demagogue on 23/2/2006 at 20:59

---

That's true. For as fast and deep as DX pulls you into its story, it's almost surprising that that the actual *first* mission is a little lack-luster in that regard. Such a straightforward little mission.

But actually, there's a virtue to that (aside from its role as a glorified second training level). In a sense, the tediousness of it sets up the relative hum-drum of being a UNATCO agent chasing terrorists against which the real start of the story builds off of, and in that respect I think it worked well in favor of the game as a whole.

ZylonBane on 23/2/2006 at 21:53

---

If you do *everything* on that map, it's not so little at all.

In fact, I've argued in the past that the Liberty Island map is pretty remarkable, because it implements basically an entire RPG in microcosm. It starts with someone approaching you and giving you a quest to reach the dark wizard in his lair high atop Mount Liberty. You meet friendlies and hostiles and neutrals. There are shops. There are sidequests and hidden treasures. You can sneak or fight or hack your way through. And you can do all this nonlinearly, in any order you want.

Fragony on 25/2/2006 at 13:32

---

I didn't really care for the statue. I almost gave up on the game, thankfully my brother told me it gets better. And it did.

Jashin on 1/3/2006 at 05:05

---

Uh huh yeah, I used to have that problem too. Kong Kong is where the "enemy" of the story and the point of the game become ambiguous and confusing since it comes right after the last visit to hell's kitchen and the betrayal.

heywood on 3/3/2006 at 02:34

---

There is another visit to Hell's Kitchen right after Hong Kong. Even though nothing significant happens in that level I think it was important to include for immersion. You've spent so much time around New York in the first third of the game, it feels sort of like home. So that last visit to Hell's Kitchen provides a sense of closure, and is a good transition from the character development oriented first half of the game to the mission oriented second half of the game. Also, the way NPC attitudes and situations have changed in the short time you've been gone reinforce the feeling that the game world is dynamically changing around you.

My votes for worst levels are, in no particular order:

NSF airfield part 2 (the second part of the mission, after the mole people). Aside from the ending confrontation with Lebedev, the rest of this level is straight FPS boredom.

Naval shipyards, part 1, before getting on the freighter. I just felt this was a poorly designed level. I'm still trying to figure out the purpose of including the two sided hangar with the bots in storage on one side. What the heck are you supposed to be doing in there?

Area 51 bunker and sector 2. More straight FPS boredom. Sectors 3 and 4 were much better, but I wish we could have met Mac (or his corpse) and I really with we could have had the satisfaction of killing Page personally.