This is the third huge release
from Mark Shan in one year. His first, named
Magic Lamber: Power Of The Sewer, was released
back in September 1999, and showed some quite
promising signs. But it was not a great experience,
just an episode of below average levels. Next
came Magic Lamber Forever, which was a really
big improvement. Although the gameplay was quite
rediculous at times, and there were still a
few below average maps which let it down. This
final release from Mark, Progetto Genoma, finally
gets it all spot on.
There are 12 levels in total (including a boss
map), and every one of them look fantastic.
Mark has a style very similar to Brian Griffith
- huge rooms with great supports and block architecture.
These levels aren't quite base, and aren't quite
palace. Texture combinations have been done
very well to give alot of atmosphere. Such as
greys and browns mixed with bright blue lighting
to create a fantasy/palace atmosphere. Many
custom textures have been used, most notably
alot from Quake3, and they all work great and
make the levels more unique.
In Magic Lamber Forever, there
were many times when gameplay would get too
frustrating, with hundreds of small enemies
coming at you at once. Mark has worked more
on his style of mass-killing, and it is far
better here. Many times you will be walking
along, or have just pressed a button, and a
dozen monsters will come from holes in the wall
to kill you. There are too many ambushes to
count. Fortunately, none were too frustrating,
you just have to figure out how to kill everything
best.
Over 1100 enemies are supposed to be in the
pack, but if you don't find the secret level
it's only 800. And you don't want to find the
secret level either, it's one corridor pasted
a few dozen times and 30 soldiers done every
one of them. If Quake2 doesn't crash on you,
then you'll only end up wasting all your ammo.
All the monsters are included,
with a great mix all throughout. Even in the
very first map you'll be fighting Gladiators
and Commanders. The fight really does heat up
straight away, and doesn't cool down again until
your finished. I played all 12 levels in one
sitting, and it took a helluva long time to
complete. I was a little disappointed by the
end though, as you only have to fight Makron
in a big room. After fighting multiple bosses
at once (two Tanks at once on three different
occasions!), I was expecting a bit more after
I had saved all my cells, rails and powerups.
If I had to find something
wrong, there were still a few times when it
seemed as if a previous room had just been pasted
alongside it to make a second room. And a fairly
big problem - speeds. I have quite a good computer
(PIII 450, 128mb, TNT2) and at times it was
quite slow. That is the price to pay when playing
in huge rooms with many monsters on screen.
Also, those who aren't a good shot better try
to conserve ammo a bit, as sometimes it can
be a little low after wasting a few dozen rockets
on Tanks and Commanders.
One thing is for sure, this
is no easy task. It is harder than your usual
Q2 maps, but I never got frustrated with it.
This really rivals Jed's Light for best Q2 release
of the year. A fantastic experience.
