Wow! What a level! It would seem that the previous three levels were really just a warm-up. Now it's down to business as we settle into a level of difficulty that will not let up for the rest of the scenario.
When we last left off, we had been "asked" by the AI Shaki to help him reboot and to check on the status of the colony. As we finished Roamin' the Streets, he informed us that we were now effectively his slave - we had no choice in the matter, as our ship had been destroyed. The question is, by whom? In any case, our next mission is to try to restore the fusion generators for the colony and bring full power back on line. You teleport into a relatively safe, though cramped area with a PB and a terminal with the following message:
Very little of the colony ha$BS$b power now so we must loc$BA$bte the main power station and reacti$BV$bate the generators. Right now you must pin-point the location of the pow$BE$br plant. I have teleported you into its general vicinity so it should not take very long to find, but I should caution you, I believe there $BM$bay be aliens in this area.
May be aliens in the area? What an understatement. You are about to be subjected to ambush after ambush. Troopers are in abundance here, as are invisible compilers and, of course, fighters. We also get our fist look at the hunters, although for now we only see them firing on us from windows up high - there will be plenty of first-hand contact in future levels. Note that the major hunters are a real stand-out in PF - they are a vivid orange-red color. We'll also encounter one of our favorite critters from M1 - the wasp. Although limited to a small area on this level, future levels will include an abundance of these incredibly annoying pests.
Just like the last level, this is an exploration level - there is no clear objective - you justy need to visit all areas of the map and then return to your starting point. The initial building is, by the way, a three story structure filled with troopers and fighters and with a 2X recharger on the 2rd floor (1st for those parts of the world where you start counting with 0/Ground). You start out in the basement and must take an elevator to the 1st floor to gain access to the outside of the complex. You can also jump out of a 2nd floor window which you might want to do after recharging your shields. But not before reading a crucial terminal located on the first floor, chronicling the development of artificial intelligence on Earth. A small excerpt of this is as follows:
Darwin's first thought was recorded on 2503, March 10, 14:25 EST at the Boston Institute of Artificial Intelligence. The media quickly, but incorrectly, dubbed them "the first AIs." . . . Class IV AIs would grow to become even more popular and most governments would start programs to finance the development and application of these AIs. True Artificial Intelligence was created just two decades ago in 2544. . . Unlike the limited AIs of Class IV, the Class V, or AI proper, has the full capacity to feel and harness human emotions. The AI nearly identical to human thought, but has the advantages of electronic computers-being able to manipulate numbers and mathematical logic with great efficiency, as well as being able to wholly understand linguistics and abstract thought. Only five AIs have been successfully made to this date, and two reside in the heavily subsidized New Phoenix colony on the New Arizona moon in the Plyxcose system.
The New Phoenix colony has been equipped with four brand-new AIs, two Class IV and two Class V . . . Each AI has its own certain responsibility in the colony. For example, one is used for maintaining constant temperatures, operating airlocks and airpumps, and watering the botanical gardens- just to name a few of the unclassified tasks. . .We even have a defense AI . . .
I think that Matt and Andrew could use a little help with the writing on this terminal - there are quite a few grammatical errors and in places it's just poorly worded.
There are many interesting areas to visit on this level, including just exploring the streets. There is a door off to the east that looks very inviting but, alas, it doesn't open and there is nothing on the other side. The most important area to visit is to the south, accessed through a narrow passageway that is easily missed. Across from a pair of cooling towers is a building containing a lot of invisible compilers and wasps, along with a pattern buffer and a shield recharger. In the southwest area of the map is a corridor with an inaccessible area filled with monsters. It's nice eye candy, but there is no need to kill the monsters and there is no way to get through. Once the player finishes exploring, they may return to the starting point to be transported to the power plant proper.
