Shades of Pfhor Your Eyes Only - We are sent to explore what no human eyes have seen before. This trio of levels finally gives us a taste of what PF is really all about, and it has damn little to do with an attack by aliens on a human colony. The impenetrable atmosphere of the planet is about to reveal its secrets - at least some of them for now. We're also about to get a taste of the true talents of Matt and Andrew Schenk. No longer can we see PF as a new story and a new map that uses the M1 engine and all of Bungie's artwork. No longer are we looking at simple clut reassignments and tweaks - these textures and sprites are all new, they are very extensive and exceptionally well done - they're awesome. It's sometimes hard to avoid stopping and just gawking, but there's no time for that now - you start out in vacuum.
Actually saying that Wha?? is in vacuum is a bit of a misnomer. There clearly is an atmosphere around you, but the sky is much cloudier and somewhat darker than anything you saw on New Arizona. Personally, I think the sky should be even darker, but that's just my opinion. The clouds are thick and the atmosphere is toxic, so you have only your oxygen tank to sustain you. We start out in Wha?? in the aliens' landing zone, but there are no aliens to be seen here, and we won't encounter the invading aliens on the planet's surface for several levels to come. Although Wha?? is devoid of monsters, we're in a race against the clock, trying to find our way through a maze before we run out of O2. There is an interconnected series of caves that we must navigate, but there is only one correct path. The simplest approach when faced with a choice is to always take the path to the right, with one exception - at one point the player has a choice of cave openings - at that point, take the left one - the right one is a dead end. The trickiest aspect of Wha?? is that there are a couple of places where the player must jump up to a seemingly unreachable rock and then leap across a chasm. The trick is to find the right series of steps to run up. Eventually, the player comes to a dark chasm - there's not place else to go - and an alien door of a design we've never seen before.
In Persistence of Memory, we start out in a narrow passageway. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a continuation of the entrance we just passed through or a place we teleported to, but the sky here is very different as we'll discuss in a moment. As you move forward, look behind you as you pass an alcove on the right - that magenta panel that looks like a circuit is actually an O2 panel - the last you'll see before returning to New Phoenix. Suck on it deeply, as you're still in a toxic atmosphere. Before you leap out the window, take a look (briefly) at the scene before you. The sky here is very dark - almost black and laced with brilliant red streaks. Straight ahead is a fascinating structure - some sort of an alien mini Stone Henge with rocks balanced on pedestals on top of a mesa. This is really just beautiful. Feel free to top off your O2 before jumping down. The path from here is pretty straight forward. There is one point when you're likely to think you're at the end, only to pass through a door to another outdoor canyon. Eventually you'll reach the entrance to a major building. A panel straight ahead turns out to be a 3X shield recharger - not that you should need it, but there are some hazards on the next level and no rechargers to be found. Upon descending into the building, you cannot help but be awed by the beauty inside. There is a shimmering green slime river with a bridge across it. A series of beasts is arrayed before you - guardians I suppose. Click on the door in front of you to open the airlock that leads to the next level. BTW, Matt, the beasts are indeed coded as a Hulk 2 - it's no wonder they replace the regular hulks on TC - you need to code them using a different monster slot. Also, Pfhorte tells me there are errors in this map - what gives?
Villa Torlonia is the real meat of the trio and it makes full use of the alien textures. It is an immense place with lots to explore. There is also a new kind of monster here - apparently ghosts of the previous inhabitants - but they are with only a couple of exceptions off in recessed corners where they are pretty harmless unless bumped into. If you do run into a ghost, it will come after you and slowly nibble away at your shields, eventually killing you. They are nearly impossible to kill, so you'd best avoid them. Except for the ghosts, there is little source of danger other than falling into the green slime. One thing I'm curious about, however, is that there are monster indicators in the motion sensor, yet I can never find them even when I seem to be right on top of them. I can't find anything in Pfhorte, either. Matt?
There are 3 places that must be visited in order to leave the level, each of which triggers 1 of 3 doors to the exit teleporter. After passing through the air lock, the player finds themselves on a narrow ledge with a choice of two different directions they can go. Directly across is what turns out to be a pattern buffer, reached by way of a triple jump across 2 pillars, but the 1st pillar will recede once you leave it behind, blocking further access via this route. Taking the set of pillars to the right instead brings the player to one of their destinations, but this is easily left for later, when they'll pass by there anyway. Heading around a narrow ledge from the PB, the player first comes to an opening that leads to a spacious room with a door that won't open - this will eventually be our exit. Next the player comes to another set of pillars. There is an opening across the way and to the left, which is our first destination. Leap across the pillars to that opening and walk along the narrow ledge, over the slime pool, until you reach what would appear to be and is a switch. Flip it and return. Now there is a very tempting opening that looks like it should provide a shortcut back, but it's a trap - there is a ghost in there. Returning to the original entrance, there is no way leap back the way you came. Since you will eventually have to visit the floor (hopefully deliberately), now is as good a time as any. Jump down and head to the right, but watch out for a lone ghost that is waiting in a corner.
When you come to an opening on the right, head in and gawk at the beautiful slime-filled room in front of you. Walk across the narrow catwalk and jump across to a walkway that leads to a series of pillars to jump across, but this is a trap - the 3rd one will lower as soon as you set foot on the second one. There is no way to proceed other than to jump down into the slime and head to the passage out of it on the right. Take a couple of elevators up and flip 3 switches that will activate the pillars and some ledges back in the slime room. You'll also be opening a door to the exit. There is a new ledge moving up and down out of the slime. The trick is to hang over this ledge when it is below you and let it catch you on the way up. You can then leap across when it's at its full height, but do so quickly or you'll end up in the slime.
Finally, continue around the main hall to the right until you come to a large door. Step through it and it will close behind you. The door at the other end of this great hall is locked. Be patient - the entry door will eventually open and, after an additional delay, a side door off this corridor will open also. The black passageway revealed is filled with ghosts in corners and small alcoves - stay away from the walls and you'll never see them. Ride a couple of pillars up and you'll be back to the top of the pillars - straight ahead and off to the left across a few pillars is the final destination - a room with a single beast in a great hall. The switch under the beast raises and lowers the platform that brought you down here - you shouldn't need to flip it. Head back across the pillars and veer to the left and you can then do some more pillar hopping to get back to the ledge with the PB - use it, as the opening of the next level is difficult - then head to the exit room - the door to the exit teleporter is now open - jump in.
