"A large
medieval/wizard style castle textured in blue
and brown bricks. An abundance of custom monsters
from SOA, the Snakeman, Axeman and some tougher
Quake baddies."
Here we have a very large medieval map, done
up in a mix of ikblue and standard id textures.
To go along with it is a very good story, i
suggest you read it, even though it has no bearing
on the level itself. This is one of the many
maps that Kona has released this year, but is
it any good?
Architectually, this map is solid, but not
great. There are a few nice looking blue stone
outdoor areas, but mostly it's blue and brown
brick blocks. I didn't think anything fit with
ikblue, but this map proves me wrong, as the
brown and blue actually are functional. For
looks, it's okay, many angles abound give it
some visual appeal, but it's plain for the most
part, with no standout setpieces. But that can
be somewhat excused, since this map is absolutely
huge. But all of the areas kinda do look the
same...
No matter where you are in the map, everything
is close together, so even if the texturing
makes the whole level look similar, you will
find what you are looking for. You have to find
two keys to exit this map, as well as various
buttons, and do a lot of running around, nothing
revolutionary, but it works fine.
Well, how about gameplay. My comments about
the rest of the map have not exactly been glowing,
but gameplay is fantastic, with 138 monsters
on hard. It's very exciting, as you are almost
constantly fighting, as teleporting monsters
are very prominent. But if you have any doubts
at all about your skills, don't play on hard.
Ammo is always there, but health is on the short
side. Shamblers are in huge supply, around 10,
and sometimes attacking in pairs. But as well
as the normal enemies, Kona added in some custom
ones.
Here goes:
Hell Soldier - a
knight with a new completely grey skin and 50%
more health, pretty good.
Axeman - looks similar to above, but has an
axe, runs really fast and is about as tough
as a deathknight. Pretty good. Nail Shooting Ogre -
a reskinned ogre that shoots nails really fast,
and is very hard. Nice for a change of pace.
Snakeman - pretty
crappy, looks like a cartoon, and shoots nails.
Yawn. Centroid - From the
Scourge of Armagon mission pack comes this scorpion,
that shoots nail and stings with it's tail.
Good monster. Mordmigor - Slightly
reskinned death knight that shoots vore balls,
and has a lot of health. Somewhat easy, but
still very good.
These monsters are all used great, and add
a lot to this level. The ending is great, each
time you think it's over more monsters appear,
great stuff. I finished it with 2% health. Skill
setting are in effect.
I recommend you get this map, with such great
gameplay and new monsters, it's a must have.
