Attack Ship PA is... not as frustrating as the amount of time and attempts I've spent trying to beat the four minute mark might suggest.
It is not an easy level. Your enemies throughout are Skedar armed with Maulers. These creatures are lousy shots at long range but up close they can hit you four times in the chest, one pulse after the other - or, closer still, kick you in the head. Five solid hits will kill you, or one hit and a kick. And those hits can accumulate very, very rapidly. The Skedar have reasonably good reactions and they don't flinch - once you're seen, you have to kill - not wound, KILL - the Skedar very quickly or it will start shooting back. A charged Mauler shot can take them down instantly, but you HAVE to hit with the first shot, because if you miss, you're screwed.
Learning the locations of each Skedar, the points they run for when they see you, and how to deal with each one - I've devised a system which is slightly slower but rather safer than the world record strategy - is very straightforward. Actually dealing with any given Skedar isn't too troublesome either. But one failure in ten, averaged over roughly two dozen Skedar which populate the level, equals very good odds of death. Add into this mix the fact that you simply CANNOT expect to complete the engine room without at least 40% health as a buffer and you have a very difficult level to complete at sub-4:00 speeds. And add into this mix the fact that Elvis dies. Every. Single. Time. And you have a nightmare.
The fact that the level is interesting has kept me sane through at least two hundred failed runs. It's a varied, exciting level. Every corner requires a different tactic, and long after I thought I was performing at peak ability I am still taking off entire seconds from my target times - for example, I used to think 29 was optimal to reach the second lift, then 28, now I can get 27s pretty often and I'm sure 26 is within my reach. But my patience is wearing thin. I've reached the bridge more than half a dozen times, with Elvis dying offscreen almost every time. I have two completions, a 4:27 (my PR was 4:20) and, more recently, a 4:05, which was a smooth run, but definitely around ten seconds slower than my best performance, so I'm positive I can get this PR if I just keep up the pressure.
