Sometimes a game is made great by its killer missions and sometimes even an unspectacular game can have that one great mission, that totally immersive level that really makes you feel that you are there, and makes you want to go back. What are the great missions, maps or levels from games that you still remember or replay?
Fort Frolic (Bioshock)
Sander Cohen is one of the more memorable villains I’ve encountered, and this was his lunatic playground. Varied gameplay with considerable versatility using weapons, traps and plasmids, all against a glorious art-deco backdrop amid exquisite insanity. It contains several gaming moments I cannot forget and was developed by the same guy responsible for producing the legendary The Cradle, from Thief: Deadly Shadows. One of those stand-out levels that clearly a lot of thought went into.
Cliffhanger (COD: Modern Warfare 2)
COD may have lost its cool but the things I loved about some of MW1’s SAS missions were all here and in some style. A memorable opening with a nod to the past, my favourite setting: snow, stealth action and snowmobiling down a mountain firing a submachine gun chased by too many enemies before a thrilling ending, great fun. I could have picked several missions from MW1 but this is the one I replay the most. Personal gaming joy.
Surface Tension (Half-life)
My favourite level from my favourite game. After collecting an arsenal of explosive and experimental weapons, I finally got to use them all up in bombastic glory against special forces and aliens alike, blasting my way through some of the more open and outdoors maps in the best game ever. Having driven a tank in real life I would have liked to be able to drive some of the tanks in Surface Tension, which was not possible, but what I did do was even cooler: blowing those tanks up. Again and again. The atmosphere, the storytelling, the action, the music and as always, the pacing, makes Half-life so enjoyable and this was, for me, arguably the highest of many highlights.
Fort Frolic (Bioshock)
Sander Cohen is one of the more memorable villains I’ve encountered, and this was his lunatic playground. Varied gameplay with considerable versatility using weapons, traps and plasmids, all against a glorious art-deco backdrop amid exquisite insanity. It contains several gaming moments I cannot forget and was developed by the same guy responsible for producing the legendary The Cradle, from Thief: Deadly Shadows. One of those stand-out levels that clearly a lot of thought went into.
Cliffhanger (COD: Modern Warfare 2)
COD may have lost its cool but the things I loved about some of MW1’s SAS missions were all here and in some style. A memorable opening with a nod to the past, my favourite setting: snow, stealth action and snowmobiling down a mountain firing a submachine gun chased by too many enemies before a thrilling ending, great fun. I could have picked several missions from MW1 but this is the one I replay the most. Personal gaming joy.
Surface Tension (Half-life)
My favourite level from my favourite game. After collecting an arsenal of explosive and experimental weapons, I finally got to use them all up in bombastic glory against special forces and aliens alike, blasting my way through some of the more open and outdoors maps in the best game ever. Having driven a tank in real life I would have liked to be able to drive some of the tanks in Surface Tension, which was not possible, but what I did do was even cooler: blowing those tanks up. Again and again. The atmosphere, the storytelling, the action, the music and as always, the pacing, makes Half-life so enjoyable and this was, for me, arguably the highest of many highlights.
Read the book before playing the level and loved every second of it.
