The Looming Madness is Shaun Ross's... Now
let's see... 12th Single Player level, so you
should know him well by now. Always nice to
see prolific authors who release good levels.
This time, Shaun has decided to make a sequel
to Egyptian Myth, one of his earlier levels.
The theme is a sort of a mix between several,
using textures from Daikatana and Hexen II.
The textures don't always fit together too well
and seem a bit clashing at times. The theme
is not clear and refined enough, and remains
as one of the weaker points of this level. The
level has been built well, as with Shaun's previous
levels. The visuals are pleasing to the eye,
offering a few impressive moments as well. Smaller
details are somewhat missing, though. Once again,
the layout is well-planned, with areas revisited
from new angles. At times the different areas
could've used more distinctiveness, not always
clear which door just opened and where was it
again. The dark lighting gives a good, moody
atmosphere.
As you've probably guessed, combat is brutal,
with easily over 100 monsters in the level.
And not just the normal ones, the Gremlins and
Snakemen make another appearance, with the usual
bunch enhanced with new attacks. Watch out for
the Ogres, they have a nasty surprise waiting!
There's loads of ammo waiting, with a real overdose
of shells. Health seemed well balanced, but
I was sweating with the lack of armor. You'll
acquire most of the weapons before getting to
the end. The combat quickly heats up, with Knights
and Gremlins pestering you on ground level and
Ogres and Scrags harassing you from above. Fiends,
Hellknights and eventually Vores and Shamblers
provide tougher opponents. There are a few good,
well-planned ambushes to keep you busy, mostly
the combat could be classified as 'normal'.
The ending takes place in an arena, with a good
amount of monsters trying to kill you.
This one's clean, no major or even medium errors
found. Perhaps the greatest problem of the level
is its similarity with Shaun's other levels.
The layout and architecture really aren't that
different from his other levels, so if you've
played them all, you may want to pass this one
up. It's still a good level, just not as memorable
as Egyptian Myth seemed to be. Lacking personality,
I feel.
