First we were Roman the streets, now we're visiting the Roman baths on a moon in the Roman stars system. How cute. The nature of the conflict is obvious - the Doctor has shut down some drainage pumps so as to flood a part of the colony, hoping to attract a some of the native life forms for his experiments, and Shaki, trying to perhaps to preserve some of his hardware as we'll later learn, wants to restore the pumps to normal operation. This time we're working for Shaki, but we'll be back here in a couple of levels, in Dèjá Vu, working for Mece, attempting to permanently shut the pumps down.
I’m taking the liberty of covering these two nearly identical levels in one post, even though there is an intervening level between the two. I’m taking this rather unconventional approach because there would be so little to say about Dèjá Vu otherwise, and there is a lot I want to say about the intervening level, Who is Mary Rose. These are not among my favorite levels in the scenario, but I can't really put a finger on just what it is about them that I find annoying. There is one major reason for Roman Baths, as we'll get to shortly, but even Dèjá Vu isn't all that much fun, and I'm not sure why. The missions are fairly straight-forward and the level of action is about right. Oh well . . .
The main part of both levels involves activating pumps in three large circular rooms, in the case of Roman Baths, and shutting them down in Dèjá Vu. A small alcove off of each room contains the switches needed - to the left is an administrative switch that must be flipped first, followed by 2 switches to the right. Flipping all three opens the exit from the room in all but the final case. Oh, and did I mention that each room and alcove has its own unique set of monsters to play with? The exit from each room leads via a long corridor to an overlook of the next pumping room. The first corridor includes a pattern buffer, and the entrance to the last corridor includes a 1X shield recharger. That final exit does not open automatically - there is a switch high up on a wall that needs to be shot, but that still doesn't work uniformly, leading me to suspect that that switch does something else, perhaps opening the exit to the basement, and that there is a poly crossing responsible for opening the exit. John, do you have more info on this?
After starting up all pumps in Roman Baths, you will return to the starting room and find a new corridor with an elevator down to the basement level of the pumping station. Now things really get convoluted. There are many alcoves down here with switches that open windows into water tanks. It's all nice eye candy, but totally unrelated to the mission objective. Upon stepping off the elevator, the switch directly in front of the player controls that very elevator - ignore it for now. Turning around to the right, there is a switch that will lower a different elevator that leads to the level exit. This is the only switch that needs to be flipped. Now heading around to the left (or the right from that switch), the player will see the elevator to the exit but, wait you're taking enemy fire and will probably need to recharge your shields and save your game. Head past that elevator to the right and you'll eventually come to a PB. Head to the left and you'll come to a 2X shield recharger. Go up the elevator and flip a switch directly ahead, then retreat a bit and head down the other corridor and into a very strange room. There may not be platforms to raise and lower, but does Colony Ship come to mind? This room contains a number of Pfhor as well as a couple of those mud monsters we heard about a while back. As monsters go, these sprites really suck, but keep in mind that these are supposed to be amorphous beings that bullets go right through. These mud monsters seem to fire wasp spit from their knees. The only weapon in your arsenal that seems to work is the SPNKR, but the Pfhor weapons do seem to be very effective and with luck, the player can incite the Pfhor to do their dirty work form them. After the room has been cleared - and you really need to clear it to succeed at the next task - there is a series of platforms that must be ascended to reach the exit terminal, high above. Speed is critical - you have to run, but if you overshoot, you will have to go back and start over. The final platform is one that raises and lowers, so you need to carefully and gently jump down onto it to be carried to the top. Adept as I am at this sort of thing, I find it frustrating as hell.
Fortunately, Déjá Vu lacks the basement area and the platform jump of Roman Baths, but it has its own frustrations. The monsters are different in the pump rooms, and the exit from the 3rd room is blocked - the player needs to take a detour outside, past a mud monster to flip a switch that raises a walkway leading to teleporter. The teleporter takes the player to a separate portion of the level without PBs or shield rechargers, but without monsters either. What would appear to be an exit teleporter is too narrow to enter, leading many players to think that they are trapped. There is a way out, however, but it requires careful timing. Mece wants us to permanently deactivate the pumping station by flipping a master switch. To get to it, you need to jump down into a dark room with 2 visible switches and a third that will be revealed by crossing the appropriate poly. Once all 3 are visible, stand on what appears to be a platform in the center of the floor, fire a shot at the previously hidden switch, then one at the switch to the right of the room exit and finally at the switch to the left of the room exit, which will raise the platform, granting a way out. Now run for your life around the corner to a cool wrap-around window into a large dark area. If your timing is right, the upper segment of the center of the window will be open, permitting you to pass through. The switch you need to hit is around the corner to the right. You can then exit the level by heading back to Mece's instruction terminal.
Sorry again to cover two levels that aren’t in succession, but we'll cover the intervening level, which is really pivotal, in the next post.
