: The second half of the Magrathea interlude is summed up in one word:
: "cramped". The level consists mostly of narrow corridors,
: usually less than 2 WU in diameter, where monsters snipe at you from a
: distance, and smallish rooms broken up by pillars and guarded by
: Compilers. This level is significantly more difficult than Magrathea was,
: mostly because of the troopers, the lack of room to dodge them, and the
: fact that there's only 2x health available (and not until you get quite a
: ways into the level).
Yes, this level was quite cramped in places. But there were other times where I didn't notice how narrow the corridors were. Siegried did a good job of making the map cramped while not being irritatingly so. This level is still devilishly hard at times.
: Your mission is to shoot out 4 circuits in the central chamber and hit a
: switch to the north, then high-tail it out of there as the facility fills
: with lava. The first objective is much easier than it could have been
: because all the circuits can be reached pretty quickly, removing the need
: to explore a dangerous set of trooper-filled passages later on that
: claimed my life more than once. One you complete the second objective, the
: lower floors of the facility will fill with lava and a set of doors will
: open which allows complete access to all the rooms on the upper floor. It
: also opens a final door in the south that lets you fight a super Trooper
: for the ending terminal.
That super trooper nailed me with a grenade as soon as I opened the door. It took me several tries to get there with enough health to survive that. I thought that the ending room was a bit bland, but that's forgivable.
: The terminals on this level have a few nice touches, such as your discovery
: of the place where the Pfhor hacked the facility's drones to make them
: hate you, and the way they all turn to static when the lava pours in. But,
: overall, I can't really think of much to say about this level one way or
: the other, and I was glad to put it behind me. The first half of Evil is
: over, and we're about to see some major changes in scenery and gameplay.
Yes, there is a very definite change in gameplay. I started playing We Be Ground Pounders, and it's quite a different experience that some of the other maps.
