The Force Works in Mysterious Ways is a pretty fair level. I think the beginning of the mission was a little more interesting and well planned than the ending areas, but overall everything was pretty average. The architecture was nice, but the enemy placement had some flaws. Anyway, on to the review.

The Force Works in Mysterious Ways (henceforth known as FWMW) had some pretty decent architecture. There were a bunch of nice bridges and catwalks, as well as pillars, vents and other architectural tidbits. I also noticed a few sets of stairs and ramps, and a good deal of sloped surfaces. They all combined to make the level look pretty detailed, though some sections near the end became a little boxy. The area with the water tanks, for instance, was a huge room with virtually no detail besides the tanks themselves. It was very dull to look at, not to mention the horrid frame rate and hordes of enemies. The texturing of FWMW was quite good at the beginning, but ended up looking pretty boring and commonplace. As you first enter the installation, there are some nice indoor textures with fair variety. There are even yellow warning strips on the front of the steps to alleviate tripping hazards. However, as the level progressed, the textures turned more to the dull grays and less creative industrial textures. It seemed to me that the quality of the level went down somewhat as I ventured further into the facility, but overall there was decent variety and usage of textures. I did notice some alignment mistakes, but they were in dim areas and were not overly noticeable.

The enemy placement of FWMW had one drastic flaw, which was found in the huge room with all the water tanks that I mentioned before. It was just jammed packed with rail-detonator toting Trandoshans, pirates and sneaky Rodians. The huge amount of enemies made the area way too difficult, especially with the frame rate in the deplorable condition it was. However, I felt that except for that one area, enemy placement was pretty solid. There were a pair of men here, a Gran guarding alone there, etc. I also liked the use of sentry droids in the seemingly empty, desolate areas. They pop up out of nowhere and take you by surprise - an example of effective enemy placement. As I said, it was a pretty fair job, but I thought it was a little strange that there were so many sentient creatures guarding a sewer plant. I would have expected more droids and automated defenses, but throughout the level I encountered all types of foes. Many of them were standing around in sewage tunnels that didn't really go anywhere, which made no sense. The item placement was fairly decent. Throughout the level I found small stashes of gear to keep me in pretty good condition, and I didn't spot any floating power ups. One problem dealt with key placement; I found the red key just sitting on top of a water tank, all alone. Furthermore, there were no stairs or an elevator to go up to get it, only force jump. How could it have been put there (save tossing it!), and how could any of the sewer plant employees hope to retrieve it when it's needed? Even worse, the blue key was stuck in an underwater closet! I also didn't like how a bunch of exploding crates were sitting in front of the button you need to press, because I don't always blow them up. I ended up running around for twenty minutes until I finally gave up and started shooting everything. Boom! Lo and behold! There's a button! I was rather annoyed at my own stupidity, but perhaps it'd have been more expedient had the switch been in plain view. The enhancements of FWMW were average. A couple of doors and elevators were shorted out in the beginning of the level, and they made the atmosphere that much more interesting. There was the usual assortment of common cogs, but I regret to say there was little more than that. I didn't notice very many interesting features in the level, for it was basically a key/button hunt.

The atmosphere was quite good in most parts, however. I liked the lighting very much; it was varied and used shadowing and dim areas nicely. There were also a few things that made the level really seem like it was a sewer plant (toxic waste not the least!). I noticed many pools of sewage and water being treated. The gameplay was also interesting. I found multiple times that I had to crawl under doors, through vents, and edge across narrow walkways to accomplish my objectives. These features made the level more than just a common shoot-em-up or saber battle, but there was one recurring problem with the level as a whole. Realism. Take the water area, for example. You enter a trough at one elevation, and when you get out of the water again, you are at a higher elevation. By the law of potential difference, the water would try to equalize and would spill out of the trough below. Also, I crawled through vents to get to other areas, but when I arrived, I found that that was the only way into the room besides the path that continued on through the complex. How did the employees get there? I guess good crawling skills are a must for continued employment at this place.

Despite a few flaws, this is a pretty decent level. It had some nice architecture in places and fair architecture in others, and the other catergories were pretty good too. Overall, it was an interesting start to a series, though the ending of this individual level was a little weak. I look forward to the next level...