: Well, the other problem that I had was that Rubicon had some pretty damn
: irritating save/recharger placement. In my opinion, in non-linear levels
: (such as pretty much every Rubicon level ever), saving and healing should
: be fairly easily accessed by nearly any part of the level, and having
: several of them isn't such a bad idea. Saves being far away, or down a
: distant hallway, or otherwise frustrating to reach, isn't going to prevent
: me from using them when I need them; it's just going to piss me off. And
: Rubicon's realistic, dragging, sprawling, confusing architecture, which
: looks so fantastic the first time, is all kinds of frustrating the fifth
: time through because one of those fucking asshole Enforcers is lurking
: behind yet another corner.
At the same time, it takes the challenge out of a level if a pattern buffer or recharger is readily available around the next bend. There's no sense of urgency or tension because you don't feel that you're in any danger, and creating that kind of emotion is I think important if you're trying to imbue a palpable atmosphere into a level. Still, I understand that not all people like that in levels.
Generally though, I thought recharrger/PB placement was fair - I can remember 2x and 3x rechargers and power ups were present when the situation really called for them, like fighting the AMDDs. If there's one scenario which really suffered from insufficient save/recharger points, it would be RED.
Still, I agree with some of the earlier points you make. I ended up totally hating Frog Blasting/Blasting Frogs because for the longest time I was stuck not knowing where to go next - I ended up having to consult the old spoiler guide for help. And then there was Beg, Borrow and Steal which reminded me a lot of how I'd often I'd get lost in Come and Take Your Medicine.
