Thanks for the feedback guys, glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Thanks to all 200 players for rocking up on Saturday and making it one hell of a Halloween battle!
Stage 1: Infection
Facing off in the morning, we had 2 bands of plague survivors, each lead by a valiant and visionary leader; Steve “Psycho” Bull leading the Blues and Scott “Tango” Bullock leading the Reds. The survivors’ primary goal for the morning was to establish a foothold on Cosford Science Station by controlling as many of the 3 safe haven installations as possible. Of course, life is never that simple; roaming the grounds of the base were the Wretched- a small group of predatory plague zombies ready to pounce on any unwary prey that came their way…
Both bands fought fiercely taking a safe haven each early on and then contesting the third. Directed with enthusiasm by their leaders (who took great pleasure in unleashing the surprises granted by completion of the secondary objectives upon the opposition forces) the teams battled on, with the reds eventually having to concede ground to a cunning outflanking maneuver by the blues. Ultimately, despite several brave rallying moves by Tango and the reds, the blue survivors took the morning, having dominated the control of the safe havens by two to one, thus establishing a solid foothold on the base.
Stage 2: Gestation
Little did both forces know that the Plague was about to rear its head- the survivors that had suffered attacks from the Wretched “zombies”, having contracted the Plague, now became savage mutations themselves! The state of play was no longer survivor versus survivor, but Infected versus Uninfected- the battle for humanity was on!
The second session now found Tango leading the Uninfected in a desperate mission to defend a small contingent of Research Scientists on a cliff-top position from Psycho and his ravening hordes of Infected. This was a real clash of the titans; with the Infected surging over the river and up onto the cliff top, very nearly overwhelming the Uninfected completely; a determined counter-attack was all that saved their hides. It’s a rare thing to see so many players repeatedly throwing themselves at each other like it was at the top of that cliff- it was awesome!
Stage 3: Kill or Cure
The final act of our little Halloween horror, found both teams fighting for possession of the only cure for the Plague; the Infected to destroy it, and the Uninfected to disperse it into the atmosphere and save human kind. It was a close run thing
Both Leaders pursued the secondary missions, meaning LOTS of directed air-strike style attacks flying about and opening up the field all over.
Tango’s Uninfected pushed hard up the centre field, using organised charges to gain ground and contest their objective, nearly winning the game early on but being pushed back a minute before the countdown expired by a nicely coordinated Infected counter strike; well done- Psycho. The Infected commando teams sneaking through the orchard was also a nice idea – there were some awesome firefights in those trees! Before the Uninfected could get back-doored, however, they used those mad charges to push the objective and defend it until the end of the countdown; Antidote dispersed and Humanity saved! Unlucky to all you Infected zombies!
A few shout outs due:
Scott “Tango” Bullock and Steve “Psycho” Bull - The Leaders for the day. I think you’ll agree that both of these fellas really got stuck in and contributed some really unique personalities to a cracking day. Thanks boys!
The Wretched- this group of brave/mildly unhinged souls played the roles of the Plague ridden zombies for the morning session. They took a lot of fire and also gave as good as they got in the name of spreading the Plague. Respect!
The Research Scientists – Another group of brave/mental souls that played the living objectives for the midday session. It was REALLY hectic at the top of the cliff and you’ve got to be made of stern stuff to fight from the front when YOU are the mission objective!
Liam “The Sacrificial Lamb”- Player of the day, and sporting a few impressive war wounds (check out the pics). Although EVERYONE played a blinder, Liam did it without a gun on more than one occasion, just so his mates could get the kills while he was getting mullered. And was still smiling at the end of it all- if that ain’t the spirit of paintball, what is?
Sean; aka “Freddy Krueger” – Best Dressed. Freddy Krueger. Playing ball like a good ‘un. Need I say more?
Pictures are up at:
http://s264.photobucket.com/albums/ii178/WarpedClub/Plague 2009/
Check 'em out. If anyone has any more, get them to us and we will get them posted up here too.
All in all, a game to remember and a good way to spend Halloween, methinks! Next stop is the Warped Christmas Bash! Info available soon...