"g" reviews

author: Steven Anderson. the level starts off in a room with two doors; you open the first door by means of a switch on the wall, revealing a super shotgun and a nailgun, along with three dogs and a rune. the second button opens the second door, which leads into an incredibly-slow-running hexagonal "elevator", upon which i became trapped with no hope of escape. if there's a way out of this second room, i don't know about it, and after fifteen minutes of trying (with the aforementioned incredible slowdown in the elevator), i gave up.

author: Malcolm Sailor. this level has been very well done in the "metal" theme. the architecture is spacious in most places, but you find that it feels pretty cramped once the monsters start shooting at you. obvious attention has been paid to lighting and texturing as well. the monster mix is fierce, and on the tough side, but you'll be able to survive with the weapons and ammo given to you. i only found one of two secrets. the endgame is a bloodbath, and you'll be thankful you've got the rocket launcher. speaking of the rocket launcher, this is the first level i've ever played that requires you to rocket jump, and i think i liked it; it seems more "realistic" to not be able to get to every place the way you're supposed to. the gold key is visible but you can never get to it; i don't know if i liked that, as the author could have just left the gold key out of the level completely... as it was, i tried to find a way to it for quite some time before i gave up and rocket jumped the barriers out of frustration, only to discover that that's what i was supposed to do in the first place. on top of that, every time i ran into the door frame after that, the game kept telling me "you need the gold key", even after i had opened the door. nevertheless, the flow and pacing are excellent, the combat is frequent and furious, and i enjoyed this level quite a bit.

author: Roger Staines. this level starts off in a cage-like enclosure with a military theme, and, despite the relative simplicity of the structure, immediately displays a significant amount of BrushGlut. as a matter of fact, the entire level is afflicted with BrushGlut in varying intensities, but i became accustomed to it quickly and after the second area, it ceased to be as big of an issue as it would have had it come and gone sporadically. this is not to say that BrushGlut is a good thing, however, as it taxes the computer unnecessarily. the architecture in this level is superb -- playable, believable, consistent, and well thought-out. the monster placement is very well done both in numbers and difficulty. the weapons (all weapons are available) are placed in a logical and appropriate progression, with enough ammo given for all types to be comfortable. this level is brilliantly designed and executed. the lighting is effective and messages are appropriate and informative. i had to play this one EIGHT TIMES before i was able to beat it without saving, but the fact that i kept trying without becoming irritated attests to this level's addictive playability... you know you can beat it, but it's just a matter of DOING it. the endgame is ridiculously overpopulated and a hell of a ride due to the powerups available and the fact that, by that time, you should have all the weapons and a good supply of ammo... man, do the guts fly! this level has some of the most memorable architecture i've seen, and if not for the BrushGlut problem, it would have rated a perfect score. highly recommended.

author: Juha Koiste. this level starts with you in a storage room of some kind, with the super shotgun clearly visible on some boxes... and i got it on the second try. heh. the flow, pacing, architecture, and lighting are all top-notch in this level. monster selection and placement are challenging. the level is a bit bare (lack of ornamentation) but the textures have been used so cleverly you really don't notice unless you think about it. i found one secret of two in this level. another excellent job, and another level definitely worth playing.

author: Chris Mayers. this level starts off in a natural setting, and you quickly proceed to enter the main building and play area -- the Hive. the architecture has been done splendidly throughout the entire level, and there are many interesting structures. i especially liked the area with the numerous octagonal niches, which would be the hive proper. the level is a bit non-linear, and as many areas look similar, it is sometimes difficult to remember where you are. the monster mix is fairly heavy, and they have been chosen well to provide a great game experience. the opening area does run significantly slowly at the beginning, however, and it only gets worse when you exit the main building near the endgame. also, there are areas where it is possible to get permanently stuck, and some texture misalignments were noted. the lighting is as good as the architecture; it's been done so well that you really don't notice how good it is until you stop and think about it. theme is excellent -- the texturing and architecture blend well, and when non-base monsters appear, they seem to fit with their surroundings. all the weapons except the grenade launcher and lightning gun have been provided; while i feel the rocket launcher is excessive for most single play levels (including this one), you get so much ammo for it during the level that it's a lot of fun to just blast your way to the exit through a veritable gib shower. a fun level, and worth the download.

author: Noel Weer. this level has been done in sort of a half base, half runic style. it's kind of hard to describe. (the author, in the .txt file, calls it "copper-based", which is as good a description as any.) it sports a surprisingly-consistent selection of textures which, though widely varied, feel more consistent and complimentary than you'd think they'd have a right to. the architecture and structuring in this level is interesting, and runs toward the "spartan" end of the scale. this sparseness in detailing means the level runs smoothly throughout. the flow is semi-linear; though keys are required, you have to cover quite a lot of space to both get them and use them. not a lot of backtracking required, though. there are three secrets, all in the first half of the level, and i found them all. the monster mix includes just about every monster there is, including the two new ones, but they work together surprisingly well. the endgame is a bit on the easy side, but it's fun nonetheless. a good, solid level.

author: Andrew Turner. this level, as may be deduced from the title, is a hotel. new textures have been added, and it does have a fairly hotel-like feel. the flow is semi-linear and the pacing is more than a bit predictable. the monster mix doesn't follow any theme i know of, but i guess that's because this hotel has some strange guests. this level would probably be good for deathmatch but as a single player level...

author: Scott McNutt. this archive comes with two levels, ENTERHOT.BSP and HOUSTRPS.BSP. ENTERHOT is an intro level that sets your skill level, and this is a nice touch -- i'm getting kind of tired of having to use the start map to set the difficulty when i enter the game. (yeah, i know, i know, use the command line, but i always forget.) there's a secret in ENTERHOT, but i didn't find it.

House of Traps has somewhat plain but ultimately realistic architecture. lots of room for combat and believe me, you'll need it. plenty of action in this level, which is kind of surprising considering that there are only 43 monsters on the Hard skill setting; with as much space as you're given to move around in, 'only' 43 monsters doesn't seem like that many. the lighting is uniformly excellent. 'House of Traps' is appropriately named, too... don't take anything for granted in this one. the wonderful thing about the traps themselves is that none of them are instantly fatal (unless you're not paying attention). ammo and health are kind of sparse, but more than adequate for the skilled player. a great gaming experience if you like watching gibs fly as much as i do, and a veritable non-stop battle from beginning to end. very enjoyable.

author: Richard Carlson. this level starts off in a dank, gloomy corridor that has gratings on both ends. i never found a way into the area behind the grate that you face at the start, though. this level has many narrow areas, but none so small as to make you feel claustrophobic. there is significant slowdown in a couple of places (the first corridor, the zombie room with the wooden platforms) but none in the areas where you'd expect it (the next to last room, for instance). weapons and health are plentiful, especially towards the end, but ammo can be in very short supply at times, so make those shots count. most of the platforms that you ride on move excruciatingly slowly, though this can be a definite tension-producing device if the player expects to get jumped while so exposed. the endgame would have been challenging if not for the presence of the powerups on the shelf above the last door; as it was, i axed my way to the exit. a good level, with some great play areas, but somehow it didn't "feel" quite right...

"i" reviews