My game seems to freeze up at the 9b battle in VC, the one where you're supposed to stop the APC with the kidnapped princess in it. Every mission has been bug free thus far and the disc looks to be in perfect condition (allthough I did buy it pre-played at Gamestop) but this mission glitches and I get stuck looking at "enemy moving".

The mission starts and the cutscenes roll over just fine, the enemy moves the APC and I move my folks my first round no problem. But then after the enemy starts its second round and tries to move one of its infantry units the game simply freezes, the music starts hickuping and the "enemy moving" is perpetually flashing in the left corner and nothing happens. The music hickups lend me the belief that this is indeed the disc, even though it looks unscathed but has anyone else experienced this? Could it be the latest firmware update (3.21) that I installed a day before sitting down with this game again?

For the record; I have not played through it before and this is my first time at this chapter (I didn't play my PS3 for three months... ).

Please help! Its annoying the living hell out of me!

It sounds like it may just be the disc, to my knowledge there were no mass problems with VC. The fact that it was pre played would seem to support it. It could just be a subtle scratch in the right place. Sorry bud, but don't let that discourage you, you must finish! How are you likin' it?

That's why! :P j/k    

Try moving your guys differently. Move one of them so that he can see the APC, that way, if it moves or soldiers move around it, you will see it and maybe that way it won't freeze. The music hickup is indicative of a program freeze i think. Might be 3.21 related...I don't know, but I don't think so.

I tried moving some scouts up to see the action, killed a couple of enemies that were close but it didn't help, I'm thinking maybe I should position two scouts near to where the one enemy that causes the freeze is standing and try to take him down before he moves but I'm not sure if that will make it hard to finish the mission (I imagine I need some heavy hitters to take down resistance, scouts aren't exactly strong...).

NYANKS; I absolutely love the game, its unique and fresh both in appearance and gameplay. I don't like the storytelling and dialogue much though, too Anime-esque for me and slow moving but the battles are simply brilliant! I bought the game along with all the others I own last fall/winter but haven't really gotten around to playing until now.

Kinda sucks if its the disc that's the problem, I have no receipt for it, I save my receipts for three months at a time so I've thrown this one out by now.

did you install it to the HDD? Maybe that installed improperly and is causing problems. You could try reinstalling that.

If it's a disc with an error, a lot of companies will do a swap program. Call up Sega and see if they can offer you a cheap replacement. In the US it will typically cost you $5-10 for a replacement disc and you just have to send the money and the disc back to the company.

Or, if you feel like being a jerk to the next guy who buys it, there is the less honest way. Find a company with a stupid return policy (like EBGames) where you can buy a used game and return it no questions asked in the 1st week.

Look at a walkthrough or something.
I've read it's possible to finish this mission in the first round.