Post your favourite levels/maps (it doesn't matter which game it is from.) and why you like it so much.

Mine is the Opera house map from Painkiller. It's just so beautiful, yet creepy at the same time. There are beautiful textures everywhere you look, (especially the main auditorium chamber, as shown in the picture) and even though its brightly lit, it reeks of atmosphere. The place has a creepy, despairing, abandoned feel to it. You can almost smell the dust in the air. The music fits it perfectly, and every so often a few bars of opera singing fills my speakers above the background ambiance, and it creates the illusion that there is a show going on, but you can't see it or find it. It makes the place feel both empty and full at the same time.

OTS...

Archives or Facilty from Goldeneye.

Can't remember the name ... fun though.

Lockout, from halo2.
8 player mayhem, on a awesome level design.
It's almost a work of art in itself.

best ever. period.

Oil Rig from Rainbow 6.

Probably Morpheus from UT. I like it because it's so open, providing some fast-paced gameplay.

Damnit, I have to agree. I spent many an hour of my youth killing my friends in that level...

I'd have to say that "Stack" in Goldeneye was my favorite... damn I love that map.

I used to piss my friends off by going back up into the ducts in the bathroom and throwing remote mines down at them. :p They could never figure out how to do it.

Anything from Far Cry. That game is beautiful.

Ooh, and Canyon Oasis from JK.

No one is saying whyyyy!

I'd have to say currently my favorite map (all my old memories of maps have been buried under years of digital war stories) was Nova Prospekt in Half Life 2. From the flares when you enter, to the amazing battle where you have to hole yourself up from the oncoming attack, it just seems to be designed oh so well. The graphics help, too.

There are a BUNCH. I can list some of the top though.

Single Player levels would have to include:
From Halo 2:

• Outskirts.
  The atmosphere during the run through the devastated town is awesome. Rubble strewn everywhere, fires, dead marines, and a guy occasionally speaking in Swalhili (sp?) over the town loudspeakers. The rest is Worthog driving for the most part, but still uber fun to me.
• Metropolis.
  You drive a big tank, across a really big bridge, blowing stuff up all along the way. This, is fun. Blowing stuff up is ALWAYS fun. Then you single handedly have to board and destroy the Scarab at the end. That was an adrenaline rush for me the first time I played through it, and I still love doing it.
• Delta Halo/Regret.
  An orbital drop and storming of an enemy held building. A tank ride through hostile territory and long abandoned ruins. The (mostly) calm gondola rides across the lake. The serene underwater elevator trips. And the killing of a Prophet. All in all, two of the most diverse levels in the game. Both in gameplay, and in how much ground you cover.
• Uprising.
  A Covenant civil war has started, and you play the leader of one of the two sides. It was another great trip through Halo's terrain.
• High Charity.
  I play the level just for the ending. The first time I played it, I felt like I was the one running through there. The ending though, took my breath away the first time I saw it.
  
  From Halo:
• Truth and Reconciliation.
  A covert operation. It's a challenge to take everyone out with a sniper rifle without being seen. I loved the first half of the level.
• Silent Cartographer.
  You're in a firefight as soon as you land, and it stays that way until you call in for evac. I found it to be one of Halo's best levels.
• Assault on the Control Room.
  A tie with Silent Cartographer during the outdoor portions of gameplay. The rest was mostly a tedious romp through identical looking rooms. Still, the first half of the level is great.
• 343 Guilty Spark.
  The beginning of the level reeks of 'Get out while you still can' and stays that way until you reach the Flood, at which point it becomes 'Run like HELL.' I was truely scared the first time I played it. In fact, I was so scared, that by the time I exited first encounter with the Flood, my assault rifle had virtually no ammo. It was further proven when I wasted three CLIPS of AR ammo on a dead Flood just to make sure he didn't get back up, and when I came around a corner, saw a movment, and filled it full of lead. It turned out to be my friend.
• The Maw.
  It's golden point? The final run in a Warthog down the spine of the ship to the Longsword.
  
  From Deus Ex:
• Right at every level.
  It's been forever since I've been able to play all the way through. I curse myself for losing my disk. All I have is a five mission demo now. That game, rocks.
  
  From Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
• Omaha Beach.
  A great level, I just wish it was longer. That was about the only level in the game that felt like a real war zone to me.
  
  From Marathon, Marathon 2: Durandal, and Marathon: Infinity:
• Right at everything.
  Classic games. Great gameplay. Great story. Great levels.
  
  Enough Single Player madness.
  
  Multiplayer levels:
  From Halo 2:
• Ascenscion.
  A well rounded level. You have an almost equal number of open and enclosed spaces. Every point on the level has a counter-point, there isn't ANYWHERE you can really hole up and camp. The Banshee isn't a major threat in the level unless you have a really expirenced pilot flying it. Sooner or later someone will board it, or destroy it with a rocket or gun fire.
  
• Beaver Creek.
  I like it substantially more than Battle Creek from Halo, yet it's almost exactly the same. It's a fast paced level where in the games I've played, dual Magnums, SMGs, Needlers, and the Battle Rifle prevail.
  
• Coagulation.
  It's Blood Gulch. Need I say more? The only change, is it got a facelift.
  
• Waterworks.
  Big level, lots of fun. To an extent, it kinda feels like Ascencion to me. There's a place to do everything, and hide from those things, but for each of those places, there's a counter, or a sure-fire way to kill the person using that place.
  
• Foundation.
  Small. Fast. Fun. I love that level. And not just for those reasons. Foundation is based off of an old Marathon netplay map. A map I ALWAYS played. Foundation brings back A LOT of memories.
  
  From Halo:
• Blood Gulch.
  'Duh.
  
• Sidewinder.
  It's snow and a big open environment where planning ahead and forming stratigies is your best friend.
  
• Chiron T-34.
  Teleporters. Lots of them. You never know when someone will pop out of one and give you a shotgun blast to the face. That's what makes it fun. I find incredibly easy to form a vendetta in that level.
  
  From Jedi Knight:
• Way, WAY too many to even bother listing.
  
  Halo and Halo 2 are my biggest multiplayer games. I hardly play online anymore because the people I usually end up playing with suck in multiple ways and lag. And yes, I am a very big fan of Halo. But not NEARLY as big as some. I am, however, a very big Bungie fanboy. Bungie kicks ***.
  

That was my very first thought on reading the title of this thread. It's nice and open, the low gravioty is cool, and its got a cool name (not because tis from the matrix, that map is older then the matrix anyway).

Half Life 2 - would be the bug army going over the beaches level. Whatever its called. Commanding a never-ending bug hoard is just cool.

Painkiller - The final level, where you see their rendition of hell. Which is all the world wars almost completely frozen in time, I loved that effect.

Enter the Matrix - Yeah, thats right, Enter the Matrix, I loved it and I don't care who knows it. The office area you start the game in, when your going through and theres a spot where all you have to do is get through the door. Theres a never ending hoard of cops. They just keep spawning in. I hung around that area for aaaages.

Devil May Cry - When you re-enter the inital churchy type area. When its all dark and you face those lightning elemental clone thingies. I loved how the atmosphere shifted from a dreary desolate place to dark and foreboding just by switching off the lights. Not to mention those lightning guys are just plain cool.

I may post some more later.

Definately Morpheus3 and Phobos2 from UT2k4. I never played the original UT so I can't comment on the original maps.

There are definately a few MotS MP Maps that were pretty good, but I'll be darned if I can remember their names. I'll have to reinstall MotS and take a look.

Canyon Oasis. I've yet to see any map even 1/4th as good as CO. CO is perfection.

Air Base from Interstate '76. Props to whoever remembers or knows of this map.

There are so many to choose, but judging by all the personal feelings and fun I had in it...

Harakiri Harbour from Shadow Warrior

I have several favourites in Day of Defeat...
dod_anzio
dod_chemille
dod_donner
and the custom map dod_harrington

All of these are common clan maps :p

Big Game Hunters - Starcraft

Lots of resources, good base builds. Awesome.

PageWizard..I saw the name of this thread and I said to myself 'I'd proably say Opera House from Painkiller' then I opened this thread and **** myself in amazement!

http://sajn.phearwear.com/OperaHouse.jpg

I say Opera House but all of Painkiller is this sexy, if not more sexy. Opera House just has the awesome view on the bottom floor.



YES!!! Spoiler Warning: Hell and Lucifer picture

I always thought anzio was pretty poorly designed, but I love Chemille. The original Caen is definately one of the best maps I've played.

CHEATER CHEATER

....

>.>

<.<

*buys painkiller*

probably dm17 for Quake 3. I think I've played that more than any other maps combined.

Call of Duty: Hurtgen. Only because I like to play the sniper and ohhh boy do I have fun on that map.

Neverwinter Nights:
The Penultima Series.
Long Live the King.
Elegia Eternum.
Excrucio Eternum.
Shadows of Heliopolis. (ending sucked though)

the last room in the opera house is stunning, too. The crystal on the lights practically sparkles when you walk around it. Also, practically every architectural detail is rendered in 3d.

However, i could think of better monsters to populate this map with, though had i designed it; keeping the opera setting in mind. Something like reanimated skeletons or rotting corpses in formal evening wear would have been ideal.

The Asylum map is also very good. Those mental patient monsters get me every time... the way they lie still on the floor, i used to mistake them for corpses that I've already killed. I quickly learned to gib them to keep this from happening.

Amen. Stack is one of the best designed levels ever. As good as it is, Facility has too many dead-ends and favours campers and cautious players. Stack is pure mayhem. There's minimum 2 ways in and out of every room. Archives is brilliant too, but I still cant figure out why they made it 3 player limit.

Another favourite is Stalingrad from MOH:AA. Blind coners everywhere, rewarding those who know the subtleties best and have lightning reflexes. Fantastic stuff.

/me nods

Hunters, not Big Game Hunters, but Hunters for Starcraft. Requires much thinking and planning ahead of your resources because, while there are tons of places to expand to, they all have some flaw or weakness. Awesome map, shows much skill.

Widescreen shots for anyone that wants them of Hell.

http://sajn.phearwear.com/Hell/

yes.. one of the best in that game... especially on a full server... running the akimbo mod...

Psh, Lost Temple. That map is GOD.

JK:DF2 = Canyon Oasis & The Challenge At Nar Shaddaa
JK:MotS = Cloud City Gantry & Spaceport
Q2 = The Edge (Q2DM1)

My favourite level, has to be Assault on the Control Room from the first Halo game. Theres so much you can explore, so many glitches you can have fun with. You've never had fun till you've been to the bottom of the bridge section without co-op mode on. Want proof? got it. Theres NO other way you can see that pelican from that angle without being at the bottom before it lands. My favourite moment includes


@ phoenix_9286: You sound like a unexperianced Halo 2 player or i just play it TOO much.

Waterworks: there are HUNDREDS of places to hide where you are in no danger unless someone else tries to hide there - for instance in the middle section, you can jump on the supports that lead into the water, they rise up sloping to light sections, this is my favourite sniping spot.

Acension: Somebody doesn't know about the carnheyholes.

You have much to explore.

2fort - tfc
longest - halo
Battle Creek - halo
Lockout - halo 2
JHS - Jedi Knight

I think my vote will go out to...

Dark Forces - Condition Red.



Simply put, when I first heard of First-Person Shooters and Dark Forces, this was THE concept I was hoping to see. None of that silly 'me against the world', but actually participating in a large scale battle where, in the end, I would play a small, but hopefully decisive, role in the battle. Unfortunately, none of the games back then really gave me a level like that. Each time, it was always just one character who'd magically be able to kill all types of characters, and had to find a key to get to the next level. The only reason why I really liked Dark Forces was because it actually had a bit of a story to back it all up. But still, it never came close to my ideas on how to participate in a battle alongside other allies.



But then I came across this level, and frankly... this was it. When I first heard about FPS back to Wolfenstein, this was the level I had envisioned, what I was hoping to see. Finally, I wasn't going to a base after a battle. The fight was occuring all around me, and I had to assist to drive the invaders back. From the start when you wake up in your bunker, and Jan tells you to get up, you're immediately thrown into the chaos. You see rebel soldiers and pilots running by, readying themselves for the fight. Then hundreds of stormtroopers keep on pouring in, while you hear frantic radio chatter and TIE Fighters flying by. And just as you find a key, you see a corvette being pummeled by Assault Transports until it explodes... and so on.

And that's what really makes this the most memorable level level for me. Only in recent FPSes have I begun to see this incredible atmosphere imitated, and when you consider that it was done in the old Dark Forces engine, it's an incredible feat on its own. Hats off to the creators of this level.

Pipeline on America's Army

Lost Temple, Twisted Meadows, Defense of the Ancients, de_dust2, de_inferno, Morpheus(on many games :)) facilty, the HALO level in the snow with the black sniper, and of course, Canyon Oasis.