USA.

On the other side of the room, there was a huge wall that had the blue-like glow to it. The glow was similar to what I had seen before, from the outside of the rock. I could not push through this wall and I saw more things on the other side. I was still moving in and out of cloak mode, so they could not see me. I found a way to the other side by navigating through a set of tunnels from my previous area. Slowly, I moved past the things guarding the area until I found what I hoped to be my exit.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #196

I proceeded into the area and was pushed into what reminded me of how science fiction movies used to depict worm-holes in space.

I felt the G forces increase as I moved quicker and quicker through this experience. I am hoping this will lead me out of the area. I also hope I will make it out alive. I will be back in touch soon! Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #197

Time To Escape The worm-hole-like voyage dropped me into the largest room yet. This area was huge. What was more intense were the noises I could hear now. The sounds were intense both in volume and the amount of low frequency vibrations pulsating through my Nanosuit.

The room provided a view toward an even larger room, which was evidently the source of the noise and vibrations. In that room were a tremendous amount of machines that were hard at work.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #198

What I saw, I certainly did not like.

What they were doing looked very familiar to me. A process I've seen many times in my career. These things were most definitely preparing for battle. I could give you five guesses on who they were planning to attack, but I am certainly you'll only need one. I believe they are planning some world domination of their own. At this point, my ammo was getting low. So I avoided trying to get into the battle assembly room and focused on getting out of the cave.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #199

I found a door that led me into another room.

At first glance, this room appeared to have a long pathway leading into the opposite direction in which I entered. There were blue electrical flashes pulsating down the path. From what I could tell, this was some type of launch area. This was probably my best shot of escaping the area. I moved around the room and tried to figure out how to trigger the doors to open on the other side. For now, they appeared to be locked. More and more of those alien-things arrived into the area. I wondered if they were looking for me, or if there was something else going on. The ground began to shake more and more. I saw what appeared to be smoke or a vapor pushing down that same pathway I called the launch pad earlier. Were they planning to launch the attack now? That certainly made sense. The amount of smoke/vapor increased, as did the pressure. Slowly I navigated over to the area - being very careful to avoid being noticed by all the things currently in the room with me. I got close to the smoke/vapor and pushed myself in. I begin to swim with the motions and my speed increased. I pushed through the door on the other side and for the first time in what seemed like several hours I could see the grassy hills and the blue skies of the outside.

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I could see the VTOL flying in to rescue me.

I moved toward the outside and heard a massive sound coming from behind me.

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I quickly turned back to cloak mode and noticed that a ton of those machines exited the cave too.

The good news is that I've escaped the cave and am still alive. The bad news is that more of those alienmachine-things are also on the outside. The worse news, I think the VTOL was taken out by the machines! It is starting to get really cold now ... I need to figure out what the heck is going on! I will be back in touch soon! Nomad ... signing out.

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LEVEL: PARADISE LOST Frozen At first, I thought my Nanosuit was malfunctioning. I felt the temperature dropping by massive levels. When I looked out over the tropical paradise of this island, I realized that paradise was lost and had been replaced with sudden Antarctica! In a matter of seconds the temperature spiraled from 80 degrees to somewhere between minus 30 and minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit! Talk about El Nino! My Nanosuit could hardly keep functioning at normal levels. Any time I remained still for more than a few seconds, I could feel my suit begin to freeze up. I could feel frost building on the glass protecting my face. It was cold. The entire island was as cold as the research facility where Dr. Rosenthal was frozen in an instant.

At this point, I was pretty sure that any Korean People's Army (KPA) troops and US forces were frozen without warning. The VTOL went down around the same time the island was frozen. The unknown, was if the team navigating the ship were still alive. My mission is to locate the crash site and seek out any survivors. I saw a ton of those machine-things fly out of the cave just after I escaped. So, I am certain I will have to deal with them along the way. The question is, how many will I have to face? I made the trip down the cave exit by dodging rocks flying off the mountain above. It is only a matter of time now before the rest of those machines come flying out of the rock and the all out attack on Earth begins. Here's hoping those of us still alive can stop the attack. I recalled sitting in my recliner just before I got the call for this mission. I was watching the nightly news and very much remembered the leading story for the day. The story was called "Sudden Wealth Syndrome in American Youth." It was a story about the children who had became wealthy nearly jvmach67 in Crysis

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overnight, due to investments by their parents/guardians in Iso-Solio-Mathien (ISM) technology - the technology which has been earmarked as the replacement for the semi-conductors which became the center-piece for all technology beginning in the mid-1970s. With ISM, the amount of energy required to power the technology is a mere 0.34E-3 percent when compared to semi-conductor technology. The rights to the ISM technology were what the investors bought into and quickly led to massive wealth. So far every major manufacturer has licensed the rights to employ the technology. It is believed that automobiles powered by ISM will be able to function using a battery the size of a car battery from the late 1990s. Portable devices will further shrink in size, due the advancements introduced in the ISM specification. The article discussed how some of the investors were first time investors and placed their entire savings and credit limits to buy into the ISM concept. Within three months, their return on investment was close to 750:1. In one case, the family invested $75,000 in ISM stocks, only to sell the shares 85 days later for a return on investment of $56 million. Now, the children of these investors had no idea how to adapt to being suddenly massively wealthy. Just a few weeks later, I am walking down the mountain in a tropical island turned ice bowl, knowing that an all-out alien attack is on the verge of happening. I am pretty sure that family could have 56 bazillion dollars and it wouldn't keep them safe from the things I've seen in that rock. I guess it's all about perspective. When the news is slow, they have to find something entertaining. I remembered the story after the fact, so I guess I was entertained. I found some discarded ammo and weapons near the bottom of the path leading down from the cave. I dropped the machine gun, because it was heavy, empty and there was no extra ammo that I could use. I replaced it with a shotgun. I had a feeling that a shotgun might be the best defense against the smaller machine things that left the cave. The larger things would have to simply not see me for a while, because I have no clue how to take them down. I picked up a pretty new FY71 and found some ammo for that gun as well. I still have the SCAR ammo from my fallen colleagues Aztec, Jester and Prophet. I hope to use these bullets to taken down some of these machines.

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When I reached the bottom of the hill, I noticed there were quite a few of the small machine things patrolling the area.

I used the FY71 in single shot mode to hit one of the machines from a distance. Soon, it came over to explore. Once it got within 3 meters of me in cloak mode, I discharged three rounds from the shotgun directly into the core of its body. I think I call it a body, I should say. This caused the machine to drop to the ground. Unexpectedly, a second later, the machine exploded. I went around behind some rocks, hid and recharged my suit. I continued using this approach until I had eliminated all of the small machine things in the area. As I continued onward, I turned around and looked up at the rock behind me.

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Most of the rock was gone by now and had been replaced with an outer shell similar to all the machines I've seen.

The overcast skies from the snow and clouds certainly made for perfect cover from any planes or satellites from above. For now, the secret was hidden from the rest of the world. I have a feeling that is part of their plan. I am guessing that once they are ready, they will send all the machines toward the key areas of the planet, to try and take over control of Earth. That is, unless we can stop them first. I continued toward the location on my radar to be the estimated impact point of the VTOL that tried to rescue me.

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When I arrived into the area, not only were they not alive, but an entire area of US forces were also frozen in their motions.

They were frozen instantly. Some were even walking, while others were simply in their guarded positions. All frozen. All no longer alive. Tragedy. I began to hear louder noises. It sounds like the bigger machines have decided to find me. After all, I've invaded their turf and probably broke some things inside their home. So now it's time for them to make me pay for my actions. They arrived at different locations. My weapons were certainly not going to be enough for all of them. I know that the shotgun won't do anything to the big machines - especially when they are more than 3 meters away from me. So I guess this might be it for me. If it is going to end here, I am going to certainly go out with a bang. So I charged into the area and began to focus on the smaller machines first. As I took out my first machine, I saw a red streak of light catch my eye as something flew over close to me. Was this a new type of machine that I had not seen before? No, this machine was very familiar to me!

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At first I thought it was Psycho. Then I heard him speak. IT WAS PROPHET! PROPHET WAS ALIVE!!! He is holding some wicked gun in his hand and blasting these machines as if they are made of paper. How did he survive? Where had he been all this time? No time for questions now ... time to clear this area! I will be back in touch soon. With Prophet at my side! Nomad ... signing out.

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Passage The entire island has been covered in ice. Some unknown entities, which might be referred to as aliens yes, I said aliens, are decimating the remaining US troops that are on the island. I am guessing the same could be true for surrounding areas soon. Prophet, my US Special Forces team lead was written off as dead earlier in the mission. He recently jumped into action to rescue me from a situation where I was surrounded by these machine-like things, that others might call aliens. I still have no idea what happened to him, but we have not had much time to talk.

During the battle, Prophet's Nanosuit was hit by one of the machine things. He is having trouble keeping warm. So, now it is my job to protect him. He has switched to his pistol and I have picked up the gun he acquired somehow from our visitors. I also picked up a SCAR and a ton of ammo from the frozen US forces in the area. I need to escort Prophet out of the sphere, but he can only survive about two minutes in these cold conditions. So, I have to plan way points between the burning fires in the area. Quickly we moved into a destroyed base and found a spot next to a burning Hummer. A few seconds later, the first of three large machine things arrived to find us.

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At a distance, it shot a blue pulsating charge toward us. It missed.

I used my new weapon to shoot a tremendous charge into the machine. I saw the body flash red, this had to be a good sign for us. The gun had to recharge, so I changed to my SCAR and shot 41 rounds into the ship hovering above. When it got closer, I changed back to my new weapon and pushed the trigger while keeping the cross-hairs directly at the mid-section of the machine. It exploded into a blue flame! Before I knew it, two more similar ships moved into the area. There wasn't another flame anywhere close to keep Prophet warm, so we stayed in the area. We continued to dodge the shots by the ships and I used my new weapon and SCAR to take both ships down - just like the initial ship of this size. We moved out of the area and I found another fire to warm Prophet. I looked into the next area and found a handful of the small machines I had eliminated before. The new weapon made them very easy to destroy.

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When I checked for more machines, I noticed one last big machine remained near the bridge that appeared to be our destination point.

I took a second to reload my SCAR. This time I placed the ammo from Aztec, Jester and Prophet into my SCAR. I was going to push every round into this machine's body. It was payback time. Even though Prophet was now still alive, he was hurting and that was enough in my book to take an enemy down. Leaving Prophet near the fire, I charged the area and hid behind a rock. When the ship came over to investigate, I pulled the trigger and sent 41 bullets directly into the ship from underneath. Quickly I reloaded and sent another 41 bullets directly into the ship. Prophet had arrived into the area, so I had to finish this ship off fast. I switched to the new alien-like gun and destroyed the large ship above us. The ship exploded and we found another fire near the route to the bridge. It felt good to use the ammo from my fallen soldiers (and wounded soldier) to take an enemy down. It would not bring Aztec and Jester back, but I am sure they would have done the same for me. As we warmed up near the fire, the ground began to rumble. The loudest noise of all began to pulsate through the island.

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When I looked up, I saw one huge ship exiting the mountain.

I had to take a second shot as this machine flew over us.

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This machine was huge. This ship would require some massive amounts of ammo to take down. We might even need something of nuclear proportion. We need to head toward our next way point before this machine sees us. Prophet and I will be back in touch soon! Nomad ... signing out.

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LEVEL: EXODUS Stronghold Prophet and I made it up the hill near the bridge we just crossed under as noted in my last post. When we reached the top of the hill, we were met with a deployment of US Forces, including Major Strickland's Recon team. Just when I thought we would be the only two humans left on the island, I was again surprised by Strickland's ability to help save the day. Prophet and Strickland took a few minutes to catch up. Basically, Strickland told him that he was glad to see him again. Like the rest of us, we all thought Prophet was dead a few days ago when one of the machines stole him without warning.

From looking at my radar, the area around the rock where the machines escaped has turned into a large sphere of ice. I am going to guess that the temperature inside the sphere is in the negative 100 degrees Fahrenheit range now. Too cold for even the Nanosuit, in my opinion. Our next objective is to meet up with Keegan, who has assumed control of this part of the island. Keegan's team is going to help us evacuate the island.

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Just as we arrived into the area, quickly came some of the aliens/machines.

Since I pushed the remaining SCAR ammo from my fallen teammates into one of the last machines we met near the bridge, I left the SCAR behind and picked up a Gauss Rifle again. I also kept the futuristic gun Prophet stole from the machines. I still need to figure out where and how he managed to get that gun. He's not asked for it back yet, so I am going to not bring up the topic just yet. This gun just might save me! After several of the smaller machines arrived, we were met with some of the larger machines. Using the Gauss Rifle, I was able to destroy the smaller machines with one or two shots and the bigger machines with two or three shots.

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This is what it looks like when you take down one of the big machines with the Gauss Rifle.

I used the shelter of the base to recover my health after being hit, which recharged the armor function of the Nanosuit. Within a few minutes, the area was clear. With a finite amount of ammo and that ice sphere seeming to be migrating toward us, our next step is to continue down toward the valley so that we could prepare for extraction from this crazy island. So, Prophet got in the driver's seat of the Hummer and I took position at the gun. I was really wishing I could use the Gauss Rifle while riding, because of the amount of power behind the gun. As I thought about it more, I would probably not be as accurate with the driving style Prophet had to employ to keep us moving down the hill.

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I believe I ended up waxing two or three more large machines on our way down to the valley - including this last machine that tried to surprise us from behind the trees.

The key was to wait until the machine closed in on us, then release as much lead as possible into the center core of the machine. The vehicle-mounted gun was very good at taking down these machines, while still allowing us to travel toward our next way-point. We received radio contact. The VTOL that was going to take us off the island had been hit. Both pilots were not moving and the distress call came from a female aboard the ship. It was Helena, Dr. Rosenthal's daughter. She was hiding out in the crashed VTOL and needed to be rescued.

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We could see the flame from the crash just ahead.

The Hummer was in bad shape by this point, so I decided to venture toward Helena on foot. I would plan to use the speed mode of the Nanosuit. I need to get over to her as soon as possible, because I am pretty sure she is unarmed. I need to get to her now, so I will touch base soon. Nomad ... signing out.

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Hunter I arrived to the crash site where Helena Rosenthal was hoping for a miracle. Just above the crash site were several alien/machines patrolling the area - looking for any existence of life to devour. Prophet is not too far behind me. I hope to take down some of these machines by the time he arrives. For now, I am going to be Helena's miracle.

Using the Gauss Rifle, I was able to eliminate the smaller machines without any issues. I saw Helena. She is still alive and looks to be in good shape, albeit very scared. I told her to stay in the hull of the ship and I will keep the area clear until more troops arrive.

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I jumped into a heavy machine gun and prepared for battle as some of the larger machines arrived.

The true challenge here was being able to navigate the guns toward the machines before they managed to hit me first. Since the gun on the Hummer was able to take down these machines, the heavy machine gun that I was sitting in had no trouble taking them down. I could still catch a glimpse of Helena from time to time. She seemed calmer now that more of us had arrived into the area and were taking care of the situation. Special Forces - there really isn't a better job when it comes to saving lives! We cleared the area and a second VTOL arrived. To keep Helena safe, we sent Prophet with her. Hopefully, he could receive some much-needed repairs done on his Nanosuit. I still can't wait to hear about his adventure with the machines. I thought my adventure was wild, but I was never stolen by the machines. Instead, I took a private tour of their facilities - nearly paying the ultimate price before I managed to escape.

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At any rate, Helena and Prophet's VTOL left the area without us noticing any issues.

A loud rumble began to shake the area. I would tell you that I was shocked by what I heard, but I think my surprise mechanisms have all turned numb by this point. When I looked behind me, I noticed an even larger machine/alien walking toward us.

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This huge spider-like alien/machine destroyed my heavy machine gun shortly after I tried to take it down using the remaining ammo in the guns. The spider machine continued onward, toward the same location which is our next way point. The other troops tried to take it down, but their ammo didn't even stun the machine. I used Prophet's alien gun, which had no effect either. My goal is to race forward and try to beat the machine to my next way point. I took a high road on the way there and managed to get a pretty decent photo of the spider machine for potential future reference.

I need to head toward my next way point, because I can see a lot of fire power heading from the direction. My guess is that Strickland is down there and he probably has his name of this spider-machine. Heck, he probably wants to mount its head or something on his mantle back in the US. I will be back in touch soon! Nomad ... signing out.

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Strickland’s Order I was correct in my assumption that Strickland's team was behind all the fire power being launched toward the spider-machine that is the largest of the machines I've seen so far. Rockets, Gauss Rifle shots and even the alien gun Prophet found have not put a single dent in this beast. Still, Strickland's team is dedicated on taking the machine down.

After clearing the area of the smaller machines, we were clear for a VTOL-craft landing.

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The spider-machine was heading in this direction, but we still had time to load up and evacuate - since that appears to be our only option.

We jumped into the VTOL and waited for Strickland to board along with us. In the background I could see the spider-machine getting closer. I looked into Strickland's eyes. I knew this look. I had seen it once before, just within the last year.

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Strickland was one who didn't like to leave any loose ends ... or any incomplete missions. So, when we were on a mission together in a remote part of Asia, our situation appeared to get out of hand very quickly and unexpectedly. Our orders came through to cut and run from the area before a larger situation occurred. We all knew that "a larger situation" did not involve more enemy troops, but the worldwide media. The last thing the world needed to know is that the US Special Forces were in this remote section of Asia. The consequences would be devastating to world politics. Still, we were there for a mission, which was a very strong mission. In fact, in all my years with the US military, not one of my missions has been categorized as a bad mission. I've always agreed with the task at hand ... because I knew my superiors were always watching my back. We had nearly reached our goal when complications began to arise. As I noted above, the orders came through to cut and run, so we started the evacuation procedures. We had to abort immediately and we had to leave no trace of evidence behind us. That day, Strickland was the last to board the VTOL. That day, he failed to board with us and sent us up in the air. When the enemy noticed we were evacuating, they put their focus on the VTOL and tried to take it down. They didn't realize that Strickland was still on the ground. His gamble paid off, as he was able to complete the mission and evacuated the area under the cover of darkness. He must have run at high speed for over an hour, because when he radioed for a pickup, we were amazed at the amount of separation he created between the hot zone and himself. I still wonder if he didn't hijack a vehicle to make up time. Inside, I knew he did it all on foot. That is just the kind of guy Strickland is. So, that look Strickland gave me is the same look I am seeing now. He's not coming on board this VTOL, he is going to try and take the spider-machine down. As the VTOL lifted, we left the door ajar, so that we could provide support, if possible. The spidermachine was close now and was shooting its bright blue laser in our direction. Check that, it was firing toward Strickland. I wonder if he realizes what he's up against at this point. That machine is huge!

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Strickland raced over to one of the heavy machine guns and took position to place some serious lead into the machine. He began firing just after the blue laser stopped blasting. Maybe he saw a way to take the machine down. The bullets were firing. Just then, we saw something we had not seen from the spidermachine. It took one of its legs and stomped the machine where Strickland was stationed.

The explosion was massive and rocked the path of our VTOL. I could feel the heat from the explosion warm my Nanosuit. The heavy machine gun was destroyed. There was no sign of Strickland when the dust settled. I hoped that he survived, but I am pretty sure he was gone. I paused to remember Major Strickland and everything he taught me. He will be missed. I said a prayer for his graceful soul. I said a prayer for his family, now with one less seated at the dinner table. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

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LEVEL: ASCENSION Turbulence As we departed toward our escape route, my remorse for Major Strickland was interrupted when more of those machines attacked us without warning. I guess the cure for the sadness of losing a fellow soldier is to be attacked by some unknown entity. While we tried to take down the machines we saw from behind our ship, the pilot of our VTOL was taken down. We were beginning to head toward the ground quickly. There's no way I want to stay on this island and deal with the spider-machine! I panned our room within the VTOL. I didn't see anyone who was probably more capable than me to navigate this craft. What didn't make things better is that all my flight hours in the VTOL happened in simulation. Truth be told, I had not flown a real VTOL in my entire military career. That really didn't matter at this point, because no one else was stepping up to the plate. Did I mention that I didn't want to have to face the spider-machine?!!! So, I moved into the cockpit and assumed the controls.

The initial mission is to escape from the island to one of our carriers out at sea. However, we needed to clear the area of these machines first. The machines were attacking not only us, but another area filled with US forces attempting to escape in their own VTOLs. Until the machines are eliminated, the other VTOLs are stuck on the ground - stationary targets! Using the rockets and the guns on board the VTOL I was able to take down the machines that weren't destroyed from my fellow soldiers either in the back of my craft or on the ground still waiting to board their escape pods.

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With the area clear, the VTOLs were able to head in the direction of the carrier. I followed their path, since I was certainly the slowest of them all given my lack of flying time. To be honest, the controls were identical to the simulators. What was missing in the simulator was the reality of feeling the craft navigate through the sky. Also missing was the wicked turbulence that I was dealing with now. The simulator adjusted for wind conditions, but I never remember dealing with this kind of resistance, followed by immediate anti-resistance!

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Before me the open sea finally was in the distance. I felt like I was going to make it off this island after all. Landing this craft might be a different situation all together. Heck, I will just be happy to get near the carrier. We can swim the rest of the way, if needed. I noticed more machines attacking troops near the beach. There was an industrial park of some sort at the edge of the island. I wondered if this was an area I had navigated through on foot. I didn't think so. Nothing looked familiar, at least. With my damage reasonable and machine gun still full of ammo, I decided to clear out the area of the remaining machines before heading toward the carrier. I figured the more I take care of now, the less we have to deal with later.

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The area was clear and my map showed no known enemies in range.

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I asked the team in the back of the ship if we should head toward the carrier. No one opposed. So, we are finally off this island ... at least for now. I am going to focus on landing this craft on the carrier. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

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LEVEL: RECKONING Debrief I managed to navigate the VTOL to the carrier safely. It probably wasn't the prettiest of landings anyone on deck had seen, but I only cared to still be alive after everything that has happened thus far. It's hard to believe that I was dropped onto this island to help rescue some US scientists taken hostage by the Korean People's Army (KPA). Now, it appears that the KPA have been eliminated when some alienlike creatures launched out of a huge rock formation to freeze the island, then attack the remaining survivors. We were able to get a group of VTOLs loaded with US forces off the island to minimize the US casualties. Man, I am really tired. When I exited the VTOL, I saw Helena Rosenthal waiting for me. Additionally, I could see Psycho sitting on some boxes to my left. Directly in front of me was one of the bigger machines that I had faced for the last several hours in my attempt to escape from the frozen island. It appears that Psycho was truly psycho that be captured one of these machines and brought it back to the ship with him!

I spoke with Helena and she confirmed that Psycho brought the machine back with him. Everyone was certain the machine was disabled and/or dead. That's when we saw a huge arch of power pull from the top of the carrier and brought the machine back to life! The machine stood no chance being surrounded by soldiers and was pelted with tons of ammo in a matter of seconds. It was certainly dead or disabled now. Helena was positive that these machines drew life from the power around them. Anywhere they could find a power source would translate into a new level of life for these machines. jvmach67 in Crysis

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I heard that Prophet was on board the ship as well. His Nanosuit was getting repaired. Before I could find Prophet, I was instructed to proceed to the Chain of Command. It was time for me to debrief on the events I had witnessed and the events my on board camera had recorded and transported back to Headquarters. Psycho took the lead and navigated me down inside the carrier to the debriefing room.

Helena joined me in the briefing room. Leading the debriefing was Admiral R. Morrison. He thanked me for making it back to base alive and for the live video feeds they received from inside the rock. I didn't think I was ever going to make it out of that cave and I certainly didn't think anyone received my videos during the time. I am glad I was wrong on both parts. Admiral Morrison got me up to speed on what has been learned thus far. The way Helena was acting, she had heard all of this information before. Heck, it was probably the work her father, herself and the rest of the US scientists had discovered before being taken hostage by the KPA. Now, it was property of the US military.

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At any rate, they had determined a very high degree of change in the surface temperature within the core of the island. Namely, the rock where I became buried within shortly after saving Helena. From what I could tell, it looked like the temperatures dropped well below negative 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

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The next animation demonstrated a 3D model of the structural area of the mountain housing the machines. The animation backed up the video images I had transmitted from my Nanosuit where an army of Extraterrestrial were living inside the rock formation.

As the Admiral continued with his thought process, he began toward hinting that a nuclear attack might be the approach used to eliminate the machines. Helena spoke up in total disagreement. She indicated that a nuclear attack is a huge unknown and could be ineffective in destroying the machines. More time was needed to study and understand the machines. I remembered Helena indicating that the machines feed from any other power source they could find. There's a lot of power within the punch of a nuclear bomb, I thought to myself. The Admiral mentioned that they tracked a signal leaving the mountain and focused toward a star several million light years away. Then he bashed Helena for claiming these aliens were buried millions of years ago.

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I didn't make sense to him. I could tell he was really threatened by the situation.

The two continued their discussion, which led to a shouting match. Eventually, Admiral Morrison reasserted his power and ended the debriefing instantly. There were decisions to be made regarding the next steps. Those decisions did not include keeping myself or Helena in the loop. So, both of us were escorted out of the room. Helena stormed off toward another section of the ship. I decided I would try to locate Psycho and Prophet while Helena cooled down. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

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Good Intentions I found the area where Prophet and Psycho were located. A few minutes later, Helena came in to join us. She seemed a bit calmer now. Probably realized there was no reason to be upset, when there is nothing further she could do to change the Admiral's mind. Prophet was sitting in a chair specially designed to perform maintenance on the Nanosuit. I could hear Psycho mention that Prophet had some enhancements made to his Nanosuit, but didn't understand fully what was said. At the time, I was hoping to hear from Prophet just how he survived being captured by the machines. How did he manage to escape?

I never heard from Prophet regarding what happened. He never came to me to ask about my experience either. Instead, he seemed to get into an argument with Psycho, then grabbed the alien gun he stole and moved quickly out of the room. Before I had a chance to come after him, an announcement came over the loud speaker. All Special Ops personnel were to report to the bridge of the carrier immediately. Helena looked upset. She was convinced this was not going to be the good news she had hoped for. The Admiral might be reacting to a situation instead of honoring Helena's request for more information.

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Perhaps the President and Joint Chiefs of Staff wanted closure on this situation as soon as possible.

We made it to the bridge and quickly learned that Helena's suspicions were correct. Admiral Morrison was planning to drop a nuclear weapon on the center of the island. We also learned that Prophet had taken a VTOL and was heading into the sphere on the island! They considered him AWOL at this point, but it was very much unlike Prophet to head back into the sphere so quickly! Why was he acting so differently now?

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With the bomber approaching the sphere, we watched as the bomb was dropped near the rock mountain cave I had escaped only recently.

The exposition sent a huge fireball into the sky. After the fire cleared, the ice sphere returned. Only this time we felt shock waves as it increased in size. The sphere was now several times larger than it was before. I thought to myself, Helena was correct. These things do feed on power!

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I then saw dots emerge out of the sphere in our direction. As I remained focused on the dots, I realized they were more of those machines. They were not pleased and they were heading in our direction.

The machines came at us at full force. They were attacking the ship directly. When the first wave of machine hit the bridge of the carrier, I was knocked onto my back. My whole body hurt from the steel from the ship that fell on me. If I don't get up, I might not make it out of this situation. I need to pull myself together. I'll be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

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Defend the Carrier I must have passed out. All I remember is waking up to Admiral Morrison screaming at me to get up and deal with those machines that have invaded his ship. From the sound of things, it wasn't going to be an easy task.

The noises that I heard from the bridge of the ship must have been ten times the noise level I had heard both in the mine and when I've been in conflict with the machines. So I am guessing there are hundreds of those machines flying around. On my way to the flight deck, I picked up a Gauss Rifle and a Heavy Machine gun.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #241

I made sure my Nanosuit was in Armor mode and exited onto the flight deck.

There were machines flying all around. At first, the smaller ships had to taken down. Shortly there after, the larger ships arrived - the ones like Psycho brought back earlier this evening. So far, the spidermachine had not arrived. Nor has there been anything different. When the machines exploded, they made an incredible explosion. Not sure if it was due to the reflection of the water or the design of the ship, but the explosions were amazing.

jvmach67 in Crysis

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I took a picture to demonstrate the awe of the explosions.

With the area now clear, I could see just how huge the sphere had become. I wondered if Prophet made it clear of the area when the nuclear bomb was dropped. I hoped he wasn't in the center of the explosion, because we already almost lost him once. I still never heard what happened to him and how he managed to escape. No time to worry about Prophet's situation now, because it was his decision to hijack a VTOL and head into the sphere.

jvmach67 in Crysis

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We need to focus on our tasks at hand.

I received orders to head down below deck to locate the chief engineer. Evidently, things are getting out of control downstairs.

jvmach67 in Crysis

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The quickest way is to take one of the elevators used to transport the fighter jets down below.

I made it downstairs and the water had already started to fill the ship. Unless we act quickly, the ship would be sinking soon. The chief engineer would be the one who could tell us how to keep this beast floating. So far, I haven't found any machines down here, but I am on total alert at this point. I am going to hurry and see if I can locate the chief engineer as soon as possible. I will back in touch soon! Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

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Shut Down the Reactor I navigated through the watery hallways of the hull of the ship. I met up with the chief engineer at the top of some medal stairs. Still no machines were found down below.

The chief engineer informed me that there was a breach in the reactor core, which could cause a meltdown if not resolved quickly. The path to the reactor room was collapsed by the destruction of the attack. Since I was the only one wearing a Nanosuit, I would have to be the one to head toward the core. I had to get there as soon as possible. I used the strength mode of the Nanosuit to break through doors and push aside large containers.

jvmach67 in Crysis

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When I thought I had met a dead end, I found a vent shaft I could use to reach the reactor room.

I was able to reach the reactor core after jumping down from the vent shaft. A few minutes later I had arrived to the reactor core. After disabling the reactor, the machine when into shut-down state. I then saw the machines enter into the core. They were feeding off the massive amounts of energy coming off the core.

jvmach67 in Crysis

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Three of the circuit breakers were locked open - most likely due to the machines in the area. Helena radioed to me. She had an idea. She transmitted a pulse from my Nanosuit which sent shock waves all around me. The end result is that the machines were dazed by the energy emitted from my suit. The machines flew around in all directions before eventually crashing hard and becoming lifeless. Now, the core area was empty, but the three circuit breakers remained open. I had to get in there quickly to push them down. I would need the strength function of the Nanosuit to complete the task.

I ran into the room and pushed the first circuit breaker back into place. I felt incredibly weak. I took a glance at my health. By the indicators on my suit, if I remained in the area a few seconds more, I would be dead. So I escaped the area and went back into the control room while the Nanosuit healed me. Once healed, I returned to the room and fixed the second circuit breaker. I wondered if there would be enough time to recharge my health and return for the third breaker. I looked at my vitals. I had no choice. If I stayed in the room any longer, I would be dead. If I left to recharge, the core might meltdown, but maybe I have enough time to recharge. I ran as quickly as I could back into the control room. Just as my health hit 96%, I ran into the room and pushed the third circuit breaker back in place. The core was disabled. I heard that the machines were now in the lower part of the ship. So I made my way back to offer my assistance. When I reached the hanger under the flight deck, I was faced with several of the smaller machines. I had 20 rounds of ammo for the Gauss rifle and I believe I put every one of them into one of those smaller machines.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #248

I took a picture of one of the rooms just after the last machine was taken down.

I heard a familiar noise from above me. It wasn't a good sound. It was a sound that placed fear into me just before I left the island. I better get up there and see what I can do. I am quite positive things are about to really get out of hand. I will back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #249

Destroy the Alien Exosuit I heard the awful sound from above that I heard just before I vacated the island on the VTOL. The sound I heard just before Commander Strickland was taken down by the spider-machine. To the best of my knowledge the spider-machine ... or another one of those spider-machines ... was on the flight deck now. I remembered that we had a Tactical Assault Cannon (TAC) back in the armory in the area where Prophet's suit was being repaired. The TAC was developed only recently and had the ability to launch nuclear-like grenades at medium distance levels. The gun was still in development and had not been fully tested. They plan was to begin using the TAC in 2025 - five years from now. From what the testers have determined, unless one was wearing a Nanosuit, they could be critically injured by using the gun incorrectly. I had no choice at this point. I was going to have to use the TAC if it came down to nothing else working. I navigated through the broken doors on my way back to the armory. I entered a room just in time to see Admiral Morrison get mortally wounded by one of the machines. I made that machine pay for taking down the Admiral by using a couple rounds from the Gauss rifle. I checked Morrison's vitals. There was nothing I could do to save him and I still needed to acquire the TAC. I made it to the armory and the TAC was still on the weapons rack. I feared that Prophet took it when he went AWOL, but that was not the case. I was glad. I sprinted back to the flight deck and realized my suspicions were correct. A spider-machine was on deck and causing havoc. The original plan was to escape in a VTOL, but that wasn't happening while the spider-machine was blasting everything in sight.

I saw fellow soldiers fall in the line of duty as we tried to figure out how to take the spider-machine down. I knew the Gauss rifle would not cause enough damage and rockets didn't seem to phase the machine. So, I picked up a heavy machine gun, fully loaded and a spare 500 rounds of ammo. jvmach67 in Crysis

page #250

After the machine shot its blue laser at me and missed, I aimed and shot 500 rounds into the core of the machine.

The bullets seemed to be working, so I reloaded before the machine had a chance to aim that blue laser at me. I fired another 500 rounds into the machine and dropped the gun and switched to rockets. No rockets were needed as the spider-machine blew into a thousand pieces all over the flight deck.

jvmach67 in Crysis

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I heard someone mention an Alien Exosuit. I am guessing the spider-machine was really called an Alien Exosuit. To me, it will always be known as a spider-machine. I just hope this machine is the last machine of it's type.

Destroying the spider-machine caused the bigger machines to crash onto the deck.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #252

It looked like we had finally defeated the machines.

We looked out across a calm sea and sky around the ship. But then, I heard a deep rumble from beneath the surface. Something was coming from under the sea now. I need to grab some ammo and get ready. Because this could be the mother ship coming now. I will be back in touch soon! Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #253

Defeat the Alien War Ship I found a cache of rockets and Gauss ammo behind some heavy steel cases and an over-turned vehicle. The boxes appeared to be great cover from the noises that were coming from the area to the east of the ship. I was loaded and ready. Psycho and Helena were in the VTOL watching from above. Then it came out of the water and appeared before me. The machine's war ship.

This machine was a beast! It was just as large as the carrier and was armed with a shield that kept it safe from our shots. Gauss ammo and rockets did not phase the machine. Helena decided to try the same idea we attempted earlier by using our Nanosuits to send a signal toward the war ship.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #254

My vision blurred as Helena upped the charge this time.

Helena's idea worked again! We were able to take down the shield around the war ship. A few of the smaller machines arrived to attack me, but the Gauss rifle appeared to take them down without any issues. Funny, I remembered how I feared the challenge in taking down those machines when the island was frozen. Now, it seems like they are nothing to handle.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #255

With the shields down and the small machines destroyed, I had to destroy the turrets that were launching rockets at both myself and the VTOL with Psycho and Helena inside.

Using the rocket launchers, I pumped three rockets into each of the four turrets in front of the war ship. The war ship was now unprotected, so I grabbed one more set of rockets and fired four of them into the bottom of the ship at Helena's request. This opened up a door inside the ship. I pulled out the TAC and hoped this would work. I hoped I was close enough, but not too close to lose my own life. The TAC took a few seconds to lock on. I figured any second now I was going to be toasted.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #256

The lock on message appeared and I fired as many times as possible into the opening inside the war ship.

The war ship exploded with all the TAC ammo buried inside the craft. When the ship was destroyed, all the remaining machines still flying in the air above vacated the area.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #257

I saw the VTOL fly to the edge of the carrier. I noticed the war ship was going to crash on top of the carrier. Unless I vacated the area, I was going down with the ship too. This wasn't my ship and I wasn't planning to end it all here, so I began sprinting to the edge of the carrier. I've got to get to that VTOL. I've got to get off this ship. I will be back in touch soon! Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #258

Get to the VTOL The sound of the alien war ship dying was so loud that I could not hear the earphones from my two-way radio inside my Nanosuit. The vibrations of the ship coming down on top of the carrier pushed me so much that I had to keep looking down to determine if I was still touching the ground with my feet. I was running as fast as I could, but it didn't seem like the edge of the carrier was getting any closer. For a second, I wondered if this was all a dream. That I was about to wake up in my recliner back home after falling asleep while watching TV. Was some sci-fi movie behind this dream? Dream or no dream, I kept pushing myself to run as fast as I could. My Nanosuit was still in speed mode, but that didn't seem to help. I felt the carrier begin to break apart. I focused. I was getting closer to the edge. I could see Helena screaming at me to hurry up.

I reached the edge of the ship and realized I had to jump to land inside the VTOL. Any closer and the VTOL might get taken down with the carrier. Did I have enough energy to make the jump after all of this running? When my right foot hit a couple of inches from the edge of the carrier, I jumped as hard as I could. I landed on the floor of the VTOL. I felt Helena push down on me to lock me down as Psycho flew away. I made it! I got up and tried to close the door on the VTOL. I wasn't moving. It looks like it might have broke from the earlier issues with the war ship. So we watched as the alien war ship pounced on top of the carrier. From what I could tell, I was the only survivor left on the ship after the alien war ship began firing at the carrier.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #259

When the war ship pushed the carrier into the sea, we saw both go up in flames.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #260

A few seconds later, the energy from both the carrier and the alien war ship caused a huge nuclear explosion.

The shock waves hit our VTOL and caused us to spin out of control! Helena began to fly out of the back of the craft!

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #261

I reached out and grabbed her with my left arm and wrapped my right arm around the hinge on the broken door.

I need to figure out how I can get her back into the VTOL before my strength gives out. I will be back in touch soon. Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #262

Next Steps Helena probably only weighed a little over 100 pounds, but the G-forces made it feel like four or five hundred pounds. That explosion wanted to throw both of us into the center of the glowing sphere. I had already been close enough to that alien war ship, so I hung on with everything I had. Once Psycho got the VTOL back under control, I was able to pull Helena back to safety. We both rested for a few minutes inside the VTOL - looking out at a now peaceful sea below.

Psycho informed us that a military cruiser is not too far away. They are en route to help us and will be in the area within the hour.

jvmach67 in Crysis

page #263

What an adventure this has been, since being air-dropped on the island not too long ago.

While we debated if we would head toward the cruiser to meet them half-way, Psycho radioed back to us. Prophet is still alive and he's on the island! He had survived the nuclear bomb drop and is still alive inside the sphere. Psycho asked what we should do and we all agreed. Now that we know how we can stop them, we are going back to the island to assist Prophet in taking care of these machines once and for all!

jvmach67 in Crysis

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We are en route to the island now. It might be a while before you hear from me, but please know one thing ... I WILL be back in touch soon!

Nomad ... signing out.

jvmach67 in Crysis

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APPENDIX Frequently Asked Questions Q. Do you work for CryTek? A. No, I just had a blast playing Far Cry and could not wait to play Crysis. Q. So, why the Blog? A. With Far Cry, I found myself talking about the game so much that I wish I would have written about my experience instead of reciting my experiences from memory. When I played the demo for Crysis, I had to write about the adventure after purchasing the full game, so this blog was born. Q. What is with all the stories not tied to the actual game play? A. I wanted to write the blog as if I were Nomad. Nomad would certainly have experiences and opinions to draw upon. So, I decided I would provide additional insight into my view of his character while writing about the game. Q. Why is the Crysis Level Update page element showing levels completed that do not have blog entries? A. This will happen as levels are finished and blog entries still need to be created and written. The Crysis Level Update will also show where I am in the actual game vs. the blog entries I have written. Q. Do you have a military background? A. No. I have several friends who have military backgrounds, but everything you are reading in this blog is purely fictional. All covert missions mentioned only exist inside my head. Q. What is the approach used in blogging the game? A. Until the 1.1 patch, before loading Crysis, I loaded Paint Shop Pro, which I use for my screen captures. I thought about using FRAPS, but I already own Paint Shop Pro. At any rate, while playing the game, I use the Prt Scrn key to take a picture, which I paste into Paint Shop Pro. After the 1.1 patch was released, I switched to using the F12 (screen capture) key during game play. While the blog only contains five images per entry, I take approximately 15 - 20 screenshots during that same period of time. I then pick my 4 - 5 images and then I start blogging about the adventure. Typically, I play the game and capture the screens the first night, then document the adventure on the blog the next night. Q. Why is there a gap between the entries? A. Well, I am in my 40's and I have a job that demands quite a bit of my time during the day. Plus, I have a family at home, so I don't play or blog until late in the evenings. My goal is to publish at least two pages (four blog entries) per week until the Single Player Campaign is completed. Q. Word on the street is that Crysis will be part of a trilogy. What do you think about that? A. I think that is awesome news! I hope that CryTek stays in as the developer for the other two games. Q. Would you blog the second and third games? A. If people are still reading this blog at the time, I think I would have to keep the blogs rolling, right? Q. What difficulty level are you using? A. I am only playing on Normal level. I am really not that great at playing First-Person Shooter games ... so I am far from someone who plays on the hardest levels.

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Q. Do you play online in any multi-player games? A. I do not currently play online. This is for two main reasons. First, as noted above, I am really not all that good. Second, I am worried that going online might cause me to lose control of how much I spend gaming. Remember, I play mostly at night, so the longer I play, the less sleep I end up getting. So, that would be a bad thing for others at the office where I work. (Why is jvmach67 so grouchy these days?!!!) Q. Anything else you want to add? A. Nomad ... signing out.

Special Thanks ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

CryTek for releasing another incredible game. Wikipedia.org for providing additional research to further build upon Nomad’s background. Incrysis.com for providing a wonderful web experience around Crysis. BlogSpot.com/Google for providing an excellent tool for blogging my adventure. Sitemeter.com for providing strong usage statistics and reports. GameSpot.com, Ubisoft.com and EA.com for providing forums to share my blog. My retired military friends who protected our soil for many years and provided valuable insight into aspects of this game. My family for putting up with me blogging the entire game. I tried to blog only at night, but during the holidays that flowed into family time more than once.

Version History ♦ ♦

Version 1.0 – Initial Release – Deployed 01/23/2008 Version 1.1 – Grammatical updates, chapter text updates, a couple more screen shots, paragraph breaks added to match screen shots, italics added to match text styles on the original blog, subversion 1.1p added which is designed to be printed – Deployed 02/02/2008

jvmach67 in Crysis

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