The NME

"NME. Nasty Metallic Enforcer. A huge robot guard constructed as the last guard of El Oscuro's lair. Oh so deadly." The NME (Nasty Metallic Enforcer) is the third boss of Rise of the Triad. It is fought in the final level of Episode 3, Know Thine NME.

Synopsis
As the name states, the NME is basically one big death machine. With it's wheels it can move at a very fast speed. It can launch explosive discs, missiles which are both drunken and heat-seeking, and can also slice the player up if they get too close. As it takes damage, the NME will start to loose its parts, sort of making it appear to shrink. When enough damage is dealt, it will also spew fireballs at its opponent. The NME is by far the most difficult boss in the game, even more so than El Oscuro himself (especially since it's max HP is higher than Oscuros max HP).

Strategy
You'll find the NME in the large southern room of the map, in the lower left area behind glass. Before you attempt to get its attention, it is recommended to take out all the Patrol Robots in the room.

Cover is absolutely necessary when fighting this thing - trying to dodge its rockets out in the open will get you annihilated in no time. The NME normally wanders around aimlessly, but if it's seen you recently, it will come after you with crazy speed. Once it's been alerted like this, go to one of the pillars, hide around a corner and wait for it. Once it pops out, shoot it once with a rocket launcher and immediately run away to the other corner, then rinse and repeat as many times as necessary. If you're even a hair too slow, it can fire a heat-seeking missile around the corner, which is extremely hard to dodge. You probably want to shoot before you even see it. Eventually its "alert phase" will end, and it will go back to wandering around until it sees you again. Enemies are shown on the map, so check that frequently if you don't know where it is.

Once it's down to low health, it will also shoot swarms of fireballs. This attack doesn't change the strategy at all, but it does come out in a split second, so twitch reflexes are a must.

It can be very risky, but if you can grab the key from the area where the NME started, you can use it to access the two other locked doors and stock up on better weapons and health (be careful of the Ballistikrafts inside). Keep this process up, save often (preferably after every successful hit), and it will eventually go down in a massive explosion.

Notes & Trivia

 * If you're able to somehow get a close look at the back of the NME, you'll notice a Texas license plate that reads SPR-AY. This was the official nickname of the NME.