One hell of an intense mission. Silly as hell in many ways, but thanks to the graphics and the sound effects the immersion is so great that most of the time you don't think about the improbabilities. The jungle feels oppressive and claustrophobic and alive with fiercely determined enemies whom you can't see until it's too late.

This one will really test your skills. And it has one fantastic moment, toward the end, that for sheer sense of wonder beats anything I've ever seen in any game. You'll see.

Rocky, very rugged mountainous country, covered by tropical rainforest. Narrow, fast-running stream at the bottom of a precipitous gorge. Rain. RAIN. I don't know about you but I keep having to pause the game and go pee.

First to blow up the bridge over the river. (No, there aren't any whistling British POWs around.) Then to reconnoiter the Japanese supply camp nearby and destroy the supplies stored there, and then as usual to reach the designated escape point. You don't have to kill everybody, and if you're smart you won't try.

More than in any other mission in the game, you'll need to make frequent use of the map. It's extremely easy to get disoriented and at times you may even need the map to locate your own teammates; you can easily walk right past them without seeing them.

The map also shows the location of the Japanese machine gun strongpoints which are the biggest single factor in the mission. They're marked by red X marks and you should study their locations carefully. Unfortunately the map doesn't show which way they're facing. However, the ones north of the road and east of the camp generally face south, the ones north of the road and west of the camp face west - at least the ones you'll be dealing with - and the ones to the south of the road face roughly north. The exception is the position on top of the high rock formation to the north of the road, right by the bridge; that one faces east, across the river. It's important to remember all this or you can walk into a machine gun's field of fire and you won't do that twice.

The setup page will supply you with three satchel explosive charges. You only need two to complete the mission, but it won't let you start without them, so just take all three and then ditch the third one when you get a chance.

When the mission begins, after the introductory video clip, you're standing on a dirt road getting rained on. Up ahead, just out of sight, a couple of Japanese riflemen are coming toward you; so immediately give the order Fire At Will, and then crouch down and move a little to the left and cover the road ahead and waste them when they come in sight. If you miss your men will get them; they're pretty easy.

There's one more farther on up the road, just standing there. Bring your sniper up past where you were standing, and in a few steps he should be able to see the target and pick him off.

While you're controlling the sniper, run him on up the road a little farther, to a point where there's a big gray rock on the left side of the road. If your sniper will climb up onto that, he can get a good view of the bridge just upstream, and can snipe at the sentries who occasionally walk across it.

You'll need to control the sniper directly; the range is pretty long and the visibility poor so he doesn't always recognize targets on his own. The targets aren't only on the bridge; there will usually be one or two standing near the far end of the bridge, sometimes partly concealed by the foliage so you'll need to scope carefully. Take your time, anything you can do to reduce the odds is of value.

Up ahead, where the road turns left to the bridge, there's a bunker or pillbox with a machine gun covering the road. It is possible, if you're a good shot, to pick off the gunner through the aperture, but you have to get him with your first shot or he'll get you with his.

These pillboxes are the key to the first part of this mission; they've got the area covered by interlocking fields of machine gun fire, and you have to neutralize them in order to reach your objectives. And you can proceed in this way on up the road and use the same technique to clear the machine gun positions on your way; and it works, if you're a really good virtual marksman and take your time and line up your shots with great care. I've done it, more than once.

But it's a high-pucker-factor business, and you only have to miss one shot and you're military history; and there's an easier way to do it. So leave that MG up ahead severely alone for now; we're going for a walk in the woods.

Still in the person of the sniper, get down off the rock and cross the road and move up through the rocks on the other side, close to the base of the hill. Move roughly northward, staying back in the forest out of sight, till you're well past the bend in the road. (Check the map frequently to keep track of where you are; you can't see shit in there.)

Angle down toward the river, now, heading more or less northwest. Upstream from the bridge, there's a high waterfall and, close by, a couple of posts - no doubt the remains of a destroyed footbridge - sticking out above the bank.

On the other side, up by a downed tree, are a couple of guys chopping wood. You may see another one just walking around doing nothing in particular. Shoot one and then wait; his buddy will come running out and you can get him too. You may have to wait a bit for a shot but you'll get it.

Leave the sniper there and go back downstream a short way (you'll find a little footpath leading from the wooden posts) to where a tree lying across the river. and on the other side, in among its branches, there should be a man. I think Bring up a man - taking him around through the woods, up by the cliff, the same way the sniper came - and position him to cover the area to the left, back toward the road. Sometimes the machine gunner by the bridge gets excited when he hears the shooting, and comes running out the back door of his pillbox, and then you guys can bust him, and then nobody has to go to the trouble of going in after him.

Looking at that tree, you might be thinking, "Aha! I shall cross the river here, and take the Japanese buggers in the flank!" Hold it with the aha; if you try it it'll be the last thing you do.

Because back upstream, near where you killed those two by the waterfall, there's another of those machine gun emplacements, and it's covering that tree, and if you try to cross it'll shoot you right off off there. And it's no good trying to snipe the gunner, because the angle makes it impossible to get a clear shot at him until he turns his gun toward you and then it's eternally too late.

Don't despair; we just have to get rid of the son of a bitch. You two go back down to that spot by those wooden posts. Station your backup man where he's got a clear view of that machine gun emplacement on the other side of the river, and the area around it. If you'd like to bring up another backup man at this time, fine; you'll need to bring him up pretty soon anyway and it won't hurt to have an extra gun on hand.

Now take over the sniper and move just a little to the left, up past that tree, until you can just make out the machine gun aperture in that pillbox. You won't be able to see the gunner but that's all right, we're not trying to hit him, just piss him off. Start firing at that slot. Try to put the shots into the hole but if a few miss that's OK too.

It may take several shots, but eventually he'll lose it and grab his rifle and come charging out into the open; and then your backup should be able to get him without much trouble.

Now you can crawl across on that tree. It's a vertiginous business; be careful, because if you go off it's an unnecessarily long way down.

Your target is that machine gun position on the north side of the road up by the head of the bridge. It's up on top of a high mound or rock formation and can only be reached from the rear, from the north side.

So snake on across on that tree. As soon as you're sure you're all the way across - look down and check; if there's solid ground beneath you that's far enough - drop down and make a sharp left and crawl in the direction of the road. Don't go any farther west than you absolutely have to, and stay as close as possible to the edge of the cliff, until you're out of that gully and clear of that dead tree, because there's another machine gun and it's very easy to wander into its field of fire.

Work your way along by the river bank till you reach the start of that big rock formation. I'd advise crawling this part; there are lots of bad guys in the area. Creepy-crawl up to the rear of that pillbox and silent-crawl down the steps and rise to a crouch and open the door and blast that son of a bitch at point-blank range.

Run inside and reload and get where you can cover the door in case somebody decides to come in after you. If nobody does, go back out the door and crouch on the steps, facing north. Sometimes one or two of the little bastards will come after you and this is an excellent defensive position, almost like a foxhole.

But you want to get some backup to help your bloke as quickly as possible. So leave him there where he's got a reasonable chance of defending himself, and bring another man across the tree in the same way, remember the same precautions, and up onto the rock knob to join him. Have one man lie down behind the pillbox, facing west. Chances are he'll find some targets.

The other man needs to crawl around the left side of the bunker. That's the side overlooking the river, and he'll only have a very narrow space to crawl, with his left elbow hanging out over a hell of a long drop; and it's not easy to negotiate the tight spots. But once he reaches the front corner, he's got a shot down at that machine gun position.

If there's nobody manning it at the moment, just wait, somebody will show up and can be shot. It might seem that you could drop in a grenade but that doesn't work too well, the foliage tends to deflect it.

Don't try to go around the other side of the bunker, or climb up onto the roof. There's another machine gun emplacement on top of the hill on the other side of the road and while the gunner isn't all that alert, he does have you covered. On the other side, though, there's a tree that blocks him off.

Now one of your men on the far side of the river can come up behind that pillbox there by the bridge and kick the door open and shoot the gunner - if he hasn't already come out and got himself shot.

Having done that, run him across the bridge. DO NOT let him go farther than the very end of the bridge; there's still a machine gun covering the road just a few steps on. The instant he passes the end of the railing he must turn sharply to the left and dive off the road. There's a ditch or gully that will provide cover.

He can move on along the edge of the cliff above the river, now, around the hill to his right. On the south side of the hill there's a footpath leading up to the top. Run up that to the machine gun nest and go in the door and kill the gunner. Don't be surprised if he's already dead, killed by one of your lads on the other side of the road while you were busy elsewhere; that often happens.

Go back to your man hanging his ass off the edge of nowhere, over by the corner of that other pillbox, and very carefully move him on around - better not try to turn around and go back, easier just to go on around the pillbox, it should be safe now - till he gets back to where his buddy is waiting. Now one man continues to cover the area immediately to the west, while the other works his way back down the slope of the rock to the north of the pillbox. Move a little west, now, down onto level ground, and then back in the direction of the road. There's another pillbox right next to the mound, on the west side.

Same routine: run up to the door and kick it in and gun the gunner, if he doesn't hear you coming and come out to meet you. The place may be empty, though; this one tends to emerge and try to attack the lads up on the rock, usually with fatal consequences to himself.

Your man on the other side of the road, up there in that pillbox on the hill, can come down now and cross the road. He needs to stay well to the east, though, and cross close to the bridge, and then run up between the rock formation and the pillbox beside it. There's a machine gun just down the road, on the south side, that will get anybody who goes much farther west in this area.

The last man on the east side of the river can cross the bridge now, planting the explosives on his way across. You only need one charge; use the placement point toward the eastern side and ignore the other one. Remember to turn sharply to the right upon reaching the end of the bridge, and not go any farther along the road.

You can go back and look at your work if you like, possibly getting to see one of the Amazing Levitating Cadavers for which HD2 is noted, but watch out and don't let that gunner on the south side of the road get a shot at you.

In fact you want to stay well clear of those bastards to the south of the road; there's no need to take them out, just give them a wide berth. For this purpose you need to move north as soon as possible. But first you've got to get rid of the one remaining MG covering this side of the camp.

Arrange the rest of the team in a defensive position in the area back of the last pillbox you took out, facing west and northwest. Now crouch-run westward toward that gully close in front of you. Never mind the little bridge, run into the gully and turn right and go under the bridge and keep going, staying low.

When you get to a fork in the gully, turn left and move on northward, toward the head of the gully. (Shooting may break out behind you as your boys take on a few strays; ignore it, they can take care of themselves or they can't.) The pillbox is on your left. Move quickly and jump into the hole and open the door and shoot. Immediately get back out of the pillbox and up behind it, between it and the cliff, and watch the area to the west. Very probably a rifleman will appear there and you'll have to be ready to nail him fast.

Now you can bring the others up, and you'd better do it pretty quickly because your man is up there in the bad guys' back yard all alone. No need to bother with the gully, just stand up and run, using the bridges. Get everybody gathered by that last pillbox and then start moving into position to cover the camp.

The remaining Japanese-type persons will be bunched up toward the north end of the camp and there aren't many of them - probably no more than four or five, if that - and it shouldn't take much doing to grease them; they don't exhibit much tactical smarts. Once you've killed them you can invade the camp.

The documents you're after are in the building at the northeast extremity of the camp; some of those guys you shot are probably lying around, maybe even on the porch. Go in and find the docs, anyway, and collect them. You'll see that the Japanese have learned document security from their German allies.

(IMPORTANT: GET THE DOCUMENTS BEFORE YOU BLOW UP THE SUPPLIES. If you blow the supplies first, the mission fails. I have no idea why; just more HD2 logic I suppose.)

The supplies are out in the middle of the compound. Walk up to them and then check your shit sheet. YOu should have "success" showing for finding out what the mysterious supplies are. Drums of fuel and boxes of ammo, how amazing, who'd have guessed it?

Once you've got credit for finding the supplies and getting the documents, then you can set your charge and get out of there. Unless you want to go looking for that officer's sword; it's in the building at the far southwest. If you go down there it's very possible you may be shot at - there are still bad guys not far to the south - so it's up to you whether you want to take the chance for something that half-assed. It's not a mission requirement after all.

When you're done at the camp, all that's left is to reach the escape point. Which isn't too hard, but it's got its hazards all the same. First thing to keep in mind is that you want to stay up in the north part of the area, close to the cliff, right up until you're directly north of the escape point. (Map time again.) If you do that you can bypass a lot of enemy positions and save yourself a lot of trouble and risk.

There's a pillbox immediately to the west of the camp, up by the north end, and you can take it out pretty easily; just run up behind it and open the door and shoot the gunnner. In fact I usually do this before going into the camp, just in case he decides to come out and cut himself a piece of the action.

West of that, there are two more pillboxes, and you're in no danger from their guns - they're both facing west, away from you - but it's a little tricky cleaning them out, because the gunners tend to come out and want to fight. Especially the one to the south; he's really aggressive. Deploy your men so as to cover both bunkers and the area immediately beyond, and have them use cover because they may get shot back at.

Then go up to the door of the one on the north, up near the cliff, and shoot the occupant; and then duck down under cover, because the other one will almost certainly come out looking for trouble. Your men should burn him quickly enough, but he's damn fast; there's a good chance somebody will be hit.

At this point quite often another asshole will come through the jungle to the west and open fire on your people; get out of the bunker and help them finish him.

When everything is quiet, move your team up close to the cliff and then pause and look around. There are some Caucasian bodies lying on the ground in that area; they're supposed to be "allies" (nationality unspecified) who got killed here recently. Frisk the poor bastards and get their ID tags; one set is enough. This is one of those extra-credit items and you don't have to do it but might as well.

By now you'll have noticed some tall vertical objects visible through the rain and mist to the west. As you move closer you'll see that this is the ruins of some sort of ancient temple. It's quite an amazing sight, easily the finest visual effect I've ever seen in any game with the possible exception of the winter sunrises in Il-2 Sturmovik - but DON'T start sightseeing yet. It's also a danger spot.

Move your people in toward the ruins, still staying close to the cliff and using whatever cover is available. There are some hostiles down at the far end, by the escape point. Sometimes they come up into the ruins, so settle down and watch for them. If they do show up you know what to do.

If they don't, then you'll have to go after them. There are various ways you can do this. You can climb up those steps to the right and move cautiously toward the south end of the platform or whatever it is; if you peer over the edge you should be able to see them. Probably there'll only be a couple. You can shoot them, or bring the sniper up and let him pick them off; or you might try a grenade. Use your imagination; it's just not that hard to whack them out.

When they're dead, move everybody up onto that upper level and then down in the direction of the road; check the map to see when you've reached the escape point. DO NOT let anyone go any farther east than absolutely necessary; you might even move westward till you get a Leaving Area message, just to make sure where the limits are. Just a few steps east of the escape point you'll come under fire from a machine gun. It's very close so don't risk a Follow Me; somebody's sure to wander over there and get killed.

If you stay clear of that, though, you'll find yourself at the escape point; and you'll have completed a memorable mission. And, you might be thinking, a hell of a tough one.

Hah. And again: hah. Just wait.