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	Vounteers: Welcome to the Revolution
	Posted By: Mark Levin	Date: 10/4/01 7:12 p.m.
	Now begins the endgame... The Pfhor have nowhere to go and nothing to lose, so they pour onto the Marathon, ready to grab what they can, fighting off the newly freed S'pht at every turn. And you're still in the thick of it. This is a very intense level, with tons of powerful monsters and large-scale combat situations. This level is a mix of realistic and unrealistic elements. It is divided into logical segments, and really looks as though it was meant to be used. However, some truly nonsensical features ruin this appearance. The rising stairs near the beginning; there is no purpose for this, likewise for the recharger hidden in an unreachable (by humans) place. The eastern section of the level has a room with nothing but a huge honking lava pit in the middle of the floor, without even any safety equipment (most other lava is either equipped with a way to escape it, or not placed smack in the middle of the damn room). But enough complaining, the action and story are good :P I came into this level very low on health, so I first went to the north and up the rising stairs. Here is your first taste of combat with allies. Let the S'pht do damage to the monsters and occupy them for a few seconds before you enter, this will make it less likely that the monsters will pick you as a target. Watch out for the imfamous Ketchup bug coming from the tall elevator in this room, and don't forget to pick up the ammo at the opposite end of the ledge from the 3x recharger. The next few rooms are full of Troopers, Hunters, and Compilers. More interestingly, however, they are labeled, from west to east: Cargo A, Cargo C1, Cargo C2, and Cargo B. There are two switches that can lead to the end of the level, but as Hamish is so fond of pointing out, it is not necessary to hit both of them to win. They open doors into the last room, featuring some extra ammo, a very strange platform puzzle, and one of the best terminals in the game (IMO). Of course, no run of this level is complete without trying to complete the optional other half of the level. First, you must survive a gauntlet of Hunters and Troopers with the help of some S'pht. It's very easy to screw this up, since the S'pht have no qualms about a) jumping in front of you while you are running along or firing heavy artillery and b) shooting you in the back and knocking you off the ledge into the lava. And after all that, there's the final obstacle course up to the terminal. This is the second most complex secret in the game (after the Deprivation Chamber on Never Burn Money), and arguably the most difficult to reach: The player must perform some precision shooting and running while standing in burning lava, and then fight off powerful monsters from a narrow ledge while keeping enough health to survive the rocket-powered acrobatics needed to reach the terminal itself. And on top of all that, you only get one chance. Now isn't this fun :P The terminal, though, is quite a treat, yielding clues to Durandal's real purpose and Tycho's new power, as well as more Latin and the plan to escape the closure. You also get a TON of flamethrower and rocket ammo, unless you're on TC you'll probably end up leaving some behind as it's more than you can carry. One more gotcha on the way out: Make sure you jump off the correct side of the platform. Pick wrong and you're trapped. On to Try Again... On another note, I'd like to propose an explanation for the level's name that's been nagging at me for a while; I finally tracked it down just now. It's from the movie Under Seige, which has already been noted for its thematic similarities to Marathon. The terrorist leader is talking to the heads of the military over the radio, and during the exchange this dialogue is heard: Breaker: If this is about reliving the 60s, you can forget it, buddy. The movement is dead. Strannix: Yes, of course. Hence the name: movement. It moves a certain distance, then it stops. A revolution gets its name by always coming back around in your FACE. You tried to kill me you son of a b!tch... so welcome to the revolution!

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Replies:

	Vounteers: Welcome to the Revolution	Mark Levin	10/4/01 7:12 p.m.
	Re: Vounteers: Welcome to the Revolution	Hamish Sinclair	10/4/01 11:07 p.m.
	Re: Vounteers: Welcome to the Revolution	Sidoh	10/5/01 2:33 p.m.
	Miniscule bug	Callie21V	10/5/01 2:48 p.m.

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