Battlefield Bad Company 2 – Operation Aurora

Prologue

Autumn 1944, Sea of Japan. Not long before the atomic bomb would bring an end to World War II, a small group of U.S. commandos is sent in to extract a Japanese scientist who has war-decisive information. On the 6th of October, at 0600 hours, Operation Aurora commenced. Twenty minutes later it was over. The fate of Operation Aurora was kept from the public. All records were destroyed. It became a myth. This is what really happened that day.

It’s mere minutes before dawn off the coast of an undisclosed island in the Sea of Japan. Bravo squad is in position, awaiting Able squad’s arrival in their rubber raft. You play as Wyatt, one of Bravo’s commandos. During this sequence all you can do is look around, so pan to the left and right to get a better view of your surroundings. Wyatt is joined by squadmates Faraday, McKee, and their NCO, Sarge. Faraday has plenty of theories of what kind of secret weapons are being developed on the nearby island, but Sarge assures the squad that they’re only here to retrieve a defecting scientist.
As Able squad’s raft moves into position, both rafts begin the journey toward the shore. Things go smoothly until a spotlight catches Able’s raft. They don’t have a chance as a Japanese machine gun cuts into their raft, killing everyone. It’s not long before the same spotlight illuminates Bravo’s raft. Sarge immediately orders his men to jump out, saving his squad from meeting the same fate as Able squad.

Bravo regroups somewhere on shore. Fortunately, everyone made it out alive. But there’s no sign of survivors from Able. It looks like Bravo has to continue with the mission on its own. Operation Aurora is scheduled to begin at 0600. Hopefully the incoming aerial assault will distract the Japanese troops, allowing your squad to sneak in, grab the scientist, and get out before the enemy knows what hit them. Judging by the sound of the air raid sirens, it looks like the flyboys are on time.

Reach The Rendezvous Point

During the commotion to abandon ship, Wyatt lost his M1A1 Tommy Gun leaving him (and you) with nothing more than a knife. But you won’t need a gun to score your first kill. Follow the on-screen instructions to duck under a branch, then proceed toward a pair of Japanese soldiers. While still crouched, creep up behind the soldier on the left and sink your knife into his back. Faraday takes out the other guard. Once both enemy soldiers are down, turn right and follow the platform to the spot where Sarge is waiting. He tosses you a Japanese Type 100 submachine gun.

TIP: As you can see, the knife is very deadly and stealthy, killing any hostile with a single brutal stab. But you need to get in close to use it. Never attempt a knife attack against an enemy that is facing you as you’re likely to get shot in the face and sent back to the last save checkpoint.

With your new weapon in hand, follow Sarge up the hill and across a bridge. There are no hostiles in this area, so keep your finger off the trigger. If you’re still crouched, your squad will move out way ahead of you, so stand up to keep up the pace. By now the air raid has commenced with friendly fighters making bombing runs on the island’s defenses.

Follow McKee

As you near a trench, Sarge orders you to follow McKee. Hop down in the trenches and cover McKee’s back as he advances. Watch for a Japanese soldier with a sword charging your squadmate. Try to gun the enemy down before he reaches McKee. Even if you miss, McKee has no problem taking this guy out on his own. If you expended several rounds in this engagement, load a fresh magazine – you don’t want to run out of ammo at an inopportune time.

McKee stops at a clearing in the trench where several Japanese soldiers are gathered around an anti-aircraft gun. Take aim with your submachine gun and mow them all down before they have a chance to retaliate. For best results, drop to a crouch before firing and use the weapon’s zoom function to accurately target the enemies using the weapon’s iron sight. This is much more effective than shooting from the hip.

NOTE: You can pick up weapons off dead enemies. Simply stand over the weapon you wish to grab and press the button indicated on screen. You can carry two primary weapons, so try adding one of the dead soldiers’ Type 5 semiautomatic rifles to your arsenal. This rifle is more effective at long range and has better stopping power than the Type 100 submachine gun. If you played Battlefield 1943, both of these weapons should be very familiar.

Continue following McKee through the trench, clearing out a second anti-aircraft position along the way. You eventually come to another clearing where several Japanese officers and soldiers are gathered around a map table. This time you have support from Sarge and Faraday on the opposite side of the trench. Drop to a knee and spray the area with your submachine gun. Pan your aim left and right to rake the area with automatic fire.

Follow McKee out of the trench toward a steep cliff where Sarge is waiting. Faraday drops a rope ladder down the cliff, allowing the rest of the squad to climb up. Wait for Sarge and McKee to lead the way, then step up to the ladder to automatically grab on. Once you’re on the ladder, move forward to move up or backward to move down. In this case you need to rejoin your squad at the top of the cliff, so move up. Always look for ladders when attempting to traverse steep terrain, especially when looking for a way down. Dropping off of high ledges could lead to an embarrassing death.

At the top of the cliff, the sun is just peeking over the horizon, improving visibility significantly. Follow the squad through a jungle and out into a grassy clearing. Duck down among the grass as a column of Japanese infantry and tanks pass along a nearby road. A squadron of Navy Corsairs suddenly swoop down and strafe the procession with bombs and machine gun fire. The tanks are down for the count, but a few panicked infantry remain. Help your team wipe out the survivors.

Locate The Defector

After staging a successful ambush, follow the squad up a narrow trail leading back into the jungle. The sprint function is now available, allowing you to run to keep up with your team. While sprinting you cannot fire your weapon, so reserve this form of movement for when you’re not threatened or whenever you need to reach cover quickly. During the journey, make note of the white diamond icon on the screen—a similar icon appears on the minimap. This diamond icon represents the location of the current objective. In this case, the area beyond the rope bridge is where you’re supposed to meet the scientist. Cross the bridge to trigger a cutscene.

The Japanese scientist is right where he’s supposed to be. But something’s wrong as indicated by a low rumbling reverberating through the jungle. The scientist warns about “the black weapon.” While the scientist seems to have given up hope of escaping, Sarge and his men are determined to get off the island with the scientist. Their egress route has been cut off by approaching Japanese troops, so Sarge suggests hitching a ride on a submarine via the island’s sub pen.

Capture Enemy Vehicle

The sub pen isn’t close, so you need to commandeer transportation. Follow your squad to a nearby airfield where a Type 95 recon car pulls through the front gate. This is your ride, but you need to fight through a large contingent of enemy infantry to get to it. Equip the Type 5 semiautomatic rifle you picked up back in the trench and drop to a crouch to steady your aim. This weapon gives you the range and damage output to effectively engage the airfield’s guards. As soon as you fire, your squadmates join in. Help them wipe out the Japanese soldiers at the airfield’s entrance.

Stay behind your team as they advance onto the airfield and toward the vehicle. Yet another group of Japanese infantry stand between you and your objective. Instead of standing out in the open, seek cover to avoid getting mowed down. Crouch behind a solid object, such as this large pile of wood. Either peek around cover or quickly stand up to take a shot. Just be sure you’re back behind cover while reloading.

Your teammates won’t make a move for the recon car until the airfield is completely clear of threats. So stay behind cover and keep scouting for targets until your squad moves out. Move toward the car marked with a white diamond icon and press the button indicated on screen to hop inside and begin your journey to the sub pen.

Defend Vehicle

During the ride to the sub pen you’re in control of the vehicle’s .30 caliber machine gun. Simply aim the weapon using the white reticle in the center of the screen and pull the trigger to fire. The machine gun also has a zoom function for hitting distant targets, but at the speeds you’re traveling, this feature isn’t very useful. Instead, focus on mowing down the infantry you encounter on the sides of the road, keeping the gun facing forward as much as possible.

TIP: During this vehicle sequence, look for red barrels and other explosive objects along the side of the road. Triggering explosions is a great way to wipe out several enemies.

Watch out for a pair of enemy recon cars along the way. They pull in front of you and try to wipe you out with machine guns of their own. Quickly open fire on these cars before they can inflict any damage. There are a couple of ways to eliminate these threats. Either mow down all three occupants of the car or target the car directly. All it takes is a quick burst to cause each car to explode. Your own vehicle plows through the flaming wreck without sustaining any damage.

Find Sub Pen Location

You’ve made it to the sub pen when the recon car comes to a halt. Hop out of the vehicle and prepare to fight your way inside the pen. This time switch back to the Type 100 submachine gun as it’s better suited to the close combat you encounter along the way. Stay with your squad and help them mow down the few Japanese soldiers defending the sub pen’s exterior walkway. If you come under heavy fire, seek cover behind a wall or crate.

When you come to a locked metal door, Sarge hands you explosives and a detonator. It’s your job to breach the door. First, slap a charge in the middle of the door. Next, step back a safe distance, preferably where McKee and the scientist are crouched. Once you’re in position, drop the plunger on the detonator to trigger the explosives, clearing a path to the sub pen’s interior.

CAUTION: Always exercise extreme caution when deploying explosives. Charges like this have a very large and deadly blast radius. If you don’t have time to move back a safe distance before detonation, make sure you at least have a solid piece of cover between yourself and the explosion.

Escape To Captured Enemy Sub

The sub pen is a massive facility, but fortunately it’s mostly abandoned. Still, there are a few Japanese soldiers wandering around, eager to halt your escape. Switch back to the Type 5 semiautomatic rifle to deal with these long-range threats, using the zoom function to pick off targets through the weapon’s iron sight.

Weave around the sub pen’s walkways to reach the third pen. The submarine waiting in this pen is your ticket out of here. It has already been commandeered by friendly forces, so don’t shoot the guys standing on the conning tower. Also, ignore the Japanese soldiers running along the catwalk to the right as they don’t pose a threat. Instead, sprint to keep up with your squad as they make a mad dash toward the submarine. Carefully rush across the gangplank and onto the sub to make your escape.

Things didn’t go exactly as scripted, but Wyatt and his squad made it off the island with the scientist – mission complete. But there’s little time for celebration. As the submarine pulls away from the sub pen a massive explosion envelops the island, accompanied by a powerful shockwave and a blinding white flash. Was this the “black weapon” the scientist warned of? Whatever it was, Wyatt, Faraday, McKee, and Sarge don’t survive to give a first-hand account of the day’s events. The scientist was right all along. There was no hope of escape.

Cold War

In the present day, the boys from Bad Company are back in action. Preston Marlowe, joined by Sarge, Sweetwater, and Haggard are backing up a U.S. counter-intelligence operation deep in Russian territory. The remote frozen environment is wreaking havoc with GPS and communications equipment, so outside support is iffy at best. But that’s nothing new for this team. As Marlowe catches sight of a nearby Russian patrol, the team prepares to move into action.

Follow Unit

During the single-player campaign you play as Preston Marlowe, a now seasoned veteran of Bad Company. Follow your team to a ledge overlooking a snow-covered trail. Drop to a crouch at the ledge and wait for six Russian soldiers to appear on the path below, but don’t open fire just yet. Listen to Sarge and wait for him to count down from three before mowing down the opposition. For more precise aim, use the weapon’s zoom function to access your XM8’s scope. Keep firing until all six enemies are down for the count.

When the ambush is over, follow Sarge and the gang down onto the path. You can now grab a rifle off one of the dead Russians. These guys carry the AN-94-R assault rifle, a very competent weapon with a two-round burst fire mode. Since you only have one primary weapon to begin with, picking up this weapon does not replace your XM8. If you pick up another weapon in the future, the currently held weapon will be dropped in exchange for the new weapon. Pay close attention to your weapon inventory before picking up weapons, as you can only carry two primary weapons at a time.

NOTE: Once a weapon is picked up in the single-player campaign, it is unlocked and made available in future supply drops. Supply drops are large crates found in some levels that allow you to swap out weapons. The more weapons you pick up, the more you’ll find in these crates. So keep your eyes peeled for different weapons throughout the course of the campaign. The locations of all collectible weapons are also shown on the map. These labels don’t include weapons dropped by enemies.

Regroup with your squad at a partially sunken boat in a frozen river. In the cutscene that follows, a mysterious Russian is seen executing a U.S. agent as Marlowe and the rest of the squad watch helplessly from a distance. While the team awaits orders to engage, the Russian escapes in a helicopter. But HQ seems more concerned about a truck parked in the village across the river. Time to move out and secure that truck.

Follow Sarge and the gang across the river and into the village. It’s up to you to lead the assault. Start by equipping your assault rifle’s grenade launcher, then step around the corner of the building (where Sarge is standing) and fire a grenade at the VODN parked at the far end of the street. Ignore the troops patrolling the street for now. The VODN is a more threatening target and must be eliminated quickly. It takes two grenades to take out the vehicle, so step behind cover while loading the second round in the launcher. Once the VODN is destroyed, help your team eliminate the Russian infantry. Hold this position until your team moves out.

Press forward to the end of the street, taking cover near the burning VODN. Expect more resistance here. Take out the machine gun position behind the sandbags first, then watch out for enemy troops equipped with rocket launchers. Keep an eye on the minimap to locate new targets – they appear as red triangles. If you can’t get a clear shot at a particular enemy, try lobbing a grenade in his direction. Grenades can blast through walls, killing anyone hiding on the other side.

Further down the street your team is pinned by a group of enemies positioned in a bus. Instead of staging a frontal assault, flank the bus from the left while your team holds their attention. This allows you to sneak up on the enemy and mow them down. A grenade can also do some serious damage in this situation. Keep up the attack until all the enemies in this area are down. Your team moves into a large two-story house across the street when it’s safe.

Secure Courtyard

As you rejoin your team in the large house, a pair of gunships hover above the courtyard outside and enemy troops rappel to the ground. Stay clear of the windows until the helicopters have left – exposing yourself to the gunships at this range is extremely dangerous. Move to the house’s second floor and start picking off troops in the courtyard below. This gives you a good vantage point of the courtyard and adjacent street.

TIP: Running low on ammo? Make note of the green bullet icons on the minimap. These mark the locations of ammo crates. Simply stand next to one of these crates to completely replenish your ammo and grenades. There’s an ammo crate in the two-story house next to the courtyard, ideally placed for this defensive action.

Once you’ve eliminated the first wave of enemy troops, a second wave attacks from the street outside. This time the enemy brought along a T90R main battle tank. You lack the firepower to take out the tank, so you’ll need to hold out until close air support is available. The house’s walls do little to protect you from the tank’s devastating main gun. Your best bet is to hold near the house’s stairwell or to retreat, hiding near the bus until help arrives.

Listen to the radio chatter and wait for air support to come online. Now you must designate the target manually using your binoculars. Creep into position until you can spot the tank in the distance, then equip the binoculars. Place the red crosshairs over the tank and pull the trigger to designate the target. Once the target is designated, you can stow the binoculars and watch the fireworks from a distance as two F-18 Hornets swoop in and knock out the tank with a thunderous bombing run.

Locate Russian High Value Vehicle

With the enemy tank out of the way, you can now proceed toward the truck, but expect heavy resistance along the way. Your team comes to a stop as they come under fire by a machine gun in the second story of this damaged house. Equip your grenade launcher and peek out of cover to fire a shot at the large fuel tank next to the house. The resulting explosion is powerful enough to topple the entire structure, silencing the machine gun in the process. Help your team wipe out the rest of the nearby infantry before proceeding through the village.

More machine gun emplacements block your path to the truck. Instead of taking on these defenders head-on, circle around to the left and flank them, using the small houses for cover. Once the two machine guns are neutralized, it’s much easier to mop up the remaining infantry. Clear out the resistance, then make a move for the truck. Hop in the back and prepare for a bumpy ride.

Reach Exfil Point

You’ve made it to the truck. Now it’s time to get out of here. It’s up to you to cover the vehicle’s rear during the escape. Equip your grenade launcher and take aim at the ATVs racing after the truck. Firing grenades out of a moving vehicle can be difficult, but at least you have unlimited ammo during this sequence. For best results, wait until an ATV is relatively close to the back of the truck, then target the ground directly in front of it. You have time to practice with the first two ATVs, as they don’t pose a huge threat. However, the rider on the back of the third ATV is armed with an RPG. Take this enemy vehicle out fast before the shooter can score a direct hit on the truck and bring your escape attempt to an abrupt, fiery end. Even if you don’t score a direct hit, killing the ATV’s driver is enough to take the enemy vehicle out of the race.

Following the ATV attacks, a series of VODN transports show up on your tail. Despite their larger size, these are much tougher targets due to their heavy armor. It takes at least two direct hits to knock out each of these vehicles. Don’t bother targeting the gunner on top of the vehicle. Instead, focus your fire on the vehicle’s front cab. The cab is the most feasible target and also contains the driver. As with the ATVs, it’s possible to kill the driver, causing the vehicle to stop or crash. In any case, fire at the transports on long, straight stretches of road. Hold your fire during the sharp turns, as accuracy drops substantially during these maneuvers.

TIP: Looking for a challenge? Try to hit one of these trucks filled with red barrels as they pass one of the VODNs on your tail. If you time it just right, the exploding truck takes out the nearby VODN too.

Following the frantic confrontation with the VODNs, a MI28 gunship joins the chase. The chopper’s erratic movements make it nearly impossible to hit while it’s swerving to the left and right. Hold your fire until you reach the second span of the tunnel. At this point, the chopper enters the tunnel, flying directly behind the truck at low altitude. With little room to maneuver, the gunship is an easy target. Launch a grenade directly at the cockpit to make it crash.

As the chopper’s wreckage bounces around the tunnel’s interior, the truck loses control, flipping onto its side. Fortunately, everyone survives the crash. While the squad reassembles, Marlowe finds a crate in the wreckage that seems to contain some sort of nuclear component. No wonder this truck was so important to the high command.

Back at HQ, General Braidwood informs the squad that the component is a fake. Apparently the Russians are developing a new weapon and this component is simply a decoy to throw off U.S. intelligence. Admitting that his regular units are preoccupied, Braidwood reluctantly enlists the squad for a new mission. He needs Sarge and his men to travel to Bolivia to meet with a man named Aguire. Apparently he’s some sort of expert and may be able to discern more intel from the object Marlowe discovered. Bad Company is now part of Braidwood’s Special Activities Division.

NOTE: Notice anything familiar in that final cutscene? Look for the Legionnaire’s insignia on the bulletin board—the group of gold-hungry mercenaries from the first game. There’s also a portrait of Faith (from Mirror’s Edge) hanging on the wall at the back of the room.