Kona's previous release Carved in Flesh seemed
like a tough one to top for sure. What could
beat sprawling, detailed visuals with gameplay
to match? Indeed, it was not even a typical
Kona map so what could his final release offer
to cap things off? Kona pre-announced that this
would be his last ever map (for Quake, anyway)
and up until its release, it was very much anticipated
indeed. Who didn't want to know how Kona would
finish off his mapping career?
So in 2004, Autumn Haunting was unleashed as
a follow-up/"sequel". Kona's final
release. The end. It's a bit unfortunate since
he truly was one of the most talented mappers
in the Quake I/II community and, I think safe
to say, was also one of the pioneers of "modern"
(post-1998) Quake SP maps. The idea of custom
texture sets, custom enemies, and unique level
designs to create interesting themes was not
just Kona's; it was a trend started and refined
by a collective effort of talented mappers.
Kudos to every one of them, not only for what
they did, but without them we would not have
the subject of today's review.
It really does all come together in this final
release. Custom textures, check. Custom enemies,
check. Bold new theme with interesting level
design? Yes, it's all here. Everything you expect
from Kona. There's really no need to get into
the specifics of level design and gameplay this
time. If you've played a Kona map before, Autumn
Haunting delivers everything you can possibly
expect and then some.
But
just to briefly summarize, texturing and architecture
combine to form a very, very nice aesthetic
design (as can be seen from the screenshots)
and make the name of the unit appropriately
fitting. All the details you really need to
see, not up to the level of Carved in Flesh,
but that hardly detracts from anything. And
gameplay remains largely unchanged with the
same enemies and weapons as before. This time
though, you'll really feel the brute force of
battle. Whereas the previous release tended
to do escalating/break-action combats in epic-seeming
spaces, this one is more compact and focuses
more on continuous, evened-out fighting against
mostly the powerful monsters. 84 and 34 monsters
on Hard, and it can get very hairy unless you
literally break out Q1DM-level tactics. All
skill settings supported, but as expected it
doesn't scale so nicely with these custom monsters.
But if you can manage Hard, it's an incredibly
satisfying play, an absolute blast, a grand
ol' time. Both maps each have an absolutely
amazing set-piece in which you can "lay
the smackdown" in a wave-attack/multi-way
combo that will probably beat anything you've
played before. There's gameplay here that just
feels so very rewarding and...insatiable. As
the closing to Kona's releases, this two-map
unit easily takes the cake. Carved in Flesh
is still the masterpiece I said it was, but
these rusty-colored visuals and ravishing gameplay
push Autumn Haunting past it on the Kona-meter.
#1, I say!
But
just to briefly summarize, texturing and architecture
combine to form a very, very nice aesthetic
design (as can be seen from the screenshots)
and make the name of the unit appropriately
fitting. All the details you really need to
see, not up to the level of Carved in Flesh,
but that hardly detracts from anything. And
gameplay remains largely unchanged with the
same enemies and weapons as before. This time
though, you'll really feel the brute force of
battle. Whereas the previous release tended
to do escalating/break-action combats in epic-seeming
spaces, this one is more compact and focuses
more on continuous, evened-out fighting against
mostly the powerful monsters. 84 and 34 monsters
on Hard, and it can get very hairy unless you
literally break out Q1DM-level tactics. All
skill settings supported, but as expected it
doesn't scale so nicely with these custom monsters.
