BestQ2Maps is closed forever.  I'm back from vacation but have lost interest in reviewing maps.
 
 
 
 

Friday 6-12-98

The GuRu's Review Quote(s) Of The Day: I'm also going to continue giving you my daily BS logs because I think that it is a good addition.

This is going to be my last update for a while.  I will be on vacation, and not exactly going to have the time to play any maps while I'm gone, even though I will have access to a computer. I know I will miss a lot of good maps coming in, but I will start off right where I left off as soon as I come back. I will look back during the time I was gone, and add the one's I think deserve mention, and mostly, the one's I like.  There a lot of things I need to do when I get back.  My number one priority is having all pictures displayed in the map section to give you a preview of the each individual map. My second priority is changing locations to a real site with more space. I'm also going to continue giving you my daily BS logs because I think that it is a good addition. hehe Plus, you will be well informed.d:)  While I'm gone, I suggest visiting some other good map sites on my links page to keep up to date with some of the maps that come in.  Later!

- Got rid of dead links.  This is why the map total on the top of the page went down.

- Finished DM map info. Individual pictures of all maps in both sections coming soon! (When I get back)

- Added borders

- Organized my FTP Directory so I can actually find things.

- Finally witnessed somebody using the hard to read Unreal Chat during a DM.  The conversation between the player's involved something in reference to "This sucks" if I remember right.

- Grew sick and tired of seeing the name of player's in Unreal DM's being the lame default "Player2" and "Player3" etc.

- Was accused of cheating on a Quake 2 server because I kicked everyone’s ass.
 
 
 

Thursday 6-11-98

The GuRu's Review Quote(s) Of The Day: Played Unreal over a friend's house on his P2/400 64MB  system and experienced stuttering around cornors.

No new maps today.  I tried to get something together, but didn't like any of them.  I could review a couple, although the comments would have been mostly negative and the maps don't fit the category of "Best" It doesn't have to be the best Q2 map ever, just something that opens my eyes, looks good (architecture), balanced with flow, and most of all, something that is fun to play and I
would consider going back to. So if you ever wonder what types of maps I include, they include one or all of the things I mentioned.  d:)

- Visited unreal.org.  Exited with a bad taste in my mouth and the name "Tim Sweeny" in my freakin head!

- Played Unreal over a friend's house on his P2/400 64MB  system and experienced stuttering around cornors.
 
 
 

Wednesday 6-10-98

The GuRu's Review Quote(s) Of The Day: Came to the conclusion that UnrealED sucks.

A lot of maps came in the last couple of day's, but nothing impressed me.  Two were CTF maps, which I never include.  The other one's weren't that great.  Two people have E-mailed me that they would like me to add and do a review of one of their older map's they designed.  I'm trying to stick to adding, and reviewing maps that are new, at least within two weeks.  Also, just because I don't include your map on this site, doesn't mean I don't like it.

- Changed text even lighter.

- Got more DM info together. Note: The word more refers to a one or two. heh

- Both map archives sections are now up, even though the DM page is unfinished and only has the name of the map for right now.  Pictures of  maps will come soon!

- Listened to this guy called Immortal's 4th Real Audio Show. He's hella funny. Check out his prior shows for a laugh.

- Came to the conclusion that UnrealED sucks.
 
 
 

Tuesday 6-9-98

The GuRu's Review Quote(s) Of The Day:  I'm more into action and shooting things, then finding the next button on the wall and standing around getting frustrated.

1 new Single Player map called Points of Iron by Ben Glover aka Horza.  This single player map excels in just about all the major categories you look for in a good SP map. I have nothing but positive things to say about it.  The action starts up right away from the start with men running at you, and lasts until the end, without a dull moment in it. I found it a little on the easy side on hard skill, but that was all right. What is hard for some, is easy for others. You can never satisfy everybody with difficulty settings and that is understandable. I'm still a believer that the original Quake2 maps should have had a harder mode.

The ammo placement was decent.  I found that I had just enough ammo in my shotgun to take care of the enemies. At first, I actually ran out of ammo, and was disappointed that I was fighting with nothing more then my shitty default gun. The second time I played the map, I conserved my ammo a little better and had enough. There is actually more then enough shells lying around on the ground now that I played it for the second time. I did play this map twice back to back, so don't think I'm crazy!! heh I usually do if I like the map. d:)

The author has put a lot of  work in this map and it is quite evident when you take a look at some of the architecture for yourself. There was one particular area where I looked up and saw something that appeared to be wooden tracks high above, leading into some sort of cave.  Don't know what that was about, or what they were for, but it just adds to the massive amount of detail he has put in it. I always like extra detail like that in maps.  It is detail most people will never see when they play the map, but the kind of detail I always see.

The enemy placement seemed reasonable and wasn't too bad, even though it was a little on the easy side for me. The ending came a little too quick, actually unexpected, but that doesn't bring the map down. I am used to maps ending sudden like that after playing Unreal. hehe You literally have to play that game over again just to explore the places you haven't explored and wanted to, due to the unexpected ending of each map. Why did the people at Epic do that? At least they should have made it where you can go back, damn!!! :P

There isn't a complicated mission objective in this map. It is simple and I found it basically to kill everything and get the hell out.  To tell you the truth, I'm not a big fan of puzzle solving, where you must click buttons and do things in chronological order. Personally, I get frustrated if I missed flicking a switch, or hitting a computer, and usually just exit the map if I happen to get stuck. I like it with no mission objective, or better yet, an easy short mission objective like this one that is easy to follow.  It is nice to see one for a change in a single player map. I know a lot of author's go overboard and like including step by step mission orders, but I have never been a big fan of them.  I'm more into action and shooting things, then finding the next button on the wall and standing around getting frustrated.

There is a train, or some sort of tram near the end that was on the rail, which actually moved.  I thought that was pretty cool.  I was never expecting it to move and give me a ride.  Now there is a surprise at the end of it when it comes to a sudden stop. During my game I played it safe and  jumped below the track.  I'm glad the lava wasn't under the track like there was when I first had gotten on the train.  I would have been toast jumping down below the track, so I'm not complaining about the lava stopping where it did. d:)

I had a lot of fun on this map and it is a definite must download. I recommend it.

- Improved Links section.

- Took out the 6 maps that had no reason being on the bottom of this main page.

- Worked on getting more of the DM section together.  It's still not finished yet!!!

- Thought about the $ I will receive from a bet I made on the Bulls.

- Messed around with the UnrealED, just to mess around with it.
 
 
 

Monday 6-8-98

The GuRu's Review Quote(s) Of The Day:   I would have to dust off the dust off my Doom disk and load it up to see.

One new SP/DM/C by Borys Siewczynski called Doom1 E1M1. This map is a take off of the classic Doom map number 1, which everybody on earth has played. If you haven't your weird!!! :P The author has done a pretty good conversion of the map. You will find just about everything in replica of Doom in this map, including the old brown mountain background sky texture, Doom type wall textures, old Doom style acid movement, background music that will make you laugh, and most of all, the two dimensional up and down architecture just like the original.

I haven't played Doom since back in those prehistoric days when I was in high school. d:P This map definitely brought back some memories.  It once again reinforced the improvement from the guys at ID in the 3D Shooter department. You really appreciate how much they approved, not only with the engine itself, but with the map designing. The author of this map has done an excellent job of the conversion. I enjoyed playing this one just to see how much alike it was from the original. I even noticed the location of the monster's were somewhat similar. He substituted Imps (my favorite) with Q2 chain gun men.

To do the ultimate comparison I would have to load up Doom again.  I never did that, but I do think it is pretty damn close in just about every aspect, although there are a few changes I noticed that weren't similar without even playing the original again. The most apparent difference is the text "Are you kidding" appearing when you try to flip the switch at the end. hehe.  No, j/k.  The lighting wasn't exactly similar, and I found some area's to be a little brighter then I remember, but then again, I would have to dust off the dust off my Doom disk and load it up to see. I'm not going to do that and criticize this map. I'm sure the author knows it isn't an exact conversion, but it is pretty close.

I especially like how the author paid attention to a lot of detail and implemented some of the original sounds, such as the acid sizzling, along with the old type acid texture. The background mountain texture really gets it looking like the original. If he hadn't included this, and stuck with the orange Quake2 texture, it wouldn't seem right, and more importantly wouldn't be Doom.

I recommend downloading this map if you want to go back in time and play a map that does a good conversion of a classic level in the Q2 engine. I had fun playing the single player mode. Note: The file is in the .pak format due to the new textures and sounds, so read his text file for instructions if you are unsure on what to do.