10 Terrible Levels That Haunt Otherwise Perfect Video Games

2. Cortana - Halo 3

Master Chief's quest to rescue the faithful Cortana in the penultimate stage of Halo 3 could have been a truly spectacular moment. In a series virtually devoid of genuine emotion, these two characters always provided enough of a spark to let us believe that there is something meaningful and human beneath it all.

Unfortunately the decision to set this epic quest in a Flood-infested High Charity doesn't quite have the same effect thanks to some dreadful design choices. Walking through the corridors and tunnels is so brown and gooey that it almost lets you imagine what it would be like to pilot a colonoscopy camera. It's literally as if you're sending Master Chief to wander through someone's bowels in search of something they inadvertently swallowed.

The fact that you ultimately have to turn back and head out the same ways does nothing to dispel the imagery: if Chief went in through the exit in the first place, what forces are going to expel him back out as he tries to escape?

I shudder at the thought...