Birth of a Mercenary, Chapter 2, was a nice level. It featured good architecture and texturing, as well as interesting gameplay and enhancements.

The architecture of Birth of a Mercenary was excellent. The first part of the level took place in an outdoor-canyon type setting, and I was impressed with the great use of sloped surfaces to make the surroundings look more realistic and interesting. The ground, as you travel through rocky tunnels, is broken and uneven. The larger open areas had undercut walls, creating a sort of cave feel, but the ground seemed a bit flat and boring in these clearings. After you progress through the level some more, you'll come to a ledge overlooking the Imperial installation. I found the base had nice architecture, but the canyons in the immediate vicinity were very dull and uninteresting. Also, as I rode the troop transport down towards the base, I was forced to stand facing backwards because of the horrible frame rate. The architecture of the interior areas was decent, but not overly exciting. There were some details like beams, pillars, stairs and shelves, but it seemed a bit boxy at points. Some of the hallways were really long rectangles, lacking somewhat in creativity. Despite this small problem, the ovarall architecture of the level was quite good. The texturing, in addition, was also very well done. There was excellent variety, but I noticed few mistakes in alignment. The selections seemed to blend nicely with one another for the most part, though there were a couple places where the base could benefit from a new interior decorator. However, overall level design was quite good.

The enemy placement of this level was well nigh perfect. As I played the level, I found that I had enough health and shields because there was just the right amount of enemies. Seldom were there more than three enemies in the same area. The enemies that you face were an assortment of stormtroopers, as well as some new "professors" that teach at the academy. There were some mailocs in the tunnels, and some Gamoreans in a jail area. It didn't make sense that the anti-alien Empire would employ those pig-like creatures, but maybe they expressed superior culture or something. Anyway, there was a decent amount of power ups, and the weaponry supplied by Kyle's rebel friends was quite nice. There was enough ammo to collect both from armories and dead bodies. The enhancements of Birth of a Mercenary II were very good. I must mention, however, that the cutscenes nearly bored me to death! All you do is sit and watch people prattle on and on, but they don't even have voices. Little words just pop up on the screen with an annoying beep! Going on, I liked the little water fall in one of the caves, and there were a couple of slash grates and force fields that you need to get through in order to enter the base. To get through the main entrance, you have to shoot out generators that are placed on the walls of the canyons, though I have not a clue why they aren't in the base itself. Why would they put them outside, so people can break in more easily? Inside the base, there were lots of cadets practicing their fighting and swimming techniques, which was a nice realistic touch being that the facility is an academy. Rounding out the enhancements were some button doors, new enemies and, new power ups.

The lighting of the level was not the best. There were some slight changes in intensity, but there was little use of shadowing. If I recall correctly, the inside of some of the tunnels and caves was just about as bright as the open areas. Furthermore, there was some colored lighting that didn't seem to have a source. Despite a little lack of creativity in the lighting, gameplay was still pretty strong. Finding a way into the base was interesting, and there were a few twists in plot along the way that forced you to do things to proceed. Unfortunately, the frame rate was absolutely terrible in some areas, so bad in fact, that it was virtually impossible to play. Another ill was the lack of exploration. You are pretty much forced to follow one path, with nowhere to branch off to and explore. In my opinion, exploring new areas is very exciting and interesting, especially when you don't really have to do so to complete the level. It offers much more freedom to be able to stray from the path, and it's also a good opportunity to place some power ups to reward the curiosity of players.

Birth of a Mercenary 2 was a good level. I suggest you download it and try it out, though if you have a slow computer (like me) it might not be as enjoyable.