At last we hear of the mysterious Bernhard Strauss, and the story again focuses on Durandal's past. I find it interesting that Durandal demands to know if Strauss is dead rather than alive. Does this mean that Strauss dead is the outcome Durandal is hoping for?
This level is much darker than I remember it being; or maybe it's jsut my monitor. The general plan is that of a huge obstacle course, filled with staged encounters. But there are some parts of the level that hint that it was more detailed, once. In the initial room, with 4 pillars, there is a pattern buffer in an alcove high above the floor. Why? Moving along, we find what appears to be an elevator to a bridge that can get us into the second pattern buffer room without using the teleporter, but there's no way to raise it.
One of Marathon's more peculiar puzzles is presented to you upon reaching the top of the stairs just past the second pattern buffer. You must shoot the switch to open a half-open door down a nearby hallway. If you fail to open the door, trying to run down the hall will teleport you back to the previous room. You can also pick up the SPNKR here, if you missed it on Neither High Nor Low. Later on in the level, the almighty Tozt-7 flamethrower is finally available. Too bad you get it after you've wasted every enemy on the map, except the occasional Wasp. And the Bobs. ;)
There are quite a lot of pattern buffers on this level: 5, one of which is hidden. This and the odd dead ends lead me to believe that this level used to be somewhat bigger (and harder), and was toned down for the final game.
