It is great to see one of the
old school mappers of both Quake and Quake2
still releasing levels. This is part three of
Steve's Quake2 series. We've already seen Operation
Scorched Earth 1 that contained three main levels,
followed 8 months ago by a very nice set of
three levels, and now here are three more to
conclude the series. Your mission is to escape
the Strogg spaceship you are on and destroy
it as you go. Of course, there are many objectives
you need to complete along the way, and as you
would expect after parts 1 & 2, completing
each objective can often be rather tricky. Not
because Steve has involved small puzzles for
you to solve, but simply because you don't know
what or where to go next! An example would be
at one point you activate some switches and
your next objective is to find some Turonign
Pipes (?) which will lead you to some control
room. After much wandering about I eventually
figured out on the other side of the level in
one of the many (millions it seemed) of air
shafts you had already been in, a ladder had
appeared! It also didn't help when there are
many doors you'll pass which don't open till
later where you can return to that area. That
is good at times, making it feel less linear
and giving you the opportunity to gather items
you may have left earlier. But it doesn't help
when you've got objectives to complete and are
not sure which way to go and what new doors
can now be opened. But if your patient, and
enjoyed this aspect of the previous levels then
you'll have no problem in part 3.
The design from the first two parts is carried
on into part 3 - with lava and crates playing
a big role. Also making in appearance are jail
cells, missiles, a huge replicating machine
and other sorts of Strogg montrosities. It is
classic base Quake2 design, with good detailing
and texturing.
Gameplay was very tough, with
just enough health. For the first level, unless
you carry over all your items from the last
adventure, you'll have a tough time and will
need to conserve. It wasn't until the second
and third levels that I found the Machinegun
and Shotgun! But it starts to get better over
the second half of the game and is very fun.
The third level was the biggest and kept me
busy for far longer than the other levels. But
overall it seemed as if I was playing these
three levels for hours battling through the
Strogg. In the end, despite no proper final
battle, it was very satisfying to finish and
I look forward to the next part which will take
place on Earth in Half-Life.
