First I have to disclaim that
out of all the (real-life) architectural styles
I'm familiar with, Arabian architecture I find
exceedingly fascinating. So I have a bias towards
this map's theme, a bias something like "I
LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU." There's
no denying that this theme is damn good; but
I like it more than most will; which is not
to say most won't really like it, if that makes
sense. On to the review.
KJSP1 is the debut single player
release from mapper Killjoy. And it is good.
KJSP1 takes place in a sunny seaside Arabian
palace, using modified Ikblue textures. These
are more than modified though, they look a lot
different than the regular Ikblue set, in fact
they look more like Heretic II's 'Palace' set.
This new and original theme is really, really
damn cool.Execution of the theme is exceptional.
The outdoor areas around the palace (some of
which you can go in, some you can't), give a
great sense of place remniscent of the same
technique used in Scourge of Armagon. The outdoor
areas are awesome, especially the beach and
the waterfall area. Next up, there is an exceedingly
sniped texture job, as well as the previously
mentioned fact that the textures really own.
The architecture is very clean-cut and neat,
boxy in areas but curvy in others. The lighting
is bright everywhere, but torches and windows
give an extra glow making the light job interesting
as well. Overall, this is a very innovative,
neat, clean, and finesse'd map.
A few areas deserve special
mention. There are some corridors that are rather
plain, but that doesn't hurt the design that
much. Near the 2/3 mark of this map there is
a series of areas that are for lack of a better
term, Divine. The huge courtyard and following
indoor areas are incredibly, incredibly good.
I could wander around them staring for a very
long time.
Luckily gameplay lives up to
the high standards set by the looks and design
- for instance that awesome courtyard was full
of scrags and fiends, upon whos execution more
monsters appear - a very enjoyable arena combat.
Getting the rocketlauncher and facing more enemies
was nice as well. The end should have been more
climatic though, a bunch of the harder enemies
teleporting before the last gate opened would
have really helped out.
Overall, one hell of a good
map in every way except for a let-down in the
climatic finish department.
