A little surprise from CZG,
of all the maps I thought he may have been working
on, this wasn't one of them. In fact this is
one of his older levels picked up in the last
week or so and finished off. And I'm certainly
glad it was.
Ceremonial Circles does not
have a unique style. Standard ID Medieval bricks,
torches and slime make up most of the map, with
a very vertical and interconnective design.
It looks very good with plenty of angles coming
at you, aswell as plenty of attacks. It is also
a very large level, as usual with CZG. However,
details are fairly low with most walls all just
one texture and the occassional light.
Gameplay is very tough. For
the first half of the map you are stuck on the
lowest section of the level, and are the victim
of Grenades continously plummeting towards you
from Ogres above. This type of vertical action
is often a good and underused design, but unfortunately
it is a little overkill in CZG03. As you struggle
to fight off Scrags and Knights on your own
ground the Ogres make life rather frustrating,
especially if you are the type (like me) who
likes to run into each room without a smidgen
of fear. That type of tactic won't work, and
you'll need to snipe off the Ogres first. Once
you get a little further into the level the
enemies start to appear on your own level, making
them alot easier to fight. But it is still quite
tough, with a few memorable ambushes leaving
you nowhere to run.
Ammo and health were fine most
of the time, but shells aren't in huge supply
for the first half. Once you get the GL you
don't need to be so conservative. Overall another
fantastic level from CZG. It doesn't break any
new grounds like Numb Nimbus and Insomnia did,
but will provide a good half hour of fun in
a nostalgic style.
