Boy, I hate this level. I'm not really sure why, but I really don’t like playing it. It's not that it's particularly boring or difficult, and it's certainly not that it lacks good visuals. In fact, this level really has most of the things I like in a level. The action is about right, there are interesting places to explore and there are superb visuals. Maybe it's the constant going up and down the elevator, or the fact that there is such a long stretch from the one PB on this level to the first PB on War of the Artificial Egos - actually, that's probably a good part of it - I kept going up that elevator over and over, going through that annoying 4 part door and going through The Landing and the first part of War so many times that I'm kind of sick of it. Matt - how about a save term at the start of War. I'll have a lot more to say about War in my next post, as it has its own issues.
Package Delivery and The Landing are two separate levels in much the same manner that Maglev Magnum and Public Transit were. Not much happens on The Landing, and there are no terminals or pattern buffers. In Package Delivery, we start out in the parking garage of the main hanger where the PSS Kinetic is about to land. The Flash Fire device is ready to go and we just need to get to the roof deck. The only thing standing in our way are a few major ambushes - that's all. As you'd expect in a parking garage, there are pillars everywhere that get in your way. There is also the car you came in, which the Pfhor will attack and that will at some point explode, taking you with it if you're in the area. Matt, shouldn't there be other cars here. I would have thought that colonists would have come here in droves trying to escape. Also down here are a com terminal from Shaki, a 1X shield recharger and the one PB on the level. There is an isolated switch down here as well, but I'm not sure what it does. The lone exit from the garage is an elevator in the central core. A switch next to it can be used to activate the elevator if it isn't already on the ground floor, which it should be. Once inside, switches next to each door will activate the platform, one floor at a time. The doors move around the elevator shaft in a counter-clockwise direction, up from the ground. The player need not visit the first floor up from ground - there is some ammo there, but a lot of monsters as well. I did, however, manage to take them all out with fists only (Sumner style), so for me it was a net gain. Unfortunately, the player may not have a choice to skip the first floor, as the monsters seem to be activated once the player steps into the elevator, if I'm not mistaken. BTW, Matt, there is no platform switch on the outside of the first floor door. If a monster inside the elevator should activate the switch from the inside, the player could potentially be trapped.
The door to the second floor up from ground does not open (nope, the switch on ground doesn't open it either). The third floor contains multiple layers of monsters, but some of the coolest graphics in the scenario. Out the window is a huge complex - the level of detail for an area that the player can never visit is astounding. Great job! Another terminal from Shaki tells the player how to get to the roof. The player simply goes down a long corridor, goes up an elevator and activates a series of 4 switches located down narrow corridors. These switches activate a series of 4 doors that open slowly and sequentially. Since some doors close as others open, the player needs to move forward as each door opens. Finally, they can run down a long corridor, flip a switch on the left and enter a teleporter. But wait, nothing happens. There is a cleverly concealed switch on the back wall of the teleporter. Activate it and the player is taken to The Landing.
On The Landing, the player need only exterminate all the Pfhor on the roof while the PSS Kinetic landing craft descends. There is nothing significant about this area - just a lot of monsters to kill around narrow outside ledges. Fortunately, the player can't fall off, although it would be more challenging if they could. When all the Pfhor are dead and the Kinetic has landed, the player need only return to the inside area to be teleported to the next level. But you'll be back here, again and again, as the start of the next level is hell. More on that tomorrow.
