: What is the single worst level you have ever played? Give an explenation of
: the lvl and if possible a link to download it. I'll post mine later.
OK, let me start with the original Marathon games and go from there. The first time I played M1, I would have probably said Pfhoraphobia - no pattern buffers! This level took me a l-o-n-g time to get through. Now I feel much more comfortable with it and can usually survive it, especially in M1A1 with its secret pattern buffer. I think that overall, for M1 and indeed for all three games I really hate Smells Like Napalm, Tastes Like Chicken the most. The wasps are just so annoying and there is so much backtracking - it's just not a fun level. The only saving grace is the Chicken Terminal if you can get to it. In M2, I'm not that crazy about God Will Sort the Dead. The Spoiler Guide suggests that you're not a real Marathon player if you don't like this level, but it really has no purpose. To kill the simulcrums, you pretty much end up killing everyting, so what have you accomplished? I could also do without Requium for a Cyborg - it's just too contrived. Can't really think of a bad level in Infinity, even though I prefer M2 overall.
For 3rd party maps, well, we've already discussed some of the most problematic maps in TI/TI2 and Evil, so there isn't much point to rehashing them here. I don't recall a bad level in Trojan off hand, but EMR has several that could have been better. Rubicon's worst level by far is Bump and Grind IMHO - there's a lot to hate about that level, but it has been completely revamped for Rubicon X and is now a pretty good map. Also in Rubicon, Sodding the Logs is hellatious, but the eye candy and fun factor make up for it. In other major scenarios, there are many, many bad maps. Ironically, Marathon RED doesn't really have any bad maps - they're just not that great and the scenario overall is too difficult.
I think if I had to pick out the one worst map of any scenario I like to play (perhaps a good way to put it), it would be As a Petal Nears the Water in Ben Potter's Marathon Fell. How about that - I praised him and trashed him in a matter of a few days. Don't get me wrong, Fell is one of my absolute favorite scenarios and I have played it several times now in spite of the presense of numerous bugs (Ben, you have the list - when can we expect Fell 3.0?). The problem with Petal, which is only the second level in the scenario, is that it's nearly unplayable, particularly on TC. This is a HUGE level and yet there is only one pattern buffer, and to get to it you have to brave an onslaught of monsters, including hunters, cyborgs and troopers with only dual magnums (if you find the 2nd magnum), a single alien weapon and some fusion ammo. You're supposed to first retrieve the AR from deep within a cave, but the heavy monster quotient to get there is so high that it's just too dangerous to go for it. Also, there is no time to read the instructions at the start of the level and it's generally too dangerous to go back and read it until much later. The sad thing is that this is really a neat level - epic in fact - it's just too frustrating to play in its current form. Just adding a pattern buffer and shield recharger in the cave system would make all the difference in the world. Ben - I know you're reading this and we've discussed this before - fix Petal and you'll acquire a much, much larger playership. And while we're at it, about Tombs . . .
