A collaboration
between two established mappers which has resulted
in a stylish and impressive unit. Most notable
is the unit's theme: A dark, gothic, medieval
look, with strong Norse overtones. Daikatana
and Hexen2 textures enhance this look, with
grey stone walls, wooden sections, Celtic trim,
and gothic details, and the result is a bleak,
arcane feel that works very well in Quake. To
match the style, the architecture is good throughout
- ranging from simple but nicely angled designs,
through to impressive castles and medieval halls.
This is topped off with good detailing and dramatic
lighting, including pseudo-coloured lighting
(a clever trick with textures!), and a thunderstorm
in the final map.
To go along with the strongly themed maps,
you get plenty of medieval monsters to bash
your way through. Gameplay varies and escalates
nicely through the maps - it's all quite challenging,
but it starts pretty reasonably in the first
map, and gradually builds up to a hectic finale
that should satisfy the most hardcore of players.
Custom monsters are featured, including the
amusing Gremlins, the vicious Axemen, and the
downright nasty Barons (from Nehahra), which
have been modified with more lethal attacks,
and are used as challenging bosses at the end
of each map. To keep things fair, ammo supplies
are generally plentiful, and the variety in
gameplay situations makes this a satisfying
unit.
