File:House (Aftershock)

Description
We finally reach a level made by a level designer we have previously seen! Marc Fontaine was previously the creator of Fonti.MAP. That doesn't bode well for this level, but at least he has had experience and possibly has improved since the last time we saw him.

This level's titular House is placed in the middle of the map. It was decorated with a few Crucified Zombies (have we even seen them in Aftershock prior to this level?), though sadly that decoration is a hybrid with a Monster, meaning it disappears in Multiplayer.

There are eight Double-Barrelled Shotguns in this level. As usual, a large and open level isn't exactly the best place for a Double-Barrelled Shotgun. When talking about open levels, only the Rocket Launcher is useful, thus why people sometimes say that Quake's Weapons are unbalanced. I would agree from a Multiplayer standpoint, while Single Player all of the weapons have their use.

Anyway, two of the Double-Barrelled Shotguns are on structures that are impossible to reach without Rocket Jumping or spawning to it. As there are plenty of other Double-Barrelled Shotguns, Rocket Jumping to these platforms is pretty pointless. Surprisingly, Rocket Jumping could be more encouraged here than Fonti.MAP as this level has a couple 15 Health.

Two of the other Double-Barrelled Shotguns can be found by the Elevators in the Underwater section. This is probably the most bland portion of the level, it is rather open and has little to nothing beyond the aforementioned Weapons and a pack of Rockets.

There is also a tunnel leading off the Underwater section that allows access to the House, which allows for a secondary entrance rather than using the very visible doorway. The House and the connecting tunnel are the only locations to get Yellow Armor (the only Armor of the map), meaning it could be a hotly contested area and a great area for fragging for the outsiders.

There is also a Tower that holds a couple Double-Barrelled Shotguns and a Super Nailgun. This Tower serves as a good sniping point, killing any that are heading to the house or the surrounding courtyard (which is also pretty empty beyond a Super Nailgun).

The Tower also has a Rocket Launcher that requires a difficult jump to receive. You need to time a jump from a ramp on one of the nearby outer walls to gain enough air time and sail to the platform with the Rocket Launcher. While the jump could be considered difficult, it is definitely less frustrating than the one back in Outskirts of the Nuclear Reactor, even if this one has similar rewards. What was frustrating in that previous level simply becomes rewarding here due to the Rocket Launcher being the dominant weapon in Deathmatch.

Another difficult jump (I actually struggled more in the video than I normally tend to do, usually I can make the leap across on my first attempt) can be found in the rafters of the house, whereby leaping across them can allow access to the loft and a Quad Damage. Being the only non-Armor powerup, this is another instance of something being challenging but rewarding to receive.

Overall, this level is pretty decent. There are sections that could have been made smaller, though I guess it was due to the intent of making it support 16 players (I never played large scale Deathmatch games, so my opinion might be a bit off for such levels). I am not sure how 16 can be supported, there are only 12 spawn locations.

There are challenging sections to this level, but there is reason and reward for said challenges. We get a very open and nonlinear environment that could work well for Deathmatching. We have encouragement to be placed in risky areas which another player could take advantage of, plus we have a generous distribution of Weapons and Ammo. Not the best level out there, though definitely better than many we have seen lately.