What is your favorite "level" in a video game... (1 Viewer)

I was playing Splinter Cell this weekend... and I played the "Kalinitec Level"... the one where you had to sneak into the office building and steal an encryption disk...

It was one of the best designed levels I've ever played in a video game. The graphics, the animations, level design, environment... all incredible. And, it was just a blast to play. I played through it twice more after I finished it the first time.

That got me thinking... what are some of the most memorable and enjoyable levels you all have played?

Here are a couple more...

1. "Finest Hour"... first level on "Medal of Honor: Frontline"

2. The final dungeon on the original "Legend of Zelda"... I ate, slept, and breathed it for several days.

the flood

the flood

Recent ones (**and a few older ones that I want to mention):

Rez- Level 5 "Mind-Killer" along with "freeing" the system.

**Doom- "Tricks and Traps"

**The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past -The Water Dungeon

Medal of Honor Allied Assault- D-day

Halo- The Silent Cartographer

Contra Shattered Soldier -Level 3 Fighting on the missile and infiltration of the alien colony.

Pikmin- The whole game. Its just wonderfully designed from top to bottom.

Lord of the Rings The Two Towers - Balins Tomb and Amon Hen

The Longest Journey- The openining sequence with April "helping" the dying tree and first see the darkness.

**Panzer Dragoon Zwie- Episode 6 (If I remember correctly)The final confrontation with Shelcoof.

**Rainbow Six (Original game)- Sun Devil. I love infiltrating the drug lords house. Never gets old.

Baldurs Gate 2 Shadows of Amn- The insane asylum sequence and your subsequent first battle with John Irenicus. (Equal parts story and gameplay total parts awesome!)

Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind: The Ghost Fence and its surrounding area. Very well designed architecture and enemies!

I'll post some more recent ones and some older ones that rank up there a tad later.

Romier,

Good call on "Silent Cartographer"... That is definately a top fiver in my book.

Dark Forces: Jedi Knight: Falling Ship
Half-Life: Surface Tension
Halo: Assault on the Control Room.
Quake: Innovative way of choosing your difficulty and episode
Unreal: level after you exit the prison transport ship.

Long list off the top of my head...



Halo - The Flood. Never seen anything like that first wave of attacks in any other video game. Good work Bungie.

Counterstrike: Dust. OK, it is a poser's heaven and the most overplayed online level ever, but it is a perfectly crafted map for that game.

Wasteland: The final military base. This is way back there in the day. Closeest modern equivalent would be the end of Fallout2, but 10x as exciting and fun. Basically, the just end to a long and satisfying RPG experience.

Rez: 5th level (last one). Very long, very intense, and just pure fun. Best boss battle to end the game so far.

Mark of Kri: the last level and cutscene. Any game where the protaganist cuts the final sollilique (sp?) short by throwing a war axe through the antagonist's head has to get an honorable mention.

Castlevania: Circle of the moon. Whole thing is just one big, long, massive, and beautifully designed level (Metroid would slip in on this one too.)

System Shock 2: Any part where you felt your skin crawl. I still don't know how they did it in that game, but the whole game was designed to give you the heebie-jeebies.

JSRF: Pretty much any area other than the Garage. Sega practically has a patent on solid level design.

Metal Gear Solid: The first gunfight with Revolver Ocelot and the fight with Psycho Mantis. Who wasn't blown away by these two fights?

and the grand pooh-ba of level designs:

Myth: A long awaited drinking party. Those of you in the know just KNOW, for everyone else I just couldn't explain it to do justice. Bungie's best level EVER (that includes anything from Halo or Marathon too.)

Ah, I'll second Surface Tension from Half-Life. That game has some of the most memorable moments ever (I still cringe every time I see that stupid helicopter...)

Act II of Diablo II. I'm a sucker for Arabian Nights style settings.

Most of the games I play don't slot well into levels unfortunately.

I will give props to the World War I and Persian Gulf scenarios in Eternal Darkness as well. Great settings.

Oh, and the very first Rainbow Road. Now that's excitement!

Halo - Assault on the control room — a little bit of everything.
Splinter Cell - CIA Headquarters - Your first real test
I have to agree with Romier and Joe on Rez Level 5 as well.
GTA:VC - Cop Land - Running from the cops with a buttload of stars... excellent.

Can we pick racing levels as well?
GT3 - Laguna Seca
SSX - Mercury City

Sonic Adventure(DC) - Emerald Coast & Windy Valley - I was blown away when I first played these.

Pretty much any level of Perfect Dark.

Goldeneye- The Facility
Metal Gear Solid 2- The Tanker Mission
Devil May Cry- the WHOLE DAMN GAME

I think we're on the same page Eric, if that Goldeneye is the first level.
I played that level, over and over again... Just so I could snipe every person in the head or crotch.
The only FPS that I really loved before Halo.
Glen

Just a few recent ones off the top of my head...
PS2 Games:
Onimusha 2: The fights with Gogandantes.
Star Wars - Jedi Starfighter: Painting the shield generators/directing the strike team. (Plus the following cinema is awesome.)
BTW, Eric, you are right on about Devil May Cry!
Dreamcast
Star Wars - Jedi Power Battles: The Theed levels.

The Cathedral - Thief
Entertainment Deck - System Shock 2
Laguna Seca - GT3

Actually add all of the missions in Thief, Thief 2, System Shock 2, Ultima Underworld, Ultima Underworld 2, All the dungeons in Ultima Online, the Vale in Meridian 59, the Wood Elf City in Everquest, hmm... have to think of a console level or be branded a traitor on this forum... hmm... Laguna Seca for GT3 is it. Oh well.

Halo - Assault on the Control Room

Metroid Prime - Chozo Ruins

Goldeneye - Arkangelsk

Xenogears - Nortune

Resident Evil 2 - R.C.P.D.

Mario 64 - Bob-omb Battlefield

Pilotwings 64 - Holiday Island & Little States

Zelda: TOOT - Zora's Domain & The Forest Temple

Hmm...

Probably most of the levels in Conker's Bad Fur Day. The Matrix level was one of the coolest levels ever in a videogame, even though it was REALLY short.

Ditto on Silent Cartographer. I don't even own and XBox or Halo but after playing the game in Co-Op mode with my brother that was definiely one of the most awesome levels in gaming history.

I dig the "Arnhem Knights" from MOH:F. "Falling Ship" from Jedi Knight was absolutely insane - there's nothing like a 45 degree tilt to make you crazy.