Reviving this thread because I started writing up a massive list for
Top 5 Levels at the time and then totally forgot to post it!
Bluff Eversmoking (Unreal)
Hard to decide on a favourite Unreal map as almost all of them share that amazing sense of being lost on a moody, alien planet, but I'm going to go with Bluff Eversmoking. This level is still a fantastic sight after all this time. A humble little Nali monastery perched on top of a large crag, high above a vast lake. Night has set as you enter the Bluff Eversmoking in search of survivors of a downed ship, only to find the monastery desecrated by enemy warriors. Nali priests are being tortured to the tolls of their own bell tower, and before long you come to find the sole survivor of the crash has already met a depressing end. This level is a fantastic combination of non-linear exploration, environmental storytelling, cool secrets and heavy atmosphere. It ends with a cable lift ride that circles around the monastery for no reason other than to show off a creation the devs had every reason to be proud of. It also helps that it's paired with
some damn good music.Liberty Island (Deus Ex)
While I see a lot of people talking about just how daunting this is for a introduction level, I can't help but disagree. If you went through UNATCO training, you were more than prepared enough for this beauty, but none-the-less it pulls off a number of clever tricks to get you underway regardless. The most obvious thing is the circular layout of the level, whichever route you take at the start, you always circle the main objective: the Liberty pedestal, visible from every inch of the map. When you first exit the docks, there are two initial directions you can take: straight ahead (well lit and heavily patrolled) and to the right (a shadowy path with a lone guard). Those who want to get shooting (and who probably chose the GEP gun) will more than likely take the forward path, while the right hand path is the obvious choice for sneakers. After that the whole island is fair game, and there are a number of curiosities about the level that give you small, contained introductions to the various game systems. Off the coast of the north dock is a sunken boat, locked tight and easy to miss, but with crates of goodies that are awfully tempting to those with the appropriate swimming and lockpicking skill. To the east is a small maintenance bunker of sorts that introduces players to environmental hazards, namely electricity, and the idea of manipulating the environment (or using sheer brute force) to overcome the danger. Around the rear of the pedestal is a large container pile that can be used to silently climb the tower, skipping the heavily guarded ground floor, and the entirely optional objective within (rescuing Agent Hermann). This level really is a perfect microcosm of the Deus Ex experience, and it does all of this without loading zones or blatant signposting.
(Thief: The Dark Project)
Garrett isn't usually one to take requests, but the blind promise of reward for a easy nights work quickly places him in the mansion of the eccentric nobleman Constantine. It starts off simple enough, you've robbed many mansions like this before, but in short order things start getting
weird. Entire rooms are filled with vegetation, and the corridors throw you off with ever-changing scale and direction. Next thing you know you're stumbling through upside down rooms and halls that twist, swimming through a bath in the ceiling, and witnessing an impossibly expansive void in the middle of the mansion full of
stars. Guards with strangely lit grimaces patrol the corridors, hinting at a second nature you won't discover until it's too late. There is more to Constantine and his mansion than you could have possibly predicted. It turns out
he hired you to rob his
own mansion, and he has big plans for you when you succeed. This is the level where Thief really starts showing off it's intriguing, bizarre world, and the mysterious forces that operate within it's shadows.
Lady Boyle's Last Party (Dishonoured)
Dishonoured does a pretty good job of letting you complete it's missions in interesting ways, but it really goes all out in this level. In most missions you'll simply sneak or stab your way through, but here, with the help of a stolen invitation, it lets you walk straight in the front door as an
honoured guest. You can socialise with other party goers and learn about your target, snoop around upstairs, and spend your time admiring the rather ridiculous luxuries these nobles enjoy in the face of a devastating plague that's crippling the world outside. The whole mission plays out as a clever little investigation: you must determine which of three party guests is the correct target, as all three are wearing near-identical costumes. Or you can just bag all three and win by sadistic process of elimination! Apart from the main mission you can also engage in a duel with another guest, which is the only time in the game you can shoot a man's face in the presence of guards and not have them jump down your throat. All in all a really cool switch-up of the games standard rules with lots of awesome little touches, and it's also
dang pretty.
Couldn't decide what to place in fifth, so here's a bunch to pick from:
Life of the Party (Thief II: The Metal Age)
This one seems to be the favourite of Thief fans everywhere, and it's easy to see why so many people choose it. In the space of one single level you will scramble across rooftops (the Thieves' Highway), rob a small traders bank, interrupt a couple of bumbling thieves, stop by a Necromancer's tower to summon some zombies, witness the hilarious guards of two feuding nobles slaughter each other, infiltrate a masquerade ball in a massive 6-story Mechanist tower, discover the enemy plans, evade a trap and make it home in time for breakfast. It is sprawling in every sense of the word, and while these games were never on the cutting-edge of graphics tech back then, it's a wonder the sheer complexity of this map didn't just explode computers back in the year 2000.
Groznyj Grad (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
Even through the game centers on it's wilderness survival levels, it feels like the entire game was building up to this massive concrete fortress in the heart of Tselinoyarsk. You'll spend a lot of time here at the end of the game as you break in and work your way from the very extremeties of the base to the humungous hangar and research facilities at it's core. Things don't quite go to plan of course and you also end up spending some time in it's prison, but oh well.
Frigate Crash Site (Metroid Prime)
The entire planet of Tallon IV is a damn masterpiece of location design, but a personal favourite location is the frigate crash site, which turns out to be none other than the frigate you inadvertently brought down at the very start of the game. When you arrive here late in the game you've already had a nice, long look at the various locations on Tallon IV, fought through hell and learned much, and the more subdued tone of the level gives lots of time for reflection at how far you've come. The thing that really makes it though is that
this is playing the entire time.Bridge Point (Half-Life 2)
I didn't really appreciate this level when it first came out, but in retrospect there's a lot of love about this level, particularly it's re-use of space and scale, even if it sort of brought 2004-era Source to it's knees and has a serious case of Silent Hill fogitis. The route over the bridge is blocked by a Combine forcefield, so you have no choice but to scramble under the bridge, over it's broken pathways and steep supports, just to flip the power switch all the way on the other side. Naturally the journey back isn't going to be easy either, as a Combine gunship decides to ruin your day. And then of course when you do make it all the way back and start your crossing a Combine train decides this is a fine time to come roaring down the tracks towards you. At least it's a fine opportunity to play target practice with seagulls.
Morpheus (Unreal Tournament)
Urby beat me to it, and it seems like people have UT pretty well covered already, but I'm still going to list this one. Three towers of increasing height, gathered around a central platform holding the hotly contested rocket launcher. The roughly circular layout and varying levels of access make for a perfect flow as people dodge around the towers in low-gravity vying for dominance of the best weapons. Why anyone would build towers so damn tall they
breach the planet's atmosphere is a question best left unanswered!
Mandatory music link.The thread can go back to being dead now...
Jessie
I think if I was to put a HL2 level in my list, though, it'd probably be one of the Ravenholm maps simply because of how memorable that whole chapter was.
