Wow.. finally a Q2 review surfaces (it's been
a while, hasn't it?) and wouldn't you know it's
of a map that's just brimming over with quality.
Good levels seem par for the course nowadays
for Q2... since many authors have moved on,
only dedicated ones or ones that really are
working on something special are still producing
releases. Shaun, the author of this map, is
no newbie mapper (he has a whole classic Quake
episode to his credit), but this is his first
release for Q2.
Mel Soaring is the name of your character in
this map... you play a murderer who kills the
Q2 marine! Don't understand? Have no fear, the
story that comes with the map will explain it
all. I won't spoil it for you.
OK, about the map. Where to start describing
the good points is all I can say.. it's hard
to tell from the overall quality of this map
that it's a first Q2 release. Architecture is
neatly done and r_speeds are kept fairly low
(I noticed no speed problems on a K6-2 300/Voodoo2),
texturing is appropriate throughout with no
major misalignments, and gameplay is wonderfully
balanced with a great mix of combat and mission
objectives. In short, there's something here
for everyone to like.
I don't suppose there's much else to say here.
Really, this is all that's good about SPQ2 condensed
into a one-level nutshell. There's plenty of
good firefights, some keys to find and exploring
to do, all set in a good-looking environment
with lots of nice touches. This is a very solid
map that I had lots of fun with, and I think
you will too, so I feel confident in giving
it a personal recommendation.
