The story of Mel Soaring begins here in
the first of [Kona]’s series, Hear Me
Roar. Mel, the soldier who kills his commanding
officer, and the hero from Quake2, finds himself
heading toward a Strogg infested planet where
he plans to defeat this over-whelming force.
Over-whelming is probably an understatement
when it comes to some parts of this map. I think
nearly impossible might be a better choice.
As with most of [Kona]’s map, the difficulty
is set high with plenty of cramped corridors
that make the fighting even harder to pass.
There were a couple of times I wanted to slip
by and just couldn’t. Though it seems
maybe too hard at times it provides exhilarating
gameplay that any Quake player will love.
The level design twist you around in so many
circles you need to be careful not to get dizzy.
There was one instance where I didn’t
know where to go next because the lift was in
the shadows and I just overlooked it. Other
than that one time the level was simple to navigate.
Texture use dragged the scoring down for Hear
Me Roar because the themes were inconsistent.
You go from rocky terrains to temple entrances
that only lead to regular Quake2 base styles.
I also had problems with the door textures because
a lot of them did not stand out as doors. I
would look at them thinking it was just another
wall.
Although this map isn’t the best, it
does show the direction that [Kona] would be
heading in with his more famous maps.
