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Re: Evil Volunteers - All dressed up, no place to
Posted By: Mark LevinDate: 1/24/04 8:38 a.m.

In Response To: Evil Volunteers - All dressed up, no place to go (Steve Levinson)

: This is a sprawling and
: complex level designed by Colin James

Indeed, at 1017 polygons this level is nearly the size of the previous 3 levels combined (1106). It covers most of the map space, and has a huge variety of areas: Outdoor canyons, machinery rooms, lava pools, dark passageways, and more. There are several tasks to perform, but they are fairly linear (aside from a bit of backtracking through dark passages). In most cases what's to be done is obvious, but the first time I ever played this level, I somehow managed to grab the second chip without falling down the shaft beneath it, and wandered around the outdoor area for a few minutes searching for additional doors. Speaking of which, some of the tricks on this level are a bit irritating. The 2x recharger in the first set of dark halls is deactivated when the circuits near it are smashed, so be sure to use it before you do so. At one point, you encounter 3 hallways to choose from: One of them contains a Devlin, one a Devlin *and* a teleporter which sends you a good ways back through the hall, and one contains a Devlin and the real path to the rest of the level. There's a room on the way to the end which has a pattern buffer that can be fired upon by several (unkillable) gun turrets. These problems don't ruin the level by any means, but you have to stay on your toes.

: There are also several
: secret areas with nice stashes of ammo for the player with an interest in
: exploration - my kind of level.

There are two other things to note about the ammunition on this level. First, at one point you pick up a pile of ammo including a "Nuke Packet". You won't be able to use this (it will be confiscated in a rebellion level before you pick up the nuke launcher itself), but it's a tantalizing hint of things to come. Secondly, any fusion grenades you had left over from the previous level have been magically transmogrified into normal grenades while still inside your gun. There's really no way around this (short of letting the player use fusion grenades for the next few levels, or making this level rebellion and giving you enough items at the start to "reset" your ammo and hope the player doesn't notice), and it doesn't affect the game, but it's amusing to notice.

Another thing to notice about Evil's monsters is that bullets now have a "flyby" sound, and I believe the Trooper grenades have their flyby sound returned (it was present in M1 but removed for some reason in M2 and MI).

: There is an area where the player is
: besieged by devlins. Fortunately, these are not restricted in their
: movements and can be coaxed one at a time up the elevator and into the
: room with the turrets, which will finish them off nicely. You can also
: coax the devlins to attack each other, and you can even practice fisting
: them - they are really no more difficult to take down than cyborgs - you
: just need to keep moving around them while you fist them - it takes a
: while, but they will ultimately succumb to your punches.

It's also possible to beat the last room, and the 12 switches it contains, without killing the Devlins, at least on Normal. There's enough room to dodge around and whack the switches as you pass.

: In the end,
: however, the story descends into the ridiculous.

I didn't think it was so ridiculous, given that Dire's irrational behavior will be explained on the next level. Acting in a hostile manner without justification merely makes him... evil :P

And it's hardly the worst problem with Evil's story...

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Pre-2004 Posts

Replies:

Evil Volunteers - All dressed up, no place to goSteve Levinson 1/24/04 7:24 a.m.
     Re: Evil Volunteers - All dressed up, no place toMark Levin 1/24/04 8:38 a.m.
           Re: Evil Volunteers - All dressed up, no place toDr. John Sumner 1/25/04 3:40 a.m.
     Re: Evil Volunteers - All dressed up, no place toKeith Palmer 1/24/04 12:17 p.m.
           Re: Evil Volunteers - All dressed up, no place toAdam Ashwell 1/24/04 1:21 p.m.
                 Re: Evil Volunteers - All dressed up, no place toSteve Levinson 1/24/04 9:57 p.m.
                 Re: Evil Volunteers - All dressed up, no place toBalzac 1/25/04 12:12 p.m.
     Re: Evil Volunteers - ***Mature Content***Wejam The Carter 1/24/04 5:16 p.m.
           Re: Evil Volunteers - ***Mature Content***James Smith 1/24/04 6:02 p.m.
           Re: Evil Volunteers - ***Mature Content***Mark Levin 1/24/04 9:16 p.m.
                 Re: Evil Volunteers - ***Mature Content***Adam Ashwell 1/25/04 4:47 a.m.
                       Re: Evil Volunteers - ***Mature Content***thermoplyae 1/25/04 5:39 a.m.
           Re: Evil Volunteers - ***Mature Content***Steve Levinson 1/24/04 10:00 p.m.
                 Re: Evil Volunteers - ***Mature Content***Elliott 1/24/04 10:32 p.m.
                       Re: Evil Volunteers - ***Mature Content***Steve Levinson 1/25/04 6:56 a.m.
                             Sponsored by Kenneth Williams ;) *NM*zudo 1/25/04 9:40 a.m.
                             Re: Evil Volunteers - ***Mature Content***Wejam The Carter 1/25/04 2:47 p.m.
                                   Re: Evil Volunteers - ***Mature Content***Bob-B-Q 1/25/04 3:40 p.m.
                                         Re: Evil Volunteers - ***Mature Content***Wejam The Carter 1/25/04 5:11 p.m.
                                               Re: Evil Volunteers - ***Mature Content***D-M.A. 1/26/04 12:58 a.m.
                                                     Re: Evil Volunteers - ***Mature Content***Wejam The Carter 1/26/04 6:15 a.m.
                                                     There you go bringing ASS into it again... no msg *NM*Andrew "Document" Nagy 1/27/04 2:10 p.m.
           Perversity lies in the eye of the beholder =) *NM*Vid Boi 1/25/04 12:10 p.m.
     Re: Evil Volunteers - All dressed up, no place to Tasnu Arakun 1/25/04 3:24 a.m.

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