FATAL
June 24th, 2007, 11:42 AM
Map 31- Conglomeration complex.
As in many large projects with involve a lot of people, you can find a map in the NDCP that depics the joint efforts of many mappers to create a single map. If the name wasn´t enough to recongnize this map as one of them let me tell you: this map was done by several authors.
Anyway, multi-author levels are an idea that has always been fun to me and this one certainly was: the two or three tries that the map took to finish it (with a couple of saving and loading situations, as it is a long map and I have a lot of work to do) were plenty of shooting, fun and connecting the different parts of the map until reaching the exit. During playtime I noticed no broken playability stuffs, a clear sense of direction (with only a couple of problems of guessing where to go next) and (surprisingly), a sense of style and continuity that I didn´t expect from a conglomeration map.
Most of the map takes place in some sort of tech base (complete with machinery and strange new textures) whose layout seems to divide it into a certain number of sectors. The player must move from one sector to the next in a certain order and, in the way, new ways to access new and old areas are revealed. This tried-and-true "move-discover-move-rediscover" style keeps the player interested into playing the map and, though backtracking is never stricly neccesary, creates easy ways to move back to get some more ammo or health that you will probably need.
When played in Ultra-Violence the map is furious: packed with hitscan monsters and imps, most rooms provide wide spaces for action and fast battles. Some of the most hard battles feature nasty teleport traps and fights against Barons of Hell in tight spaces and some of the easiest (and also more fun) are like shooting galleries against loads of defenseless zombies. These easy moments are somewhat like comic reliefs for many of the traps involving Revenants, Barons and Hell Knights that can drive unexperienced players crazy!.
As for the puzzling and navigating the map itself, you won´t be going insane with this map: during most of the time you have a clear idea of where you should be going and how and, most of the time, there´s little deviation from the main direction. Some rooms will have you pressing switches here and there to open new areas, doing small backtracking o visiting already explored areas to find your way but I could only find myself lost a couple of times - and the situation solved itself pretty quickly. The map makes use of a couple of keys to grant access to new areas of the map but keys are rarely relied on to keep the flor (though they keep the interest)...
Something worth mentioning?. Well, the plasma gun puzzle was quite fun and well thought (easy to identify as a puzzle) and the final battle was fun for both the massive massacre and the classic "peek-shot-hide" scheme. Something worth not mentioning?. Well, without taking away any of the merit it takes to make a good looking map (did I mention this map does look good?. Well, it does. It features nice visuals, colours and moderate detailing that make it pleasant to the eye) I would say that some of the textures won´t fit most players tastes. The way in wich the dominant colours melt in the distance and the way in wich certain textures look much too plain will get some people on their nerves. Other than that there were a couple of cheap moments regarding monster placement but nothing you won´t survive if you act fast.
So, to sum up, I´d say that this map is pretty fun. I wouldn´t have told it is a conglomerate map done by various authors if I didn´t know and that´s something that speaks for itself. Nothing really new into the map, but more of the same fun.
Map 32- In The Castle of the Wolf
Later in this review you will get to hear me complaining about some punctual things that I dislike on wads I play that are intended to follow the original Doom 2 example (for example, level 30 with that goat head). One of these things is how secret levels try and relate to Wolfenstein. You know, it was fun and amusing for me when I found them in the original game but I expect secret levels to be something special and original (the ones in the Plutonia and Evilution stuff were great, I tend to remember) and not just a recreation of what´s seen in the original game.
Of course all the above has nothing to do with this map because, to begin with, though it is Wolfenstein-based, this map is no secret level in the NDCP. I just had to get that said to explain how I faced this map: reading "Now entering the castle of the wolf", suspecting a Wolfenstein map and seeing Wolfenstein textures when the map finally loads is something that I didn´t like. I´m not sure why. Maybe it has something to do with how poor the Wolfenstein imitations can be with those enormous 128x128 blocks and 90 degree architecture. Anyway, I faced this map with little hopes of liking it and I was seriosly surprised.
The map presents an intelligent challenge to the player willing to explore "The Castle of the Wolf", a castle with both Doom and Wolfenstein textures that, though simplistic in architecture, makes for a very interesting layout and some nice details and lighting effects. The player starts right by the exit, sealed with a blue lock. All he needs to do is to go in, grab the key and get out. Of course, it won´t be as easy as it seems: several puzzles, switches and secret huntings will help the though battles into making the experience difficult... That and the deceptively looking small layout (that latter happens to be larger than expected) makes this map worth at least 30 minutes of fun.
Part of the fun directly comes from the frantic battles: Blackfyre didn´t think twice about putting a large amount of varied monsters into the castle, setting them in positions where the player is exposed to ambushes and tight situations. Ammunition and health are always scarce (save for one single location where it seems to be in every corner) so the player is forced not only to fiercely fight increasingly stronger foes but also to do it while making every single shotgun shell count. In this sense, the map is very rewarding and keeps the player on his toes during most of its duration. Okay, some moments were really cheap regarding battles and shown that either the mapper did expect a certain panic reaction from the player or that the author just put everything that was still left there but with a couple of exceptions, the map does a great job on being fair and challenging.
Puzzle wise the map is full of discovering new paths to access previously forbidden locations: most of the time the switches will open nearby doors but you will also be doing a little guessing on where to go after you´ve activated, for example, the two towers or the prison catacombs. During a couple of minutes I just aimlessly wandered around the map trying to find a missing key but those moments were worth the fun of finding hidden Commander Keens to proceed.
Anyway, I won´t be spoiling the map anymore but will just add that I´m sure that most players will like this wad when they play it. They may grow tired of looking for Keens or saving and loading their game in certain spots but, overal, this map is a worth map in the middle of the wad that makes good justice to Doom´s gameplay.
Map 16- Upon Necropolis.
A couple of weeks have passed since I played this level and now I´m writing the review. To do so I have to remember the map, it´s gameplay and it´s particularities... I recall almost every section of it and it´s tight and tense gameplay but, to be honest, I remember it to be less great than it seemed to me when I played it.
Upon Necropolis is certainly a short level: the layout is tiny, divided in around five sections and the path to follow is very clear but requires of frequent backtracking. From almost the very first moment, this level gets you fighting against a large number of odds in large areas. The gameplay is pretty straight forward: you enter the place, start killing and run out of ammo. As simple as this: in a sense is frustrating, in other sense is really challenging to avoid enemy fire, provoke monster fights and refill your ammunition little by little until you´re ready to go again. The problem here is that I ran out of ammo in the first big fight and had problems since that very same moment. The fights were fun while they lasted, but once my ammo was depleted I was forced to find another way around (I personally like this kind of things, but I know some players don´t) the large battlefield so I could get my hands on a few shells... Do you know what the best part is?. I got some ammunition from killing the bad guys but when I got back the area had its monsters supply refilled too so I almost lost all my ammo and health again. It was fun anyway: those monsters who are not in big battles can snipe you, lurk in a dark room or wait for you to fire so they can fall over you. A couple of them are just waiting for you to open a door to set your ass on fire (and it happens when you´re almost unarmed) and may seem a little cheap, but the battles were fun. Not great if you don´t like tight ammo (you may even think the gameplay is bad if you like lead rain) but fun and a little different.
Then there´s the puzzling and switch action. As said, the map requires frequent backtracking that is achieved by using switches. It´s nothing new but the way in wich they´re implemented opening the door you suppose it will open and moving walls that you thought completely solid is satisfying. I repeat, there´s nothing new in this concept of puzzle and it´s pretty linear (find this, open that, find this, go there, open that...) even with the backtracking but it´s well implemented and acts as a nice complement to the ammo. Also, the tiny size of the level adds a little charm to the switch and key hunts so it´s very rewarding in that sense.
And finally, the visuals. Not impressive at all: lots of square angles, some weird texturing and a couple of good ideas (like a fake 3d window and some architecture). Most of the map is comprised of squary corridors and open-air areas but they work well if you don´t expect anything groundbreaking... The texturing and theme is an aged hell and brick mix with some wood and marble that I didn´t find attractive and I missed some details since almost every wall was plain. There are, as said, some details, like remembrances from some Episode 2 map in a structure, shy lighting and some nice shapes (like in the ending area) but, overall, the look of the map was pretty dissapointing.
What´s left?. The rest... For example, the secrets: there are some of them and they can be found and help you out a lot if you have problems with this map. Ironically, I couldn´t access the most obvious of them that is revealed from the beginning. The ambience: quite oppresive and dark (dark rooms with lurking monsters are scary sometimes), it comes to life with some moving elements and the apparition of new monsters to take out but I wish, again, that the map held some more details. To finish with and to write down my biggest complain: the ending. It leaves you thinking "That was all?". It´s not short, but when you arrive to the final area can´t help thinking there will be more later and you´re left with a tiny layout. Some more areas could help this map a lot in my opinion, since the end was quite dissapointing... And that´s almost all I can remember about this map.
Map 17- Assimilation.
From the beggining there´s something special about this map. It comes into you trough your eyes as little details like dropped tiles, small vent grates and coherent texture design but as you play on, the special things about this map also appear in gameplay and design. Following the steps of the other author´s maps in this pack, Assimilation is a both complicated and straight forward map full of indirect backtracking, puzzling and outstanding design.
The map is comprised of several areas linked together by several means and occupying a medium space. Still, in design and look you would identify three main areas (the brown bricks, the small hellish cavern and the metal mine-like structure) whose sub-areas are unfolded as you progress through the map. This progress is achieved by slowly solving the puzzles you´re presented with: in the very beginning of the map you´re only given a way to go and you must follow it until you come to the first locked area wich you must unlock with a nearby puzzle. This scheme is repeated through the whole map and, in a sense and with a couple of exceptions, the map is pretty linear and it´s always clear where you should go. As said, there are a couple of moments that will have you exploring your surroundings to see what´s next or what did that switch do but, other than that, the main scheme we talked about is always repeated. What´s really brilliant about this scheme is that it´s not presented in a tube-like environment: the scenario gives the impression of free wandering and the frequent backtracking and re-discovering of areas gives a sense of a very strong design and coherence.
The design of the puzzles is varied: most of the time you´ll be looking for a switch to open some bars but to reach that swich you may be prompted to find anothers. Sometimes you´ll be raising bridges or platform tiles, sometimes you´ll open up doors and sometimes you´ll unlock a path trough an area you thought you knew. In all cases you can guess what the switch just did and the actions they perform are very well implemented with a couple of special Doom effects here and there. I specially enjoyed the tiles over the slime (whose switch was really representative) and the other bits seen in the mine-like area. That doesn´t mean that puzzling is weak in other sections (well, the cavern hasn´t any puzzling to it) but I really liked the ones there.
Between puzzles you´re usually presented with fights. The range of monsters seen is not really varied (imps, shotgunners, demons, chaingunners, cacodemons and some revenants and mancubi) but it´s more than enough to keep the map challenging and interesting through a valid placement, or, if isn´t any, frantic firefights. Some stronger monsters (a Hell Knight or an Arch Vile) may also be found around, adding excitement to the map. I really found the fights on the map to be balanced: there´s a chance you die and there´s a chance you survive but, if it serves you, I was able to beat this map with no mouselooking on and making use of the cover given. Ammunition and health shouldn´t be a problem at all and if you can guess what the monster placement will be or what traps may the placement hide you´re likely to survive... As said, the fights are balanced and there´s plenty of chance for monsters fight that can make your life easier so think a little before you shoot!.
The visuals... Very special, very balanced and well thought and, the most, very coherent. Most of the map takes place in a big brown brick environment with water streams. Beams are to be found in a lot of places, shadow and lightcasting are relatively frequent and small details are always to be found giving a sense of strong personality to this map (ventilation grates, broken or dropped tiles, beams, gargoyles...). All areas look really good though maybe the cavern area, even being really small, contains a lot more of mood than the others... All details and layout twists are achieved with a really low use of sidedefs so the whole map looks really tidy and well thought: I always find something to be admired in this kind of maps and in this case there´s no exception.
So, to sum up, Assimilation is really a great map. Maybe one of the best maps I´ve played in the whole pack with a balanced amount of durability, fun and challenge that would make this map in place for a solo release. No that the rest of the pack is not recommended, but this one is specially advised if you want to enjoy some solid dooming in the middle of the megawad.
As in many large projects with involve a lot of people, you can find a map in the NDCP that depics the joint efforts of many mappers to create a single map. If the name wasn´t enough to recongnize this map as one of them let me tell you: this map was done by several authors.
Anyway, multi-author levels are an idea that has always been fun to me and this one certainly was: the two or three tries that the map took to finish it (with a couple of saving and loading situations, as it is a long map and I have a lot of work to do) were plenty of shooting, fun and connecting the different parts of the map until reaching the exit. During playtime I noticed no broken playability stuffs, a clear sense of direction (with only a couple of problems of guessing where to go next) and (surprisingly), a sense of style and continuity that I didn´t expect from a conglomeration map.
Most of the map takes place in some sort of tech base (complete with machinery and strange new textures) whose layout seems to divide it into a certain number of sectors. The player must move from one sector to the next in a certain order and, in the way, new ways to access new and old areas are revealed. This tried-and-true "move-discover-move-rediscover" style keeps the player interested into playing the map and, though backtracking is never stricly neccesary, creates easy ways to move back to get some more ammo or health that you will probably need.
When played in Ultra-Violence the map is furious: packed with hitscan monsters and imps, most rooms provide wide spaces for action and fast battles. Some of the most hard battles feature nasty teleport traps and fights against Barons of Hell in tight spaces and some of the easiest (and also more fun) are like shooting galleries against loads of defenseless zombies. These easy moments are somewhat like comic reliefs for many of the traps involving Revenants, Barons and Hell Knights that can drive unexperienced players crazy!.
As for the puzzling and navigating the map itself, you won´t be going insane with this map: during most of the time you have a clear idea of where you should be going and how and, most of the time, there´s little deviation from the main direction. Some rooms will have you pressing switches here and there to open new areas, doing small backtracking o visiting already explored areas to find your way but I could only find myself lost a couple of times - and the situation solved itself pretty quickly. The map makes use of a couple of keys to grant access to new areas of the map but keys are rarely relied on to keep the flor (though they keep the interest)...
Something worth mentioning?. Well, the plasma gun puzzle was quite fun and well thought (easy to identify as a puzzle) and the final battle was fun for both the massive massacre and the classic "peek-shot-hide" scheme. Something worth not mentioning?. Well, without taking away any of the merit it takes to make a good looking map (did I mention this map does look good?. Well, it does. It features nice visuals, colours and moderate detailing that make it pleasant to the eye) I would say that some of the textures won´t fit most players tastes. The way in wich the dominant colours melt in the distance and the way in wich certain textures look much too plain will get some people on their nerves. Other than that there were a couple of cheap moments regarding monster placement but nothing you won´t survive if you act fast.
So, to sum up, I´d say that this map is pretty fun. I wouldn´t have told it is a conglomerate map done by various authors if I didn´t know and that´s something that speaks for itself. Nothing really new into the map, but more of the same fun.
Map 32- In The Castle of the Wolf
Later in this review you will get to hear me complaining about some punctual things that I dislike on wads I play that are intended to follow the original Doom 2 example (for example, level 30 with that goat head). One of these things is how secret levels try and relate to Wolfenstein. You know, it was fun and amusing for me when I found them in the original game but I expect secret levels to be something special and original (the ones in the Plutonia and Evilution stuff were great, I tend to remember) and not just a recreation of what´s seen in the original game.
Of course all the above has nothing to do with this map because, to begin with, though it is Wolfenstein-based, this map is no secret level in the NDCP. I just had to get that said to explain how I faced this map: reading "Now entering the castle of the wolf", suspecting a Wolfenstein map and seeing Wolfenstein textures when the map finally loads is something that I didn´t like. I´m not sure why. Maybe it has something to do with how poor the Wolfenstein imitations can be with those enormous 128x128 blocks and 90 degree architecture. Anyway, I faced this map with little hopes of liking it and I was seriosly surprised.
The map presents an intelligent challenge to the player willing to explore "The Castle of the Wolf", a castle with both Doom and Wolfenstein textures that, though simplistic in architecture, makes for a very interesting layout and some nice details and lighting effects. The player starts right by the exit, sealed with a blue lock. All he needs to do is to go in, grab the key and get out. Of course, it won´t be as easy as it seems: several puzzles, switches and secret huntings will help the though battles into making the experience difficult... That and the deceptively looking small layout (that latter happens to be larger than expected) makes this map worth at least 30 minutes of fun.
Part of the fun directly comes from the frantic battles: Blackfyre didn´t think twice about putting a large amount of varied monsters into the castle, setting them in positions where the player is exposed to ambushes and tight situations. Ammunition and health are always scarce (save for one single location where it seems to be in every corner) so the player is forced not only to fiercely fight increasingly stronger foes but also to do it while making every single shotgun shell count. In this sense, the map is very rewarding and keeps the player on his toes during most of its duration. Okay, some moments were really cheap regarding battles and shown that either the mapper did expect a certain panic reaction from the player or that the author just put everything that was still left there but with a couple of exceptions, the map does a great job on being fair and challenging.
Puzzle wise the map is full of discovering new paths to access previously forbidden locations: most of the time the switches will open nearby doors but you will also be doing a little guessing on where to go after you´ve activated, for example, the two towers or the prison catacombs. During a couple of minutes I just aimlessly wandered around the map trying to find a missing key but those moments were worth the fun of finding hidden Commander Keens to proceed.
Anyway, I won´t be spoiling the map anymore but will just add that I´m sure that most players will like this wad when they play it. They may grow tired of looking for Keens or saving and loading their game in certain spots but, overal, this map is a worth map in the middle of the wad that makes good justice to Doom´s gameplay.
Map 16- Upon Necropolis.
A couple of weeks have passed since I played this level and now I´m writing the review. To do so I have to remember the map, it´s gameplay and it´s particularities... I recall almost every section of it and it´s tight and tense gameplay but, to be honest, I remember it to be less great than it seemed to me when I played it.
Upon Necropolis is certainly a short level: the layout is tiny, divided in around five sections and the path to follow is very clear but requires of frequent backtracking. From almost the very first moment, this level gets you fighting against a large number of odds in large areas. The gameplay is pretty straight forward: you enter the place, start killing and run out of ammo. As simple as this: in a sense is frustrating, in other sense is really challenging to avoid enemy fire, provoke monster fights and refill your ammunition little by little until you´re ready to go again. The problem here is that I ran out of ammo in the first big fight and had problems since that very same moment. The fights were fun while they lasted, but once my ammo was depleted I was forced to find another way around (I personally like this kind of things, but I know some players don´t) the large battlefield so I could get my hands on a few shells... Do you know what the best part is?. I got some ammunition from killing the bad guys but when I got back the area had its monsters supply refilled too so I almost lost all my ammo and health again. It was fun anyway: those monsters who are not in big battles can snipe you, lurk in a dark room or wait for you to fire so they can fall over you. A couple of them are just waiting for you to open a door to set your ass on fire (and it happens when you´re almost unarmed) and may seem a little cheap, but the battles were fun. Not great if you don´t like tight ammo (you may even think the gameplay is bad if you like lead rain) but fun and a little different.
Then there´s the puzzling and switch action. As said, the map requires frequent backtracking that is achieved by using switches. It´s nothing new but the way in wich they´re implemented opening the door you suppose it will open and moving walls that you thought completely solid is satisfying. I repeat, there´s nothing new in this concept of puzzle and it´s pretty linear (find this, open that, find this, go there, open that...) even with the backtracking but it´s well implemented and acts as a nice complement to the ammo. Also, the tiny size of the level adds a little charm to the switch and key hunts so it´s very rewarding in that sense.
And finally, the visuals. Not impressive at all: lots of square angles, some weird texturing and a couple of good ideas (like a fake 3d window and some architecture). Most of the map is comprised of squary corridors and open-air areas but they work well if you don´t expect anything groundbreaking... The texturing and theme is an aged hell and brick mix with some wood and marble that I didn´t find attractive and I missed some details since almost every wall was plain. There are, as said, some details, like remembrances from some Episode 2 map in a structure, shy lighting and some nice shapes (like in the ending area) but, overall, the look of the map was pretty dissapointing.
What´s left?. The rest... For example, the secrets: there are some of them and they can be found and help you out a lot if you have problems with this map. Ironically, I couldn´t access the most obvious of them that is revealed from the beginning. The ambience: quite oppresive and dark (dark rooms with lurking monsters are scary sometimes), it comes to life with some moving elements and the apparition of new monsters to take out but I wish, again, that the map held some more details. To finish with and to write down my biggest complain: the ending. It leaves you thinking "That was all?". It´s not short, but when you arrive to the final area can´t help thinking there will be more later and you´re left with a tiny layout. Some more areas could help this map a lot in my opinion, since the end was quite dissapointing... And that´s almost all I can remember about this map.
Map 17- Assimilation.
From the beggining there´s something special about this map. It comes into you trough your eyes as little details like dropped tiles, small vent grates and coherent texture design but as you play on, the special things about this map also appear in gameplay and design. Following the steps of the other author´s maps in this pack, Assimilation is a both complicated and straight forward map full of indirect backtracking, puzzling and outstanding design.
The map is comprised of several areas linked together by several means and occupying a medium space. Still, in design and look you would identify three main areas (the brown bricks, the small hellish cavern and the metal mine-like structure) whose sub-areas are unfolded as you progress through the map. This progress is achieved by slowly solving the puzzles you´re presented with: in the very beginning of the map you´re only given a way to go and you must follow it until you come to the first locked area wich you must unlock with a nearby puzzle. This scheme is repeated through the whole map and, in a sense and with a couple of exceptions, the map is pretty linear and it´s always clear where you should go. As said, there are a couple of moments that will have you exploring your surroundings to see what´s next or what did that switch do but, other than that, the main scheme we talked about is always repeated. What´s really brilliant about this scheme is that it´s not presented in a tube-like environment: the scenario gives the impression of free wandering and the frequent backtracking and re-discovering of areas gives a sense of a very strong design and coherence.
The design of the puzzles is varied: most of the time you´ll be looking for a switch to open some bars but to reach that swich you may be prompted to find anothers. Sometimes you´ll be raising bridges or platform tiles, sometimes you´ll open up doors and sometimes you´ll unlock a path trough an area you thought you knew. In all cases you can guess what the switch just did and the actions they perform are very well implemented with a couple of special Doom effects here and there. I specially enjoyed the tiles over the slime (whose switch was really representative) and the other bits seen in the mine-like area. That doesn´t mean that puzzling is weak in other sections (well, the cavern hasn´t any puzzling to it) but I really liked the ones there.
Between puzzles you´re usually presented with fights. The range of monsters seen is not really varied (imps, shotgunners, demons, chaingunners, cacodemons and some revenants and mancubi) but it´s more than enough to keep the map challenging and interesting through a valid placement, or, if isn´t any, frantic firefights. Some stronger monsters (a Hell Knight or an Arch Vile) may also be found around, adding excitement to the map. I really found the fights on the map to be balanced: there´s a chance you die and there´s a chance you survive but, if it serves you, I was able to beat this map with no mouselooking on and making use of the cover given. Ammunition and health shouldn´t be a problem at all and if you can guess what the monster placement will be or what traps may the placement hide you´re likely to survive... As said, the fights are balanced and there´s plenty of chance for monsters fight that can make your life easier so think a little before you shoot!.
The visuals... Very special, very balanced and well thought and, the most, very coherent. Most of the map takes place in a big brown brick environment with water streams. Beams are to be found in a lot of places, shadow and lightcasting are relatively frequent and small details are always to be found giving a sense of strong personality to this map (ventilation grates, broken or dropped tiles, beams, gargoyles...). All areas look really good though maybe the cavern area, even being really small, contains a lot more of mood than the others... All details and layout twists are achieved with a really low use of sidedefs so the whole map looks really tidy and well thought: I always find something to be admired in this kind of maps and in this case there´s no exception.
So, to sum up, Assimilation is really a great map. Maybe one of the best maps I´ve played in the whole pack with a balanced amount of durability, fun and challenge that would make this map in place for a solo release. No that the rest of the pack is not recommended, but this one is specially advised if you want to enjoy some solid dooming in the middle of the megawad.