[Kona], my friend, what the hell were you
thinking? That was my first response on opening
this episode, anyway. Weird stone/metal block
buildings, Id rocks, ikbase streetlamps (!),
base-style floor lamps and light strips. I've
seen good attempts at making grotesque levels,
but this is episode is probably the most successful
of them all. Don't misunderstand, though; it's
not ugly the way a mistextured fullbright box
is ugly, it's actually a style well conceived
and executed that just happens to hurt my eyes.
The fact that the episode is an early work by
the author probably explains much of its exuberant
weirdness. This being a [Kona] project, there
are obviously custom monsters, including the
rocket ogre, armored knight, axebot, modded
death knights, and that boss guy from necrobrood
(no obit message in the QC so I don't know what
he's called but it's an awesome enemy).
Looking beyond the textures, map #1 is designed
almost entirely on a 64x64 grid and has a blocky
and solid feel to it. There is plenty of detail
despite the large scale, in chunky crenellated
walls, metal shafts, large beams criscrossing
the ceiling, etc. No single area really stands
out but then again no area is particularly boxy
either. Monster surprises are frequent. At first
I wondered what all the ammo was for, until
reinforcements started showing up everywhere-
nice. Most enemies are well placed in positions
that are difficult but not unfair. The layout
of this first map is quite creative, but only
if you're willing to ignore the blatant shortcut
right at the start. When I first played the
map, I exited in 20 seconds because I thought
it was a route option.
The second mission is a smaller near-transitional
map that takes place in a large canyon, impressive
except for the inexplicable hole(s) to the grey
void in places. I found it rather amusing that
by giving the scrags too much attention at the
beginning, I wound up walking right over a cliff.
The monsters do seem to use the surrounding geometry
effectively. The indoor areas of the map are in
the same basic theme, but slightly more detailed
with more use of angles. There's another unfortunate
shortcut here too, but not as obvious.Map #3 uses
more diverse textures, which is something of a
relief. Some reddish-brown stone textures and
celtic knot trim have been added for more smaller
and/or more subtle detail. The doors are also
better looking. It's another small map so the
difficulty escalates pretty quickly. One entertaining
moment involved rocket ogres firing rockets across
a gap from lower ground. I really wish that had
been used more often, as it's one of the many
creative gameplay aspects that make this entire
episode redeemable despite the crude design. The
final boss fight is great but I found the section
before unfair without trial and error and eventually
settled for a cheap solution. Ultimately, I think
the episode is worthwile if you're up for some
challenging gameplay and insight into how twisted
[Kona] can be, and who isn't?
