Bob-B-Q is the eleventh level in Marathon. It is the first level of Reprisal, the third chapter of the game. The level is crawling with BOBs and, as Leela explains upon your arrival, your mission here is to save them. However, you may be tempted to just shoot those annoying BOBs as they can block you from moving through corridors, and the game won't actually stop you from progressing if you fail to save them...
The enemies you will face in this level include Pfhor Fighters and Hunters.
The map is a complicated arrangement of various interconnected rooms. The level has a hub-and-spoke layout; there are various dead-end branches connected to a central hub, consisting of the starting room and encircling hallway. In order to save the BOBs, each branch has to be visited.
A pattern buffer can be found in the west, at the end of a corridor up on a ledge. A 2x shield recharger and oxygen replenisher can be found nearby, below the ledge. A 1x shield recharger can be found at the end of a series of rooms to the southwest, and another hidden 2x shield recharger is located at the end of a corridor in the southeast. In a room at the very east end of the level, another pattern buffer is available.
Walkthrough[]
When you teleport in, you will immediately be ambushed by a squad of Fighters, so be ready to clear the room.
There are various series of rooms branching out from the middle of the map; you'll have to visit each branch and kill the enemies there in order to save the BOBs.
After the initial ambush, it's probably a good idea to visit a shield recharger. Exit the starting room and turn into the right hallway. At the end of the corridor, turn right again, then take the second hallway on the left. Now move to the southeast; some walls will open up revealing more enemies as well as a corridor that leads to a dead end room with some ammo. There's a 2x shield recharger hidden behind a panel in the south wall.
The pattern buffer in the west is up on a ledge. In order to reach it, go to the room in the northeast with a hole in the floor. Jump in, it's actually an elevator that you can ride up. Quickly jump off to the south before you get crushed against the ceiling, then follow the hallways all the way back to a ledge overlooking the starting room. A button here activates an elevator, allowing you to get between ground level and the ledges whenever you want. Now take the west exit and turn north, and follow the hallway jumping across ledges until you reach the pattern buffer and a 2x shield recharger. There's also an oxygen replenisher here you can use to neatly fill up your oxygen bar if you want, but it's not strictly necessary as you won't be visiting a vacuum environment again.
Clear out all the rooms in the level in whatever order you like. Don't forget to explore along the upper ledges as well. A 1x shield recharger can be found in the southwest corner of the level, and a pattern buffer is located behind an airlock door at the east end that is initially closed; a button in a side room to the north opens the door.
Once all the Pfhor in sight have been killed, go to a ledge overlooking the large south room. Hit the button, jump on the elevator in the middle, then jump to the opening to the south. A little up ahead, just after a series of crushing elevators, you will find the exit terminal that will teleport you to Shake Before Using....
Terminals[]
Public Access Terminal<78.39.3.91>[]
The only terminal on this level is found at the end. It contains a message from Leela that varies depending how well you have defended the crew members. If enough of them are still alive, she tells you that the Pfhor are moving a bomb to the UESC Marathon's Engineering Section, and that you must head off the Pfhor threat. Regardless of the number of BOBs you saved, you will be teleported on to the next level.
Trivia[]
- The music for this level is a song titled What About BOB? It is track #15.
- When this map is opened in a map editor, a written message can be found outside the bounds of the level. It reads, "BOB-JAM? APPLY GRENADES LIBERALLY!!".
- Jason Jones was the designer for this level, along with Habe Quiddam, Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap, and Ingue Ferroque.
- The name is obviously a play on words of Barbecue, usually shortened to "B-B-Q".
Sources[]
Marathon - Level 10: Bob-B-Q
The Marathon Scrapbook - page 5