Strike Force was a solid level overall, but it had a number of small problems that hurt the quality. Read on.

The architecture of Strike Force can be summed up with one word: decent. It wasn't magnificent, nor was it poor or shoddy. I felt that parts of the level were entirely too large, such as the area outside the main entrance, the command center, and the hanger. The main interior corridor could also be considered massive, but unfortunately there weren't many details to offset the bland, oversized architecture. There were a few pillars, a number of door niches, a couple of crates sitting around in a dark corner, but nothing too interesting or exciting. There were some areas with pleasing sloped ceilings, ramps, and shelves, but they were rather few and far between. Overall, the exterior design of the base was interesting, as well as the reactor room. I liked the effort put into making computer consoles and control stations, but more is needed. Things like beams, a raised area in the middle of a larger room (possibly for a commander), and more use of sloped surfaces, for example, could improve the architecture greatly. In addition, the stairs in the base did not go over too well with me; they were so steep that you'd think you were hiking up a mountain, not strolling up the steps. As a result, I think the basic architecture was there, but a lack of interesting tid-bits and details seemed to make the level a bit dull and uninteresting. The texturing was also good, but not great. There was a nice variety and fairly good stitching, but I did notice a number of mistakes. Just as a side note, it was a bit dim throughout the level, but it didn't really help the level look better and caused traumatic eye strain!

The enemy placement in Strike Force was fair. There were a large number of enemies, and sometimes they were placed together in groups of overwhelming size. Thankfully, there was an excellent amount of power ups to counter the large strength of the opposing force. One poor feature of enemy placement was the fact that many of the rebel soldiers just seemed to be standing around, waiting for you. In addition, they were rarely given any sort of special advantage over you besides sheer numbers, bringing on a large slug-fest instead of the sneaking and intrigue that many players enjoy. Personally, I find battling six to ten enemies at once a bit annoying and trite. Some more traps and devious enemies would have increased the quality of the level immensely. Now, on to enhancements. Well...there weren't too many. A few areas had flashing lights, and there was a large fight outside between the commandos and the rebel soldiers, but I didn't really notice much else special about the level. There were cutscenes, but they tended to be something of an eyesore with the oddly-textured planet in them, though they were definitely well scripted. As a final note, the game music should be turned off for the closing cutscene; it totally overshadowed the Imperial March when I played and ruined the atmosphere of the victory.

The atmosphere was decent, but I had a big problem with it. The lighting was very bland, and the level was much too dim. Why would an operational installation be so dark? Also, the size was a bit of a nuisance. Everything was on such a blasted large scale, but there were very few details to spice the architecture up. All of these things compounded together created an atmosphere that was not very memorable. The gameplay suffered because my "strike force" decided it would rather remain behind and guard the ship...meaning they couldn't get past the tiny two-foot hill that cut across the canyon. And they call themselves Imperial Commandos!? Despicable! Despite the fact that "Strike Force!" does not actually employ a strike force of more than one man, it was still a fun level. I especially loved taking out the rebel commander and stealing his data disk.

I recommend that you download and play "Strike Force!" if you haven't already, as it's a worthwhile level. (Though I doubt you haven't because it's taken me so long to do this review!)