/-/S'pht-Translator-Active/-/ |
SoNK Volunteers: Hellraiser | ||
Posted By: Mark Levin | Date: 1/14/04 5:44 p.m. | |
The last level of the scenario, and it's a bit of a mixed bag. It's got some great areas and some great ideas, but it makes too many small mistakes and forces you to retrace your steps far too much. Unlike virtually all other spaceship levels, this one actually resembles the exterior of the spaceship (as seen in terminals and chapter screens). It's shaped is mostly the right way (except for some protruberances that become more visible later in the level), and has the same curvy design as the 3D model. However, this level has far too many small yet annoying quirks that damage the experience of playing it. The squadron of Bobs tends to clump up in the starting hallway, making going in and out of the assault raft difficult (until, of course, you kill them). Most of the pattern buffers and shield chargers on the ship can and will be turned off when you least expect it. There's a recharger near the end of the level that not only triggers an ambush but instantly shuts down as you approach it. There are a few "bad" switches that don't seem to be necessary and just set off ambushes. And there's the bridge. I generally dislike "forbidden" areas since there's no good way to communicate to the player that he's about to enter one, leaving the player to declare "I'm not good enough for this" and go exploring somewhere else. While I'm not at all surprised that FM did this, I did manage to beat the bridge (using the keyboard, too). I thought I'd be clever and turn off the power to the gun turrets before reading the terminal in there, but turning off the power shuts down the terminals too. And, of course, there's the running around. There are 8 critical places to visit, and getting between any 2 of them usually involves using the main elevator in the southeast. This is the main reason the level takes so long to beat: running all over the ship trying to get back to an unlocked door. Aside from that, the combat is usually pretty fun (if difficult). There are quite a lot of juggernauts, but also a ton of rockets in a secret in one of the storage bays. I'm playing with the original Marathon 2 Pfhor textures, arguably the worst official texture set in all 3 of the games, but the level still looked pretty good, through its use of lighting and polygons. In the end, some sort of spacial anomaly appears and pulls the ship in. Roll on Marathon EVIL... |
|
Replies: |
SoNK Volunteers: Hellraiser | Mark Levin | 1/14/04 5:44 p.m. | |
Re: SoNK Volunteers: Hellraiser | Steve Levinson | 1/14/04 6:59 p.m. | |
Re: SoNK Volunteers: Hellraiser | Mark Levin | 1/14/04 8:20 p.m. | |
Re: SoNK Volunteers: Hellraiser | Todd | 1/14/04 10:22 p.m. | |
Re: SoNK Volunteers: Hellraiser | Keith Palmer | 1/15/04 3:19 p.m. |
|
Problems? Suggestions? Comments? Email maintainer@bungie.org Marathon's Story Forum is maintained with WebBBS 5.12. |