Arabian Nights is another DM-turned
SP project, with the idea again supplied by
Mr. Shambler. Daz has defined again his Arabian
theme (originally in his DM map Arabian Days),
and I have to say I like it better here.
The map is split into three seperate sections,
which is alright. None of them are all that
long, and there is no intermission between.
I would prefer slightly longer levels and an
intermission between each - that way you would
be able to see what you missed in each unit.
Arabian Nights starts off strong,
with you standing in a wind swept alley reading
the foreboding message 'You have come to a place
of Great Evil.' From there you make your way
through a linear progression of indoor areas
and multileveled outdoor areas with walkways.
There are several interesting sections, such
as 'The Gods wish to test you', and infrequent
but foreboding messages keep you interested.
The architecture was somewhat repetitive, and
even sometimes boring, though. The theme is
described as a cross between Arabian and Egyptian,
but I'm not sure if those blend, or if they
have been blended here. Still, it looks good
and it is atmospheric, but one theme only and
more detailed architecture would have been nice.
The final area is somewhat anticlimatic after
all the moody narration - I easily hid down
the hall and took down the last foes. The best
thing about Arabian Nights, though, is the layouts.
The layouts are great, the
gameplay is good, and the architecture is decent.
The Arabian Nights is a map worth giving a try.
Review
by Tronyn
Tronyn's Score:
70
There is some nice design,
but mainly the three levels are fairly plain.
Lighting was a little dark too, even if it was
based at night. It's the shadows that hide the
plain texturing. But there are alot of multilevels
which make the maps feel quite vertical and
non-linear. Gameplay is good though, with plenty
of ammunition and a good challenge.
