File:Death on the Docks (Aftershock)

Description
Death on the Docks, a level which surprisingly features a dock. Lined with crates and some small wooden poles, the dock is visually the best part of the level.

This level suffers from "too large syndrome", as was seen back in The Abode. The problem with such large maps is that it makes it so only a couple guns are useful. The Rocket Launcher becomes the only useful weapon when combined with Water, which is a great percentage of this map. Speaking of Water, there is a corridor between the Docks and the rest of the map that is entirely submerged in Water. Most of this corridor is rather pointless, extending almost the length of the dock above while serving no worthwhile function.

The big problem with maps that are too large is that you have to spend a good amount of time travelling from pickup to pickup. Oddly enough, Cells and Nails are clustered together in the Docks section of the map, meaning they are even closer together than they should normally be.

A Rocket Launcher platform exists in the lake near the Dock, though there is another one not far away in the Water. Most weapons have been thrown on the dock with no real sense of strategy. A Grenade Launcher is thrown in the corner of the docks, while most Super Nailguns are thrown right next to the more useful Rocket Launcher. Rocket Launchers tend to be placed next to each other, meaning there would be only two places to go when the number of Rocket Launchers (plus the size of the Docks, which is also ridiculously lengthy with no useful pickups on an entire section). suggests that more could be placed.

A moving platform in the middle of the map moves rather slowly and offers a good chance at getting plenty of ammo as well as a Super Nailgun. The most desirable thing will be the three Rockets up here, as well as the two Rockets not far from the ramp. Once again, ammo is unnecessarily clustered so you must travel further to get to one item, plus making it likely to be taken by another player.

We get a lot of custom messages again. We get "BingBong...BingBong" for the Grenade Launcher, imitating the sound it makes when the grenade collides with the ground. As an explosive, the Rocket Launcher gets "BOOM!!!". The Super Nailgun gets a reference to Duke Nukem 3d, while the Nailgun gets a reference to Home Improvement. Note that only one of these weapons will have these custom text messages, meaning the other three Rocket Launchers you come across will just be a normal pickup.

Outside of the water based areas, we get what appears to be a courtyard with nothing of real value besides some Cells. The back room has a Double-Barrelled Shotgun, extremely useless in this map, while a Ring of Shadows exists nearby (which most Deathmatchers know how to detect, so it is almost always worthless against any experienced player).

The central structure has a Quad Damage and a Thunderbolt. This sounds pretty useful until you realize that most of the map is Water and that there isn't a good weapon in this section to deal with opponents in the Water.

What is quite easy to miss is the secrets of this level. A Teleporter exists to one of them which gives an audio cue, however it leaks on all sides and actually sounds closer in other places. The wall you need to hit gives no real clue, meaning you just have to know about it or be lucky.

Going through the Teleporter will lead you to a secret area with the Quad Damage, Red Armor (only Armor in the map), and 100 Health. You will be led to the Rocket Launcher platform, meaning knowledge of this area can give you quite the advantage in a Deathmatch (which in turn means it isn't exactly the most enjoyable for beginners, who wouldn't know about such a secret's existence). Sure, you can research this stuff if you are the admin of your server, but players will be thrown into these levels in a server cue with possibly no prior knowledge.

The second secret room is right next to the first one, making a player even more deadly for knowing about the level beforehand. Before going through the Teleporter, hit the left wall to reach a large square room. The Pentagram of Protection is here, as well as a second 100 Health. For those being pursued in this secret room, there is a Grenade Launcher, though it is designed to injure you via a Nail Trap upon usage, meaning it is wise to get the Pentagram beforehand.

Overall, a level where you can dominate if you know about a hidden section of the map and where otherwise you will spend a ton of time moving in wide expanses of nothingness to get some Rockets or a Rocket Launcher. Most things are clustered together, meaning there can be some balance issues when somebody gets some stuff in this cluster. Definitely not my favorite map, though good for those that liked The Abode.