This pack is a sequel to "Carved In
flesh", although it can be played either
stand alone or carrying on from those maps.
Architecture continues the feel of Carved in
Flesh; lots of rockfaces and open rocky areas
linked by stone corridors and heavy sliding
doors. There some very imaginative brushwork
including stone bridges, platforms and walkways
and everything has a satisfying chunky, solid
feel. Texturing is again a standout feature
of the maps, with some highly imaginative and
interesting textures, especially on doors and
windows. The map also has a significant amount
of new custom monsters and weapons [from the
readme.txt]:
New monsters:
New custom monsters including mini-bosses Cadaver
and the Ogre Knight, Demon-Queen, Fiendlings,
the first worthy Quake femme fatale - Hell Kitten,
Barons, a more deadly Shambler-Vile, modified
Hipnotic Wrath's and other modified monsters
including new skins.
New weapons:
Three new weapons including the Flame Launcher,
Freeze Gun, Positron Beam and a new Lightning
Gun (press keypad/weapon select twice to select
older ID weapons).
The new mosters are in general good, and the
new weapons at least make a change, although
they seem kind of out of place in some ways.
On hard skill, there are 79 enemies in the first
map and 34 in the second, mostly medieval plus
the new custom monsters mentioned above. Enemies
tend to attack in small bunches but usually there
is enough room to out manouevere them. Nasty fiend
attacks seem common but these and other enemies
are balanced by a slightly too generous supply
of armor and ammo. The second map is essentially
a short path leading to the final arena showdown,
where in typical Kona style, waves of modified
enemies must be defeated. In summary, maybe not
Kona's best ever maps so far in his productive
Q1SP mapping career, but still highly enjoyable
with imaginative architecture and great textures.
